Will I have to Be Here for the Rest of My Life?

HorrorChix89

Am I stuck counting calories and trying to hit marcos for the rest of my life? Will I forever have to run away from soda, sugar, bad carbs, and anything that brings me joy? Am I stuck eating a sugar free cottage cheese cake on my wedding day and expecting my guest to love it as well?

This haunts me. I have dreams of counting calories and worry that I'm doing everything wrong. Over Spring Break I went to visit my boyfriend and I ate like I didn't care. Which at that point, I DID NOT CARE. I was happy, I was full, I was lovin' it. I'm back home now and dread having to buy foods with bar codes just so I can make sure I'm counting right. I can't even eat out because 90% of the places I want to go to don't have nutrition facts and guessing calories upsets me to no end.

So am I stuck? Will MFP be my new home from here on out?

Gwoman2012

There is a middle ground between eating like you don't care and a cottage cheese wedding cake. Maintaining weightloss DOES require a pretty good amount of effort.

KANGOOJUMPS

it depends on how dedicated you really want to be and how important it is to you,

ieva015

bump, that worries me a lot too

pojinx

I worried about that for awhile. But if you work hard on your diet, add a good amount of fitness into your routine, and achieve your goals, you will get to a place where you can cheat from time to time and not only not gain any weight but not feel guilty about it either.

Trust me, it's possible. But for now you just have to work!!

montana_girl

It's all about balance and moderation. You can have cake on your wedding day.... just not the whole cake!

I know I will be counting calories for the rest of my life, but that's just me. I need to track to keep the weight off. But that doesn't mean I eat healthy 100% of the time. I have my indulgences now and then, but I don't go overboard... okay, I try not to go overboard! LOL

You just need to find what works for you and your lifestyle. Once you do that, this won't feel like a chore you dread to do!

grinch031

The more of the nutrient void un-satiating foods you plan on eating (ie. sugar, soda, refined carbs), the more you need to worry about counting calories. If you can reserve those foods for rarer occasions (ie. cheat meals/days), and eat primarily more natural foods in general, then you could eventually stop counting calories and still maintain a decent weight. Its up to you really and the food choices you can live with.

beckys19

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend a lowfat wedding cake, lol! Getting healthy is a lifestyle choice. Even when I reach my goal I think I will still be logging. It keeps me honest, and that way I can make sure I am getting enough fruit, veggies, fiber, etc. And often on weekends I'm eating out and don't have a clue how many calories something is. I just log in and try to enter in the info as well as I can using components of what I ate that are listed on the database. Often I gain a little over the weekend, then drop it again during the week.

Sodas and brownies are fine in moderation (special treats) as long as you work them into your budget. And once you are on maintenance you'll have a little more calories to play with.

cmayfield3

You will find balance. Eating at a deficit is hard! And the bigger the deficit, the harder it is. We get hungry on a diet, and hunger + temptation = binge. When you are maintaining your weight and have more calories to work with, you will probably feel less inclined to "eat like you don't care" (because you will be eating more than you are now just on a daily basis). It will get easier! Maybe for now, up your calories so you are eating more (but still losing) and at restaurants, order things that you can easily estimate like salads (dressing on the side) or sandwiches where you can see all the ingredients.

JenAiMarres

It becomes second nature...IF you want it bad enough..I have been tracking calories since 2005 (WW now MFP) consitently wthout fail...I cant imagine life without tracking. Might I mention I have been at my goal weight since 2005 as well.

That being said, I WILL have a cheat meal/day/vacation , and I do consume alcohol (but I count it usually), and I DO NOT excepct others to follow my lead.

I have the tools in place to maintain the weight I want and I know how to use them.

susannamarie

There really is a middle ground.

And you should eat whatever you damn well please on your wedding day. How many weddings are you planning on having? Unless you're having one a week or something, it won't matter.

Ittybitty22

fist of all u cn do it dnt just give up u can enjoy your favorite foods just moderation this site does help ppl kind words keep me going

melsinct

As I started to lose weight I got into the groove of realizing what a normal portion looks like. Once a month or so I would end up going over my calories for one meal- whether it was a night out on the town, a dinner out...I guess you could call it a "cheat meal". After I reached my goal weight, I knew I did not want to log every morsel for the rest of my life. Now I am in maintenance I do not log weekends at all. I still try to eat well, make good choices, etc. but I go 100% MFP free (and still don't worry about calories every once in a wile for a meal). So far, so good! Eventually I will taper off on the logging...but baby steps!

I have learned a lot along the way. There is no going back for me. I worked too hard to be fat again. I have worked too hard to eat unreasonable portions of food on a regular basis.

HorrorChix89

There really is a middle ground.

And you should eat whatever you damn well please on your wedding day. How many weddings are you planning on having? Unless you're having one a week or something, it won't matter.

