MFP Alumni - just wondering...
gemmaaa2020
Posts: 1 Member
I am nearly 40 and finally understand the whole calorie deficit thing thanks for MFP. Average pound a week off and I am over half way to target, had getting on for 5 stone to loose to a healthy weight. I log EVERYTHING and with an eye on eventual maintainence I am wondering how long some of you have been logging daily and how long for? Can’t see me ever stopping which is what made me wonder.. 🤔
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7 years and a bit. It's the easiest most sustainable way for me to make sure I'm eating at maintenance. Some people choose to stop logging and use other methods to control their calories (IF, generally eating low calories foods, food limiting rules, reactive eating by eating more when you lose and eating less when you gain...and many other methods, whatever works for the individual). I like the calorie counting method because it gives me the freedom to eat anything I want and requires few rules other than balancing my calories.
It's too early to judge what would work for you. I find logging sustainable, but some don't. You may or may not decide to transition to a non-counting/looser counting method by the time you're at goal weight. Either way, the weight loss phase is like training wheels for maintenance. You learn new strategies, what works, what makes calorie management easier, what's sustainable and what isn't...etc. You'll gradually develop your own habits and strategies that work for you, don't get swayed by what others are doing.10 -
I've been maintaining for just over 3 years and still log daily. I have accepted that this is a long term thing to enable me to best keep my weight under control.8
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I'm not quite an alumni but I lost weight and kept it off for a couple of years - I logged pretty much every day - I think I had a couple of walking holidays with friends where I didn't log but that was it. Then I got pregnant and stopped logging and I put weight on and I'm back here losing it again. I'm planning on logging every day forever when I finish this.5
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7 years.
Lost to goal weight over a 10 month time span in 2013 and been logging in maitenance ever since.
But I do log loosely these days - lots of estimates, law of averages, that sort of thing.
and if I go on vacation I stop logging altogether for a week or so.5 -
paperpudding wrote: »7 years.
Lost to goal weight over a 10 month time span in 2013 and been logging in maitenance ever since.
But I do log loosely these days - lots of estimates, law of averages, that sort of thing.
and if I go on vacation I stop logging altogether for a week or so.
Yeah, some days my logging is looser. for example, I might log a multi ingredient salad as one ingredient (for example, all vegetables logged as tomatoes) and such. Other days I log everything including a squeeze of lemon juice or a cup of plain tea. No reason, I'm just more curious about nutrients some days than others.3 -
13 years since I lost 80ish pounds.
I stopped logging when I hit an average BMI, but it's too hard for me to maintain my weight without seeing those numbers, so my digital food scale and logging my food are a daily habit for me still. I found it impossible for me to eat enough but not too much without logging. I believe it's the #1 tool.
I still weigh out things like nuts, nut butter, oils, salad dressings, cheese, meat, fruit, potatoes, oatmeal and corn, but mostly I eyeball vegetables.
I started on MFP in 2007, two years after its inception. It has changed my life in a lot of ways - not just food.9 -
I don't think one is an alumnus until after graduation? I'm nearly in year 5 on MFP, year 4+ of maintaining (after 30+ previous years of obesity). I'm not planning imminent graduation: Sometimes, life as a perpetual student is good.
I've been logging on MFP since July 25, 2015. I still log most days, but do skip some days, if there are lots of novel or hard-to-estimate things (like if I eat at a potluck meal, or an Indian restaurant buffet, or something like that), or frankly even if I just don't make the time for it on the occasional day. I still log most of the time, as much for nutritional-tracking reasons as for calories.
I logged every day while losing as far as I can recall, and for a while beyond, because good data was key to figuring out my actual calorie needs and finding a good maintenance routine. If I'm trying to lose (and I'm trying to slowly lose a few vanity pounds right now), I'm a little more focused on the calorie side of it.
Logging is so routine now that it only takes maybe 10 minutes a day, and it's not at all stressful. It's among the most high-return minutes of my day, since it keeps my nutrition more on point more often, and keeps me at a healthy weight and feeling so much better (and with such better health markers) than I when I was obese. For me as a vegetarian, and a quite active 64-year-old, watching protein is especially important to me.
Can't think why I'd want to stop logging, personally. Not everyone wants or needs to keep logging, and that's fine, too.6 -
As someone whose weight yoyoed up and down 30-50 lbs. for most of my life, I decided that the best way for me to keep from regaining all the weight I had lost was to continue to log my food and to weigh myself regularly. I've been tracking on MFP for at least 6 years. Like others, I'm a bit loose in my logging, with guestimates rather than using a food scale, but the fact that I list what I eat every day keeps me from going overboard most of the time. When we travel, I don't log but as soon as I get home I weigh myself and start logging again.2
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I’ve been logging everything I eat (and weighing it) since sept 2017 & off and on before that from January 2016.
