Log your food for the rest of your life?

kerrbear79

Just wanting some other maintainers opinions on what you plan to do. Are you going to continue logging your food forever? Or have you already stopped logging now that you are maintaining? I keep going back & forth about what I want to do. I've been maintaining for about 8 months, allowing myself a 5 lb range. Lately I've been taking the weekends off from logging, kind of practicing the not logging thing and giving myself a break from having to "count calories". Well I've gained 2 lbs now over the past month. It just crept up on me. I guess I was being too "bad" on the weekends. I'm still in my 5 lb range but at very top of it now. This has me thinking that I will need to log my food forever in order not to gain. It is sooooooooo easy having MFP and having the app on my phone and really is not hard AT ALL but just the thought of having to count calories forever seems annoying. =(

it_be_asin

I am still logging - I'll stop one day, maybe.... I am looser with my calorie goals than before.

kerrbear79

Yeah same here. I don't obsess as much over it now and also don't measure portions as much now. I've gotten really good at eyeballing portion sizes. So even if we do log our food forever at least we don't have to be so strict about everything with it. That's looking at the bright side I suppose lol.

garlic7girl

Honestly, I have been in maintainence for few years now. I have gone thru what you are, "I gotta do this forever??" For me the answer is 'yes'....I have done reading on the topic too..the National Weight Loss Registry keeps track of folk who lost wt and kept off I believe a mandatory 3-5 years. The keep research and evaluating how they keep it off and guess what? Logging is one way they maintain the wt loss...My eating personality...I need to have structure.

fh1951

thanks for the research source g-girl! more than once before i've lost weight and then gained it all back. logging gives me an essential feedback mechanism to stay focused - i'm a bit obsessive about it actually. i've worked too hard to get to where i am now to blow it again. so for me as well, it's what g-girl said, "gotta have structure"...

Leanz

thanks for the research source g-girl! more than once before i've lost weight and then gained it all back. logging gives me an essential feedback mechanism to stay focused - i'm a bit obsessive about it actually. i've worked too hard to get to where i am now to blow it again. so for me as well, it's what g-girl said, "gotta have structure"...

^^^^ I agree! And I keep an eye on portion sizes by weighing regularly. I have only been at maintence for a couple of weeks ----this time :bigsmile:

PS Lovely dog fh!

jamja

I've stopped tracking but, while at work, I am fairly routine so it's pretty easy. And I am very aware of my intake other days. My measuring stick is the scale. I weigh everyday and adjust accordingly.