Is tracking necessary?

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benotnobodi
benotnobodi Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
From your experience, is tracking necessary for weight loss?
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  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
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    Yes
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    I used to think I did not eat very much but I could never lose those last twenty pounds. Why? I was eating more than I thought.

    Tracking helped me lose my 20+ pounds and now I don't really need to track because I know what real portions look like. I also stopped snacking between meals, that was my biggest downfall.
  • RobBasss
    RobBasss Posts: 65 Member
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    Yes for the simple fact its 80% food...
  • carolineb81
    carolineb81 Posts: 459 Member
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    Yes for me otherwise I eat a lot more than I think I have
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,959 Member
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    When I have an active job and/or lifestyle, and am surrounded by lower calories foods, I can lose weight or maintain a healthy weight without tracking.

    Now that I have a desk job and am living with someone who likes higher calorie foods, tracking makes losing weight ever so much easier.
  • xTattooedDollx
    xTattooedDollx Posts: 426 Member
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    For me, yes it is very important. When I stop tracking, I stop losing weight.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    benotnobodi wrote: »
    From your experience, is tracking necessary for weight loss?

    Depends....

    There are weight loss plans that minimize the need for tracking. Example: the no "S" diet - no sweets, no seconds, no snacks, except sometimes on days that begin with "S" Saturday, Sunday, Special days. If you put in some restrictions up front (that you can be consistent with) then logging won't be necessary.

    However, keep maintenance in mind. This is a lifelong thing. Unless you practice "improved" habits in the future, the weight will creep back up.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    In my opinion, almost anyone who is interested in weight loss could benefit from at least initially tracking their intake. It helps identify problem areas, how certain things affect you, what reasonable portions look like, what effect the changes you are introducing have, what contributes to a weight stall if it happens...etc. It helps build a solid plan for the future. Some people can successfully shed the training wheels later, unfortunately I'm not one of them, at least not comfortably.

    For me, it's absolutely necessary. I'm very prone to calorie amnesia (I can eat things and forget I ate them) +and portion distortion (the same portion can look smaller or larger to me based on my hunger and satisfaction).
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    It's necessary for me, but not necessary for everyone.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    If I want to lose, gain or maintain my weight, then yes it is necessary.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    If you mean keeping a log, no but it is a useful tool. If you simply mean counting calories to regulate your intake, it depends on the individual and their goals. Of course, if controlling our intake wasn't an issue, we wouldn't be here. For many of us, it is necessary. Personally, I don't keep a log but I count calories to regulate my intake and not only has it worked amazingly well, but it has also taught me a lot. Even those who can control their weight without counting calories would be better off to do so for a while, if for no other reason than they would actually learn to eat in such a way as to get more food and be able to enjoy more treats. There is no downside and it is actually very easy to do.
  • Heather4448
    Heather4448 Posts: 908 Member
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    For me- Yes. Otherwise, my portion sizes are too large by 25-50ish percent.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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    No it's not.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited May 2017
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    For me it is. I've tried and tried to lose weight without counting calories and I just can't seem to stay on track. If I can't see how much and what I'm eating laid out in front of me I just eat way too much. I wanted to just be sensible and lose weight by eating right and reasonable amounts but I just suck at it. I've compromised now and I log my food m-f and not on the weekends (but still eat sensibly)
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    No, but it works very well.

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