When you hit maintenance, if you stopped tracking cals how long until you gained?

lesliezimmer

I wouldn't gain at all if I stopped tracking. I stopped tracking for 6 months in 2014 and I maintained around 173-175 lbs.

I maintained my weight at 127-133 lbs for my entire adult life, except for the last 2.5 years where other circumstances (health related) interfered. I'm only counting calories because I don't know the exact amount I'm supposed to eat to healthily *lose* weight.

If I stopped counting calories right now I'd likely maintain at around 170 lbs...

It really just depends on the person and what their lifestyle/habits are. Once I get to maintenance weight, I plan on weighing myself more often too though. If you always know what you weigh, you always know what to do to adjust activity/intake accordingly...

maillemaker

With your current profile pic, that's just plain creepy-stalkerish.

Deal with lots of creepy-stalky knights in armour, do you?

It's re-enactment stuff.

binglebandit

Even if I try my best to count calories at maintenance, I still manage to slowly gain weight back during the holidays and visiting family (not able to count calories and way too much good food). Also I'm more inclined to cheat when I know that I'm at a relatively good place weight wise. I would say unless you make really good changes to your everyday life, you'll most likely want to count to some degree when you maintain. I think another important factor is to continue to be active in some way.

daniwilford

TFaustino67 wrote: »

maillemaker wrote: »

mccindy is a mchottie.

With your current profile pic, that's just plain creepy-stalkerish. However, McHottie does give good advice. Carry on..

Yes, yes, we should all be more cheeped out by a chivalrous knight than a man in uniform. At least she could outrun someone in full armor.

rsclause

I was driving my family crazy tracking everything, it really works better when you do track everything. When I lost fifty pounds and hit my maintenance weight I decided that I was retrained on how to eat properly and I did great. Than I slacked off my running due to a renovation project. I like to drink beer when doing construction work so that didn't help. Last but not least I ate everything between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I put twenty pounds on fast. I am now running again and the pounds are coming back off. If this stops working I will start logging again. To the OP, You should give up mayo and pop tarts because nothing good is going to happen with those two around.

slp51

I just hit goal weight on Monday so this is my first week of maintenance. I don't plan to stop tracking because I plan to someday die at my current weight! LOL

mccindy72

slp51 wrote: »

I just hit goal weight on Monday so this is my first week of maintenance. I don't plan to stop tracking because I plan to someday die at my current weight! LOL

congratulations!

Justthisgirl1994

I gained 10 lbs of the 50 lbs I lost after about 2.5 years of maintaining without counting calories. To be honest, I definitely could have continued to maintain without counting, but my life style completely changed and I didn't care enough to stop when I started to notice that I was gaining.

David_2015

rsclause wrote: »

I was driving my family crazy tracking everything, it really works better when you do track everything. When I lost fifty pounds and hit my maintenance weight I decided that I was retrained on how to eat properly and I did great. Than I slacked off my running due to a renovation project. I like to drink beer when doing construction work so that didn't help. Last but not least I ate everything between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I put twenty pounds on fast. I am now running again and the pounds are coming back off. If this stops working I will start logging again. To the OP, You should give up mayo and pop tarts because nothing good is going to happen with those two around.

Life without mayonnaise would be no life for me.

Sabine_Stroehm

It's been about 13 years. I didn't log to lose though.
I do weigh daily and every time the scale ticks up more than a few I get much more careful.

FairyDandy

4 years ago I lost 95lb with WeightWatchers. Decided I knew it all and stopped pointing. Now I'm back at it losing the same 95lb again. Hopefully when I am back to my goal weight this time I will not be so arrogant about tracking. I will always need to do it as I have an incredible ability to overeat! This is my second attempt at weight loss and this time my plan includes maintenance.

ncfitbit

Just came back from vacation and am shocked my clothes still fit. I was sure I'd gained 10 pounds. It's more like two in two weeks. Well worth it, but glad it's over. Going without logging was enough to remind me what happens when I don't log. I will always need to log, but I'm perfectly okay with it now. Without logging, I can easily eat another meal's worth of calories after dinner just because. The truth in those little red numbers really help me see I'm not eating because of hunger.

barryplumber

Don't think of this as a diet it's a lifestyle you have to dump the old lifestyle of eating everyhing in site to a new lifestyle of eating healthy for the rest of your life. If logging helps support you staying on track then it's part of your new lifestyle.

dmt4641

I haven't gained back any yet but it is early days. I am still logging but not weighing every single thing anymore. You probably need to weigh food until your eyeball method is pretty close. I test myself sometimes and I am not too far off with eyeballing it. I weighed food for probably a year though before getting there.