When to stop counting calories?

LilRedRooster

I logged for a while pretty regularly, but now I log every now and then, just to get a better idea of what exactly I'm getting. But I do it now to see where my potassium, sodium, vitamins, protein, etc., are, and not where my calorie count for the day is.

Because I began to look at food as fuel, and since I train pretty hard for things like running races, weights, and spend 12 hours shifts running around in clinicals, I eat when I'm hungry, I make sure what I'm eating counts (as in, it's generally healthy and will mean something for my body), and call it good. I've found eating the occasional pastry is fine, having a coffee when I want one is fine, and not feeling like I'm not allowing myself to have things works pretty well. Do I have those things all the time? No. But I've jumped off the bandwagon thinking that food is a reward, and simply look at it as fuel, something that I need to survive.

runningcat76

This has been a really helpful post. I too am trying to maintain and was toying with the idea of not counting any more. I have made a lot of changes to my general diet for the better so I am hoping as long as I keep one eye on the calories I will be able to maintain longer than I have previously. Therefore I will continue to use MFP. Besides, I think I would miss logging my food and exercise! Its become a habit in the past 8 months!

mamacoates

Think of using MFP as an educational tool. Can you accurately figure out your daily consumption (including total protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar, etc.) without using MFP? Try estimating everything on your own and then at the end of the day use MFP to check your calculations. When you are accurately identifying your daily intake on your own, you are ready to ease up on the electronic monitoring ... but keep using it as a touch-stone to reconnect with your own data. It will help you keep healthy choices in the forefront of your day/week as you make conscious choices.

Same goes for being able to identify portion sizes. I use a food scale to weigh cuts of meat, etc. and a measuring cup to measure other items so I can become better at eye-balling amounts. Getting better with practice. Can almost ID 4 oz chicken breast on the first try ...

Don't let MFP fun your life, but definitely use it to enhance your ability to make healthy choices and move into a "new normal".

Ianultrarunner

I stopped when I needed to gain weight after over shooting.
I continue however to use MFP, I put in one dummy Calorie log for the day and just track Water and Exercise after that.
When you can trust in yourself and know what reasonable portion sizes are, you can stop logging all the food.
Just keep an eye to long term weight and body size (Waist, etc.)
If you find yourself falling off the wagon, you can go back to logging again for the time you feel comfortable doing so.

fitmomhappymom

I stopped counting calories so closely for a few months and ended up back in square one. Fail.

highervibes

I don't see the big nuissance here? I have internet access from work so to log my calories and plan my day is actually fun. I feel like I'm really getting to know which foods are a good bang for my buck with respect to calories and nutrients. I feel like I could wing it but why would I? I would either shortchange myself to be careful or I'd over eat and gain. It doesn't seem like such a big deal? Some people take pills 3 times a day, I log. Some people check their blood glucose daily, I log. How much time is it actually taking out of your life? Who cares, it's like brushing your teeth. You just do it.

55in13

I promise you, if you stop, you'll gain it all back

Absolutely the least helpful advice given on any number of subjects here on MFP. Guaranteeing failure? You can't get any more negative than that. Many people fail and continuing to count will likely increase the odds of success. That's true. Some people do stop counting and still manage to keep the weight off. Also true.

perrinjoshua

I feel your pain, but I found out that maintaining weight without tracking is a lot harder that it sounds. At one point during my recent extended plateau, I decided to give my mind and body a break and just maintain for a bit instead of trying to lose. I made the decision that I would try to do it without counting calories. What I found out is that it really isn't a matter of willpower -- it's kind of hard to explain. I was earnestly trying to only eat reasonable, healthy things most of the time and only eat when I was hungry and only until I was full. I didn't have a battle of willpower with myself over things -- I had an occasional treat and didn't worry about it. I never once sat there and said "I know I shouldn't have those oreos, but I'm going to anyway" or "this is probably too much food, but I'm going to eat all of it anyway because I really want it." It was more of my mind playing tricks on me, like I just didn't realize that I was eating that much. I think it's that those of us that have trouble with keeping our weight down often have a distorted view of food that may never be resolved even after we learn healthier habits. Our idea of reasonable portions will start to slowly get bigger if we don't weigh and measure. Our perception of how calorie-filled a meal is or how much food we've eaten in a day will get steadily more and more out of proportion to reality if we don't take the time to check actual numbers. Our notion of what an "occasional treat" is will get more and more frequent if we aren't being forced to fit it into a meal plan. What I found trying to eat this way is that I started to slowly put a few pounds back on (this was after over a year of maintaining in my plateau) and, when I forced myself to simply track what I was eating, I had somehow crept over what I should have been eating by 300-400 calories a day. Not a huge amount, but enough to start adding up over time.

