Maintaining without logging

elaineamj
elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I started my weight loss on Jan 1 this year. Something clicked after years of weight creep and it took me about 3 months or so to drop 20 pounds. Logging and MFP made all the difference! After my March vacation, I wasn't as motivated and struggled to stay within my calories. I stayed about the same, with a tiny downward trend. By the beginning of June, I needed a break (just 3 pounds before my goal weight!!), so I switched my settings to maintenance and stopped logging. I continue to weigh in every morning and track it on trendweight.

I'm curious who else manages to maintain without logging and what strategies you use? I've been doing well for 2 months (actually managing to drop 1 lb a month), but am starting to wonder about long term (as in years). I don't currently log or weigh my food or mentally count calories.

My current strategies:
- my default eating style is my "new normal". I indulge several times a week, but the rest of the time, I enjoy delicious low cal, veggie based meals in reasonable portion sizes. I make sure they are yummy (I don't do well with forcing down food I don't like or tastes blah).

- I do eat a bit less if i know I have a big meal coming up or if I ate a lot the day before. I don't track closely (e.g. i don't try to figure out how many calories I just ate), but I aim towards a balance over the course of a week.

- I weigh myself every day and pay attention to my trends. Recently, my weight was creeping upwards for about a week. I took action and cut back on the treats/higher-cal meals for the next few days.

- I mentally think of myself an active person. So it feels weird not to have been active for a few days in a row. I have started biking to work daily and actively refuse to accept excuses (it looked like rain one morning - so I added a poncho to my bike kit). Its cool to develop this new image of myself and I like it.

- I think of food as low cal vs high cal. e.g. I know I can eat unlimited amounts of lettuce but 1/2 an avocado is enough to add to a salad. I also avoid drinking my calories (rarely drink juice/pop/shakes).

- I've accepted that I will occasionally be hungry. I have a big dinner tomorrow night and plan on about a 100 calories for breakfast and a low cal lunch. No afternoon snack so I might be a bit hungry in the couple of hours before dinnertime. Not a big deal.

What else do you do?

By the way, one side effect of overhauling my diet - I have discovered there IS such a thing as too much meat :( We went camping for a week and had a lot of steak several days in a row. My stomach was NOT happy! By Day 4, I was begging for a salad. I've also noticed I react after overly greasy food like pizza and burgers.

Replies

  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    I am chiming in to say that it looks like you have it covered nicely. I find it helpful to occasionally weigh my food to see if my eyeball portions are still in the ballpark, but other than that I don't do anything differently than you have suggested.
  • ptipton520
    ptipton520 Posts: 83 Member
    I'm not to the maintenance phase yet but it looks to me like you have it under control. I agree with @maxit in that actually measuring/weighing periodically just to make sure you are still judging well. It is kind of like my blood sugar, the doctor tell me to test a couple of days a month just to make sure it isn't creeping up again.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    - I try to stay away from fast food when I don't log.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I've been maintaining for over three years and don't log. Basically I lead a healthy lifestyle for the most part...I just call it good livin'...good, nutritious food and regular exercise.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    Man I wish I could stop but I don't trust myself. It's not like it's particularly hard on me because I live in a town with almost all chain restaurants and the only real cooking I do is putting a microwave meal in the microwave. I just don't like the thought of doing it for the rest of my life but know it keeps me in line
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,223 Member
    Excellent job on the maintenance. After reading how your maintaining I see many similarities as to how I maintain as well. I don't own a food scale & eyeball my portions. I stay away from unhealthy foods & drink lot's of water. I still indulge once in a while but don't over do it. Regular exercise is also key to keeping the weight under control...

  • Keladelphia
    Keladelphia Posts: 820 Member
    It really sounds like you have a solid strategy in place to maintain and not log. I think the key to maintenance without logging is to keep weighing yourself, watch for trends and as you said take action when necessary. I personally still log in maintenance. I train intensely six days a week so it's important for me to hit my calorie and macro goals.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited July 2016
    I'm in my 3rd year of maintenance and I have tried not logging on and off over that time, I have only been successful on this my 3rd attempt, I have now had 6 months of no logging and am maintaining my goal range easily.
    I keep an eye on portion size, I still weigh items like pasta/rice/potatoes but eye ball everything else. I keep my snacks to two per day as I know that way I'll never go over calories (at 5ft 2" my TDEE is 2200 approx as I'm active).