I don’t plan to stop especially now that I know what calories I can eat to maintain.
The food scale is simply a habit. I actually get to eat more when I weigh my food because if I don’t, I add 100’s of additional calories to be sure it’s enough.
I track my macros & micro trends to keep my food choices healthier.
It’s easier for me to do with copy meal functions & because I eat a lot of the same foods over the course of a week so they pop up quickly on search.
I was obese from my teen years until 10/2017 and then overweight until 5/2018.
I’ll do anything to remain healthy & normal weight. Tracking & daily exercise seem like comparatively small prices to pay.
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Like many others, I reached target weight on MFP (2014), and have tried to stay within maintenance limits to control my weight. Apart from holidays and the odd wobble, I am still same weight (give or take a pound). I realise that I have a good idea what food contains, and will always opt for low cal or healthy option when eating. When I feel bloated or gain ( I weigh about once every 3-4 weeks), I log back in and recommence, which is ideal for me. Incidentally, my sister has similar story to me, but she prefers to be good Mon-Fri and lets herself go weekend-works for her! Guess its what suits us individually doesn't it? But you cannot beat how good it feels to take control and see the weight come off albeit really slowly sometimes, so to anyone reading this, well done and keep it up!!!0
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At maintenance for 7 years, logged for the first 3 and not had to since then but still mentally keep a tab of my calories mentally - I'm a creature of habit, eat the same kinds of things day in, day out and am also active in general which helps too.2
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The best thing is to just never leave. That way you don't have to come back. I'm here 8 and a half years, approximately.6
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I've been logging daily since January 2015. I lost forty pounds and have been maintaining since about October 2015. It's by far the easier relationship I've had with food in my adult life and I don't see any reason to stop.
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LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »At maintenance for 7 years, logged for the first 3 and not had to since then but still mentally keep a tab of my calories mentally - I'm a creature of habit, eat the same kinds of things day in, day out and am also active in general which helps too.
and look all pretty like doing it! 2 -
logging since 2013 and it is the only way I can keep my weight down, that and weighing daily. I love to eat and dont seem to have a full button, wish I didnt have to but it is better than getting fat.4
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Started MFP January 2017 and loss 100 lbs in 8 months and 4 days (Sept 15, 2017). I have maintained and actually dropped more since. My method of maintaining is a bit different than most. Since reaching the 100 lb loss, I usually take my weekends off from logging. I eat more freely over the weekend, but not gorging myself. Come Monday morning I get right back to my healthier choices. I made a lifestyle change and it has been sustainable for me. I've taken time off from logging (weekends mostly, but I have taken a week off here and there) BUT I log in to the site daily and I always get right back to it. I don't have any intention to ever leave MFP and stop logging altogether. MFP is part of my daily life.5
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I started logging in 2013 and lost 90 pounds over 3 years. I still log every day, both my food and exercise. I've allowed 10 pounds to creep on the last couple of years and they are a constant battle. I can't imagine what would happen if I completely stopped logging. I'm an older female so my maintenance is only 1500 calories (before exercise) therefore I don't have a lot of wiggle room to play with. For me, logging is just part of my life.2
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I still log. I started the journey toward the end of 2017, and started logging in 2018. I lost over 130 pounds and am now working to build muscle (!).
It is so, so clear to me now, that there is no graduation. No arrival and then getting to coast. If I do that, the scale will creep back up. So here I am, still logging!4 -
Have been on MFP 'religiously' since Jan 2014 but this is my first post! Had been overweight and on diets most of my adult life and my weight fluctuated up and down by 5 stone or so for 30 plus years. Have successfully maintained my current 6.5 stone weight loss since early 2015 and I log every day. I know it can be a bit obsessive but it keeps me accountable and makes sure I'm not eating too much or too little. Personally I can't see a time when I won't log unless I fall off the wagon and can't face the music. Hopefully that won't happen but even after 5 years plus of maintenance, I'd never say never!
P.S. I see it says this is my 2nd post, I've no idea when the 1st one was!
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Have been on MFP 'religiously' since Jan 2014 but this is my first post! Had been overweight and on diets most of my adult life and my weight fluctuated up and down by 5 stone or so for 30 plus years. Have successfully maintained my current 6.5 stone weight loss since early 2015 and I log every day. I know it can be a bit obsessive but it keeps me accountable and makes sure I'm not eating too much or too little. Personally I can't see a time when I won't log unless I fall off the wagon and can't face the music. Hopefully that won't happen but even after 5 years plus of maintenance, I'd never say never!
P.S. I see it says this is my 2nd post, I've no idea when the 1st one was!
Looks like you posted twice back in 2014. First was to ask a question about carbs/sugar, and then later to thank folks for replying.
