Does anyone NOT keep a food diary?

christine24t
christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
First,a little background on my story. I was 210 lbs January 1st, 2011. I joined MFP in early May when I was about 185ish pounds. I love it, and I like keeping track of my food, especially in the summer when my eating schedule is out of whack. I like seeing what I'm eating for real. I'm now about 175 lbs. My next immediate goal is 170 lbs.
During the school year, I typically eat toast and peanut butter with fruit for breakfast, a lunch of nuts and fruit or a protein bar, and a dinner of one serving of pasta, one serving of sauce, a salad, and some low fat yogurt for dessert.

The short of this is that I lost 25 lbs without tracking any of my food and calories. I would eat when I was hungry, and stop when I was full. Not logging my food worked for me. And with the stress and scheduling of school, I'm not sure how well I'm going to do at logging my food come fall.

So basically what I'm wondering is how you all feel about not keeping a food diary? Do you think I'm doing something dumb or do you think I'll be okay without it?

Replies

  • emmaNEEDSskinny
    emmaNEEDSskinny Posts: 317
    CLEARLY NOT IF YOUVE LOST THAT MUCH :)
  • rharris86dc
    rharris86dc Posts: 635 Member
    You pretty much just have to do what works for you. I know when I first started on MFP, I was in school, and especially during finals it got hard to log food and exercise. I would make sure to eat right and make the time to workout, but whenever I was at my desk, I had books, notes, supplements, etc in front of me and was going at it like a beast, lol.

    So if you know you can keep your portions under control and get all the nutrients and whatnot that you need, it would seem that logging isn't a huge necessity. It's definitely helped me a lot, but on those days when I knew I couldn't get on to log everything, I was extra mindful.

    Good luck!
  • lpkitty
    lpkitty Posts: 45
    I wouldn't worry about it, not logging seems to be working for you. I think what is more important is that you seem to be disciplined at what you are eating. I have no discipline so logging helps me with that. Congrats on losing 25!
  • abcdefgeee
    abcdefgeee Posts: 13
    If it works for you without the diary, then you should be fine! What happened to me is that last summer I would track everything and I lost a good amount of weight and then I started school and I had no time to work out or plan my meals and I ate out a lot. I ended up gaining the weight back. It's possible that it might be even more important for you to keep track of your food intake during the school year because that's when you might be the busiest with no time to really pay attention to everything you eat throughout the day. But then again, everyone's different. Maybe download the MFP app on your phone (if you can) and that way you have your diary with you at all times. Good luck! :)
  • paperpusher3
    paperpusher3 Posts: 36 Member
    I'm only a little over two weeks with MFP. That said, I'm finding it helpful to see exactly what I'm eating and where all the calories are coming from. I'll admit that it is a pain to leave my computer up until days end since I'm not one of those people who stays "plugged in" all day. I even like writing down how much of each column I have left before I enter my exercise so that I can chose whether to use those extra calories. Most days I don't. If you're losing weight w/o entering the diary, I think you should do what works for you. If you reach a plateau, it might be good to use the diary for a while.
  • Mjordan1
    Mjordan1 Posts: 3
    You obviously have much more willpower than I! I've found that having the food diary is really helpful, especially late in the day. When I have only 500 calories or less left for dinner, it encourages me to eat healthily for the rest of the day. No more late night snacking for me! It's all about accountability for me, even if it's to myself!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    You'll be fine! If you don't have internet access, at least write down what you ate and its calories, sugar, protein, fiber and sodium in a notebook. The closer you get to your goal, the harder you have to work to lose weight which is why I lost easily the first couple months, then really had to make sure I eat clean and work out hard to lose weight.
  • Teeladog
    Teeladog Posts: 157 Member
    If it works for you then that is fantastic. Me...I don't seem to have an off switch. I just keep eating no matter how full I am. I eat for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with hunger - stress and boredom are on top of that list. If I track then I am waaaaay more aware and stop myself from doing that mindless eating. For me, tracking is the only thing that keeps me losing or maintaining. I can stop for a while (a week or two sometimes) but then it all starts creeping back up on me. That is why I am back here now.
  • hiltonheadagain
    hiltonheadagain Posts: 42
    Clearly you are not dumb--it already worked for you! : D
    But if you want to continue to track on mfp and stay connected for the support and encouragement, you might try getting food that you like and stocking your kitchen with them and then take a few minutes each morning to input your menu for the day. It's quick and easy and that might be less frustrating for you than sitting down at the end of a busy day to track what you've eaten.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    I think if it works for you it is fine. If you start gaining then start tracking what you eat. Personally for me tracking what i eat is really helpful. It really helps me to stay on track. CONGRATS on your weight loss so far, keep up the good work
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    Thank you all for your responses!! I probably will try to log when I can, but not stress if I don't!
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
    I try to keep track but generally speaking on most days it MFP forces me to eat more then i probably would to achieve a calorie goal. I gained my weight over 25 years of over eating and drinking too many beers. I no longer do that. Having one brat instead of 3 or 2 pieces of pizza instead of 4-6 at years end is huge. Eating one of something instead of 2 is a good concept for weight management.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I've lost 20lbs in a year, only keeping a diary off and on. Once you learn how to eat right, you can do it without tracking.
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    Keep doing it while it's working! When (if) you stop losing and hit a plateau, it may be time to reconsider, if not to log long term, maybe for a few weeks to get a handle on the things you may need to make changes with. I think the smaller you are the harder it is to eat without logging... because you just can't eat as much so you have to watch closer.

    Good luck and congrats! :flowerforyou:
  • KourtneyP83
    KourtneyP83 Posts: 319
    If it works for you then don't keep one...for me I need to see how many calories are in things to make good choices about what and how much I am eating. I have a tendency to keep eating things because they taste good and its better for me if I have an exact amount and number and can portion out for myself.
  • ckmama
    ckmama Posts: 1,668 Member
    i wouldn't log if I could recognize my hunger. In fact I bought 2 books to help me learn how to do that. Stupid I know. You would think it should come naturally.

    I log because I eat so much it is kind of like a STOP sign for me, I've eaten enough and it's time to stop. If i could eat "naturally" I wouldn't log food.
  • kacarter1017
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
    Everyone has individual things that work for them in their "healthy self" journey. For some people there are things that should be absolutes (just look at how heated discussions get on exercise calories, water intake, sugars, etc.). Overall, documenting what you eat has proven to be one of the most effective ways to continue a healthy weight loss and also to maintain that weight loss long term.

    However, we are individuals with different lives, needs, stressors, etc. If you feel that tracking your food will make it more stressful, then don't do it. If you find that your weight begins to increase when you stop tracking, try starting again and see if it helps. If you do well without tracking, then you are one of the people who doesn't need to do this in order to be successful.
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