Calorie counting vs. Intuitive eating.

callsitlikeiseeit · March 2017

i maintained the second half of last yea r(lots of personal reasons) and didnt count calories. But ... i did monitor and APPROXIMATE calories. if i was eating out, anything i ate during the rest of the day was really light. If i had a day of over indulgence, i eased back considerably the next couple of days.

i cant lose without counting. i can, however, maintain without it.

LessCookiess · March 2017

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

You can do it! I eat smaller portions, and I get more than 10k steps a day. I went to my doctor and asked about my desire to lose weight. I told her how I traditionally would calorie count, and she mentioned not to count calories, and just eat smaller portions. My life is so much easier, but I know everyone has different methods that work for them. But I do think having a food journal at first is a good idea. You can see what you're eating, and you realize what's causing you to gain weight. I do think calorie counting at first did help me better portion control now. So I'm not saying don't calorie count I just don't think for me it's not a long term thing for me.

JustDoIt987 · March 2017

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

if thinking about and counting calories is taking up 85% of your day you are doing something wrong

I agree. OP, you need to work on that, there seems to be a lot of unhappy obsession there.

Having said that, I spend a significant portion of my day thinking about food. I always have done. Another reason I'm not sure about intuitive eating in my case...

There is

! I have been accurately logging for about 1 year and a half now but it gets worse everyday !

JustDoIt987 · March 2017

endlessfall16 wrote: »

I wouldn't spare 10 minutes of my day to do something if I could do without. Heck the time before getting up to go to work always seems so precious.

OP, I agree with you that the counting can get obsessive, especially for obsessive people, which I think you and I are.

More than just the time and the overthinking -- heck, the mind is always preoccupied with weight, if not the number it's going to the weight concern community!!! -- it's also the derailment of my appetite and some of my social norms. I couldn't readily agree with my friends to go to pizza places and once there I couldn't see the pizza without thinking numbers and getting hesitation.

After 3 months I concluded that my time and effort would be better spent in disciplining myself with (relative) fasting. Go eat at a pho restaurant, a pizza place with a couple beer, or order a regular Carl Jr meal and not a second meal, and then eat light in other meals. Weigh yourself on the bathroom scale regularly and make some adjustment.

yep !! Honestly , I am obsessed both with my weight and scale AND with calories ! I often turn down invitations just because I cant fit them in my calorie goals ! I am thinking of trying fasting as well . How do you fast ?

JustDoIt987 · March 2017

emilyrtanner wrote: »

I think that if you are becoming obsessive to the point where it is all you can think about, that might be a little red flag. You do not have an eating disorder from what I understand, but you are experiencing disordered eating thoughts and patterns. For me, this meant I was putting all my energy into weight loss because I wanted to avoid other nonsense in my life. Weight loss remains a priority for me, but I have to work really really hard to make sure it is not an obsession and that NO MATTER WHAT I take care of my mental health first and foremost. It is not a bad thing to consider speaking briefly with a therapist about it - it can be super helpful!

Definetly do not have an eating disorder , I love food and eat a substantial amount of calories everyday , but yes , I think I am way too obsessed and need to take care of my mental health along with my body. However , a Therapist is not a good idea for me as I cant afford it

JustDoIt987 · March 2017

xchocolategirl wrote: »

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

You can do it! I eat smaller portions, and I get more than 10k steps a day. I went to my doctor and asked about my desire to lose weight. I told her how I traditionally would calorie count, and she mentioned not to count calories, and just eat smaller portions. My life is so much easier, but I know everyone has different methods that work for them. But I do think having a food journal at first is a good idea. You can see what you're eating, and you realize what's causing you to gain weight. I do think calorie counting at first did help me better portion control now. So I'm not saying don't calorie count I just don't think for me it's not a long term thing for me.

I wish I could do that ! But I am scared that I'd gain weight since I eat out a lot , especially on weekends

CattOfTheGarage · March 2017

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

if thinking about and counting calories is taking up 85% of your day you are doing something wrong

I agree. OP, you need to work on that, there seems to be a lot of unhappy obsession there.

