Does tracking calories etc ever end?

gorewhore13

I was just thinking once I hit my goal weight do I still need to track my food and excerice? Or am I learning how to eat proper and excercise regularly on this journey? I mean what kind of life will I have if I constantly have to track everything? These are rehtorical questions I guess. Has anyone lost a ton of weight only to fall back on bad habits? What are your tips?

Emili03

I was just thinking once I hit my goal weight do I still need to track my food and excerice? Or am I learning how to eat proper and excercise regularly on this journey? I mean what kind of life will I have if I constantly have to track everything? These are rehtorical questions I guess. Has anyone lost a ton of weight only to fall back on bad habits? What are your tips?

I plan on tracking my calories for a loong time just because I want to make sure that I'm making a lifestyle change and I don't revert back to my old eating habits. I've done the yoyo too many times and although I am sure you are learning healthy quantities of food and making better choices, it is sooo easy to go overboard with just a little of this and that. Totally a decision you gotta make for yourself. Tracking cals doesn't make me miserable though and maintenance cals will be much higher than the deficit you are currently eating at so you can still enjoy some of your fave foods just maybe not all on the same day. (And to answer the last question, I have lost 40+ lbs in the past and gained it all back unfortunately.)

amoffatt

I think it may be different for certain people. Some may need to always (or will make them feel better) tracking everything they eat and their exercise. Others could have changed their life style to the point that when all the weight is gone, tracking is not needed, they have an idea, but it will be here if needed. I personally dont want to be "tied down" to counting calories for the rest of my life, so that is why I am changing my lifestyle and I have been able to do pretty good at guessing my calories. I went off track for about a week or so, no weight loss (:grumble: ) but no weight gain either (:bigsmile: ).

A a yo yo dieter, this was awesome for me because if I was on a "diet" I would have gained something the week I slacked. Do what works for you I say.

rose313

I'll track for the rest of my life, I have to track maintenance calories. Maybe I won't track as religiously as I do now, but I need to have control over it because I'll be scared of gaining my weight back.

kgprice11

Nope....unless you want it to and just stop haha

kristen6022

I have been on 'maintenance" after losing 41 pounds since early May. I've downslided and I'm now 7 pounds under goal, but I still track my calories. It's something I've actually gotten pretty addicted to, but July 1st I'm going to take a month off and see if I can maintain on my own. If on August 1st, I'm up more than 5 pounds from my weight July first, I'll go back to tracking for a long time to come.

DPernet

Once I've achieved my intended goals, I plan to swap MFP to maintenance and track that for a while. Once I'm happy that it's working, I plan to stop using MFP for a while and just weigh and measure every other month or so. Any problems and I'm going straight back to tracking everything again :ohwell:

ohjinbushi

I don't think it does ever end simply from the quote, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." As much as a pain as it can be, you see how it has been instrumental in your continued success. I think your hand has to consantly be on the tiller in order to maintain your goal.

Congratulations on your success and progress!

Darwin1960

I think the only way to know the answer to that is to, after hitting your goal, *experiment very cautiously*. I lost 80 pounds over a period of a year at a good clip of 2 pounds per week. As I neared a goal (Ok, one of my series of goals) I began to "ease off". I experimented with not tracking my calories thinking I had learned enough to get away with that.

However, I found it WAY too easy to cheat myself when not tracking calories. Bit by bit, I would increase the quantity and richness of food I was eating. The one thing I insisted on all along, and that I believe I will be doing for the rest of my life is to weigh my self *every morning* (not recommended for most people). This daily weighing gave me very quick feedback as to how I was doing (though there can be big natural variations you have to get used to). I set a 10 pound range that I would allow my weight to fluxuate within. If it hit the top of that 10 pounds, I would force myself to be more disciplined at eating less, and see the weight go down through that range, though in a more psychologically painful way than when I was tracking the calories.

Now, after a couple months of not tracking calories, I've decided I need to go back to it. Otherwise I drift to the upper limit of that range and yet always feel "cheated" that I'm not able to eat more.

The year of steady loss proved how important tracking calories is for me. It seems to be essential that I see where I am during the course of the day and feel the difficulty of what I am doing has a short term purpose (not overeating today!). I am guessing I may need to track calories on a daily basis for the rest of my life. Not a great prospect, but certainly better than slowly putting the weight back on. At least using a tool like MFP on a cell phone makes it easier than it's ever been.

WhiskeyCity

IMO, after a while, once you've reached your goal, you go from "tracking" calories to just eating normally. The hope is that by that time, what once was a restrictive diet has now become "normal". You are maintainnig your wieght, doing your workouts, having setbacks and getting back on the horse as needed.

I lost over 50lbs back in '08 and totally fell off the wagon. Let's face it, I JUMPED off the wagon and started running the other way. I was doing stupid stuff like eating WAY too much (no one needs to eat a whole Papa Johns Large pizza. NOBODY!), drinking way too much, eating late at night and the only time I would even consider running is if someone was chasing me. I totally reverted back to the lifestyle that got me in that position in the first place.

This is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

Hope this helps, good luck,

WC

LadyIntrepid

What I do is track my calories/exercise until I reach my goal weight then cut myself a break. If/when the scale creeps up by 2-3 pounds, I start tracking again until I'm back at goal. It's nice to have the break and also see how if what I'm doing on my own (without tracking) is working or not.)

raeraeti

I don't plan on tracking once I loose the weight. I have a decent idea about calories now.
I plan to weight myself regularly, and if I notice a few pounds gain (say, 3-4) then I will start tracking until I loose those 3 lbs!

