succeeding without logging

24

Replies

  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,719 Member
    edited April 2016
    I maintain without logging. I can eat pretty intuitively. I also fast; that helps. I've not had an issue with eating way too much since college (about 13-14 years ago). I also stay active.
  • lostgoals
    lostgoals Posts: 57 Member
    edited April 2016
    I know I don't have to log to lose for a while, since well, I am fat. I log every day and sometimes day in advance though knowing as I get closer to my target I will have to monitor closer so might as well start now.

    Not counting and paying attention allowed me to get huge, counting and paying attention has allowed me to start shedding those pounds. Bottom line is, I hate everything about logging, weighing, counting same as you, but I hate being fat more than that.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    edited April 2016
    For me personally, I have to track. I tried doing maintenance without it, but the further away from the weight loss phase I got, the easier it was to get sloppy. The great thing is though, once I started tracking my intake again, the maintenance weight creep went away fairly quickly. It's such a great feeling knowing that this works and I can use tracking as a tool to maintain my loss for the rest of my life! My health and quality of life is sooo worth the few minutes a day that it takes me to track my calories :)

    Yeah, I expect this is me too. Can I take breaks from it? Within reason. Give it up completely? Not likely.

    So, OP, some of these are a repeat:

    1) repetitive/set menu, or IOW don't log because it is already estimated
    2) restricted food choice, or IOW only eat protein, a little fat, and foods that have low calorie density like green veggies
    3) go hungry, or IOW shut your piehole...walk away from every meal still wanting more

    The above can take some people a long way if they can stick with it. Personally I can't see me sticking with any of those long term.
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
    Once I started weighing everything out and entering it and being completely honest with myself I was dropping .5 lbs a week and have been for past 14 weeks. Just sayin
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
    I don't log. I've lost 50 lbs in 8 months, and am now smack in the middle of normal bmi (and down to the weight I was at 16 years old, fwiw). I do eat low carb, high fat, as it helps regulate my appetite so I don't overeat. Obviously I was in a calorie deficit, but logging isn't necessarily necessary to create that deficit. The way I look at it, I'm 35 years old - I don't want to have to spend the next 40+ years weighing and measuring and logging every damn thing I eat. Sticking with predominantly low carb foods allows me to skip the logging. People managed to maintain healthy weights long before we ever knew what a calorie was, much less had access to huge databases of calories counts and programs to do all the math for us. So clearly logging isn't necessary (there isn't anything magical about it - all you need to do is create a deficit, how you accomplish that is up to you). I like the freedom of knowing that I can manage my weight even if my computer crashes or a site is down for maintenance or if I don't have Internet access for some reason. Why make your health dependent on technology?

    That said, I fully understand how calorie counting and weighing and measuring helps some people. But if you aren't one of them, maybe look into alternatives!
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Some people accept that they will log for the rest.of their lives. Others can lose weight.and maintain without logging. Some people are tall, some short, some are funny, others are serious.

    Thank God for diversity, it makes the world a much more interesting place.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    Keeping a food journal without counting calories might be something you want to try. Either just write down in a notebook what you're eating or take a picture of each meal. Look at what you ate and make decisions based on that.
    It's not going to be as accurate as counting your calories, but maybe you'll just notice when you're overeating.
    Or, maybe a diet plan as others mentioned?

    I think this is the easiest (and cheapest!) way for me to do it, but other people do successfully drop pounds without counting calories.
  • xMrBunglex
    xMrBunglex Posts: 1,121 Member
    Been doing this for 8 years, went from 240 to 175. Every time I think "I've got this" & stopped tracking, I gain. Period.

    I'm OK with that.

    Am I 100% perfect, every day, all the time? Nope. I still go on vacations, get a little lazy around the holidays, etc. etc. etc. But I never go more than 5-7 days without logging. I tend to eat the same things at work for breakfast & lunch, so it's just a simple matter of checking the box & hitting the submit button.

    A little effort goes a long way!
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 866 Member
    I see MFP as a tool to get started on weight loss. I am @ a point now that I don't need to log but will continue to do so for a while yet. I tend to stick to the same food groups & portions to maintain my current weight. I feel I am educated enough now to be able to make good food choices & keep the weight off for good...
  • jhall260
    jhall260 Posts: 111 Member
    I logged my food for a while about a year ago (for a total of about 6 month period, diligently). During this time I weighed everything. It was a real pain in the *kitten*, but it was worth it. What it did for me was give me the tools to know more about portion sizes, and how many calories are really in that meal I am making.

