Anyone use this site and NOT TRACK their food/calories?

dorisayson
dorisayson Posts: 8 Member
in Motivation and Support
Ok, I will admit it, I am not a fan of tracking my food/calories. My husband wants to stop tracking as well. I guess we both don't like doing it, not sure why, maybe it's tedious? I know it's simple and easy to do but for whatever reason we don't like doing it. He wants to try just eating healthier, doing portion control and see how that goes. We do know what to eat since we had success tracking with MFP and have lost weight so it's not like we don't know what to do.

Anyways, do you use this site and NOT track your food/calories? If so, are you still losing weight by not tracking and also, what do you use this site for? Has it still helped you?

Replies

  • Jennisin1
    Jennisin1 Posts: 574 Member
    I haven't for awhile... but that is because I am neurotic and have figured out exact portions of a dozen or so meals and snacks... and literally eat only that 95% of the time... to the point I even go to the same restaurants multiple times a week and get the same food there....

    Some people call it boring... I call it crazy.... but it gets the job done.
  • fattyfoodie
    fattyfoodie Posts: 232 Member
    I use Weight Watchers to track my food now, and am not cross-tracking. However, I have to track my food somehow, otherwise I over eat and under exercise.
  • jamaicanlady
    jamaicanlady Posts: 878 Member
    Well I think the best way to not track is to track for a while so that you have a better idea of how much is how much. What I mean is, after you've been weighing your food and tracking for a few months you get to know what for example, 4 oz. of chicken breast looks like. I will not be tracking for 2 weeks but I'm not worried about it because I have a good sense of how much to eat.
  • NakedLunchTime
    NakedLunchTime Posts: 559
    Me! No tracking here.
  • knittingwitch
    knittingwitch Posts: 231 Member
    I did for a while, to track my weight loss and inches lost.
    Didn't lose any weight but I didn't gain any ether
  • agggie550
    agggie550 Posts: 281 Member
    I use it to track my food, so that I know im getting 3500-4000 calories a day ... not to try to lose weight.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    I tracked my calories for a long time, but I stopped. I have found that I can lose weight without tracking, though it is a little tougher. I still love MFP and log on every day!
  • jdhoward_101
    jdhoward_101 Posts: 234 Member
    I joined this site so i COULD track my calories :p
  • kokalvt
    kokalvt Posts: 143
    I'm a non-tracker too! I did it for a while and always kept my diary closed because I didn't (still don't) want to be judged- especially for my drinking habits. I found that logging helped me out big time at first by seeing exactly what I was eating on a normal day. Now that I've been on the site for a while and eat a lot of the same things, I can easily keep track of my food without religious logging. I still use the site as my main source of motivation, especially the success story message boards! I still log in everyday and will continue to do so!
  • perfectionisntme
    perfectionisntme Posts: 205 Member
    I haven't for awhile... but that is because I am neurotic and have figured out exact portions of a dozen or so meals and snacks... and literally eat only that 95% of the time... to the point I even go to the same restaurants multiple times a week and get the same food there....

    Some people call it boring... I call it crazy.... but it gets the job done.

    I am the same way. I only log if I really want to know how much I'm consuming, otherwise I could graze all day on fruits and veggies and be happy
  • Shirley61
    Shirley61 Posts: 7,758 Member
    Still tracking and it will be 3 years this July. Just like to know how many calories is in everything.

    I also use this site for just chatting with friends and i am also doing exercise challenges

    to keep me motivated and keep me going. I also do other eating plans besides this one

    just to keep going. If i stop I am done. I am also a previous WW lifetime member.

    Good Luck everyone !!
  • wannalose25
    wannalose25 Posts: 69 Member
    I have to track my intake or i"ll really over eat.
  • justmeg86
    justmeg86 Posts: 40 Member
    I track although I'm not sure why. I never used to track anything and lost a bunch of weight. Seems like now that I do track I become way too obsessed with what I'm eating. I'm not overweight by any means so I don't need to be obsessive. I've thought about ditching the site completely....
  • mrsfoster102613
    mrsfoster102613 Posts: 126 Member
    I do but I don't. I DO try to ensure I don't go WAY over my suggested calories (especially on a cheat day or for a cheat meal). However, I don't worry terribly about it, especially if my calories are coming from raw foods.

    I'm not going to freak out if I ate raw veggies and fruits the majority of the day but my calories, sugars etc. go over. Though I don't think you should eat fruit all day long, veggies and fruits are the foundation of my diet (the majority of the time). Just because MFP says I went over in certain categories, doesn't mean I believe it is necessarily so.

    I lost about 15-18 pounds without really paying attention to my calorie intake, so MFP is really just an extra step I take to monitor things like potassium, calcium, protein etc. Calories are NOT most important to me, and my weight-loss proves they don't have to be. :smile:
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    I often just track my weight. I do better when I track food, but sometimes I can't be accurate. Checking my weight several times a week is a reasonable substitute for me.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,421 Member
    I've been on and off the site for a few years. At first, when I was learning and actively trying to hit a weight goal, I logged food religiously. Then I stopped, then I started, then I stopped.


    It takes me about three minutes per meal now that I have all my foods figured out. But I can mostly do it in my head now, too. I just have to watch the snacking between meals and I'm fine.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
    I was tracking on here but the crap database annoyed so much I have started using caloriecount instead. It's a much better site for that sort of thing. MFP is more like facebook for fluffy folks.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    I don't worry about my calories as hitting my protein macro for the day.
  • OhDD65
    OhDD65 Posts: 185 Member
    I kept track for about a year, which gave me a good basis to know all about portion size and what I should be eating and what I should avoid. It also made me read the labels noting what my sodium intake was as well as carbs etc. At the time I was diligently exercising, but I just lost 8 lbs in a years time. Do not do a diary right now, but I do keep track of my weight gains and losses. My MFP friends keep me motivated to at least watch what I eat so that I don't gain all of it back that I lost. Have gained back 4 lbs, but am able to maintain or go down periodically too. With nicer weather I tend to exercise more and drink lots more water. My goal is to get back to where I was this past summer if not lose more. Still have 20 lbs to go. I believe slow but sure will
    finally get me down to my goal inspite of some health issues.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Me! No tracking here.

    With a body like that, I see why.

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