Crochetluvr

Has anyone lost a ton of weight only to fall back on bad habits? What are your tips?

Raising hand!

I have NO plans to stop recording my caloric/carb/exercise once I get to goal. Its a major part of what is keeping me on track. Not to mention the support from the terrific friends I have made here in such a short time.

psuLemon

I stopped tracking for 3 months and just concentrated on fitness and how I perform during my workouts. If I was able to increase weight and maintain my rep count, then i knew i was eating enough. And on top of that, I lost 5 lbs in 10 weeks.

myfitnessnmhoy

Here's my plan:

1. I have about 12 pounds to go until I hit my goal. I intend to overshoot my goal by a few pounds. During that time, I'm tracking beforehand some times and tracking less closely and after-the-fact others so I can slowly gain confidence in my ability to "guess" at decent calorie levels.

2. Once I reach goal, I will switch to maintenance and track fairly closely for a week or two and make sure my weight is fairly steady-state.

3. After that, I will start tracking after-the-fact and intermittently on random days just to make sure I'm in the ballpark.

4. Once I'm pretty confident with that, I'm going to use the lessons I've learned about food, and put a mark on my scale 5 pounds over my goal that says "GO TO MFP". If I hit that mark for more than a couple of days, I'm going to come back and start tracking again, because I've obviously messed something up.

beachlover317

You absolutely can not quit MFP. You must stick around to continue to let people know that reaching your goal weight CAN BE DONE! You will be a success story. We all need that. I search for that (with pictures) every day. :flowerforyou:

nikkishai

I think of tracking my calories like tracking my money. I keep a register to monitor money in and money out, and I do the same for my food and exercise calories.

TadaGanIarracht

Remember the whole "this isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle change"... so yes, this is lifelong.

Esther50

I will be tracking forever. Mainly because I am not letting all my hard work go to waste by putting it back on. Tracking to me is a small price to pay in my mind.
:flowerforyou:

KarensCanDoIt

I'm just a bit past my halfway point, but I'm thinking once I reach maintenance I'll have to continue to track. I've been a chronic yo-yo dieter my entire life. I'm hoping this time will be different, but that's only if I keep track of what I'm doing.

caraiselite

i fell back on bad habits.
i would say to keep tracking.

Schwaineser

it's so hard! I hit 40 lbs lost, and sort of congratulated myself and stopped tracking as strictly as I was - even though I still had 20 lbs to go!! Now, a month later I'm up 10 lbs...give me an inch and I will take a mile!! working to get myself back on a strict regimen.

rhazelwood

I will always track my calories during the work week and let it go on the weekends.

gorewhore13

This is all so helpful. I was just wondering this because I love to enjoy beer about once a month and this weekend I drank Friday and Saturday night. I did my usual workouts and ate healthy but was 3lbs heavier. I don't want to never be able to indulge without feeling guilty. I certainly do not ever want to get as big as I was either.

BrianSharpe

Sadly, it's a lifelong process unless you want to end up back where you started. Once you hit your goal weight you still need to be aware of what your consuming and expending and make a habit of weighing yourself regularly, it's easy to slip back into old habits. The good news is once you reach your objectives it's easier to maintain than to lose.

pbl1966

I have been maintaining for about 2 months and plan to contiune to track for a while. I love the way that I look and feel now and never want to go back to where I was.

kiminikimkim

2 years ago, I used to track my calories (w/o MFP) and it was tedious! Once I reached my goal, I slowly gained it all back and then some!

I started tracking again Jan 2012 and with MFP I find it so much easier with the apps. I don't find that it is a life sentence. I find it similar to tracking my finances, I like to know where my money is being spent and where it is growing.

The rewards of tracking is I may never gain weight again! Once I'll be in maintenance mode, I will be allowed more food to eat anyway.

ninerbuff

I've ALWAYS tracked calories. That's why my weight doesn't fluctuate very much. Like anything other bodily issue, if you ignore, it can get worse. Ignoring one's intake is how many people got overweight in the first place.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

justinamay0535

I guess it all depends on how disciplined you are. I dont trust myself enough to stop tracking once I do lose the weight so for me I believe it will be a lifelong thing for me. I feel more stable when I use MFP though it helps keep me honest and on track.

kiebrown

About 5 years ago, I lost about 20 pounds. Being in high school, that was a lot of weight. When I went to college, I gained a lot of it back. The summer going in to my senior year, I lost that, plus some. I was able to maintain it for 4 months (I am trying to lose more, now). As long as you excercise regularly and don't eat too crazy!

kadins_momma07

I was just thinking once I hit my goal weight do I still need to track my food and excerice? Or am I learning how to eat proper and excercise regularly on this journey? I mean what kind of life will I have if I constantly have to track everything? These are rehtorical questions I guess. Has anyone lost a ton of weight only to fall back on bad habits? What are your tips?

I wonder the same thing sometimes. I don't necessarilly want to have to count calories the rest of my life...hopefully being on this weight loss journey will teach us to be more responsible and automatically make the right choices and it will all fall into place without having to count everything.