i'm burnt out on tracking

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  • JenniBaby85
    JenniBaby85 Posts: 855 Member
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    I've felt this way on numerous occasions. I recommend taking a week or two off, weigh in at the beginning, then weigh in at the end to see how you do on your own. Then decide from there what you want/need to do.
  • CandiQueen
    CandiQueen Posts: 57
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    I am not on maintenance but I am close. I only have about 5 more lbs to lose so sometimes I get lazy. I hate tracking because it is so time consuming but I do it anyway. I go balls to the wall when I don't, so I have to. I am not sure what I am going to do exactly when I hit maintenance. My net calories are 1600 a day gross 2100 hundred because I am exclusively breastfeeding an 8 month old (who is having issues with solid food) so that is a lot of milk production. I am loosing weight at a slow steady pace with these calories but because of the breastfeeding I am SUPER hungry all the time (I was never like this pre-baby) I can easily wallop 3000 calories without thinking about it so for the time I need to keep myself in line. lol.
    If you think you can more power to you though. I am hoping to be where you are at soon, within the next few months but will probably wait until she is weaned to stop tracking. You know what works for you, just keep a close eye on yourself for the first little while. Just like someone else had said it is going to feel like you are taking training wheels off at first, might be a bit scary and over whelming, but like you said, it is unreasonable to log for an entire lifetime. When do you get to live?
  • joakool
    joakool Posts: 434 Member
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    Sometimes I feel that way, too. Unfortunately, tracking is the only way for me to be accountable and honest about what I eat. It's so easy for me to say "eh, this is about 300 calories" and it ends up more like 700 if I check it out. LOL. I don't have good self-control and, for now, tracking is the only thing that keeps me in check. I wish I could give it up. :cry:
  • drewbird911
    drewbird911 Posts: 120 Member
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    I stopped for a while and am just back now because without it my weigth was creeping slowly back up and my pants were getting tight. I know what you mean, it can tiresome but I is keeping me more honest and keeping csome of the cookiees out of my mouth and getting me to exercise some more as well. So on the whole I think it is better. But don't sweat it too much and remember why you doing it is to improve wellbeing.
  • MizzDoc
    MizzDoc Posts: 493 Member
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    I get so sick of logging, but I am afraid to stop. Every time I try to do maintain on my own, my weight starts creeping back up, and I have to start over again.

    Exactly! Agree with ^^^^ 100%.

    I admit to growing weary of tracking, esp. since I cook a lot. So I have to create recipes for everything to be sure my calorie count is close to on target as possible. That can get very annoying, esp. when I cook new/different dishes weekly.

    I will say that when I stopped logging everything, the pounds did creep back on, ten to be exact. So now I am now trying to lose that ten, plus the additional pounds I wanted to lose. *sigh*

    All that to say, logging can really be a pain in the butt. Hands down, no disagreement with you. But it is the only thing that has kept *me* honest and allowed me to lose weight safely and effectively.

    But if you feel logging, at this stage in your journey, is hindering you then by all means ease up. Maybe just log during the week and take the weekends off. So log every other week. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.
  • AEMW8
    AEMW8 Posts: 94 Member
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    I think I may have taken nearly the entire month of August off from tracking. Not because I wanted to necessarily, but because I was so busy that I would forget what I had eaten and thus not log. Yes I have the mobile app, but I'm not a fan of it. I guess once I figure it all out I'll like it more, but I find it difficult to add foods and exercise unless they're already in my list.
  • flirtingwithforty
    flirtingwithforty Posts: 11 Member
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    Ditto! I took about 3 weeks off from tracking and didn't gain any weight (phew). I think you probably have the tools you need to do okay without daily tracking. And like someone else said, I never did track on weekends (not near a computer on weekends), so maybe that is something to consider. I still weight myself everyday, and would like to track my exercise more consistently, but maybe focus less on tracking food daily, unless I get too off-track.
  • aliencheesecake
    aliencheesecake Posts: 570 Member
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    does anyone else feel this way? i'm so sick of tracking everything and being so anal about every last detail of every single thing i eat or drink. i'm very heavily considering not tracking anymore. i'm about 6 weeks away from a year of steady logging. i'm just sick of it. i feel like over these past months i've gotten a lot of good information and that i can easily continue on from here with making good choices, both with food and exercise. and i feel like i'd be a lot happier and more mentally at ease. and i'm happy with where i am weight-wise. and i can always come back!

    As long as you have the restraint to stick with watching your portions knowing you don't have to "account" for it (I didn't last time, lol) I say go for it. Who wants to log forever???
  • aliencheesecake
    aliencheesecake Posts: 570 Member
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    I admit to growing weary of tracking, esp. since I cook a lot. So I have to create recipes for everything to be sure my calorie count is close to on target as possible. That can get very annoying, esp. when I cook new/different dishes weekly.

