Holaaaaa! I just wanted to ask if some of you never actually tracked down your food after your bariatric surgery ? Does it work ? Did you gain weight again ? I know everybody is different, i'm just trying to learn about other people's experiences !

Does your clinic want you to track it? Personally, I hate, like really hate, tracking food, it's inconvenient and annoying. My clinic wants me to eat 5 very small meals a day that are balanced, protein, carb, veg, and fruit. For me, I am still losing weight and my energy increased once I was able to have these other foods. My goal was to eat how "normal" people should be eating. I do struggle with real meat and raw veggies, my system still does not like them, so I eat a vegetarian diet and cook/steam all veggies. I have learned when to stop eating based on how I feel, I now know when one bite will be one bite too much, that is how I track.

I just did my labs today for my 3-month check-up ( hit 3 months Jan 27) so I will see what my clinic has to say about my labs on Feb 12th and I will make adjustments from there if needed.

nine years later, and I still track my food every day.

I had been keeping a daily notebook since the start of January as I wanted to be prepared in case I was asked about my meals at my last check-up (I wasn't asked) but it was just a note of what I ate or drank, no nutritional info.

Last week I started using My Fitness Pal. The reason I started tracking on the app is that my weight loss has slowed right down plus I wanted to be sure I was I was getting enough protein in each day as I have started to increase my exercise. I don't live or die by the tracking but finding it helpful as I can see already that I have been having less sugar than I thought and also more protein than I realised so am happy with that.

Blonde me never realised that the daily scoop of collagen I put in my coffee also counted towards my protein ?

20+ years later, I never tracked a thing related to food.

Good luck,

Tek

I wrote down every meal I ate for months ( the dietician said I had to ) but I got so sick of doing it, I stopped. I still weigh my food occasionally, but I can pretty much eyeball the amount. After eating low carb for years before the surgery, I'm pretty good at knowing my nutrition.

I've done both. When I first started going to a nutritionist 7 years ago, I tracked religiously for calories as well as daily steps and lost about 40lbs. The problem I found was when I stopped tracking, I didn't have enough of a routine to keep eating the right way. When I was tracking calories with a 1500 limit, I would eat whatever and then stop when I hit the limit. Sometimes I was still hungry, other times I would have a glass of wine because I had "extra" calories at the end of the day. So it was effective for losing but not for maintenance. I also got really anxious having to track it all online for some reason.

This summer, I started changing the basics of how I ate and forming a routine of the same foods almost every day. I would do a smoothie for breakfast, a big salad at lunch, and then a reasonable dinner, while minimizing the snacks and eliminating processed foods, added sugars, etc. I lost about 15lbs without tracking by keeping to this routine about 28 days out of every 30. The consistency worked for me and I didn't worry about the couple of times per month when I broke the routine and went out to eat or had a treat because it wasn't enough to outweigh the good stuff I was doing.

Today, I've started my pre-op liquid diet and I am tracking again, but this time I decided on a notebook instead of an online tracker. I plan to track for several months because I think it's information I will need for my doctor and nutritionist if I encounter anything unusual during my recovery. I bought a Legend Planner Food Journal (pocket edition). It's not too big and it doesn't give me the anxiety tracking apps do. It has 6 months worth of pages, so I plan to track until the book is full and then reevaluate. I feel like if I can establish good habits and continue to track my weight weekly, I can stop tracking food. But if my labs come back bad or my weight starts going up, I will reassess.

Tracking is a thing that can be polarizing for sure. It's almost like weighing in daily - it's not necessarily a good thing for all people. Some it helps, some it hinders.

I, like many here, have been on a weight loss journey long before choosing surgery. When I was ready to be serious back in 2014 I tracked daily on MyFitnessPal. I only had a calorie goal and macros wasn't even on the mind. It for sure helped me in my journey to lose 100lbs and maintain that loss for a few years. I was definitely more consistent with it Monday through Friday, but not overly "religious" with it on weekends. Sometimes you guess a serving or a recipe that's close to one you use - but at least you have a close enough snapshot.

Then came 2020, tracking, activity and all that jazz all of it went out the window and by 2022 I gained all my weight back. Then was the serious contemplation of surgery.

