Anyone "done" with MFP and calorie counting?

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Replies

  • SenseiCole
    SenseiCole Posts: 429 Member
    you could try tracking one day a week for a while, then move it to two and see how that goes and so on like that.
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Well for me (I haven't been on MFP for that long) I like to think of it as more than just a calorie counter or something to keep my weight in check. I have found it to be a great way to monitor my nutrient levels and well the support from MFP members is always terrific(sometimes very amusing).
  • theycallyoumister
    theycallyoumister Posts: 222 Member
    I plan to stop after a period of reasonable maintenance and internalization of the correct eating behaviours...I don't want to feel chained to counting/ tracking etc. It feels comforting to do but too much like an obsession :noway:
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I'm kind of resigned to the fact that I might have to count calories for the rest of my life. But, given my family medical history, I'm willing to make the sacrifice in order not to follow in their footsteps.
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    When you stop it's hard to get back on track, I took two weeks off at the start of the month and ate whatever I wanted without worry. Although it's good to have a break (2 weeks break for a whole year of logging) I knew if I kept it up I was just going to waste all my hard work.
  • sunshinestater
    sunshinestater Posts: 596 Member
    I can't imagine stopping. Too easy to slip into old habits, which I have in the past. I have no excuse, since apps make it so easy to log. It keeps me accountable. People with certain conditions have to take daily meds to stay healthy. I'm afflicted with chronic chubby creep, so calorie tracking is my maintenance med.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    weather i log it or not, i think its in there for life in my case. I wouldnt stop personally, its a good habit.
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
    I actually wrote down all I ate (didn't figure calories, etc.) for over a year before I found MFP and had lost 52 lbs. So even though MFP is great and an easy way to track my meals, I still jot down the meals in a notebook. I figure I can just refer back to meals easily anytime I need ideas or want to give up the daily checking in on the site. Kind of my security blanket. I find that writing it down keeps me mindful of what I'm eating. I could probably stop but still find it helpful.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Studies show that a very few will lose it and keep it off for 5 years. True story.

    After 2 years, I still come across meals that trip me up. There is still more to learn.
  • ChaseAlder
    ChaseAlder Posts: 804 Member
    I needed to count calories when i started so I could get a good idea of what a healthy portion was, which types of foods I should avoid, and which foods I could have more of. After a time, I didn't need to track the food anymore. Occasionally, I will track for a couple days if I start to feel myself slip.

    For the most part, I've set myself up with a training program that burns so many calories, I can hardly eat them all. That's really the best way for me. If I stay sedentary and try to stay under 1700 calories, I'll fail. I'd rather workout twice a day and have free reign.
  • brighteyes124
    brighteyes124 Posts: 30 Member
    I remember a distinct moment at the gym 6 years ago.. I stepped on the scale and saw 149lbs, up 4 lbs from my goal.. I thought to myself, "I'd better get back on track so I don't keep gaining"

    Here I am re-starting my journey because I stopped tracking and thought I could do it on my own. So no, I'll never stop tracking in one way or another
  • otrlynn
    otrlynn Posts: 273 Member
    I reached my weight goal and lost a couple more pounds for good measure. I'm experimenting with logging only intermittenly right now. I pretty much eat the same foods on a regular basis (not the same thing every day, but rotating the same meals...). I do weigh myself every morning under the same conditions and my weight does not tend to fluctuate much. If I cross my "threshold" weight a couple of days in a row, I'll go back to logging until I'm back down below it. My challenge will be to not start adding back in the sweets and treats that caused me to weigh more than I wanted to in the first place. I am working out at least 3 days per week, including lifting weights, so it is possible that I could gain a couple of pounds of muscle over a long period of time. If my clothing still fits the same, I won't stress over it.
  • Car0lynnM
    Car0lynnM Posts: 332 Member
    I hit my goal at the beginning of this year, and have been logging my calories since then. I will continue to log most of the time. I've been logging during the week, making sure I'm at goal and eating healthy, balanced meals. On the weekends when I have a treat, I don't log it. I'm maintaining very well, and have been since January, doing this. Counting calories to some extent will always be a part of my life.
  • Linkdapink
    Linkdapink Posts: 128 Member
    This is quite interesting. I am still a long way off even thinking about maintenance - I've only just started my journey really, but hopefully I will be at goal by the end of the year (I only have 20lbs-ish to lose now...)

    I hope that when I'm maintaining, I won't do anything differently - in fact, MFP has kept me thinking about food. I eat the same breakfast, and the same lunch, so I only really need to worry about snacks and dinner. Exercise wise, I've been taught a lot. When I was on weight watchers, I felt like exercise was de-valued, so now I'm really really loving being fitter on MFP. Hopefully, I will continue to log, because it keeps me accountable for my exercise, not just food!