Five years in maintenance is something to celebrate. Congratulations! May you keep it up indefinitely, and logging doesn't have to be obsessive to be successful.1 -
I'm a long time logger - don't remember when I started but it's more than 10 years. I like having the control for times like this "stay at home". I had to adjust my calories because of less activity. Easily done. I also like watching that I am getting the veggies and fruit in and not too much sugar. Obviously it is a habit now and takes less than five minutes. Much less time than on Facebook and much better for me!1
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I've been maintaining 30+ years (not counting pregnancy) and tracking calories 7 or 8 years. Honestly, if I ever found an easier way for me to maintain than logging, I would do that instead. Logging with online tools is --by far-- the easiest least time consuming most effective way to maintain I've tried yet. A couple minutes a day. Clear feedback.
Sure I slack from time to time. Vacations, life disruptions, depressed spells, whatever. But when my weight creeps up, I go back to it. And it works.6 -
I’ve just started logging again after trying to go solo for 6 months. I only put back 5-8lbs, but this whole lockdown and working from home has made it so hard I decided I needed to see what was going on. It is so much easier. I use a lot of estimating, but it has highlighted that my portion control had crept out of whack.3
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I got serious in 2009 and lost ~80 pounds by 2014. I still track food and activity....I love the freedom of CICO and if I can eat what I love and still stay in Zone, I'm doing it. Tracking is less of a pain than "guesstimating" and gaining weight. Worth it and part of my lifestyle...it's never a diet!3
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I have logged every day since May 2018. This saw me through a 100 lb loss, and since October 2019, pretty steady maintenance of that loss. I can't see myself stopping the logging habit either. For like 10 min a day, I am armed with all the knowledge and mindfulness I need to stick to an average calorie target with really good consistency, and make sure I give myself room for fun foods.5
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For me, logging is a pretty easy habit. It's entirely possible that it's already served its purpose and that I am familiar enough with the foods I usually eat to stay within bounds, and that the scale would reveal any deviations. However, I feel like it's also an accountability tool - knowing I have to look at cold, hard numbers is sometimes enough to dissuade eating something that I ought not.
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In maintenance for 10 years. I had been inconsistently weighing and logging for a couple years skipping logging all together on vacation or when eating out. Logging was never something that I enjoyed doing or a habit that I embraced.
On 2/11, and before the sheltering and pandemic took hold of our lives, I fell down and broke my wrist. I was on a cast for 9 weeks and I am still doing occupational therapy, my hand is not "working" normally yet. I stopped weighing my food and logging (with the exception of breakfast) because it was hard to do with one hand, and I was not in the mood to add additional stress. Stress curbs my appetite and I ended losing 5 unwanted lbs.
Bottom line is that I am not longer logging lunch, dinner or snacks, my wt has been steady after I recuperated almost 3 lbs for the 5 lbs that I had lost, and I am planning NOT to log for as long as I am able to keep my weight under control.
If I see an upward trend, then I will probably go back to the kitchen scale and the food diary. But it has been very liberating for me to realize that I can manage food and portions on my own.
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I've been tracking since early 2012. Everyday. Lost over 80 pounds and I've kept it off and maintained for over 7 years. I keep a 10 pound range that I maintain year round.
Over the years things have changed and I've made adjustments, but the one constant thing that has remained is that I plan and track my meals. Tracking also help me to fit in things I enjoy.
For me it's an easy thing to do, it doesn't take long at all and it helps me to stay in control and keeps the weight off.8 -
I run hot & cold with logging. Sometimes I just can't bear to do it anymore, so I quit, and eat intuitively. That generally works well for awhile, and then I find some bad habit and it stops working, so I'm back to logging. These are long stretches of time, months to a year. And that's okay. I guess since 2014 I've used MFP, but my logging goes back over most my long lifetime. I don't log when traveling (camping), and I lose weight anyway on the road, as food is less accessible. I don't fluctuate more than about 5 pounds, but it's a very noticeable 5 pounds! Also, it's handy because I have some incipient health issues that can be handled by diet, so it helps me track that. Let's call it a bank statement--deposits & withdrawals! Hahahaha! I find if I concentrate on studiously logging high-calorie or problem foods, I don't have to be precise at all with my fruits & veggies. I still measure all high-calorie or problem foods even when not logging to stay cognizant of my portion sizes, which are internalized now. And DH & I do not eat out much, even when when we could. (I crash-dieted off 20 lbs when I was about 22, swearing I would NEVER weigh that much again--except pregnancy--and after that have see-sawed a bit within a 10 lb range, except when I lost too much weight for about a year--oh, that's not good either! And have narrowed that down to a good spot now. And then there's wanting to be trim for sports to keep pressure off joints . . .)1
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