After a year on MFP: What I've discovered.

Clarity22

OK, so it has been nearly a year since I discovered and started using MFP. I absolutely love this tool and believe it has contributed immensely to my lifestyle change and 61 pound weight loss. A few months back I stopped using the site. I continued my new lifestyle but I wanted to ween my self off of 'logging' everyday. At some point it became tiring and I just felt like I was tethered to this process of logging stuff in. It wasn't fun anymore. I'll admit - while I maintained 90% of my new lifestyle I started to cheat a lot. I wasn't exercising as often and I began eating more processed stuff - not too much but just more. This is where I started missing MFP. I discovered that when I would 'slip' or just not have an optimal day I could look back at my food diary and almost always feel better about my decisions - not guilty.

Lately I have really pulled the reigns back and have developed very stringent eating habits. I've made some personal choices to move away from animal and dairy products and explore more of a plant based diet. I've added raw supplements and whole foods to my diet. I've been trying to forms of exercise. I've been changing it up a lot.

And here is when I really missed MFP. I have nothing to look back at. Nothing to put my new choices into perspective. Nothing to make me feel less guilty about stopping at Taco Bell at 3:00am. How much bad **** was in those two crunch wraps? Maybe not as much as I actually thought. Maybe combined with my impeccable diet over the last few days those crunch wraps balanced out well. Maybe I shouldn't beat myself up.

So, the point of this (and I love you guys but please I'm not looking for your opinion on my new choices and how people 'need meat and dairy' - that wasn't the point of this. I'm happy with my choices and they're results so far) is to say thank you MFP for being not just another tool - but I major implement in my quest for a healthy lifestyle, optimal physical, spiritual, and emotional health and helping to allow me to put all of my choices into perspective. 'Clarity22 has logged in for 1 day in a row' I'm back. : )

Does anybody else ever feel this way about the site? Do you take breaks and come back? Do you maintain a healthy lifestyle when you take a break?

dls06

I may stop for a day or two, but I will never stop logging. I have been maintaining for over a year and don't trust myself to keep it up on my own. I don't ever want to go back. :drinker:

jenniferg83

Yes i took a break and came back. I noticed i wouldn't be as excited. i love the support i get from everyone on here. everyone is awesome

tananichelle

Welcome back! So glad to hear from you!

bcattoes

I've been here just over a year too. I have stopped logging most weekend days because I tend to eat away from home on the weekends and have no real idea of exactly what I'm eating. Even at a restaurant that has online nutritional info, it's unlikely that what you get is that close since those meals are prepared especially for gathering nutritional info and likely only passingly resembles what I ate.

But even though I lost most of weight before finding this site, I like logging my exercise and food and I think it helps keep me on track. My problem with weight has always stemmed from slacking off on regular exercise. I am good with the food most of the time, but it's hard to fit exercise into a busy life and I think logging it here and seeing that without it my calories would always be over really has helped me stick with it.

And I just love these forums. I think they help my marriage. I love to talk about nutrition and exercise and can get a little obsessive about it at times. My husband gets a little tired of hearing it so this gives me a place to do that without annoying him.

Microfiber_wechange

Oh crickey!! So I have to do this forever? :laugh: :laugh: