To track or not to track - that is the question!

[PamelaAM 16]

So I was doing great losing and I was tracking my food every day on myfitnesspal.com. Then I thought "I have a good feel for what i should be eating every day so I don't really need to take the time to track". Boy oh boy, what a mistake THAT was! I was at a total stall from 3/6/11 until this past Sunday! I am about 6 1/2 months out and I was getting so frustrated that I wasn't losing. I chalked it up to the fact that I was traveling alot for work and probably not getting in the exercise that I needed. Then it hit me. Wionder what would happen if I went back to tracking my food intake?

Started tracking on Sunday and am now down 4 lbs from where I was on Sunday morning (I had gained 2 lbs while traveling for two weeks straight!). THE scale IS FINALLY MOVING AGAIN! Duh!!! I was simply consuming too much food without even realizing it.

So a word to the wise (or not so wise!). . .even when you think you know what it feels like to eat the right amount, you probably don't. Start tracking and KEEP tracking! Makes a huge difference!

Needless to say I am thrilled that I finally figured out what the problem was but mad at myself that I wasted a month and a half with no loss because I thought I knew what I was doing :-)

[Eureka-C 20]

If you don't mind sharing, what mistakes did you see? calories? Protein?

I haven't been tracking, and some days I think maybe I should track again. I am still losing though.

[FuriosMommy 3]

Great post, I think tracking is so important. Sometimes on the weekend I don't track and towards the end of the day I'll think "I wonder how much Protein I got today.." I like using the Fat secret calorie counter app on my smartphone. No excuses to not track my food!

[sleeve 4 me 910]

When I was on Weight Watchers tracking was 99% of my success. When I would slack off tracking, I would stall or gain...WW's knows what they are talking about . Hugs!

[M2G 1,836]

I do not track religiously, but I try to do it fairly often. I also still measure my food (again, not always) but I try. I'll be 6 months on the 22nd of this month, and I don't always trust my eyes (measuring) or my memory (tracking!)

This is a good reminder...thanks for the PSA!

[kellyw74 258]

I agree 100%!! Journaling keeps you honest!

Kelly

[iegal 460]

Thank you for taking us back to weight loss basics 101:

1) Keep track of every bite you eat

Congratulations on a 4 pound weight loss!

[janinemaire 7]

Good point, I track everything on myfitness pal, I feel like I'm lying to myself if I don't plus my body knows whether I track or not. And yes I agree WW know what they are talking about and has helped me with some good habit. Anyways I glad your back on track (lol).

[PamelaAM 16]

If you don't mind sharing, what mistakes did you see? calories? Protein?

I haven't been tracking, and some days I think maybe I should track again. I am still losing though.

I've always gotten way more than enough protein in and getting Water in isn't a problem but I was just consuming too many calories but wasn't seeing it because I was only able to eat small amounts so it didn't seem like alot. But now that I am back on tracking I can clearly see that I was eating too much.

[lunarose 97]

I have heard that you lose the weight a lot faster during the first six months I don't know but I had been in a long stall over six weeks and then suddenly dropped five. I don't track all the time but I try to stay mindful of what I eat and will mentally go over what I ate that day before going to bed. Traveling is a challenge for me it is so hard to plan ahead when I went to Alaska I came home with deficiencies. We are going to Disneyworld in Dec and I am a bit worried about it.