I am planning to count my calories for the rest of my life. I'm not planning to be obsessed with my weight for the rest of my life. I'm taking the attitude that being aware of what I'm eating is simply part of my overall health plan. It's just something that I do, like taking my blood pressure medication or going to the doctor when I'm sick.

TL;DR: I tried not counting, it didn't work, I'm planning to count forever, but not obsess over it.

I agree with the above!

NovemberJune

I'm a lifer. It's easy, it helps me plan out what food to prep for the day or week, and it helps me with macros and calories.

toffee322

a lot of ppl are too obsessed with counting calories and very strict with what they put in their mouth. i like how you say "i want to live"! exactly!!! enjoy your life! life is too short to not try delicious food! and torture yourself with all this dieting. just try to be healthy, be active, and enjoy food. eat whatever you want is ok! i like to use this site to keep track of my food, becos i find the info interesting, but i'm not counting the #'s.. i hope ppl can be less obsessed, too obsessed is not healthy (mentally)

highervibes

a lot of ppl are too obsessed with counting calories and very strict with what they put in their mouth. i like how you say "i want to live"! exactly!!! enjoy your life! life is too short to not try delicious food! and torture yourself with all this dieting. just try to be healthy, be active, and enjoy food. eat whatever you want is ok! i like to use this site to keep track of my food, becos i find the info interesting, but i'm not counting the #'s.. i hope ppl can be less obsessed, too obsessed is not healthy (mentally)

Being informed is not the same as being obsessed. I don't deny myself any food if I really want it, but I have a little more knowledge to go on when I'm deciding whether I'll work in a Big Mac (like today) or whether I'll pass. You can have delicious food and still be conscious of how often and how much you are having. Being overweight is unhealthy both physically and mentally. I"m not obsessed with brushing my teeth, but it's part of my plan for having healthy teeth and gums so I do it two times/day.

wild_wild_life

I continued to log for awhile while maintaining and thought I'd be fine doing it forever, as others have said, as the price to pay for being at a weight I was happy with.

It got old.

I decided that what I really wanted, even more than being at "goal weight", was to have a normal, healthy relationship with food, to trust my body and work with it instead of against it, and to stop obsessing. I started to put all the energy I had been putting into logging into really listening to that little voice that tells me when I've had enough and what I am really hungry for. I had a lot of help on this from the book "how to have your cake and skinny jeans too", which I recommended earlier in this thread.

It's working. I'm maintaining. I feel like I have a super power. I get more enjoyment from food, no guilt, and no obsessing. Food =/= math for me anymore.

It's harder than logging, at first. If you're happy logging forever, that's great, more power to you. But it's not the only way.

HRLaurie614

I feel your pain, but I found out that maintaining weight without tracking is a lot harder that it sounds. At one point during my recent extended plateau, I decided to give my mind and body a break and just maintain for a bit instead of trying to lose. I made the decision that I would try to do it without counting calories. What I found out is that it really isn't a matter of willpower -- it's kind of hard to explain. I was earnestly trying to only eat reasonable, healthy things most of the time and only eat when I was hungry and only until I was full. I didn't have a battle of willpower with myself over things -- I had an occasional treat and didn't worry about it. I never once sat there and said "I know I shouldn't have those oreos, but I'm going to anyway" or "this is probably too much food, but I'm going to eat all of it anyway because I really want it." It was more of my mind playing tricks on me, like I just didn't realize that I was eating that much. I think it's that those of us that have trouble with keeping our weight down often have a distorted view of food that may never be resolved even after we learn healthier habits. Our idea of reasonable portions will start to slowly get bigger if we don't weigh and measure. Our perception of how calorie-filled a meal is or how much food we've eaten in a day will get steadily more and more out of proportion to reality if we don't take the time to check actual numbers. Our notion of what an "occasional treat" is will get more and more frequent if we aren't being forced to fit it into a meal plan. What I found trying to eat this way is that I started to slowly put a few pounds back on (this was after over a year of maintaining in my plateau) and, when I forced myself to simply track what I was eating, I had somehow crept over what I should have been eating by 300-400 calories a day. Not a huge amount, but enough to start adding up over time.

