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

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  • saratf
    saratf Posts: 49 Member
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    No, but I do plan on measuring out servings for the rest of my life. Seriously, I cannot "eyeball" one tablespoon for the life of me (and an extra teaspoon of peanut butter or salad dressing can add up!). I think that I'll probably stop counting after I've maintained for a few months and have a good sense of what I should be eating. I think I'll also have an automatic trigger where I need to start counting again if I gain over 5 pounds.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I say, hopefully not, but I kind of like it in a weird sort of way. I have basically been maintaining for almost a year and have still logged my food. I don't see any good reason to stop anytime soon so for now, I am sticking with it!
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
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    Once I hit maintenance I will track until I feel I am able to keep on track without it.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
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    Ab.
    So.
    Lute.
    Ly.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I really want MFP to be a part of my daily life.
  • Mainebikerchick
    Mainebikerchick Posts: 1,573 Member
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    Yep.
    This.

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

    ^^This. I'm in for the long haul.
  • mikeroobuddha
    mikeroobuddha Posts: 28
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    Why not? It keeps you focused and only takes minutes a day!:tongue:
  • Emglyfolk
    Emglyfolk Posts: 30 Member
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    good question - i think I will track when I start to gain... even if it is only a couple pounds.... so I will probably be tracking for life - as weight fluctuates all the time and I don't want to gain EVER AGAIN!!!
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
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    I have hit my goal, but now I need to learn to maintain. I don't want to gain much, and I don't want to gain - lose - gain - lose more than a few pounds up and down. That means I need to figure out how maintainance works. After that I'll just watch the weight, and then get back to tracking if there's a notable change.
  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
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    I wrote down my calories failthfully a few years ago and lost weight nice and slow and felt great and in control of my eating. Then I stopped writing it down and maintained for a couple of years. Then I got a little cocky and slipped up. Then I FORGOT everything I once knew about calories. Then I actively AVOIDED reading the calories on packaged foods because I knew I was over-doing it. And I gained back everything I had lost but it came back in even worse areas. So, SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes I plan to track my calories forever going forward. Unless some magic pill gets invented.....
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    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?

    I think that depends a lot on the type of person you are. I'm pretty sure that I will need to continue tracking indefinitely.
  • bethmakesmusic
    bethmakesmusic Posts: 164 Member
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    I do think I'll track my calories forever. It just keeps me so much aware of what I'm fueling my body with. It doesn't take much time and it definitely couldn't hurt, right?
  • NiSan12
    NiSan12 Posts: 374 Member
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    That's a good question. I don't track everyday since I've reached my goal, but I do keep a mental note of my calories, but I think in some capacity I will track for the rest of my life. It's a good way to have discipline and balance.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    hell no......I only track once or twice weekly as it is, just don't like the idea of food being looked at like that.
  • perfectlyimperfectturk
    perfectlyimperfectturk Posts: 72
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    Unfortunately yes. I don't think I can ever have a natural way of eating. I eat based off of my emotions, rather than pure hunger as a result I have to keep logging it, unless I change my mindset on food.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
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    I have a feeling I am going to have to track forever, but that's ok.... My initial weight loss when I first started 3 years ago was over 60 pounds. I stopped tracking for a little over a year, and did pretty well considering during that year I had a baby :) But I am finding that keeping track really does make a difference!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    I reached my goal 1 year and 9 months ago, and I still log. I don't log on weekends or holidays or vacation, and sometimes take a break from it for no reason whatsoever other than I don't feel like it. :tongue:

    But overall, logging helps keep me eating right. I'm not concerned about gaining weight, by I know my natural food cravings tend to be very carb heavy. I want to make sure I'm getting enough fat and protein.

    I think of it like balancing my checkbook. In an ideal world, I'd be so filthy stinkin' rich that I wouldn't need to keep track of what I spent. And in an ideal world, I'd know instinctively what I should be eating and in what amounts and I'd never gain or lose weight and always be perfectly healthy. This is not an ideal world. :laugh:
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    I think i will for a long time after goal. 50lbs more to go. I can't imagine now doing right now. I know ill definitely have say a 5lb tolerance though, then nip it back in. Wouldn't allow this to ever get out of control again! X
  • fitbum19
    fitbum19 Posts: 198 Member
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    I think eventually you should learn what your body needs and learn the balance. I dont plan to log forever. but who knows how long I will. been at it 2 1/2 years now.

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