Now I track via the Baritastic app (which i like, but do not love) and it's honestly more about protein and fiber tracking and reminders for vitamins throughout the day. I've never been overly anxious about writing down every last bite and morsel or if the calories were more one day over the next. However it can help to provide insight if you feel like maybe you stalled and try to lower or raise carbs to help it budge. Or that it can help track activity along with intake. The numbers might help the big picture and to reflect back. Some track for a period of time and then step back when there's a good grasp of macro counts by reflex and it becomes second nature.

But once I think it starts getting obsessive or causes anxiety or to villainize foods, then maybe tracking in that manner is not for you.

I wasn’t required to track. I sort of did initially on random days for own curiosity. I did keep to the portion sizes I was given. I still do random checks to keep me on track & ensure I haven’t let things slide especially with new foods or recipes. I check protein, sugars, calories but don’t keep a formal record. I keep a mental tally of my daily protein intake but only because I have a protein malabsorption issue.

It works for me & that is the key: finding out what works for you. If that’s tracking great. If it’s random tracking/monitoring or it’s none at all that’s great too. As long as it allows you to maintain, is manageable & not consuming you, all is good.

I put on a good 2kgs/5lbs at the two year mark but didn’t know why. We worked out I wasn’t absorbing my HRT after my gall removal (why I don’t absorb protein too). Was put on a HRT patch & I slowly lost half of it over about 6 months again without changing what I ate or my activity. I’ve pretty much lost another kilo and now, nearing my 5 year mark, am pretty much what I weighed at my initial stabilised weight depending on the day.

I should add I am very careful with what I eat & how much I eat. Still eat slowly. Still take small bites. Still eat to a routine most of the time around what & when I eat (I’m a clock watcher for my meals & snacks). Still very conscious of whether I am really hungry or just head hungry. Still very conscious of eating what I need not just how much or what I want to eat.

I was always on and off a diet pre surgery, so I used a tracker on and off then as well. I never fail to fill mine in now. I have OCD so it settles my mind. Everyone finds a different way of their own.

My week is usually - I have hungry days at 1600 cals and really low cal days at 650. in between I eat 1200 to 1500. I am trying to maintain. i can see all this on my tracker.

I am six months out and I still use the Baritastic app to track everything. I find it helpful as a guide to reinforce what I have learned about nutrition and portion sizes, but it requires an internet connection. The times that I have been offline and unable to track, I've practised my "eating right," skills, and haven't worried myself.

I track everything every day and I think I always will. Could be just me though.

Hasn't stopped me regaining 5 pounds from my lowest weight a few months ago. I honestly did nothing different (I mean NOTHING) so am chalking it up to the mysterious third year gain. Annoying but not too concerning at this point - am monitoring closely though!

I track everything every day and I think I always will. Could be just me though.

Hasn't stopped me regaining 5 pounds from my lowest weight a few months ago. I honestly did nothing different (I mean NOTHING) so am chalking it up to the mysterious third year gain. Annoying but not too concerning at this point - am monitoring closely though!

I track everything every day and I think I always will. Could be just me though.

Hasn't stopped me regaining 5 pounds from my lowest weight a few months ago. I honestly did nothing different (I mean NOTHING) so am chalking it up to the mysterious third year gain. Annoying but not too concerning at this point - am monitoring closely though!

I track everything every day and I think I always will. Could be just me though.

Hasn't stopped me regaining 5 pounds from my lowest weight a few months ago. I honestly did nothing different (I mean NOTHING) so am chalking it up to the mysterious third year gain. Annoying but not too concerning at this point - am monitoring closely though!

It is different for everyone. I track and am 3 months out from surgery. I find it really helps to know what my macros are at the end of the day. I don't weigh my food very often because I'm really good at portions (I used to be a chef) but tracking keeps me accountable. And my surgery has a malabsorpative component so I really have to be careful I'm getting enough food.

I will say though that when I researched it, most studies show that people who track their food (at least for a few months) lose more weight in general weight loss attempts and maintain that weight loss better. I don't know how that translates to bariatric surgery, they probably haven't studied it, but when you have a carb limit to stay in ketosis (not every doctor requires this but some do), or a high protein goal to reach, tracking your food can be helpful.

I sometimes take a break for a day if I've been out a lot or I'm traveling or away from the internet. I figure doing it most days is good enough for me. I trust that the habits it is helping me cultivate will kick in on days I can't write things down. Plus sometimes it really surprises me how I might think I'm doing well on protein or low on carbs and then I put things in and find what I assumed was true was not in fact true. LOL