Do you plan to track for the rest of your life?

a778c466

I will definitely have too. I have been learning what foods are calorie dense and what foods are not, but in order for me to be able to maintain I will likely have to for a few years at least.

nineteenstars

Probably not to the extent that I do now. Yes, if I'm working at specific fitness goals. No, if I'm just going about day-to-day living, but still keeping my overall eating and fitness/weight range in check. It would be more likely that I'd monitor for a week, once a month, to make sure I'm still within an acceptable range.

susiemeri

I know I'll have to. In the past whenever I've stopped the weight has just crept back up. I want this to be my new way of living.

dmpizza

I already have a good sense of whether or not I will go over.
I just come here for the company.

dubird

Once I hit my target, I'll probally not keep track as carefully, but I will need to do a mental tally to maintain my weight. And I will keep weighing myself once a week, so if my weight starts going back up, I can correct BEFORE it becomes a problem!

kelsully

I am still quite a way from my goal, but already thinking ahead to when I hit it. I wonder, will I always need to track to hold myself accountable? Or will I learn the right way to eat and do so instinctively?

Do you plan to continue tracking when you've hit your goal?

If you have reached your goal, do you continue to track?

while I wish it didn't seem so necessary I will either log the rest of my life or i will likely gain weight, get slower or go off the deep end of over restricting to overcompensate for not logging

Kbriner0223

Yes! I plan to track for the rest of my life due to the fact that i can very easily faulter and i know my breaking points and once i hit them it is so hard to get back on track! I know that as long as i stay on track i can control what happens to my body(once i get better at tracking of course ) I think it is a life long learning lesson and that i deserve to give my body what it needs and to feel good about myself for the rest of my life. Not to feel good just when i get to my goal weight and then cave and gain it all back just to have to start all over again. This is kind of a ramble sorry lol! But everyone has a different way of doing things, once you learn what works best for you everything else with fall into place and you will know what needs to be done

rockingranny45

I don't track regularly now. For me it has helped to be conscious of what i eat. My daughter told me its not a diet its a life style change. That was wonderful insight. I have bought into that hook line and sinker. So i now eat healthy and my fitness has helped me to know what a correct portion is. I live in Texas and portions are crazy here.

Kathy_Noring

Yep.

This.

Once you hit goal weight, you don't automatically go back to eating more and magically not gaining it back.

?? Is this response to my question?

turnerkmj

Maybe not for the rest of my life...at least until my brain is in sync with my portions. Over time, tracking helps you develop a sense of portion size so when you stop tracking you have a sense of your calorie intake. If you see the weight slipping back on, then start tracking again. Its really one of the best ways you can see you intake/outtake with an analytically. But not just on calories consumption, your overall nutrition.

One of the things I like about tracking is the analysis. If I stop losing or start gaining, then I review some of my past successes and see what I did differently. If I am losing too slowly, I look for ways that I can increase my calorie deficit without compromising nutrition, such as through exercise or eliminating a particular item like bread.

Good Luck.

Kathy_Noring

I think I will likely always track. Like other posters have said, I may not be as diligent on weekends, but I think I will always have to track to some extent. I think it will take me roughly a year to lose as much as I want to. One year of good habits vs. a lifetime of bad habits . . . well, I think I am probably going to be a lifelong tracker!

I also like what another poster said about how it give you the ability to analyze your diet and exercise habits. And track your macros. Good stuff.

Thanks for chiming in, everyone. A lot of good perspectives to consider here.

ryry_

My 2 to 3 year plan is to lose the weight over these next 2-4 months. Then maintain for summer, then I want to bulk so I can put on some muscle mass. Once I get to my ideal weight/look, I want to learn to eat intuitively. Meaning, that by following good habits/hunger signals I can eat and maintain my weight, like those naturally small people everyone hates...(just a joke, I don't hate you who are reading this and saying "how dare you!")

I would like to eat that way and monitor my weight to make sure it doesn't creep back on. But I do see weighing my food and tracking for the immediate future as it is hard to deny the effectiveness it's having on my life.

Tercob

I will track still but maybe not so religiously. And most likely will only use the tracking but not so much of the community side of it. For loosing it helps to see toher people going through what i am going through so i don't get discouraged.

MariaHammer750

I am still quite a way from my goal, but already thinking ahead to when I hit it. I wonder, will I always need to track to hold myself accountable? Or will I learn the right way to eat and do so instinctively?

Do you plan to continue tracking when you've hit your goal?

If you have reached your goal, do you continue to track?

