UPDATE! Still not logging!

Hi Guys,

So a couple of weeks a go I decided to stop using MyFitnessPal. We had been in a pretty involved relationship for over a year, but the time was right to break it off. It wasn't the site's fault: it was me. My goals have changed since I started using it and I couldn't see myself using it forever.

Anyway. I have already talked at great length about why I have stopped using it, so I'm not going to bore you with that again. Instead, I thought I would let you know how I'm getting on and reveal if there is indeed a life beyond logging everything you eat.

Here's the good news: I'm still not logging, and my weight has been steady! Hooray! Okay, well, not quite. I gained a pound or two at the beginning, and I tend to bounce around that 10st 2lb mark now, but to be honest I don't grudge that little bit of extra weight. Of course, if the scale goes up any higher (10st 5lb is my "alarm bell" weight) then I will do something about it, but at the moment I'm fairly happy where I am.

I seem to have replaced logging with routine. Instead of writing down everything I eat, I follow a rigid pattern that I know won't exceed my calorie limit (and believe me, I have done plenty of logging to know what exceeds my calorie limit and what doesn't). I'm a bit more lax on weekends and holidays, but I think the routine below comes in under my calorie limit, so I have a little bit of leeway to indulge every so often.

But anyway. A normal day for me goes like this:

6am (Pre-breakfast)
A small glass of smoothie or a handful of fruit

9am (Actual breakfast)
A large bowl of cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk and a cup of coffee

11am (Mid morning snack)
A piece of fruit, e.g. an orange, pear, peach or plum

12.30pm (Lunch)
A small bowl of soup with brown bread and a banana

3.00pm (Mid afternoon snack)
A small serving of dried fruit and/or nuts and a cup of tea

6.00pm (Evening snack)
A small snack e.g. a pot of yoghurt, a piece of fruit, a couple of oatcakes or crispbread

8.00pm (Dinner)
A normal sized meal with a sweet treat afterwards (e.g. rice pudding or gasp! ice cream)

9.30pm (Late evening snack)
A cereal bar or something similar - but only if I am feeling peckish

I know I know, it looks quite regimented, but this routine is only a baby step in the right direction towards eating normally. I look forward to the day that I can just eat what I need without thinking about it, but until that day comes I think that this is a good halfway house between normality and logging.

But just in case I was wondering if I had done the right thing... a couple of days ago I logged for the day. Just to see what would happen. I ate pretty much to the above routine and found that after I had my evening meal, I was still about 500 kcals under. So what did I do? I gorged on 500 kcals worth of biscuits. Was I hungry? No. But just KNOWING I had those calories left to spend made me reach for the biscuit tin. So yeah, I think I have definitely made the right decision.

And just like that, I have made another step towards a normal, healthy life. Feeling kind of chuffed with myself right now. Onwards and upwards!