Is Calorie Counting the real reason for maintaining weight loss?

FitPhillygirl

nxd10 wrote: »

Eileen_S wrote: »

nxd10 wrote: »

Since logging in MFP almost never stops me from eating things I was going to anyway, and I'm always under, I am pretty sure I could maintain without logging. (I've been maintaining 4 years.) But it's a habit and it helps keep me mindful. And I still learn things are more or fewer calories than I thought.

Strikes me that December is the worst time not to log though. Too many oddball things to eat. January is a more stable month. Why not start then?

I have Celiacs disease so I can't eat most of the high calorie foods that tend to be the cause of holiday weight gain. I plan on continuing to weigh in one a week, so I can make adjustments early if need be. Congrats on maintaining for 4 years. I'll be at that myself in 2 months.

My husband and son don't have celiac (my sister-in-law does) but are extremely gluten sensitive and the whole family does gluten/dairy/egg free. It does cut down the calories. My son doesn't have a big appetite and is chronically ill from migraines (which hopefully the diet will enventually help). So he's had to really work to keep his blood sugar high enough to not trigger headaches.

Congrats on maintaining for such a long time! (I weigh every day but only so I don't worry about oddball fluctuations - it makes it easier to see what's really going on and not worry about that one bad day.)

Thanks. Gluten, dairy, and egg free? Wow, that is tough. I've become used to no Gluten, but I have to have my eggs and one serving of ice cream daily.

AnneMousey

If I don't log, I overeat & gain weight, it's that simple. Tracking calories is absolutely essential for me to maintain. It's not easy, especially since I eat a great variety of foods & cook a lot. It's especially helpful to log as I go through the day to see how many calories I have left for dinner. Plus, it's a huge motivator to stay on track. And most importantly, I need to meet my protein goals at each meal and for each day. I'm looking forward to a lifetime of tracking nutrients, calories, weight, and body fat percentage. Best of luck to you.

dubird

Eileen_S wrote: »

dubird wrote: »

Eileen_S wrote: »

Why would my calories be less than someone who is the same height, age, and weight as myself? I disagree with this statement because I've actually maintained for almost 4 years eating more due to my high activity level. If I were to eat less at this point I'd be losing weight which is something I don't need to do.

*need to remember to hit POST when I'm done typing*

Someone your same age, height and weight won't have the same activity level or body composition as you. There's probably other factors with genetics or certain conditions that can make things different. We're all built differently. For example, someone my height, weight and age might have a much higher energy output. They'll need to eat more calories than I do because they burn more. Or they might have better muscle composition, which means what they eat will need to be different than me to maintain it. You can't compare yourself to others in your height/weight/age bracket and expect all of you to have the same nutritional needs. All you can do is get an estimate and learn how to apply it to yourself.

Thank you. This makes perfect sense. I do understand that everyone is different in their nutritional needs. However, I just didn't agree with the fact that I would have to eat less simply because I had to count calories in the past. It is reasonably possible that I might need more due to my activity level VS someone who didn't calorie count, but also isn't as active.

I see what you mean, but in all honesty, calorie counting doesn't do anything except give you data you need to adjust what you do. There's probably a psychological effect of logging everything, I know there is for me. Just seeing what I've eaten during the day helps me keep on track. But simply counting calories doesn't automatically mean you eat or less or more than someone who doesn't. It's simply a tool to help you adjust or maintain your weight.

aubned92

Eileen_S wrote: »

Or can everyone maintain lost weight without ever tracking food again? After reading some very good articles recently about why calorie counting isn't necessary, I have decided to give up calorie counting for the whole month of December and see if this is true or not. Thanks to Weightwatchers and MFP, I haven't gained any weight back that I lost for a few years now. I've tried to stop tracking in the past but always ended up losing weight. I believe this was due to actually not eating enough out of fear that I would end up gaining weight because I wasn't calorie counting. So in the end I went right back to calorie counting again. However, this time will hopefully be different and I will eat enough so I don't lose weight and never have to Track again.

For all those who are maintaining. Have you given up Tracking for good or just on a trial basis? Were you still able to maintain without tracking? Thanks for sharing your experiences.


