Quitting food logging???
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I don't trust myself I will log for a year even two. If need be, but I want to get a good idea of what foods are what, and how we make them into portion sizes and how many calories and so forth. But this site as long as it's still here I will always be here. I know weight is a battle, can go up without even thinking your doing anything wrong. So even when the day comes I hardly log anymore. I will log if I need too and if I'm unsure of a food I might eat.0
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I see your post was quite some time ago. How did it work out for you? I would think that as long as you are interested in maintaining your weight (and not lose any more) and have a strong fitness regimen, counting calories wouldn't be as necessary.0
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I think if you want to, you should try it and see how it works for you. If you feel like it doesn't work, or you find you're eating too much/gaining weight, start logging again!0
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I don't see why continuing to log after hitting weightloss targets is a 'dismal future'? It takes a couple of minutes out of your day to log. Thinking about what you eat is hardly a difficult thing to do, and logging helps me to make sure I eat in a balanced way (it isn't only about calorie counting).
I will probably aways need to log to be able to manage my weight. The idea of a future in which I have no control over my eating is dismal to me. Staying healthy isn't.0 -
I think it's a personal choice and what works best for you. I've logged and not logged. Sometimes I gained, and sometimes I lost. Just all depends on your preference. As others have said, try not logging, if you start gaining, go back to it until you find out why.0
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I see your post was quite some time ago. How did it work out for you? I would think that as long as you are interested in maintaining your weight (and not lose any more) and have a strong fitness regimen, counting calories wouldn't be as necessary.
Um it was only a few hours ago. But I haven't gained weight since I posted it so it must be going well :laugh:0 -
I think my plan once I hit my goal and maintain for a bit will be to taper off logging. Maybe log once a week, or log for a whole week once a month or something like that. I will be able to tell if I am treating my 'log days" differently which would indicate to me I need to go back to full time logging.0
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most successful people that have lost and kept it off say...tracking is a key compenent, that and exercise..
but everyone's different....I'll need to track forever...because not tracking doesn't work for me.0 -
The way of eating that I have chosen is supposed to encourage weight loss without logging. It involves eating healthy whole foods with a minimum calorie density. I decided to stop logging for the past couple of months and I didn't lose any weight. I didn't gain either, but I had 90 pounds to go, so maintenance wasn't cutting it for me. Even though I was sticking to only the healthiest of foods, my portion sizes were getting extreme. I was overeating even the simplest of foods like plain brown rice.
After a weekend at a nutrition study seminar, I started logging again this week. I am down 5 pounds in the past week. While I do intend to quit logging someday, it is clear that now is not the time.
If you do quit, be sure to stay on top of your weight. If you gain more than a couple of pounds, I would start back with the logging.0 -
I'm maintaining, and like you don't wanna be logging in every time I eat something, so now I tend to log my food and exercise last thing at night (I jot it in my diary as the day goes on), if I'm over in cals I amend the next day x0
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I think I will be a lifetime logger.....tried not logging and was not successful.0
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Personally I don't think you should log forever. It's silly and only makes you become obsessive over weight. If you feel you can judge what you're taking in, I say go for it.
Most nutritionists and dieticians (at least ones that know their stuff) will tell you to try and stop obsessively tracking calories after about 6 months. They say that by then you should be able to guess how much you are eating.
I personally am going to use MFP for maybe a year and then I'll probably leave and just do my own thing. I don't want to have to rely on something like this for my entire life.0 -
I would not only not quit logging now but even when you reach your goal weight I would make sure you have maintained for 3-6 months before stop logging. Almost all people gain weight back after reaching their goal weight because they don't bother to reset it by maintaining it for several months. Even losing more weight will mean that you haven't reset it.0
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Agree with post above - I'm planning on logging for around 3 months after reaching my goal to make sure I can stay there after taking so long to get there in the first place lol.
I don't find it too annoying to have to do it though, I don't change my food from week to week (generally, obviously there are exceptions) and I've saved pretty much every combo I might have as a meal so it only takes 5 mins to do. I like logging exercise in particular, and just feel this makes things much easier to work out than having to calculate in my head.0 -
I don't see why continuing to log after hitting weightloss targets is a 'dismal future'? It takes a couple of minutes out of your day to log. Thinking about what you eat is hardly a difficult thing to do, and logging helps me to make sure I eat in a balanced way (it isn't only about calorie counting).
I will probably aways need to log to be able to manage my weight. The idea of a future in which I have no control over my eating is dismal to me. Staying healthy isn't.
I absolutely agree with this. I was heavily in debt for many years, then I learned how to budget and control my money. It means I have to track my spending every week so that I stay on top of things, but I've accepted that so that I no longer have to worry about money.
This site is the same thing for me - I treat logging food and exercise the same way as balancing my budget.
I know myself. I know that if I didn't adhere to tracking my finances, I would fail, because I'm terrible with money. Same with food. If I don't log, I will fail - but that's a small price to pay for success, as far as I'm concerned!0 -
But...if I don't log my food, I may as well deactivate my MFP account...
Oh wait, my friends won't let me. Got it...phew!0 -
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Funny thing is I love loggin' my food ! It makes me feel sooooo much more knowledgable and accountable at the same time. It's just a normal part of my day ... Same as texting a friend !0
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I logged on a different site religiously for over 8 months. In 6 months I lost 50 pounds. Then I got lazy, and started taking portion size, exercise, and bad foods for granted again. Didn't happen in a day, but three years later, I am up 20 pounds again, and back to logging again. I won't stop again this time, I don't want to keep losing the same weight again and again. It is a small price to pay, I didn't get to the size I was by being honest with myself after all!0
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I stopped logging when I hit my first goal....I stopped for about 3 months...I didn't gain any weight, I lost a few after that.
It's possible, logging your food isn't the end all be all of everything.
In my opinion it's a crutch...if you think you have to do it forever to lose weight, then you will do it forever. And for me, when I logged I was obsessive about it. I never want to be obsessive thinking about food ever again.
Good luck in not logging...you eventually get to a point where you know what's going on. And you know when you don't control it either.0
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