Why keep counting?

lilawolf
lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
in Motivation and Support
I passed my original goal weight! I could lose another couple pounds maybe, but not much without looking too thin. I'm pretty happy with the fat I have, though I'd like to gain some muscle. I've done some heavy lifting and plan to get back into it next week (I'll admit that I said that last week too). My TDEE, based both on calculators and on the very steady weight loss I had while I lost weight on MFP (before moving to China for a few months), is about 2100 calories. I have MFP set to 2020, but what's the point? I know what so many calories looks and feels like now, and I am unlikely to go over without realizing it. I like keeping track of the macros, which will be more important when I start lifting again, but is this worth the time, day in and day out now that I don't need to lose weight? Most of my friends have even stopped commenting on my diary. I guess they don't know what to say when I eat 2000 calories!

If you are at or past your goal weight, why do you still count? Or why did you quit? I'm kind of thinking about using MFP as a calorie look-up tool and then coming back only if/when I hit a certain trigger weight. Any advice or thoughts are welcome.

Replies

  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I think it varies for different people. If you are maintaining, some people may only want to check in every so often to make sure they're still on track. If you're trying to gain muscle, you need to eat at a surplus, so you *may* need to keep track to make sure you're over maintenance but not going crazy. Some people know that if they stop, they'll slip up.

    I'm at the beginning of my journey, so I don't know how I'll be. I'm slightly obsessive now, and it's how I got my finances in shape. I've been checking my finances a lot less frequently, and I forgot to pay my credit card bill last month and got hit with a finance charge. Whoops. I need to keep a closer eye on that; I assume it will be the same with my eating, but we'll see.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    I'm a little obsessed as well. That is making this harder.
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
    I'm sorry I don't comment more on your diary! I am so proud of you and you've been so supportive of me, but I've been so busy recently that I've been logging but not really commenting.

    I say keep counting if it keeps you honest, but if you want to break free - do it! This is a tool after all, to teach us better eating habits, and if you've learned them - awesome!
  • maabr
    maabr Posts: 5
    Your question is the exact same question I have, and was about to post. I'm only two pounds away from my first goal, and will actually reset it to loose 10 more. But I also was wondering the same thing - how many still keep on tracking on MFP even though they have met their goals? I am so worried that if I stop I will loose track, but then think that if I have to track forever that is a long time.
  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
    I keep counting because it keeps me accountable. I'm just maintaining, but with weekends and frequent social/family gatherings that revolve around food, I have to be able to balance that with lower calorie days. I find logging exercise to be really motivating, too. I guess I'm just a visual person, not to mention a little OCD, so MFP continues to work for me.
  • tdfarmer
    tdfarmer Posts: 176 Member
    I've been maintaining for a while. I keep logging, because I'm afraid of a gain. I have set health related and exercise related goal to keep me motivated. Back in October, my health goal were not being reached like I thought they should be. I had to change the way I eat even more. I've been struggling since. So I will continue logging.
  • Bootjockey
    Bootjockey Posts: 208 Member
    I am at my goal weight (ehh, for me, goal weight is anything in the two-oh-something area), and I continue to record food, exercise, and continue to wear my FitBit every day...

    -BootJockey
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    I am at my goal weight (ehh, for me, goal weight is anything in the two-oh-something area), and I continue to record food, exercise, and continue to wear my FitBit every day...

    -BootJockey

    Because you don't think that you can be successful otherwise?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    It's a habit for me now, and tbh it takes about 5 minutes out of my day. As you say, it helps to keep track of the macros. I don't really care if anyone comments on my diary or not, it#s just for me!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I have been on maintenance for two years. It's easy and it's habit - only takes a couple minutes a day, so why not? As soon as I achieved my weight goal, I decided to just keep making goals for myself - fitness goals. I use MFP to track those goals. I also have a digestive disorder which makes it hard for me to eat when it's acting up. I don't want to lose any more weight or lean mass, so I use MFP to make sure I'm getting my minimums to stay healthy. I also have MFP friends who are still working on their goals and I like to be here to follow their progress and provide support.
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    If you are absolutely confident that you can keep up your workouts and estimate your calories for the day without re-gaining, then I say definitely stop counting. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't want to count calories for the rest of my life.
    I think willpower has a lot to do with it, too. When you stop counting and checking in, you have less things holding you accountable for your maintenance. I know this because once I hit maintenance and went on vacation for a week I fell off the wagon and didn't get my act back together until a month later. Unfortunately I gained back some of my weight. I realized that I'm going to have to be on here for a long while until I feel I'm truly disciplined to go at it on my own.
  • RHSheetz
    RHSheetz Posts: 268 Member
    Tracking your eating is one of the best tools for maintaining your weight. You would not believe how much we eat with food readily available, and writting it down makes you think about it. Because of my food issues, I will ALWAYS record what I eat, because I know how fast I can start adding in more, and start gaining.
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
    I have been maintaining for 4 months and NEED to record weight, food and exercise every day as I don't want to go back to old habits. I think before I eat as I know I will have to get on scale in morning and I don't want to be depressed. I like to see that I am holding my weight.

    I still find maintenance harder than weight loss as I like to see the number on the scale drop and I found it easier to say "NO" to almost everything than eat just a little of something. That is why I still track all food. It is amazing how many calories food has!!
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
    If you want to build more muscle it will help if you eat over your maintenance to optimize mass gain for a while. Otherwise, I think it is pointless unless you see yourself start to struggle. A 25lb loss suggests to me you really never had much of a problem with food, and really only needed this to take it to the next step. Being an engineer myself I have this same problem.
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
    I was maintaining for around 5 years before joining MFP, and now have been an active MFP member for almost a year. The last year my weight has been more consistent because I keep track so much better. Everyone is different; I've usually got so much going on that I don't eat the same things every day and/or will forget that I ate something. So it is good for me and logging exercise is motivating as well. Although I envision times that I will be less "connected" to it, I think MFP logging (or something similar) is going to be a life-long activity!

    Congrats on your success!
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    Thanks for all of the advice guys! It really is quick except for when you make your own multi-ingredient recipes, or worse get homemade food at a friend's house. Then it's a pain.

    I do want to start lifting again, so making sure that I get enough protein and calories is important. I will probably stay on for a while. I think my TDEE calculations are off though, I just lost another 1.4lbs, and I haven't been eating at much of a deficit...
  • maabr
    maabr Posts: 5
    I keep seeing TDEE, what exactly does that stand for?

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