[glynne]

I am a long way off from being able to join you all as a maintainer, but hope to someday.

My question is this, I read and hear that in order to succeed that you have to find something that you will be able to do for the rest of your life. I have had success at losing in the past by counting calories and writing down everything I eat. I have tried other things, but always seem to come back to that. Somehow, though I have a hard time envisioning writing down every thing I eat like that everyday for the rest of my life. Have any of you all gotten to your goal by counting the calories and writing it all down? Do you get to a point where you don't have to do that anymore and can still lose or maintian?

Thank you for your help and advise.

[Only Me]

I think after a while you get to know how many calories you need and how many calories are in the foods you eat most of the time. For several months I needed the accountability of writing it down and I needed to learn the calorie/nutrient content of most of the foods I eat, but I've been doing fairly well recently with just keeping a mental tally of what I've eaten. When I'm eating too much, I'm now well aware of what I'm doing whether I'm writing it down or not. I still measure my portion sizes from time to time.

[boiaby]

I used to write everything down too, but it got to the point, after I reached goal, that I didn't feel like I needed to anymore. I eat a lot of the same things every day and for the things I don't eat all the time I always read labels to see if it's something I should be eating and how much to have. I think you just have to do what feels right to you. So, if you get to the point where you don't think you need to be so strick about it then stop and see how it feels. You can always go back to it if you feel like you need to. I know that if I ever let my weight creep back up and need to get it off ASAP, I'll go straight back to the strict regimen I used during my initial weight loss, because I know it works for me.

Beverly

[karynlee]

Hi Gayle.

I think once you've done it for a while, you may decide to log your info less frequently because by then you'll have a good feel for the quantity and quality of the food you're eating.

Having my food plan written down and logging what I eat every day is the norm for me now so it doesn't seem like a chore. For me, it's what works and I don't mind doing it for the long term. It's actually kind of fun. I feel like I have a certain amount of food "bucks" to spend and I like coming up with my budget for each day.

Good luck!!! Oh! LOVE your Erma Bombeck quote!!

[Meg]

Hi Gayle and welcome to Maintainers! Feel free to stick around, if you'd like. Not everyone here is at goal yet, but we're all thinking about how to make this work for the rest of our lives - and it sounds like you are too.

I lost my weight by counting calories and keeping track of what I eat in Fitday (my Fitday log runs back to June 1, 2001, with very few gaps! ) That's how I maintain my weight too - it's easy and comfortable for me and I can see doing this for the rest of my life with no problem.

But like the others who answered, I'm not as fanatical about writing down everything as I was when I was losing. My eating has such a predictable pattern now - when, what, how much - that sometimes I don't need to write it down to know that I'm on track. Typically I eat five small meals a day - at roughly 7AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, and 7 PM - and they're about 250 - 300 calories each. I mentally know food combinations that add up to the right number of calories - like 1/2 cup dry oatmeal and 1 scoop of protein powder or an apple and chicken breast are a meal. It's like mental 3 x 5 notecards with my favorite meals on them! I still weigh and measure most of the time, though, since I have an overly generous eye when I'm hungry (you know, the 'tablespoon' of PB that's really more like 1/4 cup )!

It's when I get off the beaten track that I still need to write down calories and add them all up to keep things under control. Like if something happens and my day isn't following it's predictable path - if I need to plan around a meal out or an extra-long day. Or if I'm really hungry that day. I can't rely on my appetite to guide me or else I'd end up eating a lot more than I should, even of the 'good stuff'. So I'll sit down and play with the numbers in Fitday to make it work out for the day.

But, like Karynlee said, it's the norm for me now and doesn't feel like a chore at all. I seem to spend way too much of my life on the computer now , so it's really easy just to keep Fitday as a shortcut on my desktop and log in a few times every day.

[3fcuser1058250]

I enjoy logging everything into fitday... when I stop eyes get bigger and I eat more... It routine for me now anyways... Maybe someday I'll feel comfortable letting it go...

[EofAZ]

I use fitday too; it is more of a plan for the day so I don't forget what I'm going to eat. Even if I'm not trying to lose weight I prefer to plan the family meals in the morning so it was a pretty natural step to just plan my day out on fitday to make sure the meals I'm preparing fall in line with my goals. When I go to the grocery store I need a grocery list so I don't forget what I need the most and once or twice I day I sign on to fitday and make/check my list takes just a moment and it keeps me focused on my health. I can visualize myself doing this the rest of my life, it really is pretty effortless (and I'm the worlds worst if I try to journal but using fitday isn't like keeping a journal to me).

[AnneWonders]

I log my calories in a little notebook. I've done it for several years now, and it's just what I do. Doesn't even feel like a chore anymore. As natural and necessary as brushing my teeth everyday. Sure I could skip it, but it's just not that big a deal. And this from a woman who can't get herself to floss half the time, so you know it can't be that bad!

Anne

[catharus]

I am with those who keep a log now, even in maintenance mode. After more than a year and a half of "journalling", it's just a habit. On the rare days I forgot my "tracker" (at the moment, an official Weight Watchers "Diary"), I feel a little lost. I'll then journal on scraps of paper and carefully take them home for transcription to the *real* journal.

An interesting side note - on a recent trip to the dollar store, I found some really cool little notebooks with nice vinyl covers with zippy, brightly colored designs on the front. I bought myself two and plan to use them for journalling as soon as I finish with that boring old WW Diary. Silly to think that those notebooks have become an incentive to continue to journal but they have! I can't wait to journal in my zippy little notebooks!

[Sashenka]

Hi,
I personally never logged any food into the diary and still could successfully loose. First I did not do it because I just exercised. When I plateued, I started Jenny Craig and they do it for you. SInce you are allowed cups of non-strachy vegetables - I never cared for any counting or writing it down. later on I just use a rule of plate: small plate (not dinner plate) is divided in 4 parts - two parts should be non-starchy veggies, one part is protein and one part is starchy carbs. Snacks are fruits. Occasional cookie or chocolate piece for dessert. The amount of food on the plate should not be much more than my fist - generally stomack is the size of the fist and that is how much food you need max for not overindulge... So I live by the rule of "fist" and so far it works for me - I occasionally go thru ups and downs (I am optimistic now as I am on my down slide). Another thing which is important in rule of fist is weight training. I run about 2 times a week for 5-8 km, but if I do not my regular weight lifting - rule of fist is useless. You need muscles to burn more calories. When you run you feel more hungry. When you do weight training - you tone your muscles or better even add some muscles. Hence rule works for established weight training...

Good luck! i always like to read that some people are organized enough to write what they eat. Sad I am not one of you. But I still think that sharing what each of us does is a way to success for somebody...

I have my running km log though. I find it is very rewarding to see at the end of the month how many km I ran.