Anyone "done" with MFP and calorie counting?

adam1885282
adam1885282 Posts: 135 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm two or three days away from my year mark. My weight is roughly where I want it to be though I still want to tighten the soft bits and add muscle.. I continue to exercise several times a week. I've maintained weight and exercise for several months. My triglycerides and cholesterol are normal, waaaay better than a year ago when I started weight loss for health reasons.

I'm kinda done with tracking everything. BUT, I'm scared. Can I ever trust my hunger signals again? I was fit as a child until I left home for college. That was ten+ years ago. I've been fat and unhealthy for a long time.

I find myself obsessing over counting and I have been having some binge days. I feel like something needs to change.

How long have you (or do you plan to) count daily?
«134

Replies

  • Turtlesallthewaydown
    Turtlesallthewaydown Posts: 64 Member
    Every time I quit counting the weight begins to creep up so I don't think I will ever completely give up tracking my calories.
  • atrebor18
    atrebor18 Posts: 235 Member
    I quit logging my food about three weeks ago and I'm doing alright. The initial tracking helped me to realize i had to rethink what a portion was as well as to focus on getting enough protein. I'm able to do that without writing everything down now, I still measure out serving sizes and make sure I'm making good choices. Writing down everything I eat isn't sustainable for me.
  • oldy76
    oldy76 Posts: 185 Member
    I thought I'd have given this up ages ago but I'm fast approaching the 2 year mark of daily logging and can't see myself stopping in the immediate future. I haven't tried NOT logging so don't know how I'd go without it. Interesting to think about actually. For my peace of mind, I think I'll just keep logging! It's certainly not hard
  • theCarlton
    theCarlton Posts: 1,344 Member
    Nevarrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

    Seriously, though. Whenever I do stop logging, I eat a lot more than I think I do.
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
    every 6 months or so i get tired of logging, i'll stop for a month then start up again.

    this past time since i stopped, i haven't started up again. i just dread it! i get so anxious and weird about not knowing calorie counts for some foods.

    too stressful for me.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    I plan to count/log until there is not a single day ever where I am surprised by the number of calories mfp tells me I have remaining. Somehow, I manage to get to 3/4/5PM without eating "anything", and somehow, I've eaten all but 200 calories of my allowance. Hmmm. When that stops happening, I'll consider not logging. But somehow, my brain doesn't do a very good job of figuring out how much I've had to eat.
  • TheWiseCat
    TheWiseCat Posts: 297
    The only thing I log is the sunshine and smiles I get from all my dear fellow MFPers.
  • TrishaGuy
    TrishaGuy Posts: 63
    I stopped tracking last July .....by March I had gained about 25 lbs (I had lost 22 in 3 months on MFP) I started tracking again March 1st and have lost 19 lbs. I will track until the end of time !! Keeps me honest ;) and makes me think about what I am eating and if I am getting enough exercise in .....Good luck
  • sunshinekind919
    sunshinekind919 Posts: 51 Member
    I quit counting when I reached my goal weight and 4 months later I had almost gained 20 lbs back (granted, this was over the holidays too, and I had foolishly told myself that it was okay). I hope some day I'll be able to because I don't want to need something to tell me how to eat, but I haven't been able to yet.
  • Kimdbro
    Kimdbro Posts: 922 Member
    I stopped four years ago...... then I gained 80lbs, now I'm back again. I don't believe I'll stop again, perhaps I would have discovered the err in my eating if I'd stayed.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I've been logging for about 6 months and lost 35 Lbs total. I'm at maintenance and don't log anymore. I'm going to see how it goes. My diet remains pretty much the same as it has this past 6 months, only more calories...I'm into whole, nutrient dense foods and eating well. I'm also not overly concerned because I do lift and I lift heavy so if I go over maintenance, those calories are going to go primarily to muscle. If anything, this whole thing should have taught me "lifestyle"...now it's time to practice that lifestyle and take off the training wheels.

    I will remain here and will probably log from time to time (like I did today) just for a "check" If my pants start feeling a bit tight, I'll just jump on here for a couple of weeks and make sure I"m at a small deficit to bring things back down...no biggie.
  • KaylaBushman
    KaylaBushman Posts: 69
    Some people have given the advice to those who want to stop logging, to do so, but as you weigh yourself and see a pound or two come back on to start logging again until the couple pounds are gone again.

    Sound advice, I thought.
  • stardancer7
    stardancer7 Posts: 276 Member
    I may get exasperated by it, but it's like having an illness for which I would always have to take medication. Just part of what I personally have to do to live well.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Also OP...have you practiced eating at maintenance and logging that so that you know generally what maintenance "looks like" in terms of what you eat day to day. I logged at maintenance for a good three weeks before I took off the training wheels...I just wanted to make sure I could hear my body signals clearly and I knew what my maintenance calories looked like with meals and snacks.

