Is Calorie Counting a Sustainable Practice

zornig

I don't want to hijack this thread so apologies to anyone who may think that. It's just that my husband thinks tracking leads to obsessive behavior and he knows people who have lost weight on diets where you don't count things. His parents have lost the same amount of weight as me in the same time on Slimming World but I've tried it and can't do unlimited carbs. I think if it aint broke don't fix it so I will carry on for now but I agree that I don't want to log forever.

I would say: good for those other people. But right now this is working for me and that's all that matters. There's a difference between being mindful and being obsessive. I mean, is someone who balances their checkbook regularly disordered?

kelli543

WW have a part of the plan called Filling and Healthy, which is about making sure that you choose the right foods (low calorie density stuff that is going to fill you up and keep you satisfied for longer, so lean protein, veggies etc) and learn how to eat until you have had just enough. i haven't yet managed to get the hang of this, it is a skill for life - long weight management. All the calorie counting and portion control we're doing should be to help to train us to recognise when we have had enough of the right kind of stuff. When I get back to goal again i am really going to focus on learning how to maintain without *constantly* tracking everything, and treat this with the same dedication currently devoted to losing weight.

mazdauk

This is the biggest weight loss for me - I've never before been much heavier than I am now, until this time (if you follow - I mean previous diets started when I went over 154/160 lbs). I did WW (on my own - I don't PAY someone to tell me I'm overweight when I have a mirror doing it for free ) but its so easy to add a little biscuit here, a mince pie or two there, make some cakes, try a new cheese, a different wine........

I'm going to keep logging until i reach my goal weight, and for at least the first 6 months maintenance. Because I know I have little will-power.:blushing: :drinker: and those extras WILL creep in and unless I'm careful I'll be right back with 20lb+ to lose.

After that I'll rely on my clothes telling me. But while there's still weight to lose I know I can't be trusted to just "eat sensibly".

supplemama

When I first started I was a die hard tracker watching every little thing that I at and making sure to come and log it in here. As life happened it just didn't seem feasible to stop what I was doing to log my foods.

This really jumped out at me. It was because I didn't/couldn't/wouldn't stop what I was doing that I became obese in the first place.

Logging has become a part of my overall life. I don't have to stop anything in order to log, because logging is something that I do. I make the time to do it. It's like exercise. I don't squeeze exercise in around the other tasks in my life; I squeeze the other tasks in around exercise. These things are a part of my life now.

I also log primarily from my phone, which makes it super easy. I can log anywhere, anytime. This makes a difference in your logging experience, when you don't have to sit down in front of a computer to log.

55in13

I don't log, but I do track mentally within the day so that at the end of the day I can say with some certainty whether I was below my goal, roughly at it or above. Then I track across days (again mentally) to be sure most of my days are at or below goal.

There are a few reasons this works for me...
I only eat 2 or 3 meals (sometimes I skip breakfast and do 16:8 IF) and 1 snack each day.
My workday lunch is almost always something I bring in and will be low cal and healthy.
I do not cheat. I have days when I go over the daily goal, but I don't pretend I wasn't over.
I weigh daily. You could say that I am counting calories, but in thousands instead of individually.
I am very committed to getting in shape. I will not fail.

EDIT - IMO, the last reason is the most important.

alisonlynn1976

I'm only going to track calories if I have trouble meeting my goals. So far, I'm doing well with losing weight without counting them. It's NOT something that I would want to do every day for the rest of my life.

(And yes, I know that calorie counting is one of the main features of this site, but my primary reason for joining was that I was looking for discussion forums on weight loss and fitness, and this looked like the best one for that.)

prattiger65

I "hope" that I don't have to count forever, but I refuse to get fat again, so whatever it takes is what it takes.

mrsnecincy

With me I've learnt that it was only portion control that caused my weight gain in the first place so it would be a concern that old habits creep back. Also I don't like ways of eating that focus on feeling full I want to eat what I like. A little of what you fancy does you good and all that. So far the only time I haven't logged is when I went on holiday and despite being careful still gained an lb a day! Maybe when I'm at goal I'll treat myself to something nice and fitted like some new jeans and just log for a bit when they're feeling tight. I'd be ok with that as long as it's not too often!

Francl27

I think it's a very slippery slope to stop weighing everything, personally. I mean, now I can tell when I have 300 calories left and can afford a piece of chocolate or even some ice cream. How would I know if I wasn't tracking? I'd probably think it's fine, when it's not, and it would just keep adding up until I put weight back on again... I'm guessing it's more sustainable if you count calories but still consider 'junk' a once in a while treat. When you can fit some of it in your diet most days, that's when it gets dangerous.

