Life WITHOUT MyFitnessPal ... Can we do it?

13

Replies

  • Erindipitous
    Erindipitous Posts: 1,234 Member
    I will probably be on here for life.

    I like knowing what goes into my body at all times and keeping track in a diary.

    I have also met some of the most amazing friends ever on here.. Never leaving them. xoxo
  • paulsmisses
    paulsmisses Posts: 178
    i am an addict for life! love this site, love logging, love the forums, love it!
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    I haven't logged in about 3 weeks now. Doing good. yes, my ultimate goal is to quit all the non-sense of logging food. But, I've been at it for years now, so I would suggest that people keep at it until you know stuff by heart. Like I can grab a handful of raw almonds, throw them on the scale, and they will be very very close to one serving, I know this because I do it randomly sometimes with my food, even though I'm not logging. I'll throw on some rice, or whatever and just see if I'm in the ballpark, and I usually am. So, if I can at least maintain, I wont worry about it.
  • tocara
    tocara Posts: 81 Member
    The future is just to long to plan for.

    I will use it for as long as i feel the need to.

    i have never been much of a journal-er... but apparently research shows that you can have better results when you do journal...

    so journal journal journal.

    It may take some additional time.. but it is all about priorities
  • gc_tweety
    gc_tweety Posts: 205 Member
    MFP por vida!!!!! I can't see why I would stop. Everything should be done in moderation though, so if its too cumbersome for you maybe there needs to be a modification. Good luck!
  • PatasDeGallina
    PatasDeGallina Posts: 155 Member
    Yes. I came here to get that weight off and I nearly have. Now my goals are changing. I don't want to lose any more fat without gaining muscle. I'm ready to just eat what I feel like and work out and that be good enough. I'm about there.

    I'm at a point where I naturally eat my maintenance calories if I'm mindful and don't eat out of pain, stress, boredom, or emotion.

    I don't need the website anymore to tell me what I'm doing wrong or doing right. I can take it from here. I'll probably leave when I've been here a year.

    After that school will start and I'll be busy enough with the fall semester. I'm going to start working out in the gym here at school that I'll have access to again. I know what I should eat and how much. I want to see if I can do it on my own. I need to know.

    I might check back with my friends once in a while to see how they're doing. But to be honest, I'll likely be on hiatus from all online activity. That's just how it is when I'm doing what I need to be doing with school.

    I guess I hadn't really thought about it before you asked, but this is probably what will happen.

    It's been an amazing year and I'm thankful for everyone I've met here. I won't delete my account by any means. I hope no one deletes me.

    :happy:
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I used to doubt it... Went through about 5 months where I didn't track anything before I joined MFP and I gained 10 pounds. That was over the holidays and I wasn't exercising as much as usual due to bad winter weather and I let some bad habits creep back in.

    But then I tested it again recently over vacation. Went 5 days without tracking and I only gained a pound! That was with no real dedicated exercise (did some walking around and lazy swimming) and making good food choices. So I think I could do it but as others have said, it's a great tool, why not stick with it as long as I feel I need to?

    I'm pretty sure I'll be an active member for at least the next couple years. It'll probably take me another year to get to goal and then I want to maintain for a while to make sure I can do it. After that, I might lay off logging for a while just to see how I do but stay active in the social parts of the site to support my friends and help out the newbies.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I lost 30 pounds with MFP logging everything, save for a 10 day vacation out of the country with no internet access. I then maintained for 2 months and decided to try not logging weekends. I maintained my weight steadily. Fast forward to almost 6 months maintenance and lately I haven't been logging when I go away for a weekend, whether it is 2 or 4 days. Still maintaining and holding steady. I do not want to be attached to this app for the rest of my life but am afraid to entirely stop logging for fear of gaining it back. So for now, I mostly log only on weekdays so long as I am not traveling.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    I dont need the app anymore, i use my brain instead. But i come here to talk shop with the peeps.
  • missypoo1974
    missypoo1974 Posts: 43
    I probably will end up using it for quite a while after I reach my goal. I find security in logging my food intake. I have also realized that I eat much less when I have to record it....I don't let myself eat without thinking. But who knows, maybe by the time I get to where I want to be (probably a year or so from now) I might have developed such good habits that I don't need to record everything. I guess we will see. But for now, I am learning to enjoy the journey and seeing my successes.
  • Fani2003
    Fani2003 Posts: 195 Member
    MFP for life!!

    ^^^This!!!

    I worry about what happens when MFP goes under (because, if I get healthy I plan to live to 100 and I am not sure if MFP will be here in 2076).

    My doctor told me that "I won't always do this, I will just know how to do things/eat the right way". Really? I spent 35 years getting fat. It happens easily when you don't track. No matter how much money you have in your bank account, you still balance your checkbook?

    MFP for life!
  • Fani2003
    Fani2003 Posts: 195 Member

    But then I tested it again recently over vacation. Went 5 days without tracking and I only gained a pound! That was with no real dedicated exercise (did some walking around and lazy swimming) and making good food choices. So I think I could do it but as others have said, it's a great tool, why not stick with it as long as I feel I need to?