If I lived in Vegas it might be a 2 week thing :laugh:

But seriously I can't see myself doing this pass maintenance. I mean I might fall off from counting and only logging in to tease friends and troll the forums...and then when/if I have another child I'd work to get back down to my goal weight. But everyday for the rest of my life? Yeah I can't do it. I can't even commit to doing my homework...which I'm pretty sure is due tonight.

Pollywog39

Having been here 7 months, I find I like the discipline of it..............I need the motivation, the "challenge" of making my goal each day. It has helped me a LOT to change my habits................and once you do that, the rest becomes second nature.

I still eat junk food sometimes, and I am a sweet-a-holic.........but I restrain myself, because it's WORTH it!

I plan to hang around here until people get sick of me :smokin: :smokin:

BrianSharpe

So am I stuck? Will MFP be my new home from here on out?

It's like the Hotel California, you can check out but you can never leave!

Will we all have to log calories forever, I don't think so; will we have to be aware of what we're stuffing in our faces and activity levels.......yes, unless you like yo-yos

Airbear3

As I started to lose weight I got into the groove of realizing what a normal portion looks like. Once a month or so I would end up going over my calories for one meal- whether it was a night out on the town, a dinner out...I guess you could call it a "cheat meal". After I reached my goal weight, I knew I did not want to log every morsel for the rest of my life. Now I am in maintenance I do not log weekends at all. I still try to eat well, make good choices, etc. but I go 100% MFP free (and still don't worry about calories every once in a wile for a meal). So far, so good! Eventually I will taper off on the logging...but baby steps!

I have learned a lot along the way. There is no going back for me. I worked too hard to be fat again. I have worked too hard to eat unreasonable portions of food on a regular basis.

love this! my brain is different now to!

angie_sample

that use to bother me too... i started my healthy lifestyle June 2011 and im down 68 pounds. the first couple of months was tough, especially with chips bc i LOVE chips. Now (most days) if i have a choice between chips and fruit i will choose the fruit. As u eat healthy ur body craves the healthy food. If i want some chips i eat a serving of chips though. Nothing is off limits for me, and i think that is what makes this work for me. I never say "oh i cant eat that" i can eat whatever i want its just about moderation. Good luck!

Mookz0r

Losing the weight isnt about counting cals though - you've surely come to learn what is high cal and what isnt, so just make the right choices... Have the cake but have a salad too. It's about teaching yourself balance whilst still enjoying life.

You'll be fine. Wedding cake is a meal in itself!

SPNLuver83

No, I don't think so. After you do this for so long hopefully you will just know what your limits are, you will naturally gravitate towards healthier choices and stay active!

I went off MFP for about 4 months because I thought I didn't need it anymore. I didn't gain a single pound during those months. Granted, I didn't loose any either, but, at least I know once I am ready to hit the maintenance stage I will be able to w/o counting calories!

Bikini27

I used to worry about this until something finally *clicked* into place and I realized that this isn't to fit into too-tight jeans (which I gave away after they kept falling off), it's to live a better life that is active and strong and everything I've always hoped for.

I don't buy "health food", I buy new tastes and new recipes and I'm so much more happy with every passing day because my body is being built into the well oiled machine it's supposed to be.

Everything in moderation, everything that tastes good...and EASY doesn't mean GOOD most of the time. That is true with most things in life. I've actually lost the craving for Chicken Selects and French Fries. I still crave a good ice cream from DQ and I'll have one this weekend...or I may go for a REAL good thing and stop at Cold Stone Creameries.

It's all in the thinking. Change your mindset about what this means to you and your body will follow suit.

SunnyAndrsn

Am I stuck counting calories and trying to hit marcos for the rest of my life? Will I forever have to run away from soda, sugar, bad carbs, and anything that brings me joy? Am I stuck eating a sugar free cottage cheese cake on my wedding day and expecting my guest to love it as well?

This haunts me. I have dreams of counting calories and worry that I'm doing everything wrong. Over Spring Break I went to visit my boyfriend and I ate like I didn't care. Which at that point, I DID NOT CARE. I was happy, I was full, I was lovin' it. I'm back home now and dread having to buy foods with bar codes just so I can make sure I'm counting right. I can't even eat out because 90% of the places I want to go to don't have nutrition facts and guessing calories upsets me to no end.

So am I stuck? Will MFP be my new home from here on out?

I don't eat anything that doesn't taste good to me--PERIOD. If you can't do this and enjoy what your eating, please re-evaluate what you are eating. I do think for me, that I will have to monitor calories for years to come, but I hope that it will finally 'click' in terms of what an actual serving size is, and what normal calorie intake should be.

I spent years ignore my body signals, if you did the same, it'll take time to learn the signals again.

I agree with you on guessing calories too--it's very frustrating and I hate not knowing. I try to pick the places ahead of time, and then research as best as I can to plan it out. Do that enough times, and eventually you'll know.