I plan to track until I reach goal and that is still quite a ways away for me as well. Good to be thinking ahead and planning. I am thinking ahead too of things I will do different to maintain my weight once I lose it all (like starting soon on weight lifting a few times a week to gain some muscle because muscle burns fat), because the weight has always returned to me before when I lost it and I want to learn and do things differently so that hopefully I reach my goal this time and that I stay there. As far as tracking goes, I am hoping that eventually it will become ingrained and I will be able to know, without tracking, if I am eating too many calories in a day. If I find that I am gaining, then I know I will have to go back to tracking. But, while its not always convenient, its a small price to pay for being able to lose/keep the weight off. I know this is something I will battle with for the rest of my life, not just a quick fix, and like an alcoholic, I am learning to accept that is the way it will be. I never wanted to admit before that my problem is much more than just a matter of overeating a bit...truthfully, it is more of a food addiction. So. for me, I think acceptance is key and that is something that is different for me this time around. Good luck to you. If you would like to add me as a friend, I always welcome friends and support and try to be the same for others. I have an open diary.

liftreadphilosophize

Hopefully by the time I reach goal and have lived on a maintenance lifestyle for a while, I will have a solid sense of the nutritional value and data of the foods I eat on a regular basis (as well as the calories I burn with my regular workout activities). At that point, I'll guesstimate most of the time, always tracking new foods, however, just to get a sense of how they incorporate into my life. But I will only relax my tracking after I've gotten comfortable and knowledgeable working out and eating at maintenance and am content to stay where I am health-wise.

I will take up strict tracking at anytime if:

1. I take on a new fitness challenge or goal, like running a half marathon or building muscle
2. I gain a few pounds and realize I need to hold myself more accountable for a while
3. A friend wants an accountability partner :-)

liftreadphilosophize

Also, to emphasize, I think it's a bad idea to stop tracking "once I hit goal." I think the key thing is to track for a good while during the maintenance phase, because my caloric needs will be different enough that I'll need to sort of adjust my instincts to that level. That could take a while and I'd hate to sabotage myself in self-congratulations-let's-relax.

fatsnacker

ideally not but if it helps keep me slim then why not !

lisab0864

It has been almost 2 years since I hit my goal weight -- I'm still tracking everyday and exercising regularly (5 or 6 days/week). I do take vacations off of both tracking and exercise.. I've already proven that I can't be trusted (ie this wasn't the first time I've lost weight) and this is the longest that I've maintained my weight loss - so I'm doing something right for me...

Kathy_Noring

^That's interesting and good to know. I have also lost weight only to regain it.

ladyrider55

I plan to track at least untill I get to goal !!!!!!!!!!! and maybe afterwards to keep me in line :bigsmile:

Yes, I plan on doing what missionimposs said above! :happy:

zillah73

I have been meal planning/tracking for quite a while. I still measure/weigh everything at this point, but when I reach for two ounces of pasta, I am very nearly dead-on when I eyeball it. That is to say, after years of tracking and measuring, I have a pretty good sense of what serving sizes look like, calorie content of my favorite foods may be, etc. without having to track. Once I get to maintenance mode and stay there for a while I will still meal plan for my weeks but I probably won't track every single day or measure every gram of food. I have always looked at the tracking/measuring/etc. as the tool I am using to teach myself healthy habits that can last a lifetime.

QueenofScott

I will continue tracking after I reach my goal, at least for a while, probably a good while. I also plan to go see a nutritionist to learn how to maintain (no more working so hard to lose and then gaining it all back! I'm in it for life.) my goal weight. My goal is flexible at this point, but I am getting close. At a minimum I want to lose 4.5 more, but really want to lose another 14.5 lbs.

DianaV86

I hope not! Once I reach my goal I will track by measuring and weighing myself weekly...any changes in the wrong direction and I will log to get myself back on track but I dont want to do this everyday for the rest of my life.

judydelo1

Here is a link to the Trevose Behavior Modification Information & Research
http://www.tbmp.org/information.html

The research concluded that for long term weight loss the key was to continue logging food eaten and also reporting to a group.
Reading through some of this information is what got me looking for ways to log and people to report to. That's how I found MFP.

I'm only a week into this and I can see how valuable it is. I hope I keep it up for life.

Good Luck Everyone
Judy

lvtruu1

If you've made or make a lifestyle change counting calories forever won't be necessary. Yes checking your weight weekly or bi-weekly should become a lifetime habit. Life is far to short to have to log calories day in and day out for the remainder of your life. Once you've trained yourself in how and what you should be eating, doing some estimating should be enough with the occasional check of the scale to verify. Some may need to log the rest of their lives if they never get control of their eating habits. Many of these changes are simple to maintain. Quit the endless snacking and most fast foods. Quit high calorie drinks and don't eat dessert or at least high calorie dessert daily and it should be fairly simple to maintain your weight once you get it where you want to be. Continue exercising and enjoy life.

LovinDaNewLiz14

yeah to maintain...

JennW130

i plan on tracking indefinitely, except for special occasions. I thought I could do it without tracking, and after losing 30 pounds, I put it all back on after I stopped tracking.

beekuzz

Absolutely, YES! I've lost weight twice before, but never this much. If I had maintained, I wouldn't have so far to go. The promise to myself is to never go back. And my eyes are much bigger than my stomach. I have to have serving sizes. The only difference of what I plan to eat later is adding back in more breads, pasta, rice, butter, salad dressing.

dakotababy

I plan to track my weight (within 5 lbs of goal), be able to run around the block without stopping, climbing up a massive/steep sand hill without stopping, and bf%. If i am unable to do these things when i hit my goal, ill know I need to kick my own *kitten* back into gear.

rudarbe

This is definitely a great topic. I think I will for the time being but in the future maybe not religiously. Great question to ask yourself