Having said that, I spend a significant portion of my day thinking about food. I always have done. Another reason I'm not sure about intuitive eating in my case...

There is ! I have been accurately logging for about 1 year and a half now but it gets worse everyday !

What is it that's bothering you specifically? What do you think will happen if your estimates (because estimates are all they are) are not accurate? Do you feel like you will suddenly put the weight back on? I mean, weight loss and gain are slow processes and in the event you underestimated your food you would get plenty of warning, you'd see the scale creep up and you would know you need to adjust your estimates a little. There is no sudden disaster that will befall you, just a gradual change that you can address and learn from.

Do you think you can shift your mindset to accept that there is uncertainty but the sky is not going to fall as a result? It really isn't.

If you really can't deal with calorie counting without being obsessive or anxious (some people really can't) then perhaps it is worth giving intuitive eating a try.

jenilla1 · March 2017

It's been 6 years of logging for me this month - In maintenance for well over 5. It's easy, fast and a habit now. Most everything I eat is already in the system and it's no biggie to add something quickly. Logging takes about as much time and effort as brushing my teeth. I wouldn't stop brushing my teeth because I had a good check-up. Not gonna stop logging! I've had amazing results, so why wouldn't I just keep it up forever?

endlessfall16 · March 2017

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

I wouldn't spare 10 minutes of my day to do something if I could do without. Heck the time before getting up to go to work always seems so precious.

OP, I agree with you that the counting can get obsessive, especially for obsessive people, which I think you and I are.

More than just the time and the overthinking -- heck, the mind is always preoccupied with weight, if not the number it's going to the weight concern community!!! -- it's also the derailment of my appetite and some of my social norms. I couldn't readily agree with my friends to go to pizza places and once there I couldn't see the pizza without thinking numbers and getting hesitation.

After 3 months I concluded that my time and effort would be better spent in disciplining myself with (relative) fasting. Go eat at a pho restaurant, a pizza place with a couple beer, or order a regular Carl Jr meal and not a second meal, and then eat light in other meals. Weigh yourself on the bathroom scale regularly and make some adjustment.

yep !! Honestly , I am obsessed both with my weight and scale AND with calories ! I often turn down invitations just because I cant fit them in my calorie goals ! I am thinking of trying fasting as well . How do you fast ?

Very simple, bud.

I like eating just like everyone else who's healthy. Probably even more since I play sport and need to cycle through more calories!

I simply prioritize my meals. I fast or eat very little in unimportant meals (boring lunchtime at work, by myself and certain evenings). I eat more and satisfyingly in important meals, eg with family, friends, occasions, weekend, after sport sessions. A nice thing about this is I do not spend a lot of time looking for food. When I'm with other people, foods or food ideas are already provided. In my fasting time, it's easy to find and get by with boiled eggs, various dry nuts, electrolyte drinks, simple sandwich, pastries, steamed veggies, etc. which are easy to eat less, .

I call them "diet foods".

Chunkahlunkah · March 2017

Intuitive eating generally worked for me. I have a relatively stable appetite (CI) regardless of my activity level. The problem is when I drop to sedentary, my appetite stays the same. So when sedentary, my appetite level (intuitive eating) causes weight gain. I'm working now on losing those pounds. Conversely, I've also experienced unintentional weight loss when my activity went way up because I kept "intuitively eating" the same amount of calories. The only times in my life I've gained or lost a significant amount of weight (more than 10 pounds) were due to changes in my activity level. My fixed appetite makes it easy for me to eat intuitively and maintain, so long as I keep activity where it needs to be.

My appetite's sweet spot is about 1750 calories a day. TDEE charts predict that if I eat that while I'm lightly active, then I'll weigh around 115 lbs. (I'm short.) And that's indeed been my usual weight since puberty. It's where I fall if make no effort to modify what I'm intuitively eating. Those same charts predict that if I eat that amount while sedentary, I'll be overweight. They're right.

