Do you allow yourself a day off?

Yes. I'm in the 14th month of this. There are days off, there are weeks off. There have even been fortnights off. Durings those offs, I have plateaued or gained - though the most I've gained is 2lb, of which I'm extremely proud, as that is telling me I've really switched into healthy eating most of the time. And I've come back renewed and refreshed.
It's important for my sanity. And I will not do MFP on holiday, or special days. I need the oases of indulgence to help me spend so much time swimming in the seas of discipline.

I allow myself a bit of leeway a couple days a month. Not a day off per se, but I might have a little more yogurt, a little less salad. Before I started keto I would allow myself a 1/4 cup of icecream on those days. But I'm super obsessive about logging, so I never really go over, more of an issue with under most days.

No, 'cause I'd undo a week's progress in a day if I did that.

Instead, I recognize that life happens sometimes, and if I occasionally want to fit in a bigger meal, I plan around it. Other than that, I try to stick to my calorie goals every day.

mamapeach910 wrote: »

It's the same idea, at least to my mind, with logging a planned indulgence day. Make it part of your ongoing plan and it loses the aura of forbidden fruit. You'll know there's another one coming along in another few weeks or so.

I agree with this, but I think for a lot of people taking a day off logging isn't about indulgences or hiding them, but simply about not having to log. When I didn't log over Christmas (other than the day itself), I ate basically the same as I always do. The logging vacation was more because logging at my parents' house would have been a bit of a hassle and, more so, because it was just a nice change not to have to try to estimate everything. It didn't mean that I was going to start eating millions of extra calories, like some seem to think.

In fact, I think this idea that if you don't log you will feel free to go nuts ought to be something people are concerned about (if they have it) and work to avoid, since you shouldn't feel like if not watched (i.e., not logging) you will lose all control. I think logging is a nice way to keep yourself mindful, but it shouldn't be so significant that you can't trust yourself to have a day off without thinking you will go wild, as some have suggested.

I guess I'm one of the rare ones who does allow a day off every once in a while - and I'm not ashamed

Every few weeks to a month I give myself a break for a day. Eat what I like, don't log it, start fresh the next day. I've lost over 50 pounds so far so clearly this works for me.

I ate an entire bag of cheetos last week, didn't log it and still managed to lose weight

segacs wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

In fact, I think this idea that if you don't log you will feel free to go nuts ought to be something people are concerned about (if they have it) and work to avoid, since you shouldn't feel like if not watched (i.e., not logging) you will lose all control. I think logging is a nice way to keep yourself mindful, but it shouldn't be so significant that you can't trust yourself to have a day off without thinking you will go wild, as some have suggested.

This is REALLY important, and a theme that came up in the other thread with the debate about TV shows like the Biggest Loser.

The truth is that most of us could lose weight in a lab rat setting, with strictly controlled diet and exercise, and no other real-life complications or obligations. However, that's useless, because you don't actually learn how to maintain the loss in the real world, and most people quickly gain it back.

Giving up that strict control -- that crutch of the food scale -- and learning how to eat within your calories in any and all situations -- vacations, social events, travel, restaurants -- is one of those key, important life skills that will allow you to maintain the lifestyle change and weight loss for life.

I don't give myself "cheat" days where I can eat whatever I want. But I do take logging breaks, most recently for two weeks on vacation to Mexico, where weighing and detailed logging would have been impossible anyway. I trusted myself to make healthy food choices and not to go overboard, and sure enough, I lost 4 pounds on the trip.

I couldn't agree more. I went through the entire holiday season (from Thanksgiving to New Years Day) barely logging at all. And you know what happened? Nothing. I didn't gain an ounce. And trust me - I ate. Like - a lot. But I also used portion control, ate when I was hungry, stopped when I was full.

I log every day. It's less about weight loss and more with an eye to accurate data for maintenance purposes. If I don't know what my weight is doing relative to consumption, I can't imagine I'm going to be able to keep the weight off after I have lost it.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I agree with this, but I think for a lot of people taking a day off logging isn't about indulgences or hiding them, but simply about not having to log. When I didn't log over Christmas (other than the day itself), I ate basically the same as I always do. The logging vacation was more because logging at my parents' house would have been a bit of a hassle and, more so, because it was just a nice change not to have to try to estimate everything. It didn't mean that I was going to start eating millions of extra calories, like some seem to think.

In fact, I think this idea that if you don't log you will feel free to go nuts ought to be something people are concerned about (if they have it) and work to avoid, since you shouldn't feel like if not watched (i.e., not logging) you will lose all control. I think logging is a nice way to keep yourself mindful, but it shouldn't be so significant that you can't trust yourself to have a day off without thinking you will go wild, as some have suggested.

