The Importance of Accountability

 I am 13 months out and had lost a total of 103 pounds as of January 2011. I had knee surgery in mid January and just now and incorporating exercise back into my life. I am not my goal and yet I have put on 7 pounds in 5 months. Talk about a stall!

I started tracking my food intake again. I am using livestrong.com because it has an iPhone app so it is always with me. I had forgotten how the accountability makes me think twice about what I am eating. Somedays I think I can still put away 4000 calories like my old day binges. It is frightening to me that I do not have this compulsive overeating cured. Of course, that's the perfectionist in me. I just want the compulsive overeating beast to go back in the closet.

Do you need to track what you eat? 

Most of the time I track. If not on a paper or by my software - I do that in my head.  I do track my meals.. I knjwo what I can, can't have.  When i don't do that for a while,... I start gaining.

I plan all my meals ahead of time and track it on my Ipod using the Fat Secret app.   As the week progresses and I change my mind, it is easy to swap out one thing for another and easy to make sure that the swaps don't compromise nutrition or caloric intake.

It is absolutely essential for me. ESSENTIAL. Nothing formal, just a post it to trash at the end of the day.

I can still do 4000 a day, too. scary, huh?

Yes, I'm 26 months post RNY and I still keep a daily log. 

Penny,

What do you track exactly?

I use pen and paper in a small spiral notebook so I can take it with me everywhere I go.

I write the time of my vitamins & supplements.

Food Log:
-what I ate
-calories
-protein grams
-carb grams
-oz of fluid

Amount and duration of exercise

Anything else: recipes, blood sugars (I have reactive hypoglyemia, notes from podcasts or website info, etc.