    I will say that when I stopped logging everything, the pounds did creep back on, ten to be exact. So now I am now trying to lose that ten, plus the additional pounds I wanted to lose. *sigh*

    Mizz, this is pretty much me exactly!
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
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    If you feel that you have the discipline to manage your lifestyle without tracking then go for it.

    Test the theory and see if your are able to meet / maintain your goals.
  • OhDD65
    OhDD65 Posts: 178 Member
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    You have done so well and look great. Just think what all you have learned this past year about eating right as well as eating the correct portions. I too got burnt out on tracking after 9 months, but I learned so much while on this program. I had only lost 10 lbs with another 20 to go, but just said enough was enough so I stopped tracking though I continued to keep an eye on my weight. For me the scale is my barometer. If I start to go up then I know I am not following the plan like I should be. However my exercise did start to slide. That I was really burnt out on ! One yr later I was back up those 10 lbs, but am back seriously on this again for 3 wks now. Not exercising to the extreme that I was before, so I think I will be able to stay with this now. Already have lost 6 lbs in 3 wks and I am determined to get
    all of that wt I gained off again and then some. My MFP friends are my cheerleaders and it helps so much! Your fellow MFP ers will miss you, but know they are always there to welcome you back if you need them again. Good luck.......
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I used my food diary for losing weight and learning how to get my proper nutrition and meet my macros. i don't find it necessary at all for maintaining; I'm sure I have days when I'm over my calories and days when I'm under...and I'm sure I don't hit my macros dead on, but I come pretty close.

    I eat the same nutritiously dense foods now in maintenance as I did when I was losing...with a smattering of junk thrown in their for good measure. I'm of the opinion that your choices that you learn to make and your fitness is the "lifestyle"...not logging for an eternity. I've maintained easily for 5 months without logging; it hasn't been an issue for me.
    This. Really well said. I agree completely.
    I actually didn't "count" calories when I was losing. I logged, to see what and how I was eating (I was learning to eat). After I reached my goal weight I kept eating the same foods.
    From time to time, if I introduced a slew of new foods, or if the scale crept up, I'd log again.
    I'm logging now (12 years later) because of good ole perimenopause.
    But yes this is how I view things as well.
    (It does depend on your relationship with food, like money.)
  • deje0201
    deje0201 Posts: 4
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    I have been on and off for about a year and a half of my new lifestyle. While I completely agree that it is cumbersome to be tracking all my dietary details it is necessary. I have recently gained back 12-15 pounds and feeling miserable about myself. I know that I have a sick parent, my weight loss buddy moved 5+ hours away and I am struggling with life in general.

    I'm back to give it another go. I'm going to try to stay motivate and keep going. I didn't realize that this was going to be so difficult at times.
  • rowanwood
    rowanwood Posts: 510 Member
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    To me the tracking is just a map...I don't always track everything and I'm still eating at a deficit. I just use it so I don't forget or delude myself into forgetting what I'm putting in my mouth. My hunger is NOT a reliable gauge of how much I need to eat...not yet anyway...
  • mommy3457
    mommy3457 Posts: 361 Member
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    I'm not counting calories, and I'm still losing. I'm just watching how much I eat. I weigh in every morning though, and I do look at the calories so I know how much to eat, but I don't track it. So, I'm using the principles I learned.
  • gurlygirlrcr80
    gurlygirlrcr80 Posts: 162 Member
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    I take the weekends off of logging and it hasn't hurt my progress at all. it keeps me on track during the week and during the weekend I just make sure i do the right thing. I still managed to lose 3 pounds over the weekend so I know i'm not failing my diet...
  • cyberbidder
    cyberbidder Posts: 20
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    some people are able to maintain without tracking, I can not.
  • chrysa858
    chrysa858 Posts: 9
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    Hey there,

    I felt the same way and I come and go with tracking. But I found out that even though I was still watching what I ate, I slowly gained weight. I haven't steadily tracked since October and I have gained back 8 lbs. It is ultimately up to you that is for sure and yes you can always come back. A friend of mine said, "Hey why are you doing this the hard way? Your smart phone has a bar code reader and this will make tracking way easier and faster!" So try that, use your phone bar code reader on the items you can scan. I am back here now tracking again and hope to lose 40 lbs in the next 6 months. I am hoping for a 10lb decrease by thanksgiving for sure.
  • bugtaylor
    bugtaylor Posts: 77 Member
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    Do what works for u.
  • lilalief
    lilalief Posts: 76 Member
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    I stopped for a while too, I was so sick of it! Dunno why, I just was. Now I started again, mainly because the new school year started and I want to get back on track before I move to paris next semester :)

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