    So you gained a pound in 5 days of vacation while making good food choices? That is why for me I want to keep using this, regardless.
  • peachyxoxoxo
    peachyxoxoxo Posts: 1,178 Member
    I don't count calories, I just like posting on the forums. And I'm still losing weight.
  • pink2lady
    pink2lady Posts: 111 Member
    Yes, I could do it but , " No" I choose not to give it up today or in the near future. This is an awesome tool and support system, keeps me in check on the daily.
  • lynda155
    lynda155 Posts: 112 Member
    KEWWu.gif

    I have come to really appreciate MFP and the friends I have made... I am still a newbie, only 20 days in, but it has truly revolutionized my life. I am eating the foods I love and discovering new foods to love. I am also learning I can do it.
    So I have to say nope, no way, not going to give up MFP. :noway: :noway:
  • layapooh15
    layapooh15 Posts: 64 Member
    heck no i love mfp!
  • terri0527
    terri0527 Posts: 678 Member
    I will use it as long as I have it. Plus I have made some AWESOME friends up here. It's not JUST about logging logging logging. :happy:
  • eaglemama70
    eaglemama70 Posts: 23
    :bigsmile: yep I will be using it for a long time. I may forget every now and then but I love using it when i am eating out to give me guidance on what to eat!
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
    I have been on this journey for 6 years and have tracked all of that time in one program or another....its pretty much like brushing my teeth now and with the aid of phone apps is a breeze to do...Im quite positive ill be using it till the day I die lol I got up too 380 pounds at one time and clearly have a food addiction...i would say at the very most i might cut back on the number of days i track...but still at this point with only 20 pounds left to lose that seems like a long way from here.
  • Perfectdiamonds1
    Perfectdiamonds1 Posts: 347 Member
    dont want to even think about it. Thats a scary thought:bigsmile:
  • Tat2dDom624
    Tat2dDom624 Posts: 1,226 Member
    I'm too far into losing my desired weight to want to go to another weight-loss website. Plus, Facebook is really starting to get "stale", and this place is my new "go-to" site. I have a goal in mind, and this site/ app, has really gotten me the focus and determination i have been looking for.
  • mswn02
    mswn02 Posts: 38
    I have read EVERY response to my original post ... and while I don't understand some of the analogies (e.g., a speedometer in a car?), rationales, or why some folks got straight indignant by the mere question ... I appreciate your commentary! Definitely a timely topic! It is highly unlikely that I'll stop using MFP anytime soon, but it is equally unlikely I'll use it "forever". Still, it is helpful and practical. I LOVE MFP and I am grateful for the support!
  • kaseysospacey
    kaseysospacey Posts: 499 Member
    MFP is teaching me to pay attention to portions and such. I've already noticed a personal improvement, and since it will be at least a year till I'm at goal weight I will have plenty more time to get used to eating better. If I feel like I'm losing sight of portion control or regaining at all, I would start back up. But I don't plan on logging every bite for the rest of my life.
  • Theforce31
    Theforce31 Posts: 14 Member
    MFP...MFP...MFP...MFP.
    I agree! Our caloric needs differ from day to day. For so long, my body would go into starvation mode because I workout a great deal; however, I never ate those calories back because I didn't know how much I really needed. I'd lose a bunch of weight and literally gain 10lbs in 2 weeks. I can't believe how much I eat while losing weight. :0)
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
    all day long? takes me maybe 5-10 minutes. I'm definitely staying with this site until I get to my goal weight. I've lost 8 lbs in 20 days of being with the site. That's HUGE especially since I have a retarded thyroid.
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    I will keep using it to make sure I sustain. Logging really only takes a few minutes a day with the app, and too many studies show people relapsing - I will do what it takes to stay healthy once I I get there.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    MFP for life!!
    Me too... Unfortunately discipline is one of my weak points and believe me, willpower itself doesn't work in the long run. Our bodies are just too smart for that. We just fail to realize it.
  • benita30
    benita30 Posts: 20
    I think while I'm trying to lose weight, Ill still use MFP to log my food, just to make sure that I'm staying within my limits. Its very easy for me to get off track without realising it.

    When I'm maintaining my weight, my life will be less about calorie counting, and I won't need to do it as much I guess.
  • willowdancer
    willowdancer Posts: 95
    I am only successful when I keep track of what I am eating and how much I am exercising. Coming back and logging every day keeps me focused on my wants and needs; logging a meal has almost become a ritual of awareness that I am making a decision to build a better life and sculpt a healthier me.

    I started out logging my food when I was in middle school, over one Christmas break, with the help of my dad who bought me a book with nutritional information for food. He also got me my first Denise Austin Pilates VHS and a set of 5 lb dumbbells. I did awesome for two weeks and he was so proud of me; looking back now I know that he did not want to see me be like him; in his late 40's, bound to a wheel chair and a dialysis bag, dying of kidney and liver failure because of diabetes. I didn't keep a food log all through high school and even though I thought I was fat and ate a terrible diet, I was very active with fencing and marching band. It was after high school that I started to suffer my weight. MFP is helping me change that. It is so much more convenient to log with the MFP app on my phone when I am not at home than it is to carry around a journal with a reference book and a calculator, or to try to remember what/when I ate when I get home.
  • Irish_eyes75
    Irish_eyes75 Posts: 475
    I've been thinking a lot about this topic. While it is true that myfitnesspal has aided in my successful weight loss of 50 pounds since September 2011, I don't believe long term use of this app is realistic. If I truly want to learn these healthy behaviors and habits on my own, should I expect to always have myfitnesspal around to help me? Eventually, I want to just *know* how to eat, exercise, and live healthy ... and I can honestly say that I'm getting there! I'm NOT on a diet ... I've changed my habits and beliefs about food. By now, it should be a habit, right? And if I were really being honest, I'm bored as heck with logging. Logging, logging, logging is all I do all day long. :laugh:

    Are you planning to use myfitnesspal long term? Do you have plans to eventually wean yourself off? Do you have faith/confidence in yourself to live a healthy life without it?

    I am going to use this website (or perhaps something similar) for life. I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember, so no, I don't trust myself. I know how many calories I eat before I log them, I know what to eat, I make good choices, my habits are pretty much broken, but I just need this accountability to stay in control. Also, I'm an accountant so I will never get bored with logging and crunching the numbers LOL

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