Is it reasonable to track what you eat for the rest of your life?

When I was very early in my 6-month pre-op process last October, the dietitian I saw recommended I NOT use MyFitnessPal because I'd had an "on-again, off-again" relationship with it for a year before I got serious about my health, and because she thought I was focusing too much on the number of calories and not on the quality of the nutrition I was putting in my body. I got what she meant -- I needed to look at food as "additive" and nutritious, not "subtractive" by finding how much volume of food I could eat for the fewest calories. But I freaked out because calorie counting is the only thing that has ever helped me lose weight even temporarily in the past, so she told me to go ahead and keep using it, but to try not to put too much emphasis on the calories.

A few months later, I had a regular call with the nurse case manager I was assigned by my insurance, and I told her about my plans for surgery. I told her I'd been using MFP but knew I couldn't track everything I ate for the rest of my life, and she had the complete opposite reaction from the dietitian, saying, "why not? It seems to be working."

Fast forward to today, and I'm down 70 lbs by being more active, seeing a therapist to help conquer my food addiction, and making better food choices in general. I still log everything in MFP to make sure I remain cognizant of what I'm eating, but I'm trying to look more at the nutrients I'm getting instead of just beating myself up every time I go over my calorie budget by a couple hundred calories. But sometimes, I feel like I had a really filling dinner and SHOULD stop eating for the night, but I see a few hundred calories left and have an Outshine bar or cheese as a snack because I have the calories left. I'm planning surgery next month, and I'm torn. Is logging doing me more good or harm? And is it reasonable to plan on tracking everything I ever put in my mouth for the rest of my life? I don't want to give up a tool that feels like it's been so helpful, but I don't want to become forever dependent on something external to tell me when to stop eating. Or will everything change so much after surgery that it won't really even matter?

I couldn't do it without logging. I've tracked every bite for almost three years. While I was losing, I kept strictly to a daily calorie goal. I no longer worry about daily numbers, but try to stay within my weekly calorie budget. I know if I go too crazy earlier in the week, I'll have to pay for it later.

I would absolutely be eating more if I didn't weigh my food and keep a log. Some can do without tracking, but I can't.

You are my hero. More people need to be like you. There would be little to no regain if people were truly honest with themselves about how much they ate.

I log when I am up a few, but usually just depend on what I see on the scale each morning. 

I'm approaching a year out & I use MFP. I wouldn't get hung up on their calorie recommendations because they're very general & not for people who have had wls. I would follow whatever plan your dr puts you on & use mfp to help with tracking.

While my plan doesn't call for me to track calories, carbs etc, I do track them & adjust the numbers as I work my way down, just because mfp says I can have more calories doesn't mean I should.

I don't know about tracking for the rest of my life, right now tracking keeps me honest, especially since I'm still in weight loss mode. Maybe when I'm at goal & firmly in maintenance will I consider cutting back on the tracking part, but if any weight comes back on, right back to my book & mfp.

My experience?  I tracked every bite for at least the first year.  After I reached goal I kept losing and used the tracking to try and find what my maintenance numbers would look like.

Eventually I have gotten to where I have a routine and do not need to track.  I have tracked once or twice just to get a sense of how I am doing but for now I am pretty consistent with my eating and it seems to be working.

My feeling is that if I start gaining my first course of action should be to track my food but my own goal, and this is just me, is to learn how to eat in a healthy way that will allow me to stay at a healthy weight, without being obsessed with food or numbers but just the quality (and quantity) of food that I am eating.  But as a new person, especially in the first year or so post op, I think it is a good idea to track, to help stay accountable and to stay in reality what you are eating.  If you have to continue to do that long term, then so be it.  

As they say, if it works don't fix it. 

I think at the beginning when you start eating again I think it can be helpful to document what you are eating but do NOT count calories. You should be paying attention to your body and what it is telling you.    In my experience you will know when you are no longer hungry and then you need to stop.  I'd advise you to purchase todler utensils and plates/bowls.  I found this helpful.  I found that I felt like I was eating just as much as before even though I really wasn't because I had the baby silverware (doesn't hold as much food).  Make sure after surgery you take a bite of the food and chew it until it is mush in your mouth (ten plus times), then put your utensils down while chewing and not to pick it up again until the food goes down.  Do NOT drink while eating.  You should not drink for about 45 minutes before or after eating.  I would advise weighing yourself once a week at the same time of day every day.  Good luck.

At almost 2 years post-op I still use MFP every day.  I don't focus on the calories at all - I use it solely to ensure that I'm hitting my protein and carb goals for the day.  I actually load my planned food in the night before so I can make any changes I need to ahead of time.  

If I didn't use MFP I would be eating a lot more than I should because I'm a food addict and addicts are big fat liar faces that constantly lie...especially to themselves! 

Yup. I need the numbers. Some people say you should just listen to what your body tells you. My body always tells me it's ok, I can have some more. And more. Bad body. Bad.

Tracking is key for me to stay on track.  It can be fun with all the great apps now a days.  When I stop tracking I noticed the scale going up.  We do more grazing than we realize and tracking helps keep that in line.