Do you plan on counting calories your whole life in order to maintain?

berky06

I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Right now I want to lose about 50 pounds and go from there. I have been doing this now for over 40 days and it has worked so well for me. Considering all of the other times I have tried to lose weight, I got sloppy and quit. Logging is working so great and I actually don't mind doing it. It has gotten to be second nature. If I have to log to keep myself in check when the weight is gone-then I will. My mind is made up that this time around I will be SUCCESSFUL and those pounds will be gone and not come back!

blambo61

How I lost weight and maintain weight is to fast tell long enough so that when I start eating, I can eat tell full and keep grazing tell the end of the day. It takes a 20-hr daily fast for me to lose and about a 16-hr daily fast to maintain (eating whatever I want and as much as I want in the evenings). Simple and easy with no counting. Has worked for me for almost 2.5-yrs. If I do eat lunch, I won't snack tell dinner but after eating dinner, I snack for the rest of the evening. I've lost 58-lbs and am at my lowest weight since starting this in Sept 2015.

MelanieCN77

My plan is to count until I feel like I don't need it any more. I am almost a year in maintenance and I still need to. I feel that way partly because I am conscious of the effort I put in to get here, and anything more than a day or two slide back is not something I will accept.

HappyGrape

n0vtn wrote: »

I expect to keep logging while in maintenance. I lost about 40 pounds in 2012, and kept it off until 2015. I gained it all back in about 12 months time. I made several failed attempts to get back into the rhythm of My Fitness Pal over the past 2 years. I have been back into it for 2 months now. I am about 2/3 of the way back to my goal, and don't want to lapse again when I get there. It's easier for me to stay on MFP, than to get back on it again later.

Similar story. I cam back doing it regularly 2015 and decided to make another short attempt not to do it last summer and it backfired, so don't plan any attempts to stop now. It takes me 5 minutes a day to be honest, it's like teeth brushing for me. I am used to it, most recipes are already there, it keeps me honest and aware.

Biker_SuzCO

No I don’t plan to log forever. I do plan to keep track in my head. I’m pretty good at estimating at this point. I didn’t log religiously while losing either. I do log every few weeks to try to drop a few more pounds with no success though! These last few pounds are killing me.

CarvedTones

I will probably log a lot. I don't plan to ever go more than a couple of days without weighing and if it starts drifting up at all, I will start logging if I haven't been. My "goal" was actually the upper end of my range, the number I want to stay under. So now I have changed it to be 7 pounds lower and and set loss to be a half pound per week. So technically speaking, I may not really be in maintenance yet because even though I am in the range I want to be I am still eating at a slight deficit and tracking closely.

Need2Exerc1se

MrsLMKing wrote: »

I'm currently obese, and the idea of tracking everything forever makes me not even want to try.

Then go at it with the attitude that you will use this tool as method to learn not to need it. Like a baby with a walker, you use the tool until you learn to do it on your own. Then you move forward without it. You may stumble a few times but each can be a learning experience. You can get there if you want it.

Evamutt

I enjoy logging anyway so tho I'm not quite there yet, I probably will, I'm a bit OCD anyway

BattyKnitter

Probably, at least for a year or so after reaching my goal weight. I do hope that I can learn more about calories and nutrition though, and be less strict with my counting later on.

marissafit06

I haven't logged since summer 2016. I track my weight/size and when I am getting fatter than I would like tighten up my eating habits. I have found that calorie counting for a short period of time helped me figure out all i needed to know and cutting down on alcohol/snacks gets me back to where I want to be.

robinhager3998

I have just begun my weight loss efforts, and have lost twelve pounds in two months. 88 pounds to go! However, I have heard so many times that diets don’t work, and I should just eat “mindfully”. I regained a 120 pound weight loss, so you can see what that did for me! However, I’m scared to death that I will regain after my loss and feel it is inevitable. I don’t want to feel this way. Any words of encouragement?

rimir74

Will log Forever and Ever, Amen. Just went past 730 days/ 2 years days logged. About 18 months of that has been in maintenance. I notice that when I had a period of being just slightly over maintenance calories - I started gaining a bit of weight as well.

