I've stopped counting...I think I'm getting DTs page

[Charlie Golf]

For several months I have tracked food intake with an app on my phone. Function is very similar to fitday.com

Recently, a buddy (who I intro'd to MDA) ribbed me for "counting." It made me realize, that while I did do it on an after-the-fact basis, I was becoming a little reliant on it.

On May 1st I stopped. I figure I have really "learned" how I should be eating and to just let things take their natural course by doing so. That said, I still feel a little...naked...without my crutch.

How long do most of you continue to count/track? Do you do so on a continual basis or just occasional?

TIA

[Griff]

I track when I stall. Right now I'm stalled. It appears I'm eating more protein than I actually need, so I'm working on reducing that.

[Beef Cake]

I have a similar issue. I was tracking all my food in Daily Burn in addition to my workouts. I still track my workouts to make sure I am progressively overloading and gaining strength, but I am happy to report that I last tracked my food on April 8th! Wow, I had to go look it up and that is truly amazing. I have gone nearly a month without tracking everything I eat. I do record what foods I eat on my journal here at MDA, but I don't do quantities and macro breakdowns like I was doing in Daily Burn and Fitday.

Initially, it was useful to see how much fat I was consuming since I came from eating a low fat diet with high protein and moderate complex carbs. I really struggled with adding enough fat to get my calories up. Now, I use my hunger as a gauge and watch the mirror for additional input.

The thing I like about Daily Burn is the bar code scanner, but when you start eating more real food...it doesn't always come with a bar code and is therefore , not in the database...which is a really good thing.

I am scheduled to take another picture and measurements on May 22nd and I will probably enter my food all week just to get an idea of what percentages of fat, protein and carbs I am eating.

[oyezoyez]

I've been tracking for 3 months now, and track despite of PB recommendations otherwise. I use a great iPhone app called loseit! that uploads all my info online, and spits back at me lots of useful data and charts accessible on the phone or on any computer. I really enjoy the visual feedback with tracking my weight, and seeing the line go down. Its a minimal intrusion into my everyday life, I don't let it keep me from occasionally enjoying my 20%, and its done a great job of keeping me accountable. Its really great to know where I stand on a day-to-day basis in terms of how much fat and protein im getting, where i have wiggle room, what i need to be eating more. Given these tools, I don't see why anyone would actively recommend against it. I began tracking--and losing weight--about a month before I started PB, so I still think its due equal credit in my loss of 25 lbs of fat.

[Charlie Golf]

I use(d) LoseIt! too. It's a great app. Was able to go from 195 to 185 via calorie-restricted CW nutrition. More recently I have used it to track macros and to maintain lean mass and decrease body fat. Sittin' just under 180 lbs now. 5'10" and 13.8% BF (as of this AM).

Plan to use PB to get to 10% BF and maintain lean mass.

[kuno1chi]

I was resistant to tracking for a long time, but just started again two weeks ago. It's really helped me, as apparently I had gotten a little bit sloppy in both my diet and exercise habits. Plateau BUSTED

[Kev]

I have been PB since the end of December and I have just started tracking,

[john_e_turner_ii]

I have been tracking for a year up until yesterday. I am going to just go with the flow and eat based on how I feel. Wish me luck!

[PhilR]

I used to track all the time now it's only once in a while.I still keep track of work outs. Loseit is a good app

[tfarny]

I do fitday once in a while but really as an educational tool rather than a daily calorie counting, to get a sense of a typical 'day in the life'. I don't see any point or benefit to logging everything you eat, it seems very excessive / unhealthy to me.