A small flaw

clewliss

Ever since Thanksgiving, I have been logging all the food through the day and then at night I know how many calories I have left for dinner, but I'm not logging it. I don't know why...it's still important to me :ohwell: I still have the enthusiasm to lose weight, but I'm just not as gung ho about it as I was the first month. For example: the first month I logged everything, even ketchup- and I was obsessed with exercise, eating, exercising, eating, posting, logging, on and on! Since Thanksgiving, I'm not obsessed with all of it. I still exercise, I still log everything with the exception of what I explained above, and I still have goals and plans..I guess I'm wondering if this is normal! I've never stuck with it this long, so I'm not sure what to expect! Is this just part of the change in the new lifestyle we go through?

clewliss

Ever since Thanksgiving, I have been logging all the food through the day and then at night I know how many calories I have left for dinner, but I'm not logging it. I don't know why...it's still important to me :ohwell: I still have the enthusiasm to lose weight, but I'm just not as gung ho about it as I was the first month. For example: the first month I logged everything, even ketchup- and I was obsessed with exercise, eating, exercising, eating, posting, logging, on and on! Since Thanksgiving, I'm not obsessed with all of it. I still exercise, I still log everything with the exception of what I explained above, and I still have goals and plans..I guess I'm wondering if this is normal! I've never stuck with it this long, so I'm not sure what to expect! Is this just part of the change in the new lifestyle we go through?

Jackie_W

After a while, we tend to get used to how many calories we've consumed, and as long as your not gaining weight, I'd just keep going the way you are.
If you are however worried at all, try and make a conscious effort to log everything.
At the end of the day, we can only advise you on our own experiences, I log most things, but if I find I have say 100 calories left in my day, I either don't eat them if I'm not hungry, or I'll find something that's around 100 cals, and eat that and that'll be it for the evening and then, I don't log it.
I'll log, if, after that 100 cals, I find I'm still hungry.

Just hang on in there, we're all here to help where possible.
I'm sure you'll find the best way that's right for you, just give it time, you'll fee lbetter for it, don't beat yourself up over it, like I said, as long as you do not gain weight, no harm done, but even gainign a little and getting back on track is fine - we all hit this bump in the road every now and then.

I've recently panicked over the thought of xmas goodies but hey I've learnt that it's once a year, be careful what you eat, but don't deprive yourself. We still need to let our hair down every now and then, and it is only a few days a year :flowerforyou: (Saying that, I plan to hit the gym as soon as it re-opens on 27th December :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

AJCM

I think this can actually be a good thing (as long as one doesn't throw caution to the wind and go back to bad habits). I personally think that you want to learn to be independent of this program, so that one day, you can just "live" and "eat" without having to log everything.

I've stopped logging since the summer, and now just know the rythym of my body, and I've settled into this weight. I had the a similar progression - very strict for the first 20 or so pounds, then eased up a bit, and eventually eased into maintenance.

Keep at it, and soon enough, you will be at your goal, and living a healthy lifestyle without having to log at all! I check in once or twice a week, to check on some friends, and give some support, but otherwise I don't need or use the site much anymore, and that is a good thing!
:flowerforyou:

clewliss

Thank you both for the encouragement! I'm hoping that's what's going on with me, too! I can't see myself logging food the rest of my life, but I'm far from NOT logging right now. I know that I'm still in the early stages and I don't want to "relax" too much

MFS27

I do the same thing! I log everything I eat at work (breakfast, snacks and lunch) and then I know how much I have left for dinner/dessert. Since I'm so busy with my three kids and house stuff after work - I rarely log dinner.

I think the only downside is seeing the "if everyday were like today.." part, lol. But if you start to see your weight go up, then I would log dinner for a couple of days to make sure you aren't under-estimating calories/portion sizes.

dothompson

I think it's normal for this to evolve, but only you can evaluate if you're embracing your new lifestyle and don't need to be as careful or if you are sliding back to your old habits.

If you find that it's the later, here is a couple of suggestions:


Start logging with dinner. I find that this works much better for me. I start and end my day at 5 PM so I log last night's dinner on today's log and then through the day I log the other two meals. I find that it helps me stay within my calories.

In the evening or other times when it's not convenient to go on and log your food. Use your cell phone to take a picture of what you eat. That way when you have a chance to log you'll remember correctly. I do this and often have a, oh yeah, I ate that too, moment.

Stop worrying about perfection and work for improvement. I think it's typical on any exercise/weight loss plan to have huge momentum at the beginning and have it taper off. Don't beat yourself up for not being perfect as you were in the beginning, just try to make today a little better than yesterday and tomorrow a little better than today. That's how you make sustainable life changes that will keep you trim and healthy.