how do you keep logging and maintaining?

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  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    everyone is going to be different. I would think that if something works, why stop?
    I have been pretty good at maintaining, and stopped logging consistently well before i reached maintenance BUT I eat like a robot and most my days are pretty similar.

    Have fun and good luck
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Interesting reading everyone's answers. I personally don't think I'll ever stop logging. It literally takes less than five minutes a day. I always have my phone with me so why not log? I also plan on weighing myself everyday forever as well. Lack of awareness is what got me into this mess in the first place. So five minutes of my time is worth never having to go through this again.
  • ewrook
    ewrook Posts: 90 Member
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    I try to log, and start out every day logging. If I miss logging evening meals because of going out or entertaining, I usually don't fill in the next day the way I would when I was in losing mode. I weigh myself every day and have committed to myself to log more faithfully if I start gaining.
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
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    After two years of maintaining it's really just a mindless habit now.

    A part of food prep routine.

    Also, if you use the meals feature it literally is 2 clicks to log food.
  • Aug31st
    Aug31st Posts: 5 Member
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    well I lost about 46lbs on here and stopped using MFP completely. I gained it all back over about a year and a half. what a disaster! very disappointing and tough to accept it, but I'm back again---> I WILL get the weight off and I have no intention to stop logging or stop weighing. its just not worth the risk of undoing all the hard work.
  • ilovesweeties
    ilovesweeties Posts: 84 Member
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    At the moment, not long into maintenance, I am logging to make sure I eat enough (which feels like a problem I never thought I would have). It's a habit, instinct, routine now, I always reach for myfitnesspal to pre-log my day or to readjust when I end up going for a hot chocolate or I feel like an extra helping at dinner. Lots of people say it's like brushing your teeth twice a day- I feel the same. I want to keep maintain my healthy weight as much as I want to maintain my own set of teeth!
  • Yoshirio
    Yoshirio Posts: 242 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I will never stop logging. The last time I did,I gained back 60 plus
    pounds I previously lost. I need to be aware and accountable for what goes in my mouth. It will be worth it to me,to never gain that weight back again.
  • Diana_GettingFit
    Diana_GettingFit Posts: 458 Member
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    I'm pretty sure I will always log. It's a habit now and it doesn't take long. I'm afraid if I stop then I will start slipping.
  • akboy58
    akboy58 Posts: 137 Member
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    nxd10 wrote: »
    I just keep doing it - it's a habit. I haven't missed logging a meal or snack I think since I started over 3 years ago. I have my phone with me and log after I eat. (Eat - log, no thought between.) If I don't have my phone or it's not appropriate, when I sit down at my computer I habitually open MFP and log everything I've eaten. It's like checking my e-mail or Facebook or like brushing my teeth. You just do it.

    I like the data. I'm still learning things. And nowadays it usually tells me either that I SHOULD eat and there's a reason I'm hungry (not enough calories) or I should not eat french fries because they're not worth the calories.

    I rarely weigh or measure any more - I'm pretty good at estimating. I just double check myself once in a while.

    ALL of this!
  • pinkteapot3
    pinkteapot3 Posts: 157 Member
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    I log just as accurately as when I was losing. The daily cal goal is different, but that's the only difference.

    It only takes me a few minutes each day on the phone app.
  • slimandsmiling
    slimandsmiling Posts: 85 Member
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    I know this was initially old post but it is all finally making sense.. when I log two things happen, firstly I am aware of getting close to my calorie goals for that day and secondly it stops me snacking. Now I need to start mixing up my exercise and also what I eat so there is more variety in my day to day being. I hope since your replies going back to Sept 2015 that you are all going well on your MFP journeys.x
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    slimandsmiling wrote: »
    Hi, I have been maintaining without logging but don't feel I am eating as healthy as when I was logging daily.. how you do keep going long term with logging and maintaining? x

    Just becomes a habit for most! It's hard for me to eat without logging now
  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
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    @slimandsmiling, funny you came back after all these months. I am still logging, though wondering why. I have continued to lose weight, even though I am on maintenance and have been for nine months. @kimyrachel, I am starting to think your approach might be right for me, but like some others, old habits die hard.
  • SprucedUp
    SprucedUp Posts: 2 Member
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    I have been on maintenance for about 4 months, and I log every single day. Actually, I plan my menu and pre-log the day before. Any changes to my plan get logged the same day. It keeps me honest with myself. Like others have said, it's just a habit and part of my daily routine.
  • angelamichelle_xo
    angelamichelle_xo Posts: 646 Member
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    WEIGH EVERYTHING.

    LOG EVERYTHING.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Logging is a habit for me now. I'm not as exact with it, I do a lot more guesstimating than I used to, but I'm also used to going on at least on my phone and logging my food. Just the act of doing that helps me be aware of what I'm eating for the day. Example; when we went on a cruise this past summer, I had no internet access, and thus, no logging. But I would write down what I ate, even though I didn't know what the calories were. When I got home, I entered them in and found that I did really good that way, was only over by a little bit most days and only gained about half a pound. So for me, just the act of logging makes me more aware of my food intake, even if it's off.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I meal plan, mostly to avoid waste and ensure predictability, variety and balance, but only in a spreadsheet now, because I have learnt (from 1 1/2 year of logging in MFP+fitbit) what normal portions are and what foods I like and can eat to satiety (and what satiety feels like :D ). I weigh foods that are easy to weigh, like milk, rice, pasta, count the countables, and split larger items into equal portions for several days. I have a set of rough templates for the different meals. The meal plan becomes a food log as I eat my way through it.

    I also weigh myself every day and log the weight in Fitbit. I notice that I stay effortlessly within a range of 55 to 58 kilos when I stick to the meal plan; when I hit the high, I get more strict with myself and stop "treats" for a while, until my weight goes down again.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited February 2016
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    slimandsmiling wrote: »
    Hi, I have been maintaining without logging but don't feel I am eating as healthy as when I was logging daily.. how you do keep going long term with logging and maintaining? x

    I don't...I always thought of logging as simply a tool to learn how to eat. I've had no problems maintaining for going on three year nor do I have issues with eating well...it goes hand in hand with my fitness and other health goals...I don't need to log in order to live well...and frankly, the idea of logging for the next 40+ years is pretty nauseating...it would be like riding my bike with training wheels for my entire life....
  • badassbeaver
    badassbeaver Posts: 28 Member
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    I am pretty much a routine eater everyday..basically I eat the same foods for breakfast and lunch, give or take one or two changes but rarely. So it is easy to log those. E;g I eat eggs for lunch, mostly boiled. The only change is dinner which I never have any idea what I will cook but that said it is one of the 10 or so dishes that are my current favorites. Not much of an eater anyways and the App makes it really really helpful. This site has been great as I get a lot of insight into the calories I eat-before this I used to eat less but high calorie food-e.g 3 slices of bread a day, but now I make deliberate choices to switch that with a protein food. So logging really helped me to see where I was really messing up-so I eat the same but have switched bad food with good food :)
  • hyg99
    hyg99 Posts: 354 Member
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    I log everyday except holidays away (so 3-4 weeks a year) but I still have the focus (just not the wifi! and it feels like a break of routine)
    Just returned from a week skiing, I ate loads, but I also know I would have burnt loads, got back tonight, logging will commence in the morning.
    I agree with the other posters, I need the focus despite being well over a year in maintainence but equally it takes minutes to do, so I do it.

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