    I think as long as you're sticking to a wholesome diet (noun) and not just going back to old habits you'll be fine. It's when you just go back to your old ways of eating and not exercising or whatever that people run into trouble.
  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    taking a break from tracking, counting not so much I'm pretty good at keeping mental note of all the calories I ate
  • leopio
    leopio Posts: 2 Member
    Shoot I just started three weeks ago. So far i have lost 10 lbs. but in the three weeks i have already been able to count calories with out logging them in. I think I missed on day last week. But i guess as long you keep working out and keep on the right track with you calorie intake you should be fine. Yes? IDK? Just saying.
  • iamkass
    iamkass Posts: 122 Member
    Some people have given the advice to those who want to stop logging, to do so, but as you weigh yourself and see a pound or two come back on to start logging again until the couple pounds are gone again.

    Sound advice, I thought.

    I feel like this is what I'm going to do. However, I'll probably wait more until the 5 lb mark.

    Also if I know I've been particularly bad one weekend or on a special occasion, I'll probably track for the week after to make sure I'm good there.

    I've given it some thought because maintenance scares me, but I feel like I know what I'm doing now.
  • christimccarty
    christimccarty Posts: 81
    I have to say the last "bit" is just as hard as the whole other part of the journey. You track in order to help teach yourself what you should and shouldn't be eating-- if you're not learning anything from it then you're going to continue tracking. Getting the last couple pounds off and cutting is even harder on the diet portion. Once you are confident in what you know and its been a long enough period of time that your body has excepted its "new norm" I think you're good to be set free! :)
  • luckyshilling
    luckyshilling Posts: 229
    Every time I quit counting the weight begins to creep up so I don't think I will ever completely give up tracking my calories.

    Same here. This is not my first go 'round, I lost it all, and gained it all back. I had no plan for maintenance the first time around. This time once I reach maintenance I plan on tracking weekdays, weekends off. I can't be trusted I like snacks too much.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I don't see me ever giving it up.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    I stopped logging for a while and was fine, well I've never really had a weight issue anyway, just pile it on in pregnancy.

    Anyway, I'm back to logging as I want to make sure I'm eating enough protein...I'm into lifting now.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I'll never be done with MFP and counting calories.
  • andres4317
    andres4317 Posts: 26 Member
    I am 21 pounds away from my goal weight and my wife, we are doing this together, asked me if or when I plan to stop using MFP when I hit the goal. I told her I plan on using it until the day I die! LOL

    Once I hit my goal, it is my understanding that my calorie count will go up into an ideal maintain mode number. If it doesn't, then I will figure that out myself.

    So no, i don't plan on being done with it for the foreseeable future.

    Good luck and keep up the great work!
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    Every time I quit counting the weight begins to creep up so I don't think I will ever completely give up tracking my calories.

    Yep, I am with you
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    Will track as long as I am able to. Will not take the chance of going back to where I was...............EVER.
  • IbiH
    IbiH Posts: 250 Member
    MFP is for life not just for Christmas!!

    I've been maintaining for a few months now but I still log and weigh my portions. I can't afford for it to creep back on.
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
    I go through phases of logging and not logging but because I measure all my meals and I eat the same thing every day, logging is really just a way to insure I don't throw in anything extra like a few cookies or chips.
  • SleeplessinBerlin
    SleeplessinBerlin Posts: 513 Member
    I used to count calories years ago but I got tired after 2-3 years and stopped. One would have thought that after such a long time I must have known the calorie content of every single thing I was eating. But, with few exceptions, I haven't. I was just logging.

    After I stopped, I regained all weight I lost - and more.

    So this time it's going to be different. Apart from logging, I also want to make notes for the items I eat regularly and I want to know them by heart one day so that in a couple of months when I eat my breakfast, I simply know that an omelette made of 2 eggs and a handful of tomatoes and mushrooms is X calories.
    Since I am trying to eat clean, it's not going to be that difficult, I hope.
  • turkeyhunter60
    turkeyhunter60 Posts: 319 Member
    The thing for me about NOT recording it, is just thinking that I am eating healthy, and then finding out that the nice dinner you had was 1200 calories and had a botload of sodium. Don't need either. Good luck.
  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
    I could never leave MFP, I've become friends with too many people and I love watching the journey of others. I will most likely track for the rest of my life. I get too paranoid when I stop counting. A friend of mine here stopping tracking for a week at a time or a few days at a time but keeps an eye on the scale and their body. They come back and track again just to get an idea of how they are doing. For me, I like knowing the exact number that goes into my body so not tracking would just drive me crazy.

Categories