Another option I guess is to keep weighing every week and just track again when we gain weight. Now of course, to be honest, I rarely reach my goal as it is so I might be under all the time at maintenance and just not worry about it at some point anyway... We'll see. Not quite there yet.

springs47

First off, congrats on your success! You look great

Secondly, I am a little obsessive about numbers anyway....so I will gladly count calories for years to come. Even if I don't count, MFP has really helped me be aware of how many calories are in foods. A majority of people grossly underestimate the amount of calories they take in, and that's part of the problem. So even if I don't always count or log it in on here, I'll still be aware of what I'm eating.

mareeee1234

I will not calorie count forever, I'll know when I'm ready to stop.

But I will ALWAYS have the knowledge I have gained from the mfp community, as you said, and I believe that it will be enough to keep me for life

I'll also never de-activate my account, in case I want to calorie count again for a bit to put me "back on track", after a holiday or something for example! Haha

glovepuppet

i think the deal is that you'll eventually get to the point where portion control & making smart choices are second nature. you get into the habit of thinking about what you're eating and how much.

mariposa224

I actually just wrote a blog about it yesterday here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mariposa224/view/why-i-still-log-in-maintenance-542295 . I think that if doing it the way you're doing it works for you, then stick with it. I just found that when I slacked off logging, I also slacked off exercise. And I gained back 15-20 lbs of the 40 I lost back in 2010. I'm not trying to have that happen again, so, for me, tracking is helping me stay in line. I don't have a fit if I miss logging some things, it is what it is... But, overall, yes I track, and I have logged in here for over 470 consecutive days. I'm getting married in September. I think it's very likely that my streak of consecutive days will end there, as we'll be going on a cruise and I'm not going to be concerned if I can't log in. But I'll get right back to it when I come back, because this is what works for me.

ETA: I've been in maintenance for 10 months.

pinkraynedropjacki

I actually enjoy logging it. I'm planning on still doing it even though I no longer need to. I want to.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I've tried to stop counting calories before and I always slowly start gaining back. Also I use MFP to track macros because I won't eat enough protein on my own. It's an individual thing. If just being more mindful works for you then that's what you should do. For me though, I plan to do this forever in some form.

Edit: Also I don't think it's all that cumbersome to log. It takes me maybe 10 minutes per day, if that. I do it in the morning while I sip my coffee.

AmandaReimer1

For me, I know I will have to keep it up. When I hit maintenance I will for at least 6 months to a year, and then try and maybe log a few times a week to keep me in check. I know it's something I need to keep around to keep me in check, seeing how many calories I have left puts things into perspective on food choices/snacks and when to stop. Sometimes relying on feeling full or eating when hungry won't work for me.

9jenn9

I did Weight Watchers for a while and tracked my food and was successful. One day I said to myself, I don't need to log my food any more. I know what I have to do. I didn't work! Slowly, I went right back to the way I was eating before. I have to hold myself accountable for the food I eat and if that means coming in here every day and logging in my food then, so be it.

Yes. I've been at my goal weight several times. Each time I got there, I'd eventually think, "I'm so tired of tracking. I've got this down so there's no need to track." The old habits came back and so did the weight. So for me, tracking is the way to go. In a way, it's peace of mind. I know exactly where I stand, food wise, so I can stop worrying about it and get on with my day.

55in13

The old habits came back and so did the weight.

There is something to that. I posted earlier that I don't track everything. But it is probably important for me to note that for most of my life I was not overweight; I went through a few years where I starting packing the pounds on and my diet is to recover from that. So for me, returning to the "old habits" is a very positive thing.

shannashannabobana

Interesting. I think for me the goal of all this is to get into better habits. Once you've made good habits and lost the weight, calorie counting shouldn't be necessary unless you find that you've lost control of your habits again.

I think if you monitor your weight periodically (and how you feel in your clothes) you could know when you might need to go back to calorie counting again. But this is going to vary for everyone.

One of my cousins has been very enthusiastic about the idea of intuitive eating, which would hopefully end the need for calorie counting.

msvip213

I don't want to hijack this thread so apologies to anyone who may think that. It's just that my husband thinks tracking leads to obsessive behavior and he knows people who have lost weight on diets where you don't count things. His parents have lost the same amount of weight as me in the same time on Slimming World but I've tried it and can't do unlimited carbs. I think if it aint broke don't fix it so I will carry on for now but I agree that I don't want to log forever.

no worries about hijacking of the thread I am trying to get a perspective. Its not something I feel like I can do forever. I can see your husbands point of view. I remember going out with friends and being like I need to track the calories of the tequila and had to stop what we were doing to do it right then....lol