I've Stopped Counting

DecryingShame

I thought I'd share this for those who may benefit from a different style of doing things.

I counted my calories for the first two months. I haven't been counting for about another two months now and I'm losing weight more consistently than when I was.

I learned some lessons when I was counting, things like which foods are high calorie but leave me feeling hungry and the importance of not skipping meals so I don't gorge later.

How it's working now is, first of all, I pay attention to my meals. I've got a feel for about how much food I can eat per meal. If I still feel hungry after eating, I wait an hour. If I'm still hungry after the hour, I didn't get enough to eat and I have a snack.

Friday night is my night to eat however much I want. When I feel the urge other times, I remind myself that I have Friday night to do that. It's also my night to binge watch shows.

I usually slip up once or twice during the week. I forgive myself. I'm still losing weight so I don't waste my energy beating myself up over that.

I weigh every week. If I go two weeks without seeing weight loss, I count again for a few days to get back on track.

So anyway, I thought I would share for those who might be struggling to find a rhythm that works for them. Strict counting might not be the way for you.

gisem17

Good for you.
I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm hoping to do something similar for maintenance. Figure out what maintenance calories looks like and learn to eat like that without counting. But that's a long ways off. First now, I need the discipline of counting calories to stay on track.