To maintain 115 lbs while sedentary, I'd need to eat 200 fewer calories a day.

So I could conceivably choose to stay sedentary, but then I'd have to overwrite my natural appetite. That restriction would require me to track my calories, since it's intuitive for me to eat 200 more calories. I don't want a lifetime of non-intuitive eating! I'll restrict and track now, so that I can lose weight at a quicker pace. But once I'm back to my normal weight, I'll eat intuitively and make sure I stay "lightly active." Burning 200 calories a day to stay in the "lightly active" category is a reasonable, achievable amount.

If I get ill or injured and become sedentary again, I'll know to cut back 200 calories. Outside of those scenarios though, I'll stick with light activity and intuitive eating. Periodically I might track calories just to get an updated precise snapshot of my CI, maybe for one week a couple times a year. As I age, I'll likely need to either increase my activity or eat a little less.

zdyb23456 · March 2017

I know set point is a myth, but if I didn't log my food and attempt to "diet" I would be at my set point, which is about 5 pounds heavier than I am.

Prior to logging and pregnancies I consistently weighed around 122 pounds. After my pregnancies I got down to 107 after my first and 115 after my second and third. After weaning my third I gained back up to 122 and that's when I found mfp. I got down to 113, which I really like and feel great there. I've gained 5 pounds by being lackadaisical with my calories so I'm trying to get back there.

I'm pretty sure if I stopped logging I would naturally eat enough to gain weight until I was 122. So I'll be logging forever. Unless I get to a point where I don't care what I look or feel like.

Chunkahlunkah · March 2017

I find these different answers very interesting. Intuitive eating has generally worked for me for maintenance because I'd eat when I'm hungry, and then I'd stop when I'm starting to feel full. I'm lucky because the point when I feel full happens to be the amount of calories needed to maintain my weight (so long as I'm at least "lightly active"). I'd eat like that maybe 90% of the time. The other 10%, I'd eat when not really hungry or eat past fullness. It didn't do enough damage overall, I guess, to alter my weight much.

So if intuitive eating doesn't work for you...At which point do you think it's off? I tend to think that people have their own set appetite. So if your appetite is an amount of calories that with a "light/moderate" level of activity equals an overweight number, then intuitive eating can't work for maintaining a healthy weight. (Unless you can up your activity *and* not experience an increased appetite that outweighs the additional burn.) That's a tough hand!

Do some of you feel like you naturally have a large appetite? Or for you, is it more eating when not hungry and eating past fullness that takes its toll? Or something else?

Not to hijack. I could start a separate thread about this, OP, if you'd like.

I'm just really curious to learn about what it's like not being able to rely on IE and why that is.

LessCookiess · March 2017

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

JustDoIt987 wrote: »

xchocolategirl wrote: »

I don't calorie count I realized when I did in the past I was bit obsessive. I also used to limit myself to 1200 calories, and I would binge sometime as well. I don't calorie count now, and I just eat a well balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I also workout as well, but if I'm hungry I'll eat food. I don't restrict myself, and if I want a cake I'll eat it as well. I'm no longer binging, and I'm a lot happier as well overall. I've lost 30 pounds so far just following this. I'm not trying to lose 2 pounds a week that's not my goal if I lose 0.2 pounds one week I'm happy with it. The rate of loss isn't important. For me slow and steady wins the race, and I'm okay with it. But alas the same thing doesn't work for everyone.

Awesome ! This is definetly what I would love to do

You can do it! I eat smaller portions, and I get more than 10k steps a day. I went to my doctor and asked about my desire to lose weight. I told her how I traditionally would calorie count, and she mentioned not to count calories, and just eat smaller portions. My life is so much easier, but I know everyone has different methods that work for them. But I do think having a food journal at first is a good idea. You can see what you're eating, and you realize what's causing you to gain weight. I do think calorie counting at first did help me better portion control now. So I'm not saying don't calorie count I just don't think for me it's not a long term thing for me.

