*raises hand*
5+ year tracker, here.
been logging my food intake since day one. im not as anal/precise about it as i was in the beginning, when i weighed and measured EVERYTHING. even spices and items with single digit calorie counts.
now i kinda eyeball my food to determine portion size and sometimes just log a guesstimated calorie amount for an entire sandwich instead of breaking down the ingredients. i don't log when im on vacay anymore. but i DO still log. (oh and i still weigh myself every single morning- if i have access to a scale)
for what its worth, personally i believe my tracking habits in the earlier years contributed to my successful weight loss and maintenance...if my weight started going in a direction i didn't like, i would know (because of my daily weighing) and i would generally also know why (because of my daily food tracking and activity monitoring), and be able to take appropriate action before it got out of hand, you know?
at this point though, for me its more of a habit/hobby. i sorta feel like i'm pot-committed...i have all this data from the past 5 years and i feel like i should just keep going cuz it would be kinda cool to have like 10, 20, 30 years of data someday? i dunno. maybe i am still anal.
in any case, i reached goal in 7months, and maintained below that goal weight this entire time. I am 5+ yrs post op
i realize this M.O. is not for everyone and for some (most?) this level of effort would be more detrimental than helpful.
bottom line: you know yourself best. do what works, don't what doesn't.
good luck! ❤️
p.s. sorry this was so long