So when do you say goodbye to MFP?

jynxxxed · October 2012

I doubt I'd ever fully quit, but I also highly doubt I'll log everyday for the rest of my life once I reach maintenance. I'll probably continue to stick around to check calorie content of certain items and budget in certain meals, but not log every ketchup packet or whatever.

LorinaLynn · October 2012

I've been here in maintenance about three times as long as I was losing.

frando · October 2012

I'll probably never leave it.

It tracks everything nicely and I can use it to maintain the weight when I get to it- that I find it's like a product facebook!

Ke1ra78 · October 2012

I don't think I will ever leave. I have made some really wonderful friends here, and I couldn't imagine not having them in my life.

^^^this. :-)

JessieTangerine · October 2012

I had been eating at a high calorie restriction since January so early this fall I decided to eat at maintenance for a month just to see what it was like. At first it was pretty awesome, I was finally feeling full but I also was not gaining weight so I slowly stopped tracking food. Over that month all the foods that I had been eating only in moderation, cake, cookies, ice cream slowly started to take over my diet.

Obviously I still need to track. The good news is I don't think the issue is with portion size and whatnot and more to do with bad foods crowding out good ones. My plan for once I do get to my goal (no pot- I do not think its becoming on a woman) is to ween myself off tracking every single bite and instead just keep tallies to make sure im getting all my vegetables and fruit for the day, and maybe just keeping track of fiber. I honestly cannot foresee me calorie counting for the rest of my life.

Absonthebrain · October 2012

Its like my new Facebook.

Ditto, but way better than FB!

Mikerails · October 2012

MFP should have a slogan - "Come to lose the weight - stay to keep it off."

I'll use it as long as it's free and convenient in helping me track my daily calories and exercise. It's completely possible to do that on your own, but why go through that hassle when you have a tool like this?

Or maybe:

"You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave! " - not if you want to maintain your weight loss:)

BabyLeila23 · October 2012

Never

MoreBean13 · October 2012

In my experience, when people start itching to stop calorie counting, it's not the counting that's the problem, it's the accountability. Consciously or unconsciously, they're headed for a slippery slope of overeating and unaccountability. But you can ditch your MFP, and you can avoid the scale, but you can't trick your belts! Accountability comes a knocking eventually, and then we're still here when the person comes back. I don't ever plan to leave. Y'all are stuck with me!

Until I get 2 more strikes that is....

LaSweetMini · October 2012

YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE :devil:

Skinny_Beans · October 2012

You never leave...No but seriously, not just to keep on track, but for funsies-mfp is just an educated apporach to knowing what you put in your body.

bluefox9er · October 2012

I'll leave MFP when every single one on my friend's list has hit their goals. Without their support, I'd have NEVER hit mine.

hgbair · October 2012

I work in a weight loss center and I would say that you should just stay with it. The dietitian in our office says that you should always keep a food journal. It's a lot easier to look back and see where you have room for improvement when you can see what you've been eating. It's a good habit to have. Stick with it.

sam308lbs · October 2012

In the words of a very wise person:

Never ever ever.

Like ever.

this!!

geebusuk · October 2012

I'm planning to try and put some muscle on properly without putting too much fat on.
I was saddened to hear these days this means actually eating just 250 calories over TDEE, rather than eating as much as I wanted!

That being the case, will definitely be sticking with MFP to ensure I'm not going too far over this and putting too much fat on.

After that, think it depends "where I am" and what I'm eating.
I can generally still get a reasonable idea of what's going on and may be quite happy to just set myself a weight limit where I start paying attention again - ie, say if I hit 13stone I may consider losing weight, but not worry about it until the scales get up to that level.)

BigMech · October 2012

I also found MFP right at the end of my journey, and have been maintaining for about 6 months now. I don't think I'll stop logging my food anytime soon. Logging gives me accountability, which is what I was lacking before I started my journey. It makes me look up the calories and the macros in everything I eat, so that I make better decisions about the food I put in my body. I'm also running bulk/cut cycles to put on some more muscle mass, and tracking calories on here is excellent for that.

I figure the more tools I have at my disposal to control my weight, the better. At this point, it takes maybe 5 minutes a day to log everything. Very small price to pay for the benefit of staying healthy.

Texafornia23 · October 2012

Ditto. For some it's like advising a recovering alchoholic when its okay to start drinking again. Those bad habits that got your body to a point that you were unhappy with are hard to kill and they're always ready to come back. MFP is a good way to stay focused... not the only way, but its easy and free 92 deal sealers for me). I'm hoping I'll stick with it forever.

KipDrordy · October 2012

MFP is only a tool. If you feel like you can get the job done without it then quit.

What i've learned is that Losing weight is easy. Maintaining your weight is the hard part.

I agree completely.

jofjltncb6 · October 2012

Bunch of fanboys (and fangirls).

I've left MFP for good at least once a week for about a year. I keep coming back.

Feisty_Red · October 2012

MFP is like the haunted mansion at Disneyland... ....

...consider this dismaying observation...this chamber has no windows and no doors... which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out! :devil: :devil: :devil:

iuew · October 2012

I found MFP late in my weight loss journey (lost 70 pounds total) and it was rerally helpful for fine tuning my diet when I was close to my goal weight. I made it to maintenance in February of this year. I tried to quit MFP meal tracking a time or two but failed a little and had to stay with it. I think I have it down now and my training regarding portion sizes, acceptable foods, exercise, etc. is complete. The only reason I am still on MFP, I guess, is habit, keeping the days-logged-on streak alive, and keeping in touch with my MFP pals.