Definitely this. I'm a lot more lax about my logging than I used to be, but then, I've gotten better at estimating what my calories are that I'm eating. For holidays, I do eat in moderation and I don't pig out on anything (except home made Chex mix!), so I don't worry about those days. And for things like State Fair, yeah, I'm going to have my corn dog and funnel cake and maybe try some of the other fried things, but I'm also walking a LOT. As in, 4-5 hours walking around. Not cardio, but burning a lot more calories than I normally do. I don't log those days because I have no way to estimate calories in or calories burned. I'm not going to carry a food scale to the fairgrounds! XD

For me, logging has to become a habit, so even if I don't log a full day, I'm at least double-checking my estimates and adjusting where necessary. I'll be doing it for probably the rest of my life, but I'm also not stressing over EVERY. SINGLE. CALORIE. It keeps me on track and makes me aware of what I actually am eating, and I can adjust on the fly a lot better now than I used to be able to!

tracyannk28 wrote: »

OK - so for those of you who log every day: Is this something you are planning to do for life? Or just until you lose all your weight? Or until you've been at maintenance for a while?

I'll likely be counting for life but recognize that that is not a solution for everybody. Some background: When I was in my twenties I lost 100+ pounds through diet and exercise, though I treated it as a (temporary) diet. When I got where I wanted to go, I said "Well I've got this now, I know what to do and some cheating here and there won't hurt anything." A couple years later, I had gained it all back plus interest and am now on the path back down again.

I'm just under two years into my journey this time around, and it'll be another two years or so before I'm at my goal weight. I actually like logging and using both it and the food scale as a check against my estimation - I'm getting pretty good at measuring out exactly one or two ounces of a lot of things! If doing that every day forever is what will keep me accountable and at a healthy weight then I will gladly do it. Some people don't need to log as much or at all after hitting maintenance and that's cool too; I'm doing what I am confident will work for me.

soltris wrote: »

tracyannk28 wrote: »

OK - so for those of you who log every day: Is this something you are planning to do for life? Or just until you lose all your weight? Or until you've been at maintenance for a while?

I'll likely be counting for life but recognize that that is not a solution for everybody. Some background: When I was in my twenties I lost 100+ pounds through diet and exercise, though I treated it as a (temporary) diet. When I got where I wanted to go, I said "Well I've got this now, I know what to do and some cheating here and there won't hurt anything." A couple years later, I had gained it all back plus interest and am now on the path back down again.

I'm just under two years into my journey this time around, and it'll be another two years or so before I'm at my goal weight. I actually like logging and using both it and the food scale as a check against my estimation - I'm getting pretty good at measuring out exactly one or two ounces of a lot of things! If doing that every day forever is what will keep me accountable and at a healthy weight then I will gladly do it. Some people don't need to log as much or at all after hitting maintenance and that's cool too; I'm doing what I am confident will work for me.

That makes total sense. You know that logging keeps you on track and with 2 years left to go I can see why you would feel the need to remain as accountable as possible while reaching your goal.

I'm pretty much at maintenance - which is why my logging has been on and off. But I was at a 100 day streak up until Christmas. I'd still like to lose 8 pounds but it's not the end of the world if I don't.

tracyannk28 wrote: »

OK - so for those of you who log every day: Is this something you are planning to do for life? Or just until you lose all your weight? Or until you've been at maintenance for a while?

I don't know yet. I imagine that after logging food for a year or so and getting to my goal weight I may have a pretty good idea of what I can eat without checking calories. I might feel comfortable stopping logging food unless my weight starts going up again.

I never take a day off and I've logged for 371 days so far. I log the good, bad, and the ugly but try to make most of it good. I've become really mindful of everything that goes into my mouth and feel so much better that it's worth it to me to keep logging everything. I've eaten above my daily goal occasionally but pre-planned the overages and then just move on. It's made no difference in my overall weight loss. Every taste, lick, bite goes on MFP by the end of the day.

Weekend (but I try to be more active on weekends as well to reduce the negative impact)

WickyDunn wrote: »

Just wondering if people do this? Not go totally overkill with eating everything in sight but do you allow yourself a day when you just don't count?

No, just like I don't take a day off from brushing my teeth, or combing my hair. Since this is a lifestyle, I plan for treats within my calories and never feel that I need to go outside of that limit, because nothing is forbidden. And even if I don't plan for them, I usually can work around it and not exceed my calories plus some from exercise.

Not me. I've counted every day for the 20 weeks I've been on here. I think on a couple of occasions, both pizza, I didn't worry too much about it. I still counted and entered the information. But what counts is being happy with the scoreboard (weight/pounds lost). We plan on counting even after we achieve our weight loss goals.