Do you plan on counting calories for the rest of your life?

lorrpb

I plan to control what I eat the rest of my life. My plan when I get to maintain is yo set a wright limit. If I go above that I'll start logging again & eat at s deficit until back to an acceptable weight.

OP you have been logging long enough that you should have an excellent idea of what you can eat and stay within calorie goal. If you're not getting the refills you want then go back to logging as needed. That way you can take a break but not regain more than a few lbs.

dalielahdawn

Yes. I have an addiction to food and eating. It will not go away. Like an alcoholic, I will always to over coming.

Altagracia220

The idea of counting calories and weighing food everyday for the rest of my life is ghastly. It has helped me lose 55 pounds but it gets very tedious and annoying. So to answer your question, no. I want to get to my goal weight. Then I'm going to eat maintenance calories. Then I'm going to wean myself off it. Then I'm going to count calories and weigh food 3 or 4 times a week. After a few weeks I'll completely stop. If I get to a point where my clothing starts to fit snug then I'll come back to it and do the same things.

Lounmoun

Tender_Blender wrote: »

I've been counting for around 2-3 years now and I'm getting sick of it. Food and calories is all I think about these days, but I fear I'll regain all the weight once I stop. What's your plan once you reach your goal weight? Would counting calories for the rest of your life be unreasonable?

I don't know. The rest of my life is hopefully a long time. I will probably continue logging for awhile after I reach my goal but I should have a good idea of the amount of food I can eat after doing this for a couple of years. I will continue to weigh myself weekly.

jemhh

Not sure. I'll always have to be mindful of how many calories I'm eating but I don't know if I'll literally always count them. It takes very little time to do. I don't feel like I'm always thinking about it so I don't mind.

rankinsect

Oh, and I should say - I don't log over the course of the day. I plan my meals at least a day in advance, and log all the food I plan to eat. It's very quick, and I actually found I really love having my meal plans in advance, it saves all the wondering when I get home of what I'll eat. Planning a few days out also helps a lot with grocery shopping.

That's beneficial to me for reasons other than just calorie control, although calorie control was the primary reason I began it.

PinkPixiexox

I'm going to say yes.

All of my family are overweight. Up until a few months ago, I too was overweight. I have a huge, huge, appetite and I know that without that 'tracking' tool in place, I will eat more than I should and ultimately, gain weight. Sure, i'll probably loosen the 'tracking' somewhat, but I don't think I will ever turn away from being aware. Each and every time I stopped paying attention to my food, I gained weight and was pretty miserable with it!

jgnatca

My dietitian wants me to.
The National Weight Control Registry suggests successful people do.
Diabetics have to, or, consequences.
I expect I will, 80% of the time until I'm 95. Then I am going all out hedonist.

nvmomketo

I hope not. I counted calories for three months when I switched to a new way of eating. I haven't been counting calories for a month, and while my weight loss slowed (I know I am eating more) it is still controlled.

Happily when I eat very LCHF ketogenic diet, I find it difficult to overeat. My appetite is down, and I tend not to overeat fat and protein, just carbs. I know (mostly) what to eat and when to control my prediabetes... I'm guessing I'll only count calories once in a while as a reality check - to make sure my food is still of a reasonable size.

tomatoey

On and off, depending on how much I can exercise and how steady my weight is.

Yi5hedr3

Yep, you ll always have to count. Sad, but true.

Optimistical1

sakurablush wrote: »

Counting calories? Heck no.

Fasting is a different matter however, and should keep me in check.

This exactly. Except I say hEll no. I will always use my food scale as a backup plan in case I start to gain again, but I have no plans of obsessively weighing and/or recording everything that goes in my mouth forever. Fasting will keep me in check as well.

paperpudding

'For the rest of my life' is a long time ( I hope!)

However I do plan to keep logging for the foreseeable future.

I have been in maitenance for nearly 2 years and I am used to logging and I am a 'lists and writing things down' sort of person so I dont find it a hardship.

However I do not log meticulously - I practice what I call lazy logging. Every mandarine is a medium mandarine,every cappacino everywhere is the same, I estimate things when eating out.

Also. If I am on holidays away from home for more than a day or two, I have a break from logging and resume it when I get back. The longest such break I have had is 3 weeks.

Doing this has kept me within a weight range of 3 kg for nearly 2 years.

alizesmom

At this time, probably. This is my second weight loss and I know that I need to be accountable because I like to eat too much.

47Jacqueline

I don't think about it. I keep a general track of my eating and intake on a regular basis.

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OldAssDude

I literally posted this on my home page just before reading this thread...

Since I only have 22 lbs. left to lose, I am starting a new phase of my goal. I am going to STOP logging my food. Now I need to start training myself to watch what I eat without scanning, measuring, and keeping a running total of what I eat each day. I will still track my weight, and ballpark what I eat in my head, and I will still log my calories burned in MFP. I feel that a person should learn how to eat without having to measure everything they put in their mouth for the rest of their life. That is just time better spent living life, but it still has to be learned, and I am starting now.

I only ball parked my calories up to this point anyway.

Machka9

Do you plan on counting calories for the rest of your life?


No ... absolutely not! No way! Not a chance!

cnbbnc

I can't see myself doing this forever, nor do I necessarily want to. For me, it's going to be trying to find a middle ground between eating on my own (with regular weigh-ins) and reverting to calorie counting as soon as I see I'm gaining. Same with weighing food.

zcb94

DeguelloTex wrote: »

I don't plan to, but I don't plan not to. I'd rather not, but if I need to, I need to. Sort of like vision correction.