I am planning to count my calories for the rest of my life. I'm not planning to be obsessed with my weight for the rest of my life. I'm taking the attitude that being aware of what I'm eating is simply part of my overall health plan. It's just something that I do, like taking my blood pressure medication or going to the doctor when I'm sick.

TL;DR: I tried not counting, it didn't work, I'm planning to count forever, but not obsess over it.

^^^^ So well said!!!!!

funhouse77

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle. I will always be counting calories. And I'm absolutely fine with that.

AglaeaC

My aim is to soak up as much information as possible during losing weight, then keep logging for a while when beginning maintenance mode, until I'm ready to put everything I've learned into practice; exercise (how it affects my body as well as nutritional needs), and food (what I want/need and how it is built up).

I have to think it is possible to use what one learns and the mirror, the personal scale, the measuring tape, and mindfulness/awareness, without counting and logging daily. Perhaps it is good to brush up on the calorie info a few times a year or such, but for me this is about trusting myself to make good decisions, taking responsibility over my actions in daily life, using the databse that is my brain.

crayonbreakywillow

a lot of ppl are too obsessed with counting calories and very strict with what they put in their mouth. i like how you say "i want to live"! exactly!!! enjoy your life! life is too short to not try delicious food! and torture yourself with all this dieting. just try to be healthy, be active, and enjoy food. eat whatever you want is ok! i like to use this site to keep track of my food, becos i find the info interesting, but i'm not counting the #'s.. i hope ppl can be less obsessed, too obsessed is not healthy (mentally)

I don't see counting calories as restrictive or obsessive at all. In fact, I find it quite freeing. By keeping count of my calories daily I feel more in control and I love that feeling! I intend to count for the rest of my life, and I'm totally cool with that. I think it's fun too!

lindustum

Counting calories =/ logging.

I did WeightWatchers a few years back (2007) and I hit my goal weight back then (2008), and had maintained ever since (now I have more ambitious goals, that's why I am here- I did not revert back!) because of the following:

1. I didn't forget the points. Popcorn at the cinema? 16 points! It just sticks with me. And now I'm doing the same with calories. One of my wraps? 159. My favourite going-out pizza? 951. I don't need to look that up.
2. I learnt about food for the first time in my life. Nowhere near as much as I do with MFP which is why I decided against another round of WW, but I learnt things like "chocolate with nuts has more calories than chocolate without nuts" or "fruit juices are not as healthy as they are made out to be"- I mean it was such simple stuff, and I hadn't known!
3. I learnt to like healthy food. I went out today and had a greasy burger, I couldn't even finish it. Things like that literally keep me from craving it in the first place. I don't feel deprived. And that's the most important thing.
4. I love sports, and that helps me being able to eat more than just turkey and salad

AglaeaC

I have to ask those who will keep counting. If you are a creature of habit, won't that smoothie or steak or yoghurt with banana contain as many kcal today as it did yesterday and the day before that? I might use the scale to weigh something as long as I'm not 100% sure yet, but if I've weighed something of approximately the same volume ten days in a row, one would think that the average result on the eleventh day won't deviate too much from the ten earlier weighings? If I'm eating something sweet (candy, ice cream, whatever) or chips perhaps, I could always consult the wrapping and compare with the daily kcal I've determined in the beginning if maintenance mode. No?

volume77

even if I don't log I still add it all up in my head, it's just engrained into my head at this point so why not enter it into a cool app with a barcode scanner and cool people?

eazy_

I've already accepted the fact that I'm going to use MFP to count calories and macros the rest of my life. Without it, I know I'll NEVER be able to eyeball calories well enough to maintain, or take in optimal macronutrient intake and calorie intake. I find MFP not only extremely effective, but very very easy to use. Entering food takes only a couple minutes a day, and it's not a big deal to me, but everybody is different.

Same with me. I have accepted this fact. I must count calories and stay on MFP. If I don't, I will revert back to my original weight.