I wish I could do that ! But I am scared that I'd gain weight since I eat out a lot , especially on weekends

If you're not able to control your intake than I think you should continue with the calorie counting until you can learn to reduce your potion sizes, and not eat as much. I know it's a struggle to count calories, but I think if it's working for you than continue counting calories. Counting calories is helps control portion sizes and it works!

endlessfall16 · March 2017

Chunkahlunkah wrote: »

I find these different answers very interesting. Intuitive eating has generally worked for me for maintenance because I'd eat when I'm hungry, and then I'd stop when I'm starting to feel full. I'm lucky because the point when I feel full happens to be the amount of calories needed to maintain my weight (so long as I'm at least "lightly active"). I'd eat like that maybe 90% of the time. The other 10%, I'd eat when not really hungry or eat past fullness. It didn't do enough damage overall, I guess, to alter my weight much.

So if intuitive eating doesn't work for you...At which point do you think it's off? I tend to think that people have their own set appetite. So if your appetite is an amount of calories that with a "light/moderate" level of activity equals an overweight number, then intuitive eating can't work for maintaining a healthy weight. (Unless you can up your activity *and* not experience an increased appetite that outweighs the additional burn.) That's a tough hand!

Do some of you feel like you naturally have a large appetite? Or for you, is it more eating when not hungry and eating past fullness that takes its toll? Or something else?

Not to hijack. I could start a separate thread about this, OP, if you'd like. I'm just really curious to learn about what it's like not being able to rely on IE and why that is.

I don't think appetite works that way. Appetite is very much conditioned, aside from some biological root, I suppose. You can have a very large or a very small appetite or just average; and appetite for something that's only appealing to you and not others. It's all over the place and doesn't necessarily corresponding to one's hunger.

It's futile to match appetite with hunger. My "intuitive eating" is that, when I need to cut back, I just eat enough to feel ok with my hunger (not the same as to feel full). Overweight comes from a lot of time eating for fun and eating past this "I am ok with this hunger feeling" point. Feeling fullness most of the time you eat is way too much since it can take a lot to feel full. Remember, we can eat one meal that's easily enough for 3 meals.

My eating isn't based on intuitiveness. It's based on checking with the bathroom scale and do cut backs. Any size of cutback isn't wrong. It's more important that you do them. Over weeks you should see you're losing.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken · March 2017

The term "intuitive eating" always makes me laugh. It's really just how people always did it in the good old days before our hunger/satiety signals became faulty. I have been counting calories for a long time and mostly for the purpose of relearning what a normal serving looks like and how much a normal food day really is. While I have still been weighing my food some of the time, I haven't been logging lately except my fruits and vegetables for the challenge in the forums. I think it's been a couple of weeks since I really kept track of everything and I can only say I eat a certain amount because I know how much I should eat thanks to the retraining I got from logging so much for so long. If the lines ever appear to blur again I will go back to logging strictly again.

Chunkahlunkah · March 2017

endlessfall16 wrote: »

Chunkahlunkah wrote: »

I find these different answers very interesting. Intuitive eating has generally worked for me for maintenance because I'd eat when I'm hungry, and then I'd stop when I'm starting to feel full. I'm lucky because the point when I feel full happens to be the amount of calories needed to maintain my weight (so long as I'm at least "lightly active"). I'd eat like that maybe 90% of the time. The other 10%, I'd eat when not really hungry or eat past fullness. It didn't do enough damage overall, I guess, to alter my weight much.

So if intuitive eating doesn't work for you...At which point do you think it's off? I tend to think that people have their own set appetite. So if your appetite is an amount of calories that with a "light/moderate" level of activity equals an overweight number, then intuitive eating can't work for maintaining a healthy weight. (Unless you can up your activity *and* not experience an increased appetite that outweighs the additional burn.) That's a tough hand!

Do some of you feel like you naturally have a large appetite? Or for you, is it more eating when not hungry and eating past fullness that takes its toll? Or something else?

