Does tracking calories etc ever end?

Options
2»

Replies

  • Schwaineser
    Schwaineser Posts: 9
    Options
    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
    rhazelwood Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    I will always track my calories during the work week and let it go on the weekends.
  • gorewhore13
    gorewhore13 Posts: 49 Member
    Options
    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
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Options
    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
    pbl1966 Posts: 207 Member
    Options
    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
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
    Options
    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
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
    Options
    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
    justinamay0535 Posts: 132 Member
    Options
    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
    kiebrown Posts: 2
    Options
    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
    kadins_momma07 Posts: 328 Member
    Options
    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.
  • DG_Allen
    DG_Allen Posts: 219 Member
    Options
    I've basically been on a diet for the past 20 years. By that I mean I'm always learning more and honing how I eat and exercise. LIke someone already said, it's a lifelong process. I go up and down a little and at this point I'm basically in the best shape of my life.
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
    Options
    I would think you would get a great idea of how many calories you are eating on MFP so when you no longer use it you shouldn't have any problems
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Options
    I reached my initial goal a year ago, lost a little more, and have been maintaining since October, with some weight fluctuation. (I'm about 10 pounds heavier than I was in Oct., but I'm wearing jeans today I bought then, and I'm constantly tugging these suckers up!)

    A year ago, I stopped logging on weekends and holidays, and now I only log sporadically.... maybe a few days a week. When it's too much of a hassle - when I'm eating foods other people prepared - I don't bother. If I start to blow up like a Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade float... I'll be more strict about logging again.
  • nikkishai
    nikkishai Posts: 407 Member
    Options
    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.

    Ohhh! I see what you mean! I still endulge every now and again (enjoyed a Sonic burger with a mini M&M blast Sunday afternoon)... I didn't log it, but I made sure to work out hard the next day. Sometimes, I'll just toss in an extra 200-400 calories in my food tracker to cover the handful of chocolate I ate at the nail shop (yesterday).
  • PosyPods
    PosyPods Posts: 25
    Options
    I don't intend to stop tracking. Maybe experimenting for a week, just to see, but otherwise, no. I lost 80lbs in the past by tracking what I ate, and only maintained it for a couple of months without tracking before I started gaining again. In my case, once I started eating a little bit of that bad food without consequence I basically reignited a food addiction. Also, when you hit your goal weight, it's easy to feel like it's not a big deal if you gain a couple of pounds. For instance, I thought if I stayed within a 5lb+/- range of my goal weight I would be fine. Instead, by the time I gained five pounds, I had already lost control, and five pounds quickly became 60lbs.

    Anyway, at the very least, I've learned that I have to measure what I eat. It doesn't matter if I eat the same thing every single day for ten years - I'm (like most people) awful at guessing portion sizes. Putting it all online just adds a sense of accountability for me, really.

    Although, I will say that this time around I am trying to be more lax in general. The first time I tracked my calories, I was downright obsessive about it. So there was really no wiggle room and I didn't know how to eat without using a calorie tracker. This time I am paying more attention to what it's like preparing my food in the kitchen, eating it, how much fills me up, etc. as opposed to just looking at the numbers on here. That way, I actually know what I'm doing and am less tempted to give in and just go crazy if I don't have the internet to search for and record everything.
  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
    Options
    this is prrrrrrrrobably going to be a lifelong process for me. a couple weeks back i decided to take a break and it ended up being a week long FULL ON binge streak. tracking my food is comforting. i LIKE seeing the carbs/protein levels i eat. kind of over the OBSESSING part now it feels like, natural. this is what i do.

Categories