    I off and on log now, just to keep myself on track. I don't log every day, or that often for that matter.

    However I still do some things such as;

    - Weigh more calorie dense items;
    - Weigh stuff that I would be prone to overeat such as cereal, bread, ice cream, chips;
    - Keep track of my weight on trendweight;
    - Be honest with what I am eating;


  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
    I find I start slipping off my plan when I do not log. The logging keeps me honest and on track.
  • blondie_mfp
    blondie_mfp Posts: 62 Member
    edited April 2016
    when I was first out of college, I couldn't cook and ate either convenience food (pop-tarts, chips, frozen pizza, prepared dinners, etc.) or fast food for every meal. I successfully lost some weight by eating the same stuff, just less. so I would pick up my regular meal at wendy's and throw 25% of it away. or I would only eat 1.5 pop-tarts instead of 2. it only worked because I didn't add in extra stuff to replace what I didn't eat.

    I personally enjoy calorie counting in order to help me find the "sweet spot" between eating few enough calories to lose weight but not so few that I get the hanger. but maybe since you dislike the accounting, experimenting with portions would be better for you.

    good luck!
  • sarahfadell87
    sarahfadell87 Posts: 182 Member
    Nothing good comes without working for it. I find it holds me accountable and also keeps me motivated. I have the app on my phone, maybe put it on your smart phone so youdont have to use the cpu
  • philippakate197
    philippakate197 Posts: 125 Member
    I lost 52lb without logging a thing. It's possible. BUT now I'm only 20lb from goal and the fact that I'm only 5'1 means I can only manage a small calorie deficit (which is necessary for weight loss, whatever plan you follow) and tracking and logging everything means I can make sure I am actually eating what I think I am. It's easy for potions to creep up if you're not measuring and I can't afford to do that now there's less wiggle room.

    So yes, maybe it'll work for a while, but I expect you'll need to track at some point.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I am not a creature of habit, aside from breakfast I rarely eat the same thing often so for me, logging is essential for now.

    I think, come maintenance, I may be able to wing it more judging by days off and diet breaks I've had. When I just eat what I fancy I pretty much hit maintenance and I did maintain my weight within a reasonably small range for years (albeit overweight).

    But to lose, I absolutely have to log, it's too easy to accidentally wipe out my deficit. But it takes no more than a couple of minutes of my day logging on my phone so it's no hassle to me.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    I've been maintaining for the past 5 years. I'm 15-17 pounds under set GW. I do not log my food. I simply eat healthy and exercise 6 days/week. I allow the other day do do as I please.
  • sbl1881
    sbl1881 Posts: 213 Member
    I lost the first 35 lbs without logging at all. Because I'm 10-15lbs away from my goal weight, I log everything now. At most, logging and measuring should take 5-10 minutes/day. I can handle that if it gets me to my goal!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    I tried a search but couldn't find anything about this.

    I hate everything about logging - the weighing, the measuring, the sitting down at the computer when I otherwise wouldn't have to, the entering a recipe and trying to figure out how many servings it makes and how large each serving is, etc etc etc. I've been trying to force myself to do it, and the harder I push myself, the more I rebel by eating everything in sight.

    So what else is there? Is anybody succeeding at weight loss without all the accounting?

    Sure, I've lost weight plenty of times without counting a single calorie. When I'm single, I naturally gravitate to lower calorie food and a more active lifestyle and the weight loss takes care of itself.

    However, when I'm in a relationship, I tend to cook higher calorie meals, go out to eat more, and spend less time at the gym. Logging helps me make those higher calorie meals fit into a more sedentary lifestyle. Otherwise I gain weight while in relationships.

    One thing that will help you succeed without logging is finding other ways to cope with stress than turning to food. I used to be an emotional eater but self-soothe with exercise these days.
  • silvergirl33
    silvergirl33 Posts: 342 Member
    I log manually in a small notebook. It helps to keep me honest :) . I lost a lot of weight on Weight Watchers counting "points," which I would log. I still occasionally weigh and measure, but I can't be bothered inputting recipes into MFP. I've recently switched to the South Beach diet for health reasons. You don't have to weigh or measure anything except for nuts. As I said, I still log manually, just listing the foods --not points. It gives me a way to review that I've been eating well-balanced meals. If you don't mind spending time cooking, South Beach is pretty easy to adhere to. I use MFP mainly to record weight loss progress and use the forums.