So I have to ask the question...So when do you say goodbye to MFP?

Anyone else have the same dilema going on?

i'll quit logging my meals here when :

a. the site goes defunct
b. my heart's ability to pump blood to my brain and vital organs goes defunct.

while dropping 110, i made myself the promise that i would not ever have to do this again. i have been logging maintenance for several years now on various sites, and intend to keep the promise.

rsellersCST · October 2012

What if you cut down on the frequency? Maybe start off by logging in three times a week... just to check in, maintain that checks and balances thing. Pick a day to weigh in to make sure you are where you want to be for maintenance. Then you can go down to once a week for weigh in... and if you go three weeks and see you've gained... maybe track until you are back where you want to be... then go back down again?

IDK... this is a tough one. I'm still a long ways off from maintenance. I have friends on here that are not here for weight loss, but rather for tracking their fitness goals for endurance... or strength training... etc. It's not just about weight loss.

I know that I've had issues in the past keeping it off as a lifestyle... without any checks and balances. I don't like the idea of tracking EVERYTHING forever... but I am not willing to let myself go back to where I started either. If it's not something you want to do forever I would say just make sure that you check in with yourself consistently enough to make sure that you stay at maintenance. Six months maintenance seems like a long time... but old habits die hard... and when life gets busy and temptations abound... things like the holidays and constantly saying... to myself, oh I just missed one workout... and it's just one day of splurge that adds up to day after day... and skip after skip... I don't want to let myself do that.

Pretty much though... you have got to find what works for you... and know that IF you do add on some weight... you can ALWAYS come back... and it's better to come back sooner rather than later. I wouldn't cancel your account... and maybe if you do ween off... check in at least once a month or something to log your weight... that way a year or two down the road you can still document your status.

Good luck!

MinnieInMaine · October 2012

I agree that you'll likely be more successful if you keep logging once you get to goal, at least for a little while. And that's what I plan to do. Something I've done all along this process is to take on the ways of some of my slimmer/fitter friends and for at least two of them, they only log when the weight starts creeping up or they want to check on their macro balance.

So I figure that's the way I'll do it to. Get to my primary goal, keep logging and maybe work on losing another 5-10 and then after I'm confident with my goal and maintaining it, I'll try to stop logging for a while. I've already tried this out a few times on vacations or weekends when it was too tough to log and I seem to do ok. Although it sounds a little scary, I don't think it'll be all that bad. Good news is, you can always come back when/if you need to!

NewLIFEstyle4ME · October 2012

I started on MFP in January/Feb 2012. This was my first time trying to lose weight and I NEVER counted calories nor kept track of my eating & exercising. Once I did, I started dropping pounds, but especially inches immediately. I dropped down 4-6 pants sizes (going from a size 20 jeans (tight) to a size 16-14 in about 4 months and lost close to 20 pounds.

I overdid the exercising and hurt my foot, then took Tae Kwon Do and hurt my knee. I stopped tracking in June 2012 and like others, at first I continued to eat and drink and exercise most excellently--as I did when I logged on everyday. That lasted for about a month. Then I started eating sweets and snacks, because I wasn't logging and knowing my "friends" wouldn't see, I started eating out fast foods and eating junk out instead of cooking at home, and most destructively (for ME and my body type) I stopped exercising completely and went back to a sedentary lifestyle, God and Mfp helped me to deny.

I from June to September...I put on almost all of the weight back (gained back 12-13 pounds of the close to 20 I had worked so hard to lose.:indifferent: :sick: The size 16's still fit, but with a muffin top now. I can't fit the 14's anymore. I started back 21 days ago and am down 4-5 pounds since logging in faithfully again.

Long story short...my time to say goodbye to Mfp is going to be a long time. I need the accountability and humility (as in humble) because when I got "over-confident" that's when I feel back. I thought I'm grown and I don't need this "crutch". I humbly admit I was wrong. That's my story...but everyone is different:flowerforyou:

fattypattybinger · October 2012

I really like MFP I actually feel the people that are meet here make my Day. Honestly I look forward to saying Hi. When I don't go on because of being off the radar like camping it is like missing a relative. I would prefer to search the community or message boards. I like the positive remarks and when I ask for a kick in the butt I get the help I need. I can't imagine stopping.

Erienneb · October 2012

Its like my new Facebook.

Oh my god me too! I'm never on fb anymore. I love the community aspect of it, and honestly I will probably always have to log because it just sneaks up on you with how many calories are actually in things.

watcheronthewall · October 2012

I'm miles from goal but I think it would be nice to keep up with MFP on a more sporadic basis once you've maintained for a while to keep on top of bad habits creeping in. Otherwise I think a reward for all that hard work should be not having to be so heavily involved in logging and thinking about food and weight loss all the time, but to just be able to live a normal life as a slim you.

capricorn0120 · October 2012

I don't think I will, even when I've reached my goal. It's always good to log your food and excercise just to stay on track. Plus, it's great to have those that have reached their goal continue on here for motivation to others that haven't reached their goal. But, obviously nobody's obligated to stay on MFP regardless of reaching goal or not.