has anyone stopped logging calories and just eats healthily?

Articeluvsmemphis

I lost my first bit of weight without calorie counting at all just being sensible. and when counting becomes tedious I'll take one-three week hiatuses and sporadically fill out my diary when I feel the need to. but yes, you can stop if you think you can stay on track.

Rilke

I've tried a few times now to stop, but I always end up putting a few pounds back on. I have grown to really dislike logging -- it constricts my eating, makes me think about food all day, reduces enjoyment to numbers, etc.

Eating when I'm hungry, eating slowly and mindfully, eating what I'm hungry for, stopping when I'm full: that's my ultimate goal. It's called intuitive eating.

TavistockToad

i have stopped for christmas, but will be starting again next week! its easier to not eat healthy when i know i am not bothering to be accountable by logging.

pupcamper

I'm not there yet but I think when I reach my goal I will probably stop logging Monday thru Friday and just log at the weekends or on days where I know I am going to consume alot of calories just so I don't get too much of a surprise when I step on the scales! Hopefully it will help to remind me what is worth the extra calories and what is not! :drinker:

elfranzen

I still Log my food. (10 months and counting) Some days I might not log but I know what I had because I have had those same meals so many times before. If it is something new then I definitely log it because one day I ordered boneless wings from Pizza hut by mistake instead of the baked wings and I wasn't going to log it because I knew what 2 wings at Pizza hut were but I am glad I did because I now know NEVER TO ORDER THEM AGAIN. Boneless wings are crazy high in calories. But I think once you can mentally track on your own and keep your weight on track then you don't have to anymore or as often.

page68

Still logging ... since May of 2010... afraid if I stop, I'll gain. I.MUST.KEEP.LOGGING.

kaetra

My doctor told me to stop logging and just do the same thing I'm doing without recording every bite. But I've tried that before and gained weight.

I don't think I'll EVER be able to stop logging. Even (and perhaps especially) when I get to maintenance. It seems to be the key for me. Knowing the data and being able to plan. There's things I need to track other than calories too - sodium, potassium, cholesterol, protien, calcium etc. to make sure I'm getting enough or not too much. I also like the flexibility logging gives me to squeeze in treats!

With my phone, laptop and now the Ipad logging is not tedious for me at all and only takes a couple minutes. I've got My Food, My Meals, and My Recipies all set up already too. It's easy now. I actually enjoy it so I'll keep doing it as long as it stays that way.

Amy_B

Honestly, the first 100 pounds I lost, I wasn't counting calories. I think I am going to make sure I do to get the last bit off though.

katkins3

My daughter weighs herself in the morning and if she has hit the top of her desired weight range she logs until she is back in the middle or low end.
Days that she weighs in and is in her range, she doesn't bother logging her food. This has worked well for her and I will try it when I reach my weight goal.

cthoma70

Nope, if it goes in my mouth, its goes in my log. It isnt like a job for me but a way of life now. If I eat an M&M I log at M&M, just look at my log and your see one someday I'm sure of it. I small piece of pizza, the little squares, I add it.
:smokin:

fionarama

I find the minute you tell yourself to do this you will gain weight. The calories just slip in. I'll never stop. I might take a break if I am fed up but its working so well I really wouldn't want to. Like anything in your life your weight needs to be managed and this is the ideal way of doing it. I will never stop working out and I I don't want to work out but not improve from working out, so I'm going to keep doing it.
there are loads of people who stop. You know about them because they end up having to come back again!

goldfinger88

Wondering if anyone has stopped logging their calories?
It is starting to seem a bit tedious, like a job, getting burnt out from it...
And I know how many cals are in pre much everything I eat anyway..

After logging for about four weeks, I quit and I'm glad I did. Here's the thing. No one is going to log calories all their life. Yes, you'll lose if you limit your calories and log them. But when you stop logging, you can start gaining it all back. We have to learn to simply eat good foods in moderation.

Temporary logging is fine. It gives us the chance to see where we may be getting unnecessary extra calories, extra salt, etc. After that, we pretty much know how to eat and what to eat and how to control our weight.

I find logging nerve racking and not fun. I want to live my life - not log it. You can't really enjoy food if you have to eat it and then log it. We need a way to handle our eating that is a way of life we can live with our entire lives. Too many people lose all the weight and then gain it all back plus more. That's because they didn't develop a life plan for themselves. Moderation is, I think, the key.

Like you, I pretty much know how many calories I'm eating. I know how much fat and sodium and sugar I'm getting. I buy mostly organic natural foods - very little processed foods. My portions are small but filling. So, at least in my opinion, logging is self-defeating after a few weeks.

The only time I log now is if I see myself gaining weight - if my clothes are too tight, etc. Then I'll log for a few weeks and see what I may be doing wrong. Usually, in my case, it's the medication I take so there's really nothing I can do about it but just stay fit as possible.

But you have to do what feels right to you. If you decide to quit logging, I'm sure you'll do fine.

goldfinger88

I find the minute you tell yourself to do this you will gain weight. The calories just slip in. I'll never stop. I might take a break if I am fed up but its working so well I really wouldn't want to. Like anything in your life your weight needs to be managed and this is the ideal way of doing it. I will never stop working out and I I don't want to work out but not improve from working out, so I'm going to keep doing it.
there are loads of people who stop. You know about them because they end up having to come back again!

So you think when you're in your sixties, seventies, eighties you'll still be logging?

vjrose

I don't see myself stopping until I get to my goal, which is lilely a year away but I do use the tools a lot, save common meals, save common foods, copy from other days and edit, all time saving measures, you can get your logging down to less than 5 minutes. I use the mobile app if I eat away from home but it takes a bit longer than the desktop. I spend more time reading the forums than logging, lol. Putting in recipes when I have time really helped, especially yesterday, I used downtime to get recipes into my personal database and it was sure easier to decide what and how much I could eat.

fionarama

Probably! I've been working out for 25 years (I'm 43 ) so I be I'll be working out for another 25 years. And yes I'll probably still log at least some of the time. Why not? doesn't it matter when you're "old" or something?

dsjohndrow

No. If it is the same, just copy the day before. If it is similar every few days, just copy to Date. Be sure to add you recipes for complex meals. Sure we all get in a rut, but it is good practice for when we eat out, are at some one else' home, traveling, etc. With the rate of people gaining back their hard lost weight, I don't want to take any chances.

MichelleWagner50

I"ve been on here almost 3 years (I think~it might be more). I have taken breaks in the past, but now I log every day. Even though I've been on maintanence over 1 1/2 yrs., I find I tend to eat more crap when I don't log. I also use the mobile app more, especially during the summer. We camp alot and I eat more junk then...but if I am logging, I eat a little more healthy. :-) I definitely know what I should or shouldn't be eating, but sometimes I need to give in to the cravings. I also don't log every bite some days. It just makes me crazy to try to figure out how much of that did I eat.
You will figure out what is best for you. Try taking a break. You might be fine, or you might miss it. You will know. Good luck!!

Kelly_Wilson1990

I log and measure everything I eat. I have for about a year. I will am going to continue because it keep me on track.

krazyforyou

For me logging in ALL my food has been an eye opening experiance. Now I logged in yesterday and was over >800 calories. Yes it was Christmas and yes I ate food I otherwise would not eat. But OMG booze adds up quickly. So for me at this point logging in is very important to keep me on track.

Elle_Jamaicangirl81

it's become routine for me now.. so i'm used to doing it