tracking food and weight daily?

Like you, I track the good, the bad, and the ugly. If there has been too much ugly, I track ahead of time for a while, to get back in the groove. Otherwise I track after I eat.

Cool Ranch Doritos escapade? Phhhhtt. I'll bet you haven't had to log 70 servings of anything yet. That was a debacle.

70 servings!?!?  Now that is impressive.

My RNY was 12/15/15 and I track everyday. It was required by the surgeons office so I've continued to track.

I also weigh everyday. It is helpful for me to see the patterns for my weight.

In December I purchased the Garmin Index scale for $150.00

It tracks my daily weight as well as fat percentage, pounds of muscle, bone weight, BMI and water percentage.

Surprising on days when I have been lowest, my water weight has been higher.  If I am up, I check water weight and fat percentage.  It keeps me very aware.  If I gained weight and water content is lower than I look through my food logs to see where the excess fat came from.  Knowledge is power.

I weigh and measure my food every day.  I also track every bite, good or bad, in My Fitness Pal.  I like the accountability it provides.  Also, at the beginning when I was still trying to figure everything out, it was nice having a record to review with my surgeon and NUT.  At my follow up appointments, my surgeon would sit with me and scroll through my menus to see if I was on target or if anything needed adjusting.  It was reassuring to know I was on track.  Now, I plan my menu the night before and enter it in to see if my macros are on target.  I like being able to make adjustments as needed.  It literally takes 5 minutes out of my day, and I wouldn't trade that time for the feeling of control logging gives me.

As for weighing myself, I weigh every single day.  I "officially" record my weight on Fridays, but I know if I see a change (either up or down) and can make adjustments as needed before things get out of hand.  I still have problems with the number on the scale affecting my mood, but again, I wouldn't give up the sense of control it gives me.  While I'm by no means a vet, I'm maintaning a 120+ pound weight loss and I'll be two years post surgery in May.

Thank you all for your words of wisdom!  I am thinking I am going to have to plan and measure food every day.  It's funny how I resist that - almost like I want to slide back into denial that I am a food addict and that addicts have to monitor themselves every, single day!  Not paying attention got me to obesity so I need to respect the requirements of this amazing gift I have been given.  I will use "My Fitness Pal" to track my food daily.  I think I will weigh myself everyday to appreciate and understand normal fluctuations.  You all are so wise and supportive - I love knowing I can come here!

Mags 

It's a great thing to be willing to do it. All the hard work is in logging a food or creating a meal or recipe for the first time. And making sure the figures in MFP are accurate. After that, it's easy -- just put in the portion size.

I get exasperated when someone who stopped losing, or started to regain, just simply refuses to weigh and track their food. I don't get it. If you can lose or maintain without tracking, fantastic. But if you can't, why refuse to do something that will help?

It's good you have an open mind, and are willing to be flexible.

The fact that so many people refuse to log even when they say they want to lose is probably my biggest pet-peeve here on OH.

My 2 cents worth on an excellent thread: I am sketchy about tracking, but find that if I avoid the scale...oh it's not a good thing! Just as you said, it's denial and allows all my rationalizations to come in the back door. 

I do my best with food "tracking" when I draw up my menu/meal plans in advance and shop according to what I've planned. 

Keeping track is a good thing! And apps such as My Fitness Pal make it easy!

I track what I eat on MFP daily.  I relish my 451 day streak, which is nothing compared to some people.

For me, it's important to finally be honest with myself about what I put into my body.  For years I would live in complete denial about the amount of calories I would consume daily.  Now I hold myself accountable for what I choose to eat, and want a record to review both successes and failures in my eating plan.

I prepare many meals in my crockpot, then portion and freeze them to eat later on.  I ALWAYS weigh anything that I put into portion containers because my eyes still think that it's never enough food.  I tend to weigh proteins more than vegetables, since they are far lower in calories and not that risky.

I would be a disaster today if I didn't track my food.  I'm a compulsive/emotional binge eater, and accountability is an important tool for me to keep on track.  I highly recommend it to everyone before WLS, after WLS and into maintenance.  We didn't get MO by making smart choices about food.