When to stop counting calories?

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  • wesleycneill
    wesleycneill Posts: 64 Member
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    Counting calories is, for most people, simply a method that works psychologically in keeping on track with goals.

    That being said, the only true way to a healthy and fit lifestyle is through personal choice. Whether you use portion control, calorie counting or habitually eat the same foods at the same time, it all comes down to YOU.

    How badly do YOU want it.

    If you love those tasty pastries and enjoying a couple a day is your idea of living life to it's fullest, then you will have to accept that becoming slim and trim is going to take a lot of extra work. Not everyone wants to be a fitness model and getting rid of that last pudge around your waste-line may not be something you really care about. You might WANT that six pack, but unless you want it enough to lay off the chocolate eclairs, it's never going to happen.

    So, make a choice. If it's worth the sacrifice of instant gratification, you will find a way. If not, enjoy your pastries. I myself have a keen sweet tooth.
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
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    I will most likely have to count calories for the rest of my life. I've accepted this. I'm hoping that once at maintenance I'll be able to eat a little more, but history has taught me that without some kind of guide to tell me about calories and portion sizes I will put weight back on.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Probably track in some way for life. Its not hard and only getting easier.

    This.

    30 years ago calorie counting used log books and calculators, and still required copious amounts of guesswork.

    20 years ago spreadsheets did a lot of the heavy lifting math-wise for you, but there was still a lot of looking stuff up and guesswork. Of course looking stuff up meant in a book, as the internet didn't yet really exist.

    10-15 years ago the internet made it easy to look stuff up, but you still generally would use a spreadsheet and/or logbook. But by this time guesswork was seriously diminished. Of course nutrition info for restaurants was still pretty much a guess.

    5-7 years ago online sites for logging came around and the food databases started to really include most things. One stop shop logging and lookup started to become a reality.

    3-4 years ago smartphones started to become universal and most switched to app based counting (even though it had been available longer). Now you could finally easily count as you went all day long. Restaurant nutritional info started to grow explosively.

    Where will things be in 10 years? 20? In the last 20 years its gone from being a mind numbing time consuming task suitable for those with the training and temperment of an accountant to something that is easy for everyone to do with 5 minutes of their time.

    Counting will only get easier and easier. It is not far fetched at all that the same type of bump/wireless wallet technology will quickly update in restaurants, and that cameras will be able to reasonably estimate portions and be able to populate from premade meals based off a photo. Electronic upc's that phones can read. Etc...

    In the near future getting fat will be a concious choice as it will be so pathetically easy to monitor your intake and expediture via your tricorder.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    When do you stop watching your money? If you feel like you can handle life without watching how much you spend and on what, you may also be able to live life at maintenance by the same kind of methods.

    For me, I've had to closely watch my money and I've had to closely watch my calories. I can't seem to just get a "feel" for how either should be used without a written statement of both. Some of us, just have no idea how to budget calories or money without being ever watchful over both.

    I plan to count calories and dollars for the rest of my life.

    This is a very good analogy.

    Its only very recent though that the tools have been there to keep track of your calories as easily as your money. It will be a while before culture changes to see it this way.
  • sailgirl365
    sailgirl365 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi There- I love love love MFP, and I too know that it is something I must do forever. I have lost 13 pounds and have 10 to go. This may seem like a silly question, but how do you maintain? Do I go in and gradually up the calorie allowance or does MFP do that once I hit goal weight? I'm assuming if I continue to do what I'm doing now, I will continue to lose weight, so how do I know how many calories I need to stay at my goal weight?

    Thanks for the advice!

    BB
  • ldwash405
    ldwash405 Posts: 23 Member
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    I will be counting calories for the rest of my life. I have tried exercising before without counting calories and it didn't work for me. So even if I am not using MFP anymore I will still write my calories down to keep track. That's the only way I will be able to keep the weight off for good.
  • salimdm
    salimdm Posts: 2
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    I dont think you should ever stop counting calories. Counting them doesnt mean you have to be eating a low ammount of them. I still count them and probably always will because i like to know what goes in my body. If you want to stay the same try eating about 2,000 calories and day and cut back on the amount of cardio youre doing, try doing it every two to three days insted. Also, dont feel guilty if you decided to eat littlepiece of a browine it happens to EVERYONE i hope this helped you
  • Wildflower0106
    Wildflower0106 Posts: 247 Member
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    I have been maintaining for 2 years without logging. Not that logging is a pain it is just that I paid close attention to my intake while I was losing and I did my own research. I still apply the things I have learned and apply a little common sense when eating at a restaurant. Honestly I don't see the point in (me) logging the same foods day after day, of course I never saw counting calories as something I would have (or want) to do forever. I still log exercise and measurements.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I have been maintaining for 2 years without logging. Not that logging is a pain it is just that I paid close attention to my intake while I was losing and I did my own research. I still apply the things I have learned and apply a little common sense when eating at a restaurant. Honestly I don't see the point in (me) logging the same foods day after day, of course I never saw counting calories as something I would have (or want) to do forever. I still log exercise and measurements.