IveLanded

No. This obviously isn't where you'll be "stuck".

You said it yourself......you know you wont stick to it. You talk about how awful it is. If you say it's awful, it will be. If you say you wont stick to you, you won't.

HorrorChix89

I didn't say it's "awful" but I don't want to spend the rest of my life constantly worrying that a Blue Yummy Yummy will make me go over my budget. I don't want to be the freak that stands in the store scanning bar codes for lunch. I don't want every conversation I have with people to be about healthy eating or "I heard you're wrong about starvation mode". I don't want to look at my boyfriend and complain to him about how he needs to go to the gym at least 3 times a week and weight train.

I know it sounds like I'm saying this is the worst thing in the world for me. I mean I did lose 8lbs...although I've seemed to have gained 4 lbs in water weight (says everyone to make me feel better about my heavy gain).

kdiamond

You have to have a healthy mindset to stick with this forever.

I've been doing this for 5 years now, and I still enjoy eating healthy. Do I have a day where I eat a bunch of bad food? OF COURSE. But as long as I stick to 85% eating healthy and watching what I eat, I'll maintain. And if I take a vacation or something and don't watch, I will come back and do a week of strict eating and exercising so I get back to normal. It turns into routine really. Eventually you start to memorize calorie counts of your favorite foods and you can do a mental calculation in your head. I can rattle off the calorie counts of thousands of foods...it has become second nature to me.

If you have a mindset of "Do I have to do this for the rest of my life" instead actually changing your life for the better, my guess is you will return back to your old habits.

And as for the cottage cheese wedding cake (LOL), that sounds nasty and would be very extreme in my opinion. There's always room for cake.

Tajdancer

No, I don't think so. After you do this for so long hopefully you will just know what your limits are, you will naturally gravitate towards healthier choices and stay active!

This is what I'm thinking. Lifestyle change. To "stop" doing this would mean another lifestyle change. One that I'm really not interesting in making.

I think that, once I get to maintenance, I'll know what healthy eating is all about, will stick with it because it makes me feel good, and I'll have no desire to go back to eating crap and not being active. That doesn't mean I'll feel like I need to track every calorie consumed or burned.

iuew

Am I stuck counting calories and trying to hit marcos for the rest of my life?

depends on whether that's what works for you

Will I forever have to run away from soda, sugar, bad carbs, and anything that brings me joy? Am I stuck eating a sugar free cottage cheese cake on my wedding day and expecting my guest to love it as well?

no. most of us on maintenance have slip days. will you be able to eat everything in sight on your honeymoon and not gain weight? no. can you have a nice dinner and cake at your wedding? sure.

This haunts me. I have dreams of counting calories and worry that I'm doing everything wrong. Over Spring Break I went to visit my boyfriend and I ate like I didn't care. Which at that point, I DID NOT CARE. I was happy, I was full, I was lovin' it. I'm back home now and dread having to buy foods with bar codes just so I can make sure I'm counting right. I can't even eat out because 90% of the places I want to go to don't have nutrition facts and guessing calories upsets me to no end.

most do, except the smallest of locals. you can generally find nutrition info at the restaurant website.

So am I stuck? Will MFP be my new home from here on out?

it's up to you. there are a lot of ways to maintain. pull up a stool and have a drink with the rest of us.

to answer your question, though, yes, you'll have to be aware of what you eat for the rest of your life. however, diet and exercise will become part of your routine. it's not that bad, and it's much better than gaining the weight back and having to do it all over again. you can do it.

mes1119

I haven't really been logging the past few weeks. Every day or so I do, but since I was logging for a good amount of time I learned a schedule that I can stick with. Eat certain things at certain times, make certain kinds of dinners. Watching portions, eating healthy and making good decisions is more important. Either way, I have been doing this for the past 2-3 weeks or so and still losing a pound a week. I don't think you have to be very strict about what you eat, just be mindful of what you are putting in your body.

ElizabethRoad

I'm back home now and dread having to buy foods with bar codes just so I can make sure I'm counting right.

Wait wait wait. This is not right at all. You should be buying fresh veggies and meats... not boxes and cans.

HorrorChix89

I'm back home now and dread having to buy foods with bar codes just so I can make sure I'm counting right.

Wait wait wait. This is not right at all. You should be buying fresh veggies and meats... not boxes and cans.

I know what I "should" be buying but I get what I can afford. Fresh veggies and meats are expensive and I can't cook. Last time I was in the kitchen, the stove caught fire and even burned the wiring inside the wall. The over head fan was completely destroyed. So yeah, I'm not cooking unless it comes with microwave instructions and costs less than $1 a serving.

Plus with meats you have to get other stuff to make it even half way taste good. Same with veggies.

prism6

there's worse places to be stuck than here... as others have said..umm forget the cottage cheese wedding cake..that would look gross smooshed in your face!