Will you spend the rest of your life counting calories?

Sunbrooke

I probably will. Before I counted calories, I stressed over everything I ate and either went overboard with restricting, or got frustrated and didn't bother trying. Counting calories is liberating for me. Knowing what I have to work with and how many calories are in possible options helps me to make good decisions. This way I can use my calories where I want to.

For me, it is like knowing how much money I have before shopping, and how much things cost before I decide to buy them. Somethings are nice, but too expensive. If I do want something expensive, then I have to budget for it by saving elsewhere.

Bernadette60614

Yes, I've kept a food diary for over 20 years. I've had some medical issues and gained weight with each round of treatment, and taken it off afterwards...all while keeping a food diary.

I'm 5 ft 8 inches between 138 and 142. I'm 50 now, and I've noticed that a lot of my friends have gained weight as they've approached mid-life, but my weight (other than the medical bouts) has stayed within the same range. I think as your life becomes more complicated (marriage,kids, job), it is easy to lose sight of caring for yourself..if you make a commitment to daily tracking, you can't do so.

What has changed is what I eat and how much: I can't scarf down junk food, smash down 2,300 calories and then starve myself the way I did in my 20s,30s. Now, I focus on vegetables, fruits, beans, grains and average between 1400 and 1800 calories per day.

I read somewhere: If you measure it, you can change it. If I measure my calories (i.e. log or track them), when I gain weight or lose it, it is no mystery to me and I can fix it.

sfbaumgarten

I lost the weight counting points with Weight Watchers and I maintain my weight now by counting calories with MFP. One way or another, I'm sure I will have to continue tracking my food for the rest of my life. I believe I have to.

SummerRain43

yes I will, although probably not as strictly as I did to lose the weight in the first place.....

MyOwnSunshine

Yes. I've lost and re-gained over 250 pounds in my life, over the course of many, many diets (not counting my current 100 pound loss). What I've finally learned is that there is no end to eating healthy, knowing how many calories are consumed and working out. I know that as long as I engage in the behaviors that helped me lose the weight, that I will maintain. As soon as I stop those behaviors, I will regain.

I am a highly compulsive eater and have no pre-programmed "stop eating" response. I really have a very poor perception of my food consumption if I don't plan and log. I know that I will have to actively use tools like MFP for the rest of my life to avoid being morbidly obese.

spirit095

I definitely do not plan on counting calories for the rest of my life. I want to get enough experience on portion sizes and learn how to approximate my calories that way. I lost weight in the beginning without counting calories, so I think I can do it again during maintenance. Along with my exercise, I think I'll be alright without MFP in the future.

farfromthetree

Yes. I finally found something that works for me. I do not plan on stopping.

in_the_stars

No. I enjoy food too much to look at it as just calories.

njitaliana

I think I will be counting calories for the rest of my life. Although I have so much to lose that I will probably have a lot of the caloric amounts committed to memory by the time I get to maintenance. But, MFP makes it pretty easy.

cwolfman13

Will you spend the rest of your life counting calories?

Nope...

I used those 9 months or so while I was losing to learn a lot about nutrition and how to properly fuel my body as per my activity level. I learned what kinds of foods provided me with the best fitness performance as well as just overall life performance...I learned what kinds of foods provide me with optimal nutrition and I learned portion control and moderation.

I've maintained for 10 months just putting into practice what I learned while I was logging save for a few spot checks here and there. My diet (noun) consists largely of whole foods and lots of nutrition...i eat around 6-8 servings of veg daily and a couple servings of fruit. I primarily eat lean sources of protein and eat my grains, rices, and pastas in appropriate portions. My fats come namely from avocados, olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil as well as nuts and nut butters in moderation. While I do have things like pizza and whatnot from time to time, my diet (noun) really does not resemble anything remotely like the SAD I was eating before and I've found maintenance to be rather easy without logging. IMHO, it's all about making good nutritional decisions...if you're trying to eat the SAD and lose or maintain you're going to have to count calories IMO...just too much stuff in the SAD that is extremely calorie dense and almost made for over-consumption.

I think where people go wrong is that they really don't establish a true dietary lifestyle change and just go back to the SAD or rough equivalent and they fail to make fitness an intrinsic part of their lives.

DoctahJenn

I think I'll probably log MOST of the time... but I know I'll drop off for a few weeks here and there until I gain a few pounds and then I'll be back. lol. Holidays especially are rough to try to log, and vacations, and on my birthday I WILL eat whatever I want without feeling guilty! But for the most part, yes, I intend to track forever, because I know I have genetics against me for developing type 2 diabetes and I need to stay active and at a healthy weight if I want to avoid it.

twinteensmom

Probably.

I think of it as the same as putting on my seat belt or taking my prescription med or looking both ways before crossing the street; I NEED to do this to stay healthy. I've seen how little control I have when I am not paying attention to calories and I have seen what happens when I don't keep up with exercise and let the excuses take hold. I can't and won't go back to the old ways. I am healthy for the first time in my life and I am almost 51. The women in my family live long lives(one grandmother was 88 when she died and the other was 97). My mother is 80. If I let myself go back to the way I used to be, I won't live to see 60, much less 80!

glin23

Probably not. I lost most of my weight without doing it and I've always thought of MFP as just another tool to help me become more ware, but I don't want to become obsessive about calorie counting.

eddiesmith1

I can't say there is any one thing I will do for the rest of my life, but i would guess that counting calories will be around for most of it (I'm sure once I am maintaining I will hit a slacking point that ends up with me returning to lose again, just hopefully i catch it early so I don't have to be on a low intake for months

cstringfellow2013

I can't imagine not keeping track of what I am eating. It's the only way for me to make sure I don't slide back into old habits. It takes a small amount of time each day, and I'm spending that time on my phone whether I'm on Facebook, Pinterest or MFP.

Francl27

Yes, probably. But I'm really ok with that.

Artglassguy

eventually i hope to be able to know from experience,
then counting won't be necessary. until then i'll just think of it as training. :bigsmile:

RCottonRPh

I stopped and hit a plateau for months. I am back at it (hopefully forever) because I know that this is what works!

SmartAlec03211988

Every single time I stop counting calories, my weight goes up. The last time I stopped I gained back 27 lbs of my original 86. I've tried stopping three times, all three I've gained back AT LEAST 15 lbs.

So this will be lifelong.

frangrann

YES!!!! I have lost before only to regain and this time IS going to be different.
So unfortunately yes.