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

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Replies

  • ajroberts11
    ajroberts11 Posts: 29 Member
    I don't plan to do indefinitely. I'll keep tracking my weight and if I notice an increase of 3-5 lbs over a couple of weigh-ins, I'll begin tracking again to keep myself in check.

    Oh, and I plan to track whenever I get pregnant so I'm don't gain too much beyond what's necessary for a healthy pregnancy.
  • Byrdsong1920
    Byrdsong1920 Posts: 336 Member
    I've been tracking for over a year, honestly, I feel at this point I have a great idea of portion control and my body is on a 2-3 hr eating schedule. I do it now to keep in touch w/ my friends and I still have about 15-20 more lbs to go.

    Tracking has helped me find my successful areas and areas I need to adjust. It's been a learning experience.
    I know that this is a lifestyle change and not something I intend to stop.

    Happy Journey. -Shannon,ATL
  • jamaka1
    jamaka1 Posts: 412 Member
    I do plan to continue tracking, it's like asking me if I plan to continue eating. I believe it's a good idea to do so because it's when we become comfortable that we slide right back to old habits. :smile:
  • skinnytrinni
    skinnytrinni Posts: 1
    Yes for multiple reasons. I started tracking to lose weight (it worked!), then I stopped tracking and put weight back on. Also, for the times when I cannot work out tracking keeps me "honest".
    I also think there is a benefit to seeing that you are getting good, balanced, and adequate nutrition. :)
  • VpinkLotus
    VpinkLotus Posts: 849 Member
    YES
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    Once the dust settles I'll try to be less formal and more hand wavy about it, and see what happens.

    If I start gaining again I'll consider the experiment ended and go back to proper tracking. If it turns out I've developed a good intuitive grasp of what I should be eating then I'll keep on that way.
  • larryc0923
    larryc0923 Posts: 557 Member
    Yes. I gained 100lbs over 30+ years. This is an excess of 28 calories a day. 28 extra calories a day for a year is 3 lbs, 5 years 15 lbs, etc. MFP provides a tool that can mitigate this problem so I plan on using it. After I get to maintenance will I miss a day or 2 logging? Probably but that should be the exception.
  • LaLouve_RK
    LaLouve_RK Posts: 899 Member
    Track as in counting everything here? Not after I have reached my former weight.
    BUT... I will definitely check closely my portions and calories anyways. Don't want to go back to where I was.
    I have to think that less active = less food. No more seconds for me (Damn it's hard when there's pasta involved!)
  • c2hrist3a
    c2hrist3a Posts: 67 Member
    I plan to track as long as it takes me to pound a moderated healthy relationship with food into my thick head. So, yeah, probably the rest of my days....LOL.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I stopped tracking about a week ago because I felt I was obsessing over calories too much instead of listening to my body. I don't suppose this would work for everyone, but I lost most of my weight without tracking. And I've maintained a healthy weight for most of life without it.

    I don't think I'll ever be "done", though. I will always think of something that needs improvement.
  • mariposa224
    mariposa224 Posts: 1,241 Member
    I've been in maintenance since August and I still track daily. Mostly to stay accountable to myself... Also because I'm hypothyroid... I lost weight the year after I was diagnosed, then gained almost half of it back by stopping exercise and watching what I ate. I've cut back my workouts from 6 per week to 3 per week back in October and I'm still maintaining. COULD I do this without calorie tracking, just doing the exercise? Quite possibly, but, at this point I'm used to the daily tracking and it's not that big a deal to me. There are days here & there when things don't get tracked and I don't stress about it... But, overall, tracking has helped me stay in line. I'm hopeful that at some point I'll feel confident enough that I won't need to continue daily tracking, but that time has not yet arrived. :smile: You just have to find the balance that works for you.

    ETA: Also, I like to track to keep an eye on my macros and my sodium.
  • NavyKnightAh13
    NavyKnightAh13 Posts: 1,394 Member
    As of right now, I know I will have to even when I reach goal. I have been on here for 375 days as of today and honestly, While I have learned control for the most part, I know I will gain it back if I don't have something staring at me.
  • tlkrallman
    tlkrallman Posts: 82
    Definitely yes. The one thing I've truly learned through all my years of yo-yo'ing is there is no end to this journey when you reach your goal. This is a life long, lifetime committment.
  • soldier4242
    soldier4242 Posts: 1,368 Member
    The very second I reach my goal weight I plan to dump all of my positive habits and go right back to drinking Pepsi.
  • Jonesie1984
    Jonesie1984 Posts: 612 Member
    Yes. I don't plan on ever maintaining so it would be a good idea to track my calories and macros throughout the never ending bulk and cut cycles.