    Do you carefully monitor your weight so you'd know if you were drifting?
  • Wildflower0106
    Wildflower0106 Posts: 247 Member
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    I have been maintaining for 2 years without logging. Not that logging is a pain it is just that I paid close attention to my intake while I was losing and I did my own research. I still apply the things I have learned and apply a little common sense when eating at a restaurant. Honestly I don't see the point in (me) logging the same foods day after day, of course I never saw counting calories as something I would have (or want) to do forever. I still log exercise and measurements.

    Do you carefully monitor your weight so you'd know if you were drifting?

    I weigh every other week or so. Sometimes less. My weight has stayed between 145 and 148 but I am still losing inches off my body.
  • WinwillLose
    WinwillLose Posts: 101
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    Really fighting for my last 15 pounds, gained the weight back so many time in past I will def keep logging my cals. long after I reach my goal weight.
  • princesspea234
    princesspea234 Posts: 182 Member
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    Just weigh yourself once a week and use your pants as a guide. If the pants are tight or the weight goes up, count calories until you get back down to goal weight
  • camtosh
    camtosh Posts: 898 Member
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    This! I lost before on South Beach, then it all crept back year by year, because I did not pay enough attention... :/ I am thinking the carb addict in me needs to be kept in check for the rest of my life!
  • crystalc27
    crystalc27 Posts: 51 Member
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    I dont think you should ever stop counting calories. Counting them doesnt mean you have to be eating a low ammount of them. I still count them and probably always will because i like to know what goes in my body. If you want to stay the same try eating about 2,000 calories and day and cut back on the amount of cardio youre doing, try doing it every two to three days insted. Also, dont feel guilty if you decided to eat littlepiece of a browine it happens to EVERYONE i hope this helped you
    ditto
  • vfett1018
    vfett1018 Posts: 131 Member
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    I have stopped counting calories now that I've reached the weight I want, but I still weigh myself everyday and count calories seldomly to make sure I stay around the right track. I can usually tell when I've eaten enough calories now.
  • goldninja
    goldninja Posts: 28 Member
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    I am addicted to food. All food. Fried, baked, cookies, and broccoli alike. I've been at my goal weight for 18 months now and I believe firmly that if I hadn't stuck with MFP during that time, I would have gained back a portion of the 83 lbs that I'd lost. I track every single item that goes in my body with use of a scale and take a weekend off from it a month to eat as I wish without guilt. I eat back most of my calories and don't care if I go over my daily intake as long as the "weekly" isn't in the red by more than 200 calories, except of course, when I take my monthly sabbatical from MFP. I would be back to 190 lbs again without it.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Alright, so for the past two days I have eaten whatever junk food has come my way. I work in a cafe so that means frappucino's, scones, panini's, cookies, brownies, definitely not low cal stuff. However I'm actually under my goal weight and realized I need to gain back a few pounds. I know this is not the healthiest way to do it, it's just what happened this past weekend. I let myself be free with food for the first time in the past year since losing all the weight.

    But now, as I've finished this binge and feel fulfilled in a sense, I realize I don't want to keep counting.

    I want to live.

    The problem is, I don't know if I really know how. I know how to gain weight, obviously. I know how to lose weight. But maintaining is a foreign concept to me. Even as I've tried to maintain using this website, it doesn't really work. Because I keep having that mindset when I look at the number I feel like it needs to be lower. I realize that's not a happy mindset and I want to change that. My basic question is, how did the people who lost all the weight successfully maintain after?

    I gotta believe there's enough will out there to be able to do it without counting for the rest of your life. Because while this is an extremely effective tool, I don't want to see myself relying on it forever.


    For me, I've found that I need to watch the scale more closely when I am not logging. But honestly, once you've been using a food scale for a while, and have weighed and measured and logged all your favorites over and over, then you should be ready to maintain without logging. I've maintained my weight for nearly six months now without logging.

    The downside: since I am thinking of cutting some more, it's been difficult to get back into the routine of logging. :ohwell:

    But so long as I don't *gain* then I'm cool.
  • nomorebingesgirl2014
    nomorebingesgirl2014 Posts: 378 Member
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    Bump
  • Honeycat89
    Honeycat89 Posts: 149
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    From September to January I didn't count calories and I wasn't putting on weight. I'm maintaining now so I count my cals to make sure I'm staying on track. I kind of wish I never started because I don't think I'll ever be able to stop! It's hard to know how much your eating unless your a dietician or something. humph

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