I stopped counting!

SideSteel

I have made the decision to stop counting all my calories. I found that I was forming unhealthy habits and was being controlled by numbers. I have no idea how many calories I ate today, or how many I'll eat tomorrow. I'm going to continue like this for a few weeks before I weight in...hopefully I find that I can maintain like this :]

There was a day when we could count calories. Today a calorie of one food is not the same as a calorie of another. There are many items that are low calorie, very low, but have ingredients that will actually cause weight gain! and will prevent weight loss!! So you are making a wise choice! Make sure your macros are set correctly and that you track sugar!!! If you stay within those parameters, you WILL lose all the weight you want!!!!!!!!

This is false ^

punkypenny

I won't ever be able to do that. I view my eating as similar to how I budget my money. I can't just intuitively just not spend money, and find myself in trouble down the road. At some point, my cards will stop working and the ATM will stop dispensing cash, so at least with money, I can only go so far before I'm cut off.

Calories are not as forgiving. I ended up fat in the first place for that very reason. I have just accepted that I will always have to log my food if I want to never gain weight again.

I hope this works ok for you. I think most of us here will have a different experience.

This is me. I got tired of logging 2 years ago. I was pretty damn close to my goal too. Now here I am again almost 20 lbs more than when I left. I ruined all of my hard work. So for me this is how it has to be. However, I found that I don't have to continuously count all week long if I prepare all of my meals for the week on my days off. Since I pretty much eat the same things all week it only takes me a few minutes each day to log and all of my measuring is done in one day.

jonnythan

There are many items that are low calorie, very low, but have ingredients that will actually cause weight gain!

This is absolutely false and you should be horribly ashamed of yourself for telling people this.

benefiting

I'm still logging but I've stopped weighing in daily. I actually only log in once a month now.

karlospiklington

I don't plan on logging calories forever, I only want to do it whilst I'm still trying to lose weight. I have already formed pretty good habits and can roughly figure out my daily calorie intake but I like logging it just to have that record. It doesn't take that long to log my food and I'm not too obsessed with the numbers so I still enjoy it. Once I reach my goal weight I will probably log at maintenance for a few weeks and then hopefully I won't need to log at all, just keep up with my exercise and better eating habits.

celtbell3

I count. All of the time.

FitMama2Three

I am not in maintenance-about 5 -10 lbs away but I am not logging. It does not help me- it seems to trigger more overreating and frustration. Logging exercise however is very motivating and helpful for me. My plan is to continue to eat based on natural hunger cues and make healthy choices as much as possible. Happy to have more non-counting friends. The reason I do not leave the site is because I love my little group of MFP buddies and it has helped me reach fitness goals.

BonecrusherBrews

I count. All of the time.

Me too. It's been very helpful for me. I can see that at some point I probably won't need to do it as much or as often. I will have learned what portions really add up to (calorie-wise) but for now, it is what I must do to succeed.

2013sk

That is great!!!!!!!!! Well done!!!!

It can get really obsessive - Looking at packets in the supermarket, eating them logging on here - Your body needs a break!

Eat healthy and move more : )

Good luck!

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eso2012

I posted a similar question and was surprised that I was not the only one who felt that way. Counting had helped me get to where I am, but I got a bit obsessive and would freak out if I did not have my HRM to tell me exactly how much I have burned.

When I travel, I don't really log. I eat lots and walk lots, and always feel great both emotionally and physically. Maintained weight or even lost some. I think "eat, move, be merry" is really a better way to live.

Now at maintenance, I do loose tracking. Like many of you, I have learned a lot about portion controls and general calories consumption through 2+ years of logging. I now work out regularly. I know the reasons behind my bad days (binge eating) and it is more important for me to address the roots and get my system in order, than to get obsesses over counting as a crutch.

igottaworkout

Sorry for posting on a zombie post!! But I just wanted to say it's been just slightly over a year when I stopped counting and commented on this thread and I'm still going strong! Didn't gain weight back, and am not counting anymore. Having obsessively logged all food eaten for over a year kind of helped reset my body to be stable at where I ended up at goal weight. I'm glad I don't have to log things anymore it is freeing I was a bit afraid that I would be gaining back some weight, but I don't vary more then 4-5 lb in a monthly cycle and am still at 115-120lb

Just posting this because some people said that you can't stop counting and you'll gain it all back but it's not true, I think you can reset your body and stay at a good healthy weight without logging anymore. I do think about what I eat and try to eat healthily which is definitely needed still

Jbarbo01

I can't stop counting having been an emotional eater, I found points less overwhelming to count than calories. Maybe one day I can do mindful eating but I always overeat if I dont count. Good luck!