I log/ maintain my weekly average data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x-U5_S1FOLICblo3jzexdgYx7f34SiKsqk1Tg0kTTHo/edit?usp=sharing

gothomson

It depends. I tend to be a bit rough in my calculations, but if my weight goes beyond the margins of movement I've set myself (7lb max increase, 4lb max decrease - this is just my own parameters nothing scientific about it), then I watch my calorie intake to get within the tolerances I've set myself. So in short yes, and no, but my judgement of portion size has vastly improved so I tend to be ok :-)

missevil

I fear I'll have to. My maintenance limits are still so low that it's extremely easy to overeat, so I'll need to keep counting. Maybe not as diligent as today, but especially bigger meals or Junk food / eating out will need some planning, so yeah, I'll stay with MPF for a few awful lot more years

166886

I used this app years ago, reached my goal and stopped. Now I am here years later going back to what works. Hope I can stick it out after i reach my goals.

justlog

I "roughly" counted when I was losing. Never used a scale and only used a measuring cups a few times to get an approximate of serving size. I dropped about 50lbs. That was almost 4 years ago. Maintenance has been just fine. So, no I don't find I need to count calories and won't.

ItsyBitsy246

I lost about 35 pounds in about 8- 9 months by counting calories, and have maintained within 5lbs for over a year without doing so (but being mindful of what I'm eating). I need to count to lose (about to jump back in and shed another twenty), but like others have said, counting helps you learn portion sizes effect your weight. That said, if I needed to count calories to maintain, I'd do so no question.

HappyGrape

MrsLMKing wrote: »

I'm currently obese, and the idea of tracking everything forever makes me not even want to try.

I have about 5 breakfasts max, perhaps 10 lunches and 20 dinners that tend to cook a lot. They are mostly saved on mfp (the recipes) and easy to add again. It takes me 2 to 5 minutes to do my food logging daily. Less than brushing my teeth twice a day. It keeps me at weight am I am happy and well worth the effort

Obesity or weight is like chronic condition. You don't manage it once and done, you continue to monitor and manage the situation. Some people are ok to stop count, others regain. Nobody knows what it will be for you.

maybe1pe

Can I say both yes and no?

I log right now because I like to, some times I don't feel like it so I don't.
I plan my meals out but also if the time comes and I don't want that. I get something different.

I like the aspects of being pre-planned but also like freedom so I know that I'm free to make a different choice if I don't want to stick to my original food choices. It's not a prison, it's not like I have to eat that.

Somedays I'm over and somedays I'm under and they balance out. I log very loosely when on vacation just to be aware and sometimes I just don't bother.

It goes back and forth but I like the numbers and data especially since my activity level varies greatly depending on season.

Could I go without logging? absolutely.
Will I? for the foreseeable future no. I like it. I like data. I like analysis.

kenyainez

I don't see why not. What would be the inconvenience or issue with doing so for life? The only time doing something for life is an issue is if you see it to be an issue. I don't find calorie counting to be a chore, inconvenience, or going out of my way. If I felt that way from the start, I would have never made it apart of my journey. My belief is this: In a lifestyle journey, you do what you feel you can do for life from the jump. Calorie counting is something I can do for the long haul.

brig220

From what I have learn over time is that the key to make it bearable is flexibility. When I'm away, or at a party, or have dinner out and will be way over, I don't log and eat whatever I want within reason. If it's easy for me to log (80% of the time), because I'm home, cooking for myself, where I can weigh and measure, I do log, for the moment. I find that when I log I am happy to stop eating when I have reached my quota. If I don't log I kind of give up and eat whatever. It keeps me in check and it works for me. Logging can be super easy if you're repeating meals and saved recipes.

OHFlamingo

I don't find counting calories to be a problem at all; I compare it to keeping my check/debit card register accurate. I like to keep track of what I am spending and saving, whether it is calories or money. Works for me!

ceiswyn

I may have to; my physical hunger/satiety signals are too completely overruled by my psychological ones. Still, I’ll probably try letting go the tight logging when I get to maintenance, track my weight for a bit, and see what happens. And if it starts to creep up, then logging forever it is!