    I also step on the scales regularly.
  • kltodd927
    kltodd927 Posts: 4 Member
    I have maintained my weight for a year and still log what I eat every day. I have been considering not logging and trying more intuitive eating. It is encouraging to see how you all are maintaining without logging!!!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    The longest I've maintained was around 8 months, I've been doing bulk cutting cycles since then, I don't maintain once I reach my bulking goal weight, I normally start dieting back down at that point. I do maintain at my low points for roughly 2-3 months or until I bulk again, like right now I am maintaining until 2 months before my wedding at which point I'll drop another 20lbs or so.

    I just eye everything, I only weigh and measure when I hit plateaus or when I start my cut so I'm aware of my limits
  • Redwineandmuscles
    Redwineandmuscles Posts: 46 Member
    I haven't been logging, or exercising much, and I'm up about five pounds but seem to be pretty stable. I kind of go through eating less when I get so plump my clothes don't fit, and eating more when I think I'm looking slim. I try not to worry about it too much, but I always seem to have a new goal for a new month: ie. A weight lifting goal, or to walk more, get more flexible, eat more protein and less potato chips etc.
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
    I like the idea of periodic weighing just to stay in line. A little worried about portions growing larger over time.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    By weighting each morning in effect you are getting your net CICO results without counting calories or weighting/measuring your food. The way that is successful for one is a good plan in my view.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    I tried not logging, but that didn't work. I don't think I burn enough calories to have any margin of error for that.
  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
    edited July 2016
    You're doing great !

    Besides weighing yourself, you might consider measurements every 28 days.
    For consistency, I suggest measurements 1/2 way thru your cycle, when you're less likely to be bloated/ water retention.

    I've maintained the same weight for the last 3 years. But my clothes don't fit the same.

    I've concluded that I must be losing muscle mass & gaining some fat. So now I do measurements, too. And bumping up my exercising !!
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    By weighting each morning in effect you are getting your net CICO results without counting calories or weighting/measuring your food. The way that is successful for one is a good plan in my view.

    Maybe I need to try that. I'm already weighing myself every morning. I went out today and got some delicious roasted peppers and Italian bread at the local produce place and since I didn't know the exact calorie count i was going crazy. I like to try new stuff occasionally and hate uncertainty in calorie counts. But, then again it's only maybe difficult once a week or so. Maybe I'll try 1-2 days off a week and see what happens.
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    By weighting each morning in effect you are getting your net CICO results without counting calories or weighting/measuring your food. The way that is successful for one is a good plan in my view.

    Thanks everyone! I like this way of thinking.
    Debbie_Ferr wrote: »
    You're doing great !

    Besides weighing yourself, you might consider measurements every 28 days.
    For consistency, I suggest measurements 1/2 way thru your cycle, when you're less likely to be bloated/ water retention.

    I've maintained the same weight for the last 3 years. But my clothes don't fit the same.

    I've concluded that I must be losing muscle mass & gaining some fat. So now I do measurements, too. And bumping up my exercising !!

    And will add measurements in. I don't get much satisfaction out of measurements so have only been doing them once every couple of months or so. But will start doing it at least 1x a month to keep track of things.
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I haven't logged since June of 2015. I don't feel that I need to be that specific especially with my macros. I eat mostly all whole, natural (not processed) foods, and a lot of organic foods at that. I don't eat a lot of red meat but I'll have a steak when I want one every now and then. I've increased my fish intake and eat moderate amounts of chicken. Also eat a fair amount of veggies.

    My weight generally goes up in winter and down in summer, whether I track or not (this is usually by design based on my lifestyle). Overall not much difference, except that I can cut a bit faster and probably a bit deeper than I do without tracking.

    However, unless I have a specific reason for cutting to a certain weight, I don't find it necessary. If I'm going to do a powerlifting comp at a certain weight and I needed to cut to make weight, I'd track. Otherwise, I don't really need to just for normal circumstances.
  • mandybear014
    mandybear014 Posts: 209 Member
    Great job, OP! Those are some good moves you are making there - especially avoiding drinks with calories. I've been in maintenance for almost 2 years now. Logging food can be a pain in the butt sometimes for me. So when I don't log, I still measure my food, get my protein going, make better food choices with the veggies/fruit and drinking plenty of water. I do snack a little each day but I budget myself there though and if its in my range. Exercise wise- I try to do some form, any form and aim for 45 minutes a day even if its not all at once. I do weights 3 to 4 times a week. And doing all of this has kept my weight in check since October 22, 2014.

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