Sabine_Stroehm

Sorry for posting on a zombie post!! But I just wanted to say it's been just slightly over a year when I stopped counting and commented on this thread and I'm still going strong! Didn't gain weight back, and am not counting anymore. Having obsessively logged all food eaten for over a year kind of helped reset my body to be stable at where I ended up at goal weight. I'm glad I don't have to log things anymore it is freeing I was a bit afraid that I would be gaining back some weight, but I don't vary more then 4-5 lb in a monthly cycle and am still at 115-120lb

Just posting this because some people said that you can't stop counting and you'll gain it all back but it's not true, I think you can reset your body and stay at a good healthy weight without logging anymore. I do think about what I eat and try to eat healthily which is definitely needed still

Congrats!!

HaibaneReki

I made it to my goal weight just recently and have been playing with this idea too, I don't feel like not counting just yet, but occasionally skip a log entry for a party, bbq or something. So far so good. One day I won't have to log at all!

2013sk

Good for you!!!

Just pick healthy options & move more : )

I know what you mean though - It does your head in!!!!!

jamesdavidy

I stopped counting and left MFP, 6 months later I am back and up 7lbs. Now the thing is I know exactly why I gained (we all do) it was lack of discipline, I had too many Easter Eggs lol after that my sweet tooth kicked in and for some reason I didn't care. I kept up an otherwise healthy lifestyle, I'm very active and always have been, but damn I do have a sugar problem, so I am back to tracking mainly to keep an eye on the Sugar/Carbs. I feel the need to keep myself accountable, but I have never felt the need to be obsessed to the point of weighing and measuring everything, approx figures work fine for me..just got to beat my sweet tooth, NO CHOCOLATE NEXT EASTER lol

Mahsaa18

welcome to the crew

Joanne_Moniz

GREAT! it is not about the quantity of calories it is about the quality!! If you do this and set your macros correctly, you will have no problem EVER

Joanne Moniz
The Skinny on Obesity group

eric_sg61

GREAT! it is not about the quantity of calories it is about the quality!! If you do this and set your macros correctly, you will have no problem EVER

Joanne Moniz
The Skinny on Obesity group

Eat 10,000 calories a day of "quality" food and tell us that you won't gain weight. It always come down to calories first, and then macros.

hastingsmassage

3rd profile since Feb 2013, lost all together 128 lbs, I count Monday to Friday more or less and I trust myself on weekends.

coombej2

I would have to agree that once you have established better habits with food and exercise you can stop counting the calories. I have only been doing this for a week or so now and I have seen a difference and have started to lose weight, albeit slowly, but I am losing weight which has not happened for me for many years now despite trying different diets etc...I would also add that the more you look at the calories contained in food you actually get an idea as to how many calories will be in the foods you eat and the counting becomes less important. For now I am a happy calorie counter and my dogs are loving me that bit more as they now get two walks a day instead of one.

marthalgutierrez92

I count, but i'm not an extreme counter

Example: Today I ate chicken parm.

I refuse to count the
marinara
and the cheese portion
and the chicken weight
and the other bull**** lol


I simply enter chicken parm, whatever sounds reasonable is what I'll go with.

Ain't nobody got time for that!! lol

fiftysixkilogal

Counting is a pain in the butt and just makes me more obsessed with food when I do it. My workaround has been to plan all my meals in advance so I don't need to count anything during the week. I've developed a system for myself, which I call "modular meals" - every part of my meals (protein, vegetable, etc.) has 2-3 possible choices of food item which are equal in calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc. so I can just mix and match and It'll still be the same numbers. Let me demonstrate by showing my meals:

My breakfast contains one 70-gram serving of fruit, half a cup of cottage cheese, and 1 meat. That fruit could be papaya or cantaloupe, which are equivalent, and the meat could be one egg, or two turkey breakfast sausage links, or three strips of center-cut bacon, all of which are also equal. A 12-oz cup of coffee with a tablespoon of regular creamer and a packet of Splenda completes breakfast.

Dinner can be 4 oz of chicken tenderloin or a fish fillet (usually tilapia; it's inexpensive), and this week I'm adding lean pork tenderloin to the menu. All of those are equivalent. Dinner also includes leafy green salads of various kinds with 6 grape tomatoes and 2 tbsp of a lite dressing of my choice. The dressings in my collection range from 40 to 60 calories per serving, all under 3 carbs, so they are fairly interchangeable as well.

Snack is a negligible-calorie vegetable (a few spears of cucumber or zucchini, or two medium stalks of celery) with a tablespoon of lite ranch-type dressings for dip.

So because all my meals are modular like that, I never have to count. The only time I count anything anymore is when adding a new food option to my menu, which isn't often. Also no meal planning and analysis = no need to think about food almost ever. That's helped me break the cycle of a food-centric life more than anything I've ever tried.

I do something similar because at the moment I'm searching for my ideal maintenance calories while increasing carbs (have been low carb so far). I have a weekly food plan (and shop accordingly for it) which I stick to . I not only count calories but % fat, carbs and protein. I would like to maintain at 20% fat and 40% for the other 2 macros. This may take several months, but the exercise is interesting and challenging. Once I find the perfect balance of calories in/out, I'll stop note booking as well. I've never been serious about calorie counting during my maintenance for any length of time in the past.