Wow, so much great reading here. I read the first page but I am going to have to catch up with the rest later.

Jan 4
Exercise: 15 minute MommaStrong, 40 minute walk
Tracking: Preplanned the day
Calories: Followed the plan - under

Pass days so far: 1 (Jan 1)
I am back to the low weight in between Christmas and New Years. Thinking I am not going to have an indulgent takeout this Friday, hoping to continue this loss and get back to my pre-Christmas weight by next week.

Please share your perspective & experience with tracking.
My first weight loss experience was at age ~24, losing the weight I'd gained in college with Weight Watchers. I tracked points. After that I maintained for the next 6 years by weighing myself every day and tracking if I went over my 5 pound range. Then I got pregnant and since age 32 I have been trying to lose the "baby weight" but was not willing/able to track calories to do it. Finally at age 39 my kids were old enough that I was ready to really begin trying. I did not track calories at first, but did begin by making a template for a meal, counting up the calories that would be, and I did weigh my proteins. I lost weight that way, without tracking, about 18 pounds or so, before plateauing at age 40. I only started tracking in February 2021 (so I guess almost a year now). I am now 41, to catch up on when all this happened. I've lost another 5 pounds or so by tracking. I'd like to lose another 5 pounds or so and it is definitely getting harder.

Do you track everything? Every day? Or do you skip higher calorie times?
Before UAC (which I started in Sept) I would skip high calorie times. I think it was October that I decided to experiment with having a high calorie day once a week that I can preplan. Because of that, I track on those days. That way I can be a winner. Also, it does really help to track those days in terms of keeping it to reasonable high calories (not going "hog wild") and having the data.
That said, mostly my pass days are because I choose not to track - and in Dec half of the days were pass days.

Do you weigh your food or eyeball it or both?
I weigh higher calorie items (or measure - things like oil I measure). I will eyeball something that's like 4 servings in a package, if I'm going to eat the whole package - figuring that if I eat 4 servings of it it'll even out in the end. Low calorie things (vegetables) I just eyeball.

Do you look at your trends and/or averages?
After starting UAC, conversations here prompted me to take another look at my calorie goals as totals for the week instead of the day. And realize that I had a goal for the day that would result in weight loss, but then I was blowing it every weekend by exceeding it. And that a solution to that would be to reduce my goals for the weekdays so that it would add up to a weight loss calorie rate for the week. I have done that and I have been losing.

What is the best thing about tracking for you?
That it lets me lose weight! The intersection of beginning to track and working from home because of the pandemic is interesting to me. I did pretty soon after beginning to stay home realize that I was going to have to preplan my meals - and I was doing that before I began tracking. Having a full morning of meetings and rushing downstairs late and hungry and opening the fridge without a plan is a recipe for disaster - and one I hadn't had to deal with when I was in an office and packed my lunch. Preplanning my meals the day before keeps me happy and healthy and reduces stress. It also allows me to do stuff like defrost the berries I want with my afternoon snack. And if I am preplanning it's not really that much more work to do it in the MFP app and track calories too - and then I can adjust them as necessary.

What is the thing you are working on at the moment re: tracking?
I had kind of a break in December and I am working on getting back to it refreshed and joyful. It's mostly working.

I have been kind of toying with whether I will have to keep tracking in maintenance - because I didn't last time, and I don't like to think I'll have to do anything for the rest of my life. But it's not really useful to think about things like that. My rate of weight loss for the last year has been less than a pound a month so it's not like maintenance is going to be such a different world than regular life.

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~❄️~ 1 / 4 /2022~~ Waving Hi ~~ ☃️ ~~ BLESSings ALLways ~💖~

Exercise for at least 20 minutes .................................... ✅ ... 240+ min.
Stay within my calorie budget for the day ...................... ✅ ... I am
Keep track of everything I ate and drank ....................... ✅ .... I did

STEPS......... 27,890 +.......... 180 walking .........60 cleaning ....

Feeling Much better ... just a sore arm... a lil slower pace
Back to my Routine for January Winter cleanup DeClutter Organizing

Documenting My CONSISTANCY = For personal ACCOUNTABILITY & Celebration
(if there is a P=instead of number its a Pass Day)

1-2-3-4-
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Enjoying the posts, great topic.

Whenever I track, I lose weight, and every time I stop I gain. I get sick of tracking, and just want to eat, so I'll let it go, but I have a weight limit that I never let myself pass, so as soon as I get there, it's back to tracking. This has gone on for years, and I stay within a 15 pond range.

Yes x 3.

Tuesday
Exercise yes strength class at gym
Tracking and calories yes

I do need to get better at tracking-I end up eye balling a lot because hubby is so against it. Precovid I lost 20 lb-put 5 back on due to being home more snd hubby doing all cooking

04/01/2022
Exercise – yes
Tracked – yes
Calories – yes
1/3 pass days

Such a great opener, and so many good replies! But I don't have time - I'm posting this on Wednesday evening cos I forgot on tuesday.

THANK YOU everyone for your enthusiasm & your posts today! I am mulling over some of the ideas you shared!

We are quite simply an amazing group - generously sharing & respecting the infinite number of ways to be successful ❣️

✅✅✅

🌸Maddie