Counting calories forever

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2

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  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    I log everyday, been maintaining for 6-8 months now and I'm confident if I wasn't logging and weighing portion creep would get the best of me. For the first time though I think I have my TDEE finally squared away and am just maintaining without a lot of bounces in my weight and that feels good.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I've been maintaining for a good 6 months or more now. I still log most of the time, but every now and again I'll take a break, eat chicken wings and drink too much beer and eat ice cream and throw caution to the wind, but then I get back on the wagon and log and it drops off again, usually in a week or so. I've only really bounced up badly at about 8 lbs once before I reined myself back in.

    I guess part of the fun of maintenance is letting lose for a while, having burgers and getting DQ and drinking bourbon, getting it out of my system (or into my system as the case may be) and then going back to my good habits. Sometimes I just feel under the weather or get a little hurt/injured or get over-whelmed with work and I just need a bit of a break and splurge for a bit, but I know I'll be okay so I don't stress. I just enjoy the momentary debauchery and move on.

    But maintenance can be harder than losing, just because there's no "progress", there's no end game. Just... static. That's why I've tried to add fitness and health goals and maintaining just helps me reach those.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,135 Member
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    Yes.
  • mysticatgal1
    mysticatgal1 Posts: 106 Member
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    I plan on it for a few years of maintaining but aging makes it easy for the weight to come back also. I don't find it that difficult or annoying like some people do either.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    No.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    I counted for 2 months and stopped so I don't deal with all the trappings of it. It appears that people who plan to count are usually concerned about portion control.

    I don't think my sense of portion control is better than anyone--it's not, my wt fluctuates by several pounds during the week--, but I think my discipline is probably above average, or that's because it's the only thing I spend effort working on. I simply tune out eating to shed all the gain. It seems like this little disciplinary work is enough to take care of all nuisance and difficulties (counting, planning, moderation, avoiding, etc..)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,149 Member
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    Maybe a silly question , but out of curiousity , once you get to your goal weight , do you plan to keep counting calories everyday for the rest of your lives? I mean its a little hard to keep track of everything you eat especially if you have an active and busy life

    No ... absolutely not!

    In fact, I've stopped counting calories everyday already. :) Didn't enter a thing for yesterday.

    The thing is, right now I feel like I could lose another 2 or 3 kg but I'm training for cycling events so I had to choose ... do I focus on weight loss or do I focus on training. I chose to focus on training. So now I eat with training in mind which means that some days I eat less and some days I eat more, depending on what I'm doing.

    I do, however, still weigh myself almost every day (I've done that quite consistently for 30+ years, so don't see myself stopping that any time soon) ... and I log all my cycling and most of my other exercise as well. I've been logging all my cycling for 26 years, and imagine I will continue to do so until I simply cannot cycle anymore.

  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,146 Member
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    I don't count or log calories as diligently as I did before. After being six years in maintenance I really deserve a break; I don't want to became too OCD since I only had less than 10 lbs to lose when I joined MFP.

    I don't log while on vacation, when eating out (unless the restaurant has a detailed nutritional information and if I feel like logging), eating at friends' house, or when I don't want to do it or if am tired of the whole thing. I don't estimate either. Sometimes even if I weigh my food, I don't log it until the end of the day or even the day after, if I remember (I don't use the app).

    As other posters mentioned, I do weigh myself almost daily or few times a week. If I see an increase or a decrease in my weigh, then I start logging again for few weeks, at least.

    I am pretty good at estimating my portions and keeping control of my intake and I am not an emotional eater nor I binge or have sugar issues; I keep active and exercise 4 to 5 times a week because I like it not to justify eating more. So far I am doing well and I don't find maintenance harder than losing or that age is a problem. And I am much older than most of the people in this forum. :'( and I have an under active thyroid, but I am also a small woman.

    However, we are all different and we need to do what is best for us. Some people don't mind counting calories and logging and plan to do it for ever; others say " no way Jose." Just do what is best for you and your life style.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    No. I haven't counted in years.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,146 Member
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    mysticatgal1 wrote: »
    I plan on it for a few years of maintaining but aging makes it easy for the weight to come back also. I don't find it that difficult or annoying like some people do either.

    Aging at 32 years old!!!! I don"t think so. You are waaaaay too young to define your 30s as "aging." What are you going to call yourself when you get to your seventies, a relic?

    Enjoy your present age and take care of yourself. The best is still to came, trust me on that.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    yes, worth it to fit in my clothes!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I don't know. I've been doing it almost 2 years so it is a habit now. I'm using the food diary tool for things other than calories now too.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I plan on doing it for the rest of my life.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    Maybe. I feel like i'm much better at judging how much food I actually need, but my love for pasta, pizza and cheese makes it hard.

    I will keep doing meal-prep, as it's saved me more money than I ever imagined it would.
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
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    i think i will still track but not as closely. i know by now how much food i need to eat when it comes to veggies or meat or bread. rice, pasta and complicated meals i will have to log though as determining those calories in your head is much harder.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    No - but sometimes yes!

    I can maintain my weight without logging just by weighing myself regularly to spot a trend and then making small adjustments if required. That's no different to before I lost weight - effectively I just maintained at a fat weight for 20 years.

    If I need or want to drop weight for a certain event or particular date then logging definitely helps.

    May also log food on the day of a long bicycle ride or during a period of particularly intense training just for precision over fuelling and nutrition.
  • patchie27
    patchie27 Posts: 4 Member
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    Yes
  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 403 Member
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    I hit maintenance back in September of last year, but continued to count calories until around Christmas. I fell off big time and gained around 45 pounds since then. I stopped logging. I know for me at least, I will need to count calories for a while until I adjust to a new lifestyle.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    I no longer log my food ( 3+ years at maintenance) but I still 'think' in calories. For me mentally keeping an eye on my calories intake has been part and parcel of successfully maintaining.

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