Logging for life?

I have been maintaining since July and I still log daily. It works for me because I like to eat a lot of different foods and logging keeps me in the calorie range I know I need to be in. I've lost weight before and regained it. Since I find logging to be pretty easy, it was an easy decision for me to continue to do it.

But I also know there are many successful maintainers who no longer log daily. If you find it daunting, I think there are ways you can avoid it.

I'll need to log for life. If "estimating and hoping" worked, I wouldn't be where I was.

I don't care how long I've been at this (a long time), if there's free food in front of me, I'll eat it. Logging keeps me honest...and not having to do the math in my head.

When this computer fad is over, I'll go back to using a pen and paper.

I logged only for about 3 months/-25 lbs. I am a consistent eater and carry around d a "template" in my head of what I can eat for each meal & snacks. I've done an additional 15 months/-95 lbs like this. I've logged 2-3 weeks this entire time, just to make sure I'm on track. I've seen losses every month and had no plateaus, although I do fluctuate a lot from week to week. Clearly, this doesn't work for most people, but just saying it IS possible not to log. Before I started, I came to terms with the fact that I would need to make changes I could stick with for life. For. Ever.
SW 301
CW 181
GW 150
18 mo.

I've been in maintenance for over 2.5 years and don't log or otherwise keep a diary. My POV has always been that logging and keeping a diary is a great teaching tool...but like anything you learn how to do, eventually you should just be able to do it.

Logging helped me to learn proper portion control and showed me initially how unbalanced my diet was...logging taught me a lot about nutrition in general and I have taken everything I learned into maintenance and have had no issues at all.

If all goes well, I'll be alive for another 40-50 years or more...I really don't think it realistic that I would actually keep a food diary for the next 50 years.

lisah180 wrote: »

Just curious what people plan on doing after losing weight and reaching goal. Will you continue to log at maintenance? I'm a long way from my goal weight but if I don't log, I overeat it's as simple as that. I'm either logging or gaining weight? So I can't imagine not logging and staying successful, but the thought of logging forever seems so daunting!

I don't know. I've been logging for 407 days. It doesn't feel like a big deal to me to keep doing it. Forever is a log time though. I could see reaching my goal and after maintaining for awhile starting to log less frequently as long as my weight stays stable. I don't think I'll get to my goal weight and stop logging that day.

I'm a healthy BMI (and was only overweight for a brief stint due to illness) and contue to log. I would like to lose vanity weight, but it's not a priority. I log for a few main reasons. The first being that it keeps me mindful about what I am putting in my body. The second is that I love metrics. This gives me the ability to track my calories, macros, and micronutrients. I no longer have health issues, and do not take medication (meaning I don't require medication, not that I'm adverse to it if necessary). Most days I feel good physically, and on days I don't (ie low energy, stomach not great, etc) I can look at my diary and see what I've been eating leading up to the days I don't feel great. Usually it is a consistent lack of protien, sometimes fat, or a sugar overload the previous day. I can then make sure I up whatever I've been deficient in, or consume less of something I've been eating to much of. So far, this has worked out well. The other reason why I continue to log is for health. If I should ever have problem arise, this is just more information to give the doctor. Our bodies are complex systems that are dependent upon us to ensure they get the proper nutrients to function. I feel that many conditions are brought on by what consume or don't consume, and by having everything logged, there could be a dietary reason for why I am visiting the doctor. It takes less than five minutes a day to log, and the benefits are well worth that time for me. I'm not getting any younger, and I want to remain as healthy as I can for as long as I can. I don't want to diminish the quality of my life (activity level, general comfort, etc) because I made poor food choices.

I'm more or less maintaining right now but I plan to lose a little more so I'm still logging.

That being said, I may end up logging for a long while. I'll probably estimate more often vs. just weighing and see how I do, and, if my weight holds within the range I want, I could call it good and stop.

Stress, anxiety and depression can have a huge impact on my appetite and food choices, though, so continuing to log has been very helpful. I track the numbers in a spreadsheet and have a Fitbit that does a very good job of estimating my calorie burn. Between MFP and Fitbit, I can see if my weight should be going up or down. I know that I have a weight range, and I know that high amounts of sodium over the course of several days can mean I'll see a jump due to water weight, but having the intake & burn numbers gives me one more piece of info. If my weight goes up and the numbers show that I'm on track to start gaining, I work on getting back to a deficit.

November was tough, plus there was Thanksgiving, with several yummy foods I only get on holidays. I may have gained a pound over the course of the month, and that's OK. I have the numbers, and I can get back to my routine and go back to a deficit if the weight does stick around.

~Lyssa

I expect to be doing it for life. Might be able to take breaks here and there but I have a lifelong issue with food. If I could not get it under control on my own in the first 45 years I hardly think I will do so over the next 30 or so.

I'm about 20 lbs. from my goal and am training myself to eat right without logging. Mostly I lost my weight through exercising and ball parking my calories, and actually eat more now then I used to.

Absolutely I plan to log forever. I think some people biologically don't experience hunger and satiety in a normal way, and that I will likely never be able to self-regulate weight like some can. It's possible that it's leptin resistance and will go away with weight loss, but I am not trusting my success to that hope.

That said, I don't mind it at all. I spend less than three minutes planning out each day in advance, and I actually really like having all my meals planned the day ahead of time so when I get home I don't have to think, I just need to do. It's less work than brushing my teeth, and my dentist is thankful I plan to keep that up for a lifetime too.

I hit my goal weight in September and started maintenance until my vacation in mid October. I stopped logging for the week I was there and ate whatever I wanted. When I got back I had gone from 185 to 200 pounds. 1.5 months later I am back to 185 and still logging. I plan to lose another 20 more then maintain that weight while trying to build some muscle. I plan to keep logging until the site stops working or I die.

I think I will keep logging because it has many benefits outside of weight-loss for me. I may relax some of the weighing and measuring rules, but I am not sure yet. I will decide when I get to goal.

I pretty much have to log, yeah. I like treats too much and it's the only way to make sure that they actually fit in my days.