Do you plan on counting calories for the rest of your life?
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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
Roger0 -
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.0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
Lucille4444 wrote: »
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.Numbers rule
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 xo0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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No, I won't count calories for the rest of my life. I will, however, weigh myself at least once a month for the rest of my life once I have maintained my goal range for a few months and take action if needed. I have a hammer, but I don't feel the need to bang in every nail that I see. Calorie counting is also a tool, and I won't feel the need to count them unless they need counting to get me back on track.0
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I hope that by the time I'm down to my goal weight I'll have a good idea of what my needs are, though I plan on tracking them to find out a good idea of maintenance before easing out of diligent tracking. And weighing regularly? Yeah, will do.0
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rankinsect wrote: »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.
Agreed.0 -
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I plan on it. If I come to a point in my life where I truly believe I don't have to be stringent with my counting then so be it, but counting keeps me aware of what I eat and I already have plenty of evidence of what happens when I don't remain aware of what/how much I eat.0
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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've been counting calories most of my life, since I come from a family where the women tend to pack on the pounds. I've never been technically medically overweight just what I call vanity overweight. The only difference I've found since being on MFP for the last 2 months is that before when I wanted to lose weight I would work out like a demon and eat very little. I didn't understand or even know about NET calories. So now, since being on MFP I eat MORE calories than I used to and am losing weight. So yes, I am quite alright with counting calories and keeping my weight in check for the rest of my life. Well worth it if you ask me. EAT and lose weight. Who'd a thunk?
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Interesting range of responses! I find that it takes very little time to log, a minute or two for most meals. However, I do a lot of guesstimating. When I began losing, I used my food scale religiously, to calibrate my sense of how many calories were in a given quantity of some food. After a few months, I began eyeballing some things. At present I still use the scale most days, but only for calorie-dense things. When I eat out, I search MFP's database for something similar and then guess about how much I ate, trying to err on the generous side. My log is really more of a list of what I ate, with rough calorie amounts next to each item. It seems to be OK, since I've been in maintenance for over 10 months and have actually lost a couple pounds over that time (most of it, strangely, during a two-week vacation in Iceland, where I thought I was actually eating more than usual, but I was also more active than usual too).
I cycle 50-125 miles a week (depending on weather and free time), and run 15-25 miles a week, with the occasional hike, canoe trip, walk, etc. on top of that. Since the amount I exercise is variable, the food log is useful so I have a reasonable idea of how the two are balancing out. That's especially useful when some of my events might burn 2500-3500 calories or more.
The only aspect of logging that takes more than a couple minutes is creating a new recipe in MFP. I usually alternate between two or three things for breakfast, and usually eat one of five meals for lunch, unless I eat out. But I've created about 150 dinner recipes in MFP. I like a variety of foods, and I enjoy cooking, so I'm usually making around 4-5 unique dinners each week (the other nights are leftovers or eating out, 2-3 times a month). Many of those are tried and true recipes, but I still create a few new ones each month when I try out something new.
I don't know if I'll do it forever. I plan to continue for the indefinite future, since it takes little time and seems to be useful. I also weigh myself daily and use TrendWeight.com to plot the exponentially smoothed moving average. If my weight gets more than 2.5 pounds over my goal, and I'm not deliberately trying to gain, I'll focus on getting it back down, so I don't find myself in the position I was in 2008, where I had gained 85 pounds over the course of 11 or 12 years.0 -
Definitely no. Counting calories teach me moderation in what I eat, and it will become a habit when I hit my target goal. After that I will just have smaller portions to make sure I don't gain the kga back.0
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I can't think about the rest of my life. I am just thinking about TODAY.0
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