Not to hijack. I could start a separate thread about this, OP, if you'd like. I'm just really curious to learn about what it's like not being able to rely on IE and why that is.

I don't think appetite works that way. Appetite is very much conditioned, aside from some biological root, I suppose. You can have a very large or a very small appetite or just average; and appetite for something that's only appealing to you and not others. It's all over the place and doesn't necessarily corresponding to one's hunger.

It's futile to match appetite with hunger. My "intuitive eating" is that, when I need to cut back, I just eat enough to feel ok with my hunger (not the same as to feel full). Overweight comes from a lot of time eating for fun and eating past this "I am ok with this hunger feeling" point. Feeling fullness most of the time you eat is way too much since it can take a lot to feel full. Remember, we can eat one meal that's easily enough for 3 meals.

My eating isn't based on intuitiveness. It's based on checking with the bathroom scale and do cut backs. Any size of cutback isn't wrong. It's more important that you do them. Over weeks you should see you're losing.

Very interesting! Thanks, @endlessfall16. The part about eating until you're ok with your hunger...Is that your IE when you're aiming to eat at a deficit, or when you're aiming to return to maintenance after having been above it?

I've been thinking of "appetite" as a term for the state of being hungry. Appetite has other connotations though (like, how much someone can eat, which could be disconnected from hunger), so maybe I need to find a different term! I guess I could just say "hunger." I've been hesitant to use that word though because we can "feel hungry" when our body isn't actually in need of calories. It's that hungry feeling that I'm really curious about.

endlessfall16 · March 2017

Chunkahlunkah wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

Chunkahlunkah wrote: »

I find these different answers very interesting. Intuitive eating has generally worked for me for maintenance because I'd eat when I'm hungry, and then I'd stop when I'm starting to feel full. I'm lucky because the point when I feel full happens to be the amount of calories needed to maintain my weight (so long as I'm at least "lightly active"). I'd eat like that maybe 90% of the time. The other 10%, I'd eat when not really hungry or eat past fullness. It didn't do enough damage overall, I guess, to alter my weight much.

So if intuitive eating doesn't work for you...At which point do you think it's off? I tend to think that people have their own set appetite. So if your appetite is an amount of calories that with a "light/moderate" level of activity equals an overweight number, then intuitive eating can't work for maintaining a healthy weight. (Unless you can up your activity *and* not experience an increased appetite that outweighs the additional burn.) That's a tough hand!

Do some of you feel like you naturally have a large appetite? Or for you, is it more eating when not hungry and eating past fullness that takes its toll? Or something else?

Not to hijack. I could start a separate thread about this, OP, if you'd like. I'm just really curious to learn about what it's like not being able to rely on IE and why that is.

I don't think appetite works that way. Appetite is very much conditioned, aside from some biological root, I suppose. You can have a very large or a very small appetite or just average; and appetite for something that's only appealing to you and not others. It's all over the place and doesn't necessarily corresponding to one's hunger.

It's futile to match appetite with hunger. My "intuitive eating" is that, when I need to cut back, I just eat enough to feel ok with my hunger (not the same as to feel full). Overweight comes from a lot of time eating for fun and eating past this "I am ok with this hunger feeling" point. Feeling fullness most of the time you eat is way too much since it can take a lot to feel full. Remember, we can eat one meal that's easily enough for 3 meals.

My eating isn't based on intuitiveness. It's based on checking with the bathroom scale and do cut backs. Any size of cutback isn't wrong. It's more important that you do them. Over weeks you should see you're losing.

Very interesting! Thanks, @endlessfall16. The part about eating until you're ok with your hunger...Is that your IE when you're aiming to eat at a deficit, or when you're aiming to return to maintenance after having been above it?

I've been thinking of "appetite" as a term for the state of being hungry. Appetite has other connotations though (like, how much someone can eat, which could be disconnected from hunger), so maybe I need to find a different term! I guess I could just say "hunger." I've been hesitant to use that word though because we can "feel hungry" when our body isn't actually in need of calories. It's that hungry feeling that I'm really curious about.