Eileen

I started counting after my weight loss because I realized I wasn't eating enough. Now I feel I have to track to maintain and not lose more.

aubned92

rankinsect wrote: »

nxd10 wrote: »

Since logging in MFP almost never stops me from eating things I was going to anyway, and I'm always under, I am pretty sure I could maintain without logging.

I do the reverse - I don't log what I eat, I eat what I log. I use MFP as a way to plan my next day's meals out and then I just eat what I planned. So in that sense, I have no idea what I would otherwise be eating - MFP is my meal planner.

Very interesting.... I like this

gothchiq

I stopped counting for 2 months and let's just say i won't ever try that again. Now I have to lose back off about 10 lb.

bunnypy

I stopped and gained 5kg, I just can't recall what I'm eating throughout the day, I need to see numbers!!!!!!!!

1200 calories a day with MFP it's sooo easy and satisfies me, without MFP it turns in to 2000 calories

mamadon

rabbitjb wrote: »

rankinsect wrote: »

Eileen_S wrote: »

Or can everyone maintain lost weight without ever tracking food again? After reading some very good articles recently about why calorie counting isn't necessary, I have decided to give up calorie counting for the whole month of December and see if this is true or not. Thanks to Weightwatchers and MFP, I haven't gained any weight back that I lost for a few years now. I've tried to stop tracking in the past but always ended up losing weight. I believe this was due to actually not eating enough out of fear that I would end up gaining weight because I wasn't calorie counting. So in the end I went right back to calorie counting again. However, this time will hopefully be different and I will eat enough so I don't lose weight and never have to Track again.

For all those who are maintaining. Have you given up Tracking for good or just on a trial basis? Were you still able to maintain without tracking? Thanks for sharing your experiences.


Eileen

Can everyone maintain without calorie counting? No, clearly not.

Can some? Yes.

Will I? No. This is the last time I'm doing this, I'm not going to regain and go through this again. I know what works (calorie counting), I know it's very easy to incorporate into my life, so why would I experiment and jeopardize what I am working so hard for?

Even if I could learn how to manage my eating in the absence of calorie counting, I don't see a need to.

I think I feel like this

Although it would be good to throw caution to the wind and just stop - I don't find it onerous at all

I agree with this too. It's easy to count my calories, and time after time I read on this site and hear about people who have regained their weight. Not going to let it happen to me.

FitPhillygirl

mamadon wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

rankinsect wrote: »

Eileen_S wrote: »

Or can everyone maintain lost weight without ever tracking food again? After reading some very good articles recently about why calorie counting isn't necessary, I have decided to give up calorie counting for the whole month of December and see if this is true or not. Thanks to Weightwatchers and MFP, I haven't gained any weight back that I lost for a few years now. I've tried to stop tracking in the past but always ended up losing weight. I believe this was due to actually not eating enough out of fear that I would end up gaining weight because I wasn't calorie counting. So in the end I went right back to calorie counting again. However, this time will hopefully be different and I will eat enough so I don't lose weight and never have to Track again.

For all those who are maintaining. Have you given up Tracking for good or just on a trial basis? Were you still able to maintain without tracking? Thanks for sharing your experiences.


Eileen

Can everyone maintain without calorie counting? No, clearly not.

Can some? Yes.

Will I? No. This is the last time I'm doing this, I'm not going to regain and go through this again. I know what works (calorie counting), I know it's very easy to incorporate into my life, so why would I experiment and jeopardize what I am working so hard for?

Even if I could learn how to manage my eating in the absence of calorie counting, I don't see a need to.

I think I feel like this

Although it would be good to throw caution to the wind and just stop - I don't find it onerous at all

I agree with this too. It's easy to count my calories, and time after time I read on this site and hear about people who have regained their weight. Not going to let it happen to me.

I might be wrong here, so others can correct me on this. I would think logging and counting calories would teach people portion control so eventually they would be able to stop logging and counting at some point. If a person is logging for a long period of time and stops only to return to the eating habits that they had before and gain weight back, nothing was learned from it the first time.