When will you be done with MFP?

MABMomma
MABMomma Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've read quite a few comments that say you aren't supposed use this app forever to log your food.

What do y'all think? Is there a time limit on this tool? When would you feel comfortable not using MFP?
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Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I've been logging for nearly two years. Every now and then I plan to stop, but I just can't! I like seeing the numbers, plus I have my fitbit synced with mfp which gives me extra data.

    I guess logging is like a security blanket for me, it shows me I'm on the right track.
  • lc355
    lc355 Posts: 91 Member
    Couldn't imagine life without it, what a scary thought.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    lc355 wrote: »
    Couldn't imagine life without it, what a scary thought.

    I know right!! The thought of guesstimating makes me twitch :lol:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Probably never, or the day I give up and decide that I don't care about being fat again.
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    Everyone is different some Ppl who log forever and some Ppl will be able to grasp maintenance quickly and without assistance. I will probably do it forever because it gives me data and keeps me in control but, I have no eating disorders or problems with control so that has some bearing on it.
  • Quinn_Baker
    Quinn_Baker Posts: 292 Member
    I will probably need to at least log occasionally forever.
  • kenyainez
    kenyainez Posts: 222 Member
    It's always funny to me how someone would say you can't do something that promotes a healthier lifestyle forever. Why not? You can do it as long as you want to.

    I never hear anybody say "You can't drink beer forever" and I know people who drink it daily! LMBO. No shade to the OP, it's just funny how that works.
  • LuckyNumbers
    LuckyNumbers Posts: 208 Member
    I have only been using this site faithfully for a few months, but I think I will probably use it for the foreseeable future. I know I'll be much more successful in losing weight and maintaining a loss if I track what I'm eating, and acknowledging what works for me.

    Right now, MFP works for me, and I can't imagine that it will ever stop working for me.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited March 2016
    I think it's better to just stop when you feel confident you can live without it. When it seems like a chore AND totally unnecessary, that's a hint. I got there this summer (last summer? 2015 :# ). But I still plan/log in a spreadsheet, to get variety while reducing waste.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    MABMomma wrote: »
    I've read quite a few comments that say you aren't supposed use this app forever to log your food.

    What do y'all think? Is there a time limit on this tool? When would you feel comfortable not using MFP?

    I've never heard that before.... hm.... I'll use it until I don't... I really don't think about not using it, I simply log in and use it and then go on with my day.
  • DanSTL82
    DanSTL82 Posts: 156 Member
    I'll likely set it to maintenance and keep on it forever, once I hit my weight loss goal. I've already lost a lot of weight before and then gained much of it back slowly over the course of a few years, so I don't want that to happen again.
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
    I think once I get about to where I want to be, I'll probably go to logging every other week for a couple months and then see if it makes sense to keep cutting back from there.
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    I'm always going to track my food, makes life so much easier for me.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    Well, I could quit MFP anytime, but not calorie counting.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    NEVER, I WILL NEVER LEAVE MFP AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME >:)
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    DanSTL82 wrote: »
    I'll likely set it to maintenance and keep on it forever, once I hit my weight loss goal. I've already lost a lot of weight before and then gained much of it back slowly over the course of a few years, so I don't want that to happen again.
    This.

    MFP lets me track my calorie budget. I track my money budget closely, so why shouldn't I track my calorie budget?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited March 2016
    MABMomma wrote: »
    I've read quite a few comments that say you aren't supposed use this app forever to log your food.

    What do y'all think? Is there a time limit on this tool? When would you feel comfortable not using MFP?

    I haven't logged in about three years come mid April. IMO, it's kind of like training wheels on a bike...you should use them to learn but eventually you should be able to take what you've learned and apply it...and just ride. When I went to maintenance a few years ago, I pretty quickly realized that I didn't need to log anything anymore.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    I love mfp and logging my food, I plan on using it for the foreseeable future, regardless of if I have weight to lose. I love the awareness.
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    I don't want to do this forever. It's not the right choice for me. For me, it's about learning how to live a healthy and active lifestyle permanently. Not the 1200 calorie "lifestyle changes" that lots of people here just use as a synonym for crash diet. Actually changing my life. So although I'm nowhere near maintenance, I'm already going in with the idea that this is a tool and eventually, I'd like to transition off of it.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    When I'm dead. I'm not going to stop logging my food.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    When I'm forced to pay.
  • Quinn_Baker
    Quinn_Baker Posts: 292 Member
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    Well, I could quit MFP anytime, but not calorie counting.

    right. this, exactly.
  • Quinn_Baker
    Quinn_Baker Posts: 292 Member
    tomteboda wrote: »
    When I'm forced to pay.

    LOL. yeah, me too.
  • Lucy1752
    Lucy1752 Posts: 499 Member
    When the cons outweigh the pros. Right now I use it happily and find a bit of comfort in it. I have found that I eat a lot of the same things every week so I am remembering their specs. It makes things easier and I can only imagine the longer I do this the more I will remember. Maybe at some future date my memory will be such that I can go without but as of right now I have to log meal by meal or I miss things.

  • prairiemom
    prairiemom Posts: 391 Member
    If I dont log, I dont loose. I just slowly start back to my old habits. Its good to see what you are actually eating. I dont think anything good for you can be bad we are in this for the long run :)
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    If I don't log my food, I get careless. "Eh, instead of a scoop of ice cream, maybe I'll get a chocolate sundae! Make it a large!" I personally need the accountability and the insight into what's going on. I lost around 50 pounds a few years ago, got tired of logging and portion control, and a few pounds crept back on over a one or two year period. I plan on logging until I believe I've totally internalized portion control, making food choice tradeoffs, and monitoring my levels of hunger/satiety. When that will be, I can't say but my main problem with weight maintenance in the past was failure to go into maintenance in a controlled way.

    I have no idea why someone would write that "you aren't supposed use this app forever". You'll read a lot of weird and crazy stuff here. People have their own ideas about what they think works, and post them as though they were solutions for everyone. Do whatever works for you , and ignore a lot of what you read in these forums. Most of us are no more "experts" than you, and most of those claiming to be "experts" here probably aren't.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    I'll probably still use it to look up counts for new foods, or double check appropriate servings. And of course whenever my guesstimates catch up with me and the scale leaves my safe zone.

    Forever. Using it forever.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    I've been logging on MFP for 329 days. I'll log one way or another permanently, but I don't know if it will always be MFP.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    drmerc_oc wrote: »
    When I get banned

    @drmerc_oc

    Wassuuuppp
  • ridge4mfp
    ridge4mfp Posts: 301 Member
    I will likely log for at least 6 months to a year after I change to maintenance to "learn" how to eat at maintenance. However, I will weigh at least once a week, and if I gain 5 lbs. or more, it will be back to the log.

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