Regarding your first question
I eat like that and plan to do that for the rest of my life to not gain weight as the first goal. I'm already within my healthy weight range and feel no urgent to lose much more but generally if I can try a bit harder to create more deficit -- lose 5-10 lbs over months, good for holidays, that's never a bad thing. You see it's all about balancing this urgency and other priorities (like joining my wife to go out as it is important to her), right?

Generally speaking when you are eating at deficit for loss, you should feel a bit hungry or at least empty. It's going away from your usual conditioned feeling of fullness from eating more. Even at maintenance you are supposed to feel empty, hungry because likely you have used up all or even gone into deficit (and other time you eat more to make up). It's not possible for the body to consume and spend precise amount of calories. The body can healthily last for several days on minimal food if it has to. A big key I learn is to recognize if a hungry feeling is ok -- no pain, dizziness or decrease in my physical performance -- and go on with my day.

i6Shot · March 2017

I don't count calories. I find LCHF makes intuitive eating easier. The only time I weigh my food is when I want to "roughly" figure out how much protein is in something. Other than that I usually allow my body to tell me if I'm still hungry and if I am, I eat something real that's low in carbs.

jayeless · March 2017

I've been in maintenance for a bit over two months now, still logging what I eat (albeit a bit more casually). On regular days I probably wouldn't have to log - I'm good at estimating what a ~2000kj serve is now, and if I get hungry before my next meal (or just before bedtime), pretty much 100% of the time it's because I'm at a deficit for the day. I do generally go over maintenance on the weekends (so many social events where I genuinely want to try a bit of everything, because it's all great food, and then there's beer...) but I just log it and move on with my life, and my weight is definitely not going up. If I didn't log it I'd probably eat the same way and be doing just as well.

For me, the reasons I keep logging are a) I like to be able to go back and check when it was that I last ate [insert recipe here], or look for ideas of things I haven't had in a while when I'm uninspired, and b) to keep an eye on my nutrition - how much iron am I getting (since I don't eat mammal meat), how much Vitamin C, how much fibre, etc. etc.. I like to reassure myself that I'm eating a variety of veggies.

crzycatlady1 · March 2017

Chunkahlunkah wrote: »

I find these different answers very interesting. Intuitive eating has generally worked for me for maintenance because I'd eat when I'm hungry, and then I'd stop when I'm starting to feel full. I'm lucky because the point when I feel full happens to be the amount of calories needed to maintain my weight (so long as I'm at least "lightly active"). I'd eat like that maybe 90% of the time. The other 10%, I'd eat when not really hungry or eat past fullness. It didn't do enough damage overall, I guess, to alter my weight much.

So if intuitive eating doesn't work for you...At which point do you think it's off? I tend to think that people have their own set appetite. So if your appetite is an amount of calories that with a "light/moderate" level of activity equals an overweight number, then intuitive eating can't work for maintaining a healthy weight. (Unless you can up your activity *and* not experience an increased appetite that outweighs the additional burn.) That's a tough hand!

Do some of you feel like you naturally have a large appetite? Or for you, is it more eating when not hungry and eating past fullness that takes its toll? Or something else?

Not to hijack. I could start a separate thread about this, OP, if you'd like. I'm just really curious to learn about what it's like not being able to rely on IE and why that is.

From my own ie experiment last summer, (after being in maintenance for a couple years), I figured out that when I don't pay attention to my calorie intake I get really lazy with portion sizes. After I went back to calorie tracking I realized that during my ie experiment, somehow my 1 servings of rice had gotten bumped up to 2 servings. I don't even remember making a conscious decision to start doing this, but since I eat rice several times a week I was adding several hundred extra calories a week, just by not paying attention. And that's with just one thing. Now start doing that with multiple foods and it's pretty easy to see why I started re-gaining weight.

Calorie counting vs. Intuitive eating.

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