This. I'll ask my doctors, but I know that health is obviously lifelong. Therefore, I plan never to stop, until someone I trust suggests otherwise. Having said that, I'm well aware of the fact that there will be a day when I get to bump up to maintenance cals, which will be counted fairly religiously.

RogerToo

Hi
Do I plan on counting calories for the rest of my life only as needed.

I do plan to scale and log that weight into my weight log Book, A paper ledger book FWIW.

I have a decent handle on portions and what types of foods to eat, Plenty of Vegetables and Protein in the proper amounts. When I stop counting calories I will resume counting if I see my weight climbing until I get back to where I want to be and then start not counting again. I will keep scaling certain foods such as the bags of frozen vegetables, However that scaling is more to know how long to Microwave them than for calorie counting.

It has taken me since January 2014 to lose the 200 pounds and I have no desire to chuck the results of all that hard work just to avoid logging food.

Good Luck
Roger

MsJulesRenee

Yes, I don't mind logging everything. This is the only method that has worked to help me safely lose weight. My health is important enough.

cwolfman13

I counted calories while I was losing and used that time to teach myself proper portion control and mentally be able to look at stuff and get a fairly good estimate of the calories. I've been in maintenance going on 2.5 years and haven't logged anything in that time save for maybe the first few weeks just to see what maintenance portions look like.

I've had no problem maintaining my weight. I've maintained my healthy habits and eat very healthfully and exercise regularly. I've had no issues at all...your mileage may vary and will greatly depend on whether or not you've truly adopted a new "normal".

The vast majority of people who say they're going to count and log into perpetuity will not...I'm 41 and plan on living at least another 40 - 50 years...the notion that I could continuously log and count for 50 years is fairly laughable. It's not really realistic.

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MsJulesRenee

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I counted calories while I was losing and used that time to teach myself proper portion control and mentally be able to look at stuff and get a fairly good estimate of the calories. I've been in maintenance going on 2.5 years and haven't logged anything in that time save for maybe the first few weeks just to see what maintenance portions look like.

I've had no problem maintaining my weight. I've maintained my healthy habits and eat very healthfully and exercise regularly. I've had no issues at all...your mileage may vary and will greatly depend on whether or not you've truly adopted a new "normal".

The vast majority of people who say they're going to count and log into perpetuity will not...I'm 41 and plan on living at least another 40 - 50 years...the notion that I could continuously log and count for 50 years is fairly laughable. It's not really realistic.

It is realistic to me.

skinnyandfitgirl

Honestly, I hate counting calories with ever fiber of my being, but it is one of the only ways I've ever been able to consistently lose weight. I started using portion control containers after using the 21 day fix exercise program and that has been a lot easier for me to keep track of my caloric intake rather than typing in each and every tablespoon of food I consume.

I think over time you get a general idea of what a 1500 or 2000 calorie day looks like and it's easier to stick to if you eat similar meals each day as well. I usually eat between 1600-1800 calories but if I go to a party or something, I'm sure I'm hitting close to 2500. that's why I try to stick to portion control and awareness.

JustMissTracy

Jruzer wrote: »

Lucille4444 wrote: »

Jruzer wrote: »

Numbers rule

That is true, but after you've looked up the caloric value of let's say, and egg, for the 600th time I'm thinking you really should be remembering. There's always the exotic dish you don't eat often but really you can look at the tuna sandwich and your mind can visualize what part of the allowed daily food that would be without having to count up, after a while.

Since you quoted me I assume you're replying to me. But I'm afraid I don't get what you're after.

I probably have logged eggs 600 times, and I know the nutritional values pretty well. How much mayo is in my tuna sandwich? How much tuna? I can visualize a 200 calorie tuna sandwich and a 400 calorie tuna sandwich. Shall I remember all of the caloric and nutritional values of all the food I eat? Pad Thai, 50 kinds of ice cream, different kinds of breads, bagels, cinnamon rolls, pot roast, thin crust vs thick crust pizza, nonfat vs 2% vs full fat Greek yogurt, 80% vs 90% lean ground beef, Cap'n Crunch vs Grape Nuts vs Wheaties, French toast, pancakes, Italian sausage vs brats vs hot dogs vs pork tenderloin, couscous, sweet corn, et cetera ad infinitum? Do I have room today to squeeze in some ice cream? How much? How about a beer? An imperial stout or a gose? If I don't track I'm guessing; if I track I know.

Logging and tracking calories takes about 2 minutes out of my day, and to my mind it is just as valuable as (and easier than) keeping my bank account balanced. Tracking calories is the only thing that has worked for me and I'm not about to abandon it.

Well said xo

tmongey

amytorr19 wrote: »

no i dont plan on counting calories the rest of my life.. I am learning portion control from counting calories.

Absolutely the way to go. It's a lifestyle change. Well done

rankinsect

cwolfman13 wrote: »

The vast majority of people who say they're going to count and log into perpetuity will not...I'm 41 and plan on living at least another 40 - 50 years...the notion that I could continuously log and count for 50 years is fairly laughable. It's not really realistic.

I think it's perfectly realistic. I spend about 2-3 minutes per day to plan the next day's meals out and log them, and it's simply part of my daily habit. I spend six minutes per day brushing my teeth (I know, because my toothbrush times me). I certainly plan to brush my teeth for 50 years, I don't see why I won't plan my meals for that long, too.

victoria_1024

I just recently hit my goal weight. Since hitting it I've been continuing to log but not as precisely as I was before. I've still lost weight so I'm a pound under my goal. I think I may log in maintenance for a few months and see how it goes. Logging is the only thing that helps me to be accountable and I honestly don't mind doing it. It's what keeps me from feeling guilty when I'm eating cookies or chocolate. I can look at my logging and know in still burning more than I'm taking in so treating myself to 3 cookies is totally fine.