Has anyone decided to stop logging, and if so how did it go?

_namaste_

Once in a while logging gets the best of me. I think about it a lot, plan my day around it, start and stop myself because of it (i.e. eating because I should be when I have forgotten, or not eating because I've had enough for the day). Sometimes I just want to give it up for a while (it can be a bit exhausting, sometimes) but I sort of feel like I'd be lost without it as it's been so much a part of my life for so long now.

If you gave it up - how long did you give it up for and how did it go? Did you maintain, gain, lose, etc? How did you find it?

I'm interested to hear from others who have been there.

eva512

Quit logging for a year and gained all 50lbs that I lost, I had said I would never put it back on.:sad:

katy_trail

The potential for doing this successfully depends on the individual.
some people will always have to log, bc they can't tell if they are full or not.
if you have depression or anything that makes you just throw in the towel and screw this,
then intuitive eating isn't for you, or at the very least you need to track on the days when you're having a hard time.

inside out weightloss podcast has tons of info about learning how to do this. and self acceptance.

my friend just wrote a blog on this topic, and i'm learning to do the same.
Calorie counting & intuitive eating, how we need one to obtain the other. Along the lines of Tuesday's post of not logging (& how I got there) http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2010/02/how-to-go-from-calorie-clueless-to-calorie-competent.php

Brads2ndLife

Once in a while logging gets the best of me. I think about it a lot, plan my day around it, start and stop myself because of it (i.e. eating because I should be when I have forgotten, or not eating because I've had enough for the day). Sometimes I just want to give it up for a while (it can be a bit exhausting, sometimes) but I sort of feel like I'd be lost without it as it's been so much a part of my life for so long now.

If you gave it up - how long did you give it up for and how did it go? Did you maintain, gain, lose, etc? How did you find it?

I'm interested to hear from others who have been there.

I'm just about to stop.

I've found doing it very helpful and educational, but for the long term there is no way I can fixate on food the way i have to when planning and logging foods daily.

My plan is to shop for 2 weeks and only have the right amount of food and balance of nutrients for the period in my fridge cupboard. (I live alone so can do that)

I made myself a spreadsheet to meal plan that calculates all the nutrient totals and percentages, and also gives me a shopping list with the right calories, carbs, etc averaged over the 14 days.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvxiwUDlv3yjdEYyc2VmSk1DWGt0OXROUjVmVmYwbkE#gid=0

Then I can eat what I want each day/meal without worrying about balancing anything or having too many calories that particular day. All I have to watch is that I have enough in the larder to last me.

(prices are accurate from Woolworths Australia online website)


Personally, there is no way I could spend this much time thinking about food long term. I know it would end up making me eat more and miss what i can't eat a lot more too.

rosebarnalice

I kept the weight off for about two years, then gained 50 of the 70lbs I lost back in about 9 months.

Sucks to be me.

sweetnlow30

I quit logging for one year and tried to maintain my 110 pound loss. I ended up gaining back 15 pounds plus an extra 5 during my surgery recovery. I think it was more the calorie creep that happens when you over estimate rather than weighing things out and logging it. I was also more likely to over indulge because I wasn't as accountable for it. I can't stand being in the red on my log, it feels like failure. I need that accountability so I may have to log for life.

sarab99

bump, want to download the spreadsheet later

Yeller_Sensation

Stopped logging food intake between Oct and Dec last year because I got busy with relocation. Maintained just fine.

Resumed logging when 2013 began because I decided to shoot for 16% body fat after I began Intermittent Fasting while eating MORE.

At the same time, I stopped logging exercise calories entirely because I don't use MFP's calculators anymore.

sozisraw

I joined in Jan this year then totally quit mfp for over a month and also stopped weighing myself. I did get into juicing and raw vegan and have lost a further 4lbs making my total weight loss 20lb this year. I eat a lot of smoothies too with nuts and figs in so very high cal. Any way I've rejoined mfp to up my water intake again and keep a check on calories again with a 7lb weight loss in mind.

