To track or not to track

Suzabella67
Suzabella67 Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself

So, I am on a new program that did not require tracking food. I have been doing it for 6 weeks. At first, it was fine and I even lost a couple pounds. However; I have found those and even added a few. I have decided that I really need to track my food intake. Their theory is sound, but my eating habits are not! I need more accountability - I wish it were not the case, but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Hence, I am back on track-ing!

Replies

  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Welcome back.

    I, too, would love to be a person who can eat intuitively, but all available evidence suggests that I am not and shouldn't plan on becoming one. I've made peace with the idea of having to track basically forever. It's just something I do, the same way that brushing my teeth before bed is something I do. My body's hunger signals don't come through as clearly as they must for other people who *can* maintain their weight without doing all this damn work, and I cannot count on that magically changing for me once I hit goal.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I also plan to log/track indefinitely, and I don't personally see any issue with that. Even if I felt like I had decent hunger signals being able to quantify intake seems like it'd still be the way to go; measure what you want to manage.
  • booboo1000
    booboo1000 Posts: 58 Member
    I agree that my obsessive tracking and logging are most likely to be key to continued success at maintaining a significant weight loss. I also currently pre-log and portion out my foods so all of my decisions for the day are made after dinner the night before when I an comfortably full. I have never maintained a weight loss before this and believe this will make the difference for me, in addition to understanding my motivation for the weight loss in the first place.
  • KerryITD
    KerryITD Posts: 94 Member
    I was on a similar program for a while and found I still needed to track. I used the parts of the other program that I felt were sustainable for me in the long term (eating more slowly, being mindful, rating my hunger on a scale before I ate, etc) but kept logging, which is really the only thing that's ever worked for me.
  • mama2twoluvbugs
    mama2twoluvbugs Posts: 12 Member
    I absolutely have to track, I have to keep myself accountable or my brain plays the "its just a few bites, how can it make a real impact?" game...I do not recognize hunger or satiated cues...so pre measuring and logging keeps me honest about what I am eating.

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