tracking food and weight daily?

Hi All,

I had my rny on 12/8/15 and my thyroid and a parathyroid removed in November.  It has taken a while for my thyroid meds to kick in correctly, and I am aware that they may change throughout my weight loss process.  I have a question: do most of you successful WLS's track you food intake and weight everyday?  If you do or don't, why?  I am totally in the "honeymoom" period after the surgery, but I don't want to get back into bad habits!  Does tracking feel obsessional or necessary for success?  It seems like if I am a food addict (which I obviously am), should I be mindful daily about what is going into my body?  If you do track and weigh, how did you all make peace with that?  Thank you all so much for your support!!

Mags

p.s. Enjoying a snow day here in Golden, Colorado!!

I'm 9 months post op, (also had my thyroid removed nearly two years ago).  

Initially, i did not weigh everyday-- I know it would drive me insane and deflate me when thing weren't going how I wanted. II weighed weekly initially and was SOOO disappointed with how it was going. Docs were fine with it-- I was just being hard on me. @ 7 months post op I started to weigh daily b/c I am part of a study. I love weighing daily now, I can easily see the normal fluctuations/trends and am not hard on myself at all. I think initially after surgery I was just to new at everything to have been able to weigh daily w/o it messing with my head. 

I didn't track and measure my food intake at all initially (well the first week post op I did to make sure I was able to report to the doc/nut what I was taking in). But I didn't regularly start logging my food in MFP until about 6 months out-- it was just too overwhelming to me at first-- so much to think and consider-- I tackled one thing at a time.

Same with weighing and measuring food-- I only started that consistently about 2 months ago. I'm need to ease into thing so its not all so overwhelming at first. I'm glad I did it the way I did. 

Yes i think all these things are necessary for success long term-- but its still early for me to say if that's gospel truth or not. 

For me, I didn't track my food or measure/weigh it in the beginning of my post op phase, but since I have had regain within the last two years, I have started.  I think that for some, this type of tracking enables them to see exactly what they are eating and how it correlates with their weight loss.   I see a lot of people who are post op say that they do in fact weigh/measure their foods and weigh daily and are doing well with it.  I think that is a personal preference as to what you choose to do.   I can say that by not weighing/measuring my food, I let my bad eating habits creep back in and this resulted in regain.   One word of advice, meal prep is also very helpful.  When you have your meals planned out, you stick to them and don't substitute that for bad choices.  I have gone back to this as well and feel that I am making some positive changes, so I should see weight loss.  

Good luck!

Nik

I weigh almost every day because I can gain a ton in a week. If I am up more than 3-5, I track my food and cut back on my calories until I lose it again. In my 8 years here I have seen wayyyyyyyyy too many people who have had huge regains. My motto is, "It is easier to lose 5 than 50".

Everyone is different but this is what I do. I  weigh myself everyday. You can't let the stalls and fluctuations get to you though if you do that. I only record it once a week on Wednesdays (day of week of my surgery) ...and once a month on the 23rd (Day of the month of my surgery) ...It really helps to see that especially when you are going through a slow period. I feel daily weighing keeps me accountable and helps to evaluate what I am doing.

Many people use My Fitness Pal religiously. I use it occasionally, just to check myself. I find I get too obsessive. I do use the recipe builder to figure out nutritional stats. 

Daily I count my protein and my fluids. While I don't add up my carbs for the day...I do check carbs on items to make sure it doesn't have too many. I go by - Protein first, then veggies...then if I have any room fruits and carbs.

Edit: I also weigh and measure my food at home...

I weigh all my food and track every bite. 1300 days so far. It's absolutely necessary, for me, to be successful. If I didn't weigh my food, I would absolutely be eating more. It keeps me in check.

It takes me a total of about three minutes a day. It's not a burden or a nuisance, not even a tiny bit. It's just part of my daily routine.

I'm about 6 month post op and I have to track my food intake everyday.  I have a problem with food, and tracking,  weighing and measuring keep me in line.  I'm an all or nothing kind of pain. 

I also weigh everyday,  because I'm obsessive about it.  At 6 months post op,  I've gotten used to the fluctuations and it doesn't bother me at all.  

I weigh daily and track every bite of the food I eat.  I find it absolutely necessary to do both to be successful in the short and long term.  I have a lifetime of experience of not weighing and not tracking, and packing on the weight.  For me, this is all about adopting new habits that will help me maintain my loss, and live a healthy lifestyle.  I find that both of those habits are critical for me.

I track my food every single day, and I actually track it in MyFitnessPal the night before or the morning of.  I basically decide the day before, what I am going to eat the following day.  I might need to pull something out of the freezer, or hardboil an egg, or make a list for the store.  Then, when I wake up, I log all my food and I can see my nutrients (calories/protein/carbs are what I look at).  Right then in the morning, I can decide to alter my menu - for example, if I know I want popcorn, I may need to cut out the apple I was planning for a snack since my carbs are too high.  It helps me make critical decisions about what items to eat in combination that day.  I also weigh myself almost everyday and log my weight right into MFP too.  

I can never be one of those people who is flabbergasted by the regain - I know exactly why I am up some pounds by tracking my food.  Sometimes it's painful to be honest (don't ask about the Cool Ranch Doritos escapade of 2016) but hey, better I know how many calories I am eating than living in denial like I did before surgery :)

As other posters have said, it's definitely a personal decision.  This just happens to work for me.  Best of luck and good job taking advantage of the honeymoon period and working to change your lifestyle now!  I tell everyone, maintenance is a million times more difficult than the weight loss phase, for me.

I bet the Cool Ranch Doritos  escapade of 2016 is similar to the coconut cream pie debacle of 2015 for me.