    I plan to do as someone else on here has said - track religiously during the week, and not track on the weekend (other than exercise). I will only do this if I have maintained for a few months. And I will always step on the scales every morning and track my weight on excel. I like data. I will also be lifting soon (NROLFW is on 3 week back order at my local book shop?!) so I will probably get a BF% scale and calipers to start tracking that data every day, so maybe my goals will switch when I get closer to my goal?
  • Queenie605
    Queenie605 Posts: 3
    I don't think I will ever be done counting calories...to me it's the only way to keep from gaining the weight back especially with unfamiliar foods that appear to be healthy but are not.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    i quit logging last year and the weight just crept back up - 134 (i think) at my lowest and when i started again 172!!! i will now log forever :)
  • shellgirl144
    shellgirl144 Posts: 33
    I will always have to log my food. I can't estimate calories to save my life. LOL!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    Just a question for many of you. Don't you adopt an actual dietary and fitness lifestyle while you're doing this? Isn't it kind of the point...do this and sorta learn how to eat and learn what your body needs? I eat completely 180* differently than I did before I started calorie counting. I'm at maintenance and don't log...I eat a maintenance level of calories...I know what that looks like and feels like and I continue to eat primarily nutrient dense, whole foods. Do people really just go back to old ways that easy? Seems crazy to me...I could never go back to eating the **** I was eating (an amount I was eating). Heck, I'm having a hard time hovering at maintenance with the kinds of food I eat and the lifting I do..I keep losing little bits and I have to keep adding more calories to keep up with my strength gains in the weight room.

    It just seems crazy that anyone would or could count calories every day for the rest or their lives...makes me think people have learned zip on this journey. I'm not saying I'll never log...I probably will at some point feel my pants get a little tight and you better believe I'll be right back for a few weeks to correct whatever it is I'm doing wrong. Seems a lot easier to tweak things here and there before they get out of control than to actively log every day for the rest of your life.

    I'm just genuinely curious about this because I've always thought of MFP as a training ground.

    For me, the issue isn't so much that I've learned nothing. I've learned a great deal. For instance, I've learned that my maintenance calories will be about 1600 (maybe 1650). I'm not tall, I'm old, and without exercise I'm 100% sedentary (less than 2000 steps a day). 1600 calories is not a lot. Say 400 calories a meal, plus 2-3 snacks plus coffee and I'm done. If I add an egg and cheese to my salad, have an extra piece of fruit and 4 more cups of coffee (not at all unheard of), I'm over maintenance by 350-400 calories. So I've learned how to eat in a way that I can maintain and keep to 1600, but there's not a lot of room for margin of error. I will be logging for the foreseeable future because I know the little bits add up very quickly to being over. And I need to be cognizant of that. That's why I am frequently surprised that although I've eaten "nothing" or certainly nothing "bad" I am on track to be way over where I need to be. If/when that stops happening, I'll consider not logging. Otherwise, I will be tracking for a very long time. I don't think it's failure to learn healthy habits. For me, it's learning that there's not a lot of wiggle room and I need something to make sure I'm where I need to be.
  • jimandpam87
    jimandpam87 Posts: 62 Member
    Maybe this is just the accountant in me coming out, but i actually really like counting calories. I like putting in what I eat and seeing how many I have left for the day. I like putting in my calories and knowing that I'm where I need to be for the day. It's not a chore for me, really. It really keeps me accountable as well. If I know I'm going to log, I'm a lot less likely to eat that cheeseburger or piece of pizza. It's very easy to be in denial about "one meal" or "one cheat day"...which then continues on for weeks. However, I can stop that path in its tracks by logging all the food and going, "woah...that's a lot of calories".

    I haven't reached my goal yet, but I honestly think I'll continue logging on MFP, at least most days of the week. I'll set my calorie goal to maintenance and try to hit about that everyday. And I won't see it as a chore or burden, but as a way to keep the weight off. I'd much rather log everyday than risk gaining any weight back...not after the struggle of losing it all.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
    I'm kinda done with tracking everything. BUT, I'm scared. Can I ever trust my hunger signals again?
    I won't tell you what to do, all I can do is tell you my own experience counting calories. I counted my way to a 37 pound loss in 2007 and then figured I could estimate without logging. It took me a year or more but I gained back 23 of those 37 pounds. I started counting again in 2011 and lost about 35 pounds. I've been on maintenance for a year, I'm still tracking everything and have no plans to quit. I learned my lesson.

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