Do you plan on logging forever?

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13

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  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
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    I've been at maintenance since late March. I log my food off and on. I ran into an issue where I was having a hard time making sure I'm eating ENOUGH calories (began to fear I'd gain weight and had a hard time forcing myself to eat at maintenance level) so I log my food on those days where I'm concerned I might not eat enough. Some days I quit logging when it becomes clear it's not going to be an issue. So I'll log breakfast and lunch and then not log dinner. This weekend I went out of town and ate stuff I knew would be more than sufficient to meet my calorie needs. So I didn't log at all.

    One good purpose for logging is making sure you're meeting your nutritional goals also (getting enough protein, lowering sugars, in my case). So logging is great for me for that. I'm about six weeks away from being on MFP for a year.

    I weigh in once a week and I plug that weight into MFP (but I did turn off the function that posts all my losses to my feed so I'd quit getting high fives for losing the same pound and a half that I fluctuate on a regular basis! LOL). That's my accountability. If that number starts going up consistently (versus one week of water weight issues, or whatever) then I know it's time to buckle down and start measuring and logging all my food. Hasn't happened yet, but I'm prepared to do it if necessary.
  • sumeetg37
    sumeetg37 Posts: 108 Member
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    I plan to forever. If I actually had any notion of when to stop eating I wouldn't have gotten so fat to begin with. My wife makes fun of me but I have zero satiety reflex. I can eat a pizza, and then... want another pizza. MFP tells me when it's time to stop. Sad but there you have it.
  • ltliner
    ltliner Posts: 1 Member
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    I will continue to log because when I don't things start to go wrong,slowly
  • curly1986
    curly1986 Posts: 98 Member
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    I have a long way to go to my goal but I think I will have to log for a long time after that. I have been overweight or obese my whole life, so 27 years. I think, for me at least, it will take more than a year or 2 (or however long it takes me to get to my goal) to make sure I have lost all my old habits. MFP isn't invasive or disruptive to my life. Each meal time it takes a minute or 2 to search for what I'm eating or scan it in.
  • tannadine
    tannadine Posts: 115 Member
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    I plan on getting to goal logging my food and exercise, but once I get there I plan on phasing it out. I still plan to weigh in once a week (and use the fit of my clothes) to make sure that I am not gaining, but I don't plan to log every day unless there is a reason to (i.e. the healthy habits that I thought I had down pat aren't working quite so well!).

    I've always been curious about the philosophy of intuitive eating, so I'll probably get to target and then start to play around with that (while keeping an eye on the scales, just in case!).

    Basically, I don't plan to log forever, but if that's what it takes to keep me at target, then its only a couple of clicks.
  • Me2FitMe
    Me2FitMe Posts: 1,284 Member
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    Tough question... at the moment I am not ready to stop logging. I think if after a year or so of reaching my goal weight, I probably would. Hopefully, by then I will have truly transitioned to the lifestyle I am currently seeking.
  • brendapalmer146
    brendapalmer146 Posts: 22 Member
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    Yes...Im going to have to if I want to stay where I am. I did WW previously, when I got to goal I went off logging and gained over 40 pounds in that process (highest I have ever been in my life) So some days I feel like just throwing the towel in for a few days, but I know I dont trust myself. It's that behaviour that led me down this path and I know that if I just stopped logging it would eventually all come back on in the process. by the time I would want to do something about it it would be to late.
  • Jaxxy_Fae
    Jaxxy_Fae Posts: 28
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    I am probably going to HAVE to log forever. Otherwise I tend to not make the most responsible food choices and end up gaining it all back =/ This is try #3 for me as far as this dieting/lifestyle change plan goes, and I always derail as soon as I stop logging and making myself accountable.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    i am over 400;
    i am GOD.

    830 days. one day you will be, my child.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    As long as I keep certain foods out of my diet I don't see a point of logging forever. I don't want to get too attached to logging and pay more attention to what my body is telling me. I lost most of my weight by not logging.
  • linbert57
    linbert57 Posts: 154 Member
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    I'll probably be logging forever. As a former weight watcher member (several times over), the program worked for me because of the measuring and logging. After I had lost X amount of weight, I'd think that I could do it without measuring or writing things down. But the weight would eventually creep back. Now that I'm older, I think it would be in my best interest to be as accountable as possible. I am getting closer to goal so I have to stay motivated. I guess I'll just think about my track record, lol.
  • b7p8petersen
    b7p8petersen Posts: 2 Member
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    For me to be accountable (even to myself), I have to log or the hind-brain takes over!

    Logging forever...
  • pwnderosa
    pwnderosa Posts: 280 Member
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    I lost about 30-35 lbs 10 years ago by counting calories and was able to maintain without counting calories, but my job situation changed around the time I finished losing the weight and my lifestyle was more active.

    I've had to lose more weight this time around from a combination of going back to a desk job and depression over a family problem, so I don't know how maintenance will go this time around, but I definitely plan to keep logging at least 4-6 months after reaching my goal, after all I've been doing it almost a year now and it is a habit now.

    I don't want to regain weight again but by the same token I don't think it was a lack of logging that caused me to regain, so I guess I will just have to see how it goes when I get there and keep my eye on the scale and how my clothes are fitting.
  • JewelsinBigD
    JewelsinBigD Posts: 661 Member
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    I will be logging forever - sad but true
  • bipsqueen
    bipsqueen Posts: 57 Member
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    I still log!! 445 days and counting! To easy to slide back into unhealthy eating. Besides, I've made some good fitness buddies on this website. So for now, for me, I log.
  • jackpotclown
    jackpotclown Posts: 3,291 Member
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    yes, if it becomes a category....
    "jackpotclown burned infinite calories doing an eternity of minutes of forever"
    and I will probably be logging in the after life too
    expect a haunting MFP......\m/
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    well I reached my goals in fall of 2011 and gained it all back.

    This time around I need to figure out a balance--because the maintenance settings on MFP did not = maintenance for me personally.

    Also I need to be really honest about my logging when I reach maintenance (I travel a lot for work so that makes it tougher).

    My numbers are the following:

    1,200- to lose lb/week
    1400- to lose .5 lb/week
    1600- to maintain

    So when I was in maintenance and working out that meant I was taking in more than 2,000 calories/day on average. It might actually be something like 1,800 in food and a 500 calorie workout thrown in per day (on average) to maintain. We shall see.

    I plan on logging as long as I can. I can't keep losing the same 20 lbs...that's not healthy.
  • 43932452
    43932452 Posts: 7,246 Member
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    I began in November '12. Yes, I plan to
    log my food forever .. unless I get so good
    at managing it by measures alone. I think
    logging is a smart habit though. I still have
    about 43 to go.
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
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    Logging keeps me accountable, so I don't see stopping. I feel that I make good choices, but that seeing what I eat allows me to make better ones. Like knowing your bank balance.
  • eileen0515
    eileen0515 Posts: 408 Member
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    Yes I do plan on logging forever.

    Call me crazy, but I really enjoy it. Logging has made it possible to lose 60 pounds! I am near goal and have no plans to stop. It will keep me mindful.

    It is fun and rewarding to look at my log and see the healthy foods I am treating my body with. No way do I want to go back down the slippery slope of thoughless eating. Being slender is way too much fun.