Crafty_camper123

I hope after tracking and logging for a while I can get to a point that I can eyeball my portion sizes and cut it back if the scale is getting too high. Hopefully my hunger cues will fall in line too. I dont want to count and log for the rest of my life. It's just not something I picture myself doing 30 years from now.

goatg

I hope much of this will become intuitive with time. You learn, right? The more you weigh items, the more you recognize quantities, listen to how your body feels while digesting, etc....

Weighing just takes a lot of time.

amusedmonkey

goatg wrote: »

I hope much of this will become intuitive with time. You learn, right? The more you weigh items, the more you recognize quantities, listen to how your body feels while digesting, etc....

Weighing just takes a lot of time.

Eyes can be deceitful, at least mine are. I'm capable of seeing the same exact portion as bigger or smaller than it is depending on my hunger, desire for that food, time of day...etc and I've been weighing stuff for the past 5 years. I also have unstable hormones, so my hunger cues can vary and I can be hungry on 2000 calories or full on 1500 calories eating the same foods. I can self-correct if I have to go without a scale or logging by using certain strategies, but I prefer to keep doing what I feel is easy and takes a few seconds. It gives me peace of mind and freedom to eat whatever I want whenever I want without worrying too much that I might be pushing it.

goatg

amusedmonkey wrote: »

goatg wrote: »

I hope much of this will become intuitive with time. You learn, right? The more you weigh items, the more you recognize quantities, listen to how your body feels while digesting, etc....

Weighing just takes a lot of time.

Eyes can be deceitful, at least mine are. I'm capable of seeing the same exact portion as bigger or smaller than it is depending on my hunger, desire for that food, time of day...etc and I've been weighing stuff for the past 5 years. I also have unstable hormones, so my hunger cues can vary and I can be hungry on 2000 calories or full on 1500 calories eating the same foods. I can self-correct if I have to go without a scale or logging by using certain strategies, but I prefer to keep doing what I feel is easy and takes a few seconds. It gives me peace of mind and freedom to eat whatever I want whenever I want without worrying too much that I might be pushing it.

Especially depending on how you plate it, too! But I try to use this to my advantage.

You know what works for you It's my hope that more will become intuitive for me. I spend so much of my free time around food right now....I'm engaging in the way I want to for now, but it feels like a beautiful prison, and --for me-- it's honestly not how I want to live.

goatg

I also find that when I am dating someone and not weighing food, or go on vacation, I usually lose weight. So I have some bad emotional triggers that throw me off. I think that I have enough knowledge about nutrition. If I had a healthier emotional relationship with food I believe my body would take care of the rest.

lightenup2016

amusedmonkey wrote: »

goatg wrote: »

I hope much of this will become intuitive with time. You learn, right? The more you weigh items, the more you recognize quantities, listen to how your body feels while digesting, etc....

Weighing just takes a lot of time.

Eyes can be deceitful, at least mine are. I'm capable of seeing the same exact portion as bigger or smaller than it is depending on my hunger, desire for that food, time of day...etc and I've been weighing stuff for the past 5 years. I also have unstable hormones, so my hunger cues can vary and I can be hungry on 2000 calories or full on 1500 calories eating the same foods. I can self-correct if I have to go without a scale or logging by using certain strategies, but I prefer to keep doing what I feel is easy and takes a few seconds. It gives me peace of mind and freedom to eat whatever I want whenever I want without worrying too much that I might be pushing it.

All of this for me, too!!

ysache13

we all know ourselves and I've yo-yo's my entire life, so for me I want to say yep! it's the only thing that keeps me accountable to myself (that doesn't mean I'll be doing it every day like I am now while losing again) I'm sure like most say, you get use to knowing basically what to eat and how much, but for me, I know I'll keep slowly adding if I don't "watch it" - period and that's being 100% honest to myself!