Staying or Going?

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2

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  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    My original goal was to get to a point in my life where I was a "normal" person and that included the ability to maintain my weight without having to track every morsel of food. It took years to get to that point but it eventually happened and I stopped logging. That was about 2 years ago after over 4 years of logging.

    I came back because I have a goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon and in order to do that, I need a better handle on my nutrition. I need to know how much protein I'm eating (I tend to have a protein deficiency and have to watch that) and how much sugar and things like that and it's way easier to know that if you log your food in an online diary. So that's what I'm doing.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,212 Member
    edited October 2014
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    It's a great question! I have no intention of leaving MFP, but at the same time, having lost the weight I needed to lose and maintained it for 2 years now, I feel as if I have "graduated". Most of us don't continue to keep going to our old college or high school once we've graduated. We move on.

    Of course my friends still losing weight or those just starting out in maintenance are a huge draw. I want them to succeed and I want to cheer them on. I don't fear putting the weight back if I were to leave MFP. That isn't going to happen as I've changed the uderlying habits that led to my weight gain and I have a solid maintainence that I'm adhering to faithfully (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/themedalist/view/what-s-your-maintenance-plan-624676). But I do enjoy the daily check-ins with my MFP pals.

    What has changed is the amount of time I spend on MFP each day and how I use it. I no longer look at food diaries or comment on exercise posts that are automatically generated by MFP. I'd much rather respond to a post someone took the time to write than one auto-generated by MFP. I spend a lot less time on MFP than I once did, and that's a good fit for me.

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  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
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    Ive been in maitenance nearly a year and Im still logging - albeit less precisely now - ie I accept guestimating a lot more.
    -
    and I still enjoy the forums so I keep posting here too :)
  • lisab64mfp
    lisab64mfp Posts: 89 Member
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    3 1/2 years at goal and still log my food every day (except when on vacation).
  • jane837
    jane837 Posts: 68 Member
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    I am definitely staying. Logging is an easy way to keep msyelf on the right track.
  • girlnamedsarah
    girlnamedsarah Posts: 18 Member
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    Staying. Mostly I am afraid of becoming one of the people that has to "return". It's great that they come back..but I did not work this hard to have to start over. I'm not sure I could do it all over again. That being said...I felt like I had a ton of support in my life and through MFP to lose, but need some MFP friends who intend to stay and maintain. Everyone seems to think that after you lose the weight the journey is over, but it's really just beginning a different path on the same journey.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I don't calorie count so I don't use the MFP tracking tools.

    I discovered MFP via the forums. I like to read and discuss weight and fitness related topics, so I imagine I'll continue to come here even after I (finally!) hit maintenance.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I've been here maintaining at goal for well over three years now. It's easy and it's become a regular habit, like brushing my teeth. It only takes a few minutes out of my day to do it. I have no reason to stop using MFP. It gets the job done for me. I'm not a fan of working hard to achieve a goal and then letting myself go and having to start all over again. I'd rather just stay awesome! (*)
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,039 Member
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    I plan to log as long as MFP exists. It's like brushing my teeth = just a daily part of my life. I do believe that MFP will evolve to become much more "fitness" than just a place to log food calories to lose weight. Like adding Maintenance forums, more software advances to get rid of spammers, adding the blog from MFP , etc. It is comforting to me.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    I plan on always using MFP, I've made some fantastic friends over the past 2 1/2 yrs who continue to inspire me..I would like to think I also inspire them :-D ....and its good being accountable :)
  • scrittrice
    scrittrice Posts: 345 Member
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    I've been maintaining for a month or so, and since I got close I've been trying to log more loosely and especially to cut back on weighing food. But I use MFP to keep track of my exercise (especially strength training, as I easily forget what I did the previous week) and, as someone else said, to make sure I've eaten enough to fuel my workouts. I like reading the forums, too, though I've never built up a friend list here. So I imagine I'll always come on, but I can imagine a day when I won't log food, at least not every day. I've taken off a week or 10 days for vacation and not had any issues, but I, too, am put off by the number of returnees and don't want to go there.
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
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    girlnamedsarah wrote: »
    ... Everyone seems to think that after you lose the weight the journey is over, but it's really just beginning a different path on the same journey.

    +1 <3

    The longer I'm in maintaining the longer that realization is that this new life is a forever 'thing' to be continuously cultivated & nurtured.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,709 Member
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    Also, there are a lot of us here who aren't trying to lose weight but use the many tools MFP provides to either track our nutrients, reach new workout goals, etc. Seems like newbies and returners get the most attention because the forums are generally geared towards them (other than this thread).
  • bennettinfinity
    bennettinfinity Posts: 865 Member
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    I've been using MFP for about 18 months now and hit my goal about 12 months in. What I've learned about myself in that span is that my natural tendencies are what got me overweight in the first place and flying by the seat of my pants will land me right back where I started. I plan on using MFP for the foreseeable future - maybe someday eating within my daily calories will become second nature, but for now, I need the feedback to keep me on track.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
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    I've been on mfp for 2yrs and back in March I started with a personal trainer. Within a couple months I stopped logging. I work on eating healthy with lower carbs. I find I don't need to be watching every single calorie I put into my mouth anymore. I'm still losing. I've been doing it very slowly but the changes are happening. I still come on mfp to have the support. Unlike facebook you can post things freely here with people that understand what you are doing and support you. I think I will probably end mfp when I get to my ultimate goal but whose to say that's a long time off in the future.
  • LumberJacck
    LumberJacck Posts: 559 Member
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    I'm not at goal weight yet but when I reach goal weight I'll stay if there is a weekly weigh-in thread on the maintenance board. I can't really start one now since I'm not at goal, but does anyone want to start one and see if it's self-sustaining?
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    LumberJacck wrote: »
    I'm not at goal weight yet but when I reach goal weight I'll stay if there is a weekly weigh-in thread on the maintenance board. I can't really start one now since I'm not at goal, but does anyone want to start one and see if it's self-sustaining?

    That's a really, really good idea.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I haven't logged for over a year and a half save for a spot check here and there and maintained just fine...I'm losing just fine right now as well...trying to cut down to about 10% BF...don't need to log.

    I know how to eat in appropriate quantities for my goals and am welled versed in nutrition...I also rock my fitness on a regular basis. For me, that's the lifestyle...not logging in some diary for the rest of my life.

    Where most people go wrong is that they fail to adopt a healthful lifestyle in general...they just go back to old habits and generally eating the SAD...and in my experience, the SAD and weight control don't make very good bed fellows.
  • georgiaTRIs
    georgiaTRIs Posts: 231 Member
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    I stay. I log my food. and I talk to all my friends. I get new food ideas and have changed my goal to lose more weight. There is so much support on MFP and now that I have lost 65 pounds I stay to encourage others through the same journey that I went through. Logging keeps me on track. and aware so I don't start to slowly put weight back on. Plus I love my friends
  • GBO323
    GBO323 Posts: 336 Member
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    RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »
    SO I'm wondering:
    • Do you plan to continue to use MFP & why? And how active do you think you will be? ie forums MFP friend status 'likes' & comments etc.

    I will continue to use MFP. I need to boundaries of the calorie limits that the Food Dairy provides. Posting and commenting will continue so I can encourage others who are aiming toward goal...like I was at one time.

    New lifestyle...my old one is no more...

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