    ^^ This. As long as I subscribe to a BB type lifestyle which I'm thinking I"m a lifer at. Plus I actually find when I don't log I eat less.. weird..:huh:
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
    I like to say that I'm looking forward to getting to my goal so I can... keep on doing exactly what I'm doing now. Sure I'll make adjustments, and maybe not log on weekends or something, but there were reasons I was overweight. Lack of awareness of what I'm eating is one of those reasons.
  • amaysngrace
    amaysngrace Posts: 742 Member
    Yes, as long as it is still there when I am older. I would then just track what I eat to maintain my calories, once I get to my goal weight.
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
    Hopefully not for the rest of my life, but I know that even once I reach goal, I will still need to track. I know that I got this way by not watching what I eat and eating junk food, I know that I still have a overindulgent nature and will probably not lose that, so it will be a long time before I feel comfortable enough to not track.
  • MeIShouldB
    MeIShouldB Posts: 578 Member
    I have no plans to stop anytime soon. MFP has made it tons easier than I ever thought it could be. It's a habit now.
  • Vickiesings
    Vickiesings Posts: 95
    :smile:
    I view this as training to re learn how to intuitively eat once I reach my goal
  • FITnFIRM4LIFE
    FITnFIRM4LIFE Posts: 818 Member
    2 years at goal, and still track daily except Sundays. Not sure? It has become a habit?
  • HannahJDiaz25
    HannahJDiaz25 Posts: 329 Member
    I currently only track about three days a week. It gives me snap shot of how I am doing intake wise, but It also doesn't demand so much time. I track mentally anyway (habit since high school) so logging my food just helps me keep an accurate idea of what I am consuming. I am not the type of person who can stick to logging three times a day seven days a week... Once I reach my goal I will probably only log ig I start gaining again. I have developed pretty healthy eating habits so I don't think there will be a problem.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    monitor, yes. track, no. If i start gaining, I will start tracking.
  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
    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?

    As much as I detest having to do it, I will still continue to (log), for I'd much prefer to be completely aware of what I'm consuming than the alternative, possibly inviting the risk of a repeat of when I wasn't holding myself accountable to what I'd allowed into my life. Ate as (much or as little as) I did, without a care to maintain my usual - being active (extreme) - outdoor/lifestyle sports.
  • judychicken
    judychicken Posts: 937 Member
    I have a way to go but yes I will track for the rest of my life to stay healthy and fit..
  • ChristiH4000
    ChristiH4000 Posts: 531 Member
    I don't know anything about the rest of my life. What I do know is that I joined MFP after I lost most of my weight for two reasons:
    1 - To fine tune my diet and exercise so I can eventually hit my goal. 2 - To maintain the loss I've already experienced.

    I've lost and gained weight so many times in my life and nothing was ever steady or permanent until now. I've maintained for two years and though I would like to pick back up on losing, that is something I've never been able to say before. With all that in mind, I can safely say that I will track myself the majority of the time going forward to keep myself accountable to myself.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I can maintain my weight without tracking by making sensible food choices. I use this site to track when bulking or cutting

    it wasn't always this way, I did use to be obese, but from all the tracking while I was getting back to a healthy body composition kind of made me get into the habit of eating the right sized portions to maintain my weight. I also paid a lot of attention to protecting my lean body mass, i.e. lifting weights, getting enough protein and not cutting my calories too low. This kind of thing has been shown to help a lot with long term maintenance.
  • zichab
    zichab Posts: 1,491 Member
    Oh yes! I have been here so many times before. In the old days, with a pencil and paper and as soon as I reached my goal, I was over it and ...well.... here I am in the computer age - at it again! I have decided that logging in every day is what it will take for me to finish out the rest of my life at a normal healthy weight. In addition, I am older now and need to watch the sodium, sugar, calcium and iron macros to make sure I choose the right kind of calories. I no longer trust myself to do that with no accountability. Been there ... done that ... failed miserably! Having said this though, unless you are brand new to weight loss, you know your history and what you will need to do to maintain a healthy weight. My advice to you is to just do whatever it takes!
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    I think I will, although there may be other methods that I use. I'm one of those people who has known that I will need to be conscious of what I eat since I was a "husky" little boy. As long as I'm in the military, it seems I'll have to fight to keep my waist within established standards. (Even at my healthiest, I only had 2.5" that my waist could increase by before I failed to meet standards, unlike my brother who, despite being only an inch shorter, could go up 11" in his waist before worrying about that.)

    I used to track my diet by planning out my meals ahead of time and then giving myself a daily "allowance" for snacking. Now, I still do that but MFP allows me to also track "in real time", especilly because I can often look up meals at restaurants.

    I may not use MFP later in my life. The internet does change, after all. But I do think that MFP has set a new standard by proving an online resource can provide a wealth of knowledge about the food we're eating and, therefore, help us account for our diets with greater precision.

    After all, it's always easier to maintain weight than it is to lose it.
  • TT_luvs_fitness
    TT_luvs_fitness Posts: 274
    most likely yes cause I find when I don't I eat out of control.

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