Life after MFP

h0taru

Hello,

My weight loss is not finished yet, but I assume that I will reach my goal within a few month ( or even more, time is not a problem ).

I was too fat because I was eating too much, and I guess thanks to my diary I learned to choose my food quantities.

But I must admit that I am a little anxious because I am not enough self confident about my body needs. My diary is doing the job of controlling what I am eating ( yes yes It is almost like a person lol), but I will not fill it until the end of my life, right?

I know that I need to listen to my stomach, when it says that it is full. When I eat, specially in restaurant, I try to "listen", I try to stop when my eating pleasure is decreasing. At home, when I finish my plate, and still hungry, I wait 20 min ( the time for the stomac to send signals of satiety) and then, if I am still hungry, I eat again (actually I am never hungry after 20 min).

but I am still anxious, for that day that I will say : "ok, now I stop my diary, yes, I cut the cord". Even if I will always use my scale every day, and this until the reste of my life.

And you, are you afraid of that day, when you will stop the diary? Or perhaps you do not want to stop it, ever^^

And if you allready stopped it, how things are going?

Thanks!

Sublog

You can usually eyeball nutritional content pretty easily to keep a running tally in your head. If you find yourself gaining a few lbs, just make sure you don't let it snowball out of control.

RoosterB

I think we're all condemned to a life of filling this in everyday till we die.

lcs1211

I think I will continue to log. I am almost into maintenance now, and I am still addicted to recording and monitoring everything I eat. As long as MFP is around, I will be too. This is a lifestyle change for me and MFP has become part of my lifestyle.

sjcply

this is a lifestyle change for me so I wont stop logging my food! I keeps me accountable! Even while maintaining my wt, I still log everything I eat!

kady11

THANK YOU! GOOD ANSWER. I AM STILL NEW. I STILL WRITE WHAT I EAT BUT I CAN GUESS A LOT OF THE FOOD THAT I EAT.

MisterDubs303

Why stop? It's worked for losing, it'll work for maintaining. Let those habits sink in for a few years, and in the meantime do exactly what you're doing... learn from (or teach) your body until the best choices come so naturally that proper maintenance is simply on autopilot.

MinnieInMaine

It takes a while to develop new habits and change your way of thinking (and not that long to regain the old bad habits) so I abso-freakin-lutely plan on conitinuing to track my food and exercise once I've gotten to goal. I figure at least a year, maybe longer.

That said, I do feel pretty good about being able to control my eating without actually getting on here to track. On the weekends, I don't hae access to the internet (gasp! the horror!) so I jot things down on the notepad on my cell and log it all on Monday morning. I have a pretty good idea of how many calories are in the foods I typically eat and I know how many calories I've burned because I use an HRM. A little quick math in my head keeps me right around target.

Try not to stress about it, just try to train your brain to be more conscious of the choices you make and why (is that cake worth it? why or why not?) and the healthy eating habits will become second nature.

LongMom

Look at it this way, if you decide to try and stop logging - there's no reason you can't start again! It's not something everyone wants to do forever so I think it's completely reasonable to stop, see how it goes, re-evaluate how you're doing without the tool (via the scale) and decide on the next course of action based on the results.

Everyone is different

I know for me personally, that's what I'll try. I will NEVER disable MFP or leave it though! It's comforting to know it's always here for me if I need it

JustBeckyV

I reached my goal over a year and half ago. I used a different program to log my calories every day . Over the summer some things changed and I didnt do it like i was before. The results 10 - 15 lbs weight gain. I am back to logging every day. I thought I was eating OK but I wasnt tracking like I should have so for me I will continue to log my calories every day

bhaktinstella

i stopped for three weeks after losing half my goal, thinking i could judge myself and i :happy: didn't lose a single ounce that entire time. i soon came back on to MFP and have been losing again! i am clearly not ready to judge my portions yet! so barring a lack of electricity or computer access, i will continue to enter into MFP!!!!

alohabrie

My goal (and it may change) is to continue logging for at least a year on MFP after I hit my goal. I may need more - but I hope that will keep me on track.

maureak

I reached my goal about 5 months ago and had similar thoughts. Now that I have this lifestyle change and am successful at staying with it, do I feel confident enough to stop logging and go it alone?

I decided that even though eating well and daily exercise are something I just do (without thinking about it), I still want to keep up with the food and exercise diary. It keeps me honest. And ending my day within my acceptable food goals still gives me a boost!

Hellbent_Heidi

I think I will stay on for maintenance (I'm almost to my goal now), for a while at least, and I think I will continue to reference things even when I feel like I've got it under control.

In the past, I've had periods where I THOUGHT I was eating a lot healthier than I really was, so I think its a good idea to do a reality check from time to time, so make sure old habits aren't sneaking up behind!

As you said, I will continue to weigh myself every day...that's something I won't ever stop doing. And, I won't let myself 'blow it off' if I gain a few lbs, because its a slippery slope!

stevieb3052

Like a lot of people on here, I came on to assist with a lifestyle change. I began logging on to record food but now I am on my path I have begun to record my fitness attempts.

I gain motivation from my friends and the messages I see on this site and hope that I give motivation back to others.

I hope that when I achieve my target and am able to maintain that goal, I will still be using the site as an example for others to see what can be done with the huge support of virtual friends.

I also prefer the site to Facebook!

geri1955

Im sorta like you. Im gonna use the diary as my crutch for life..Im not good at remembering things In my head what I have eaten an hour ago, so yepper, No matter what I will be on maintenance the rest of my life!!! plus u get to talk to the friends u made on the way!!! im bad w/o the diary-its now second nature!!! have the mfp app on my iphone, very conveient and no excuses!!! hugs:drinker:

UponThisRock

I can't see myself not counting calories

h0taru

Thank you for all your answers!

It is just that i read some articles, about the human appetite régulation. I mean I feel so dependent of my diary right now, that I wonder "And if one day I cannot do it anymore, what will happen? I will be fat again?"

I guess I need to take things more easy, and try to choose my quantities without the diary ( not now of course, and only after a few months of stabilization). And if it is a failure, I will restart the diary, this time for life. And if I cannot contrôle my appetite by myself, it is not such a big deal. As long as I have some solutions like the diary.