YoungDoc2B

I stopped for a week..lol. I maintained my weight, so I guess it went alright. At this point, I know how much I should be eating without even counting calories. The only reason I started back is because I kind of missed it...which is weird, because the whole reason I quit in the first place is because I got tired of it. Guess I can't be pleased lol

atrebor18

I haven't logged for the last like three weeks and I think I'm doing okay, I haven't gained anything that is. I still work out, mostly weightlifting, and I measure my food. I make sure I eat enough protein and avoid unhealthy options. I liked logging but it got annoying since I eat the same like ten things but then I'd go out to eat and it couldn't be logged or whip up a recipe and it was too much of a hassle to calculate things. I feel that logging helped me get on track and realize I need to watch my portion sizes and cut back on the junk food but it isn't something I have to do daily. I didn't have a lot of weight to lose and never was a huge eater so maybe it's different for me, I joined this so I could learn more about healthy eating and exercise and I think I'm doing alright!

KimiSteinbach

bump

Been wondering about this one.

RaggedyPond

Gave myself a two month break and I maintained.

dnamouse

I started by stopping logging food on weekends. Did that for a few months and then slowly stopped altogether. But I practice IF, and am insanely boring when it comes to food - I like my routine and will quite happily eat the same things every day if allowed :happy:

I've been maintaining happily without logging food since October. Although I have logged sporadically a day here and there to make sure I'm on the right track. It's all good.

I log my workouts, but only so I can keep track of where I'm up to. I use TDEE method, so calorie burns are not really important.

cbfliz

After reaching my goal weight I carried on logging while trying to ascertain my maintenance calories. I initially stopped logging at weekends but was still losing some weight. At the beginning of December last year I felt I was then getting a bit too fixated on my calories and needed to give myself a total break and so I stopped logging for 4 weeks.

After a month I found that I had put a couple of pounds back on, which was fine as I had dipped way lower than I ever intended to. I haven't logged since and I'm actually trying to regain some of that lost weight as I do feel I've got a bit too skinny now.

For now though I feel much better not logging and I'm just trying to listen to my body and respond to what it needs. If it ever goes too far back in the wrong direction I know MFP is here to help me get back on track.

Velum_cado

I stopped logging about a year ago because I was getting obsessive about the numbers instead of eating healthily. I wasn't anxious about stopping because I lost about 80 lbs before I *started*, so I knew it wasn't really necessary. I've continued to lose weight and am much happier.

Experiment with it. Stop for a month, see what happens. Do what works for you!

Spiderkeys

I think I probably do ok, as I can now regnoise the different between good and bad foods and how much of this I shall eat, been logging everything for 6 months now, I doubt I can keep doing this forget, it tiring having to remember everything you have ate, bitten, licked, tasted, etc, even when your out of the go and have no internet access for the next 10 hours, sometimes there's too much to remember!

rybo

I'm creeping up on about 3 years now without logging. I have maintained without any issues. For me the period where I logged was just an education as to what and how much I was putting into my body. Now that I understand that, I have no need to really think about it anymore.

quirkytizzy

Quit logging for a year and gained all 50lbs that I lost, I had said I would never put it back on.:sad:

Me too.

amblight

I saw someone who said that when he reached his goal, he stopped logging, but did weekly weigh-in: If he had gained, he would log until the weekly weigh-in was back at his goal. I think that's a good way to do it.

rockmama72

I lost weight about 6 years ago (before my last pregnancy) and didn't log a thing; I just did that "eat less, exercise more" thing and it worked. (I did, however, keep track of my exercise as I was working toward some fitness goals.) Apparently it stopped working, because here I am.

I don't like logging. I cook from scratch, without recipes, and it's tedious to weigh and measure everything. It even stifles my creativity somewhat, because I have to think through every little thing I add to a pot.

I see it as necessary for now, until I can get control of my portions and retrain myself to use less oil, etc. when cooking. When I feel comfortable again, I'll probably make a goal to log half the time.

FindingAmy77

whenever I stop logging I stop losing

KimiSteinbach

......sounds like a mixed bag here....