So when do you say goodbye to MFP?

neverstray

I do not believe it is possible to mentally track within 28 calories a day. Why 28 calories a day? Only 28 calories a day off can cause a 3 lb a year increase. This is what I was at and ended up almost 100 lbs over a healthy weight after 30 years. So I plan on continuing to use MFP technology to be healthy.

I'm going to keep using MFP as a guide (as I have worked out what does the job for me) but I hope one day to stop tracking and try to forget about calories. If I can do this intuitively and stay on track then it's job done for me.

I don't believe it is possible to track energy balance to within anything like 28 calories a day with all the technology in the world.

Even a few hundred is pushing it IMO.

The whole calorie thing a huge approximation, these things are nowhere near exact:

1) Carbs = 4cals, Protein = 4cals, Fat = 9cals ... Approximations, no account for the Thermic Effect Of Food (TEF) either

2) Energy expenditure is a VAST approximation, just look at the exercise database, file under fiction ...

3) Food labelling is nowhere near 100% accurate

4) We don't burn the same number of calories each day, even at rest

I see that keeping an eye on the energy in/out is vital for maintaining a trim body but we sometimes need to acknowledge that it isn't an exact science and the body can be a bit more flexible than needing exactly x calories a day to maintain itself.

Only 28 calories a day off can cause a 3 lb a year increase

Only if you believe:
1) It's an exact science AND 1lb of fat contains exactly 3500 calories
2) Those calories HAVE to be turned into fat

Logically it does not make sense that the body needs to run this way, some flexibility is needed or we wouldn't have evolved ...

I can burn 28 calories in a decent bowel movement.

And once again I ramble ... I'll try to keep them to once a week

Finally, someone that understands.

It's nowhere near even remotely accurate. Calories only have to be with a 20% accuracy range...even then, who checks it? Lol. Some people get so obsessed and its just so silly and such a waste of their life. It's good to track and measure, I'm not saying its not, everyone should understand that at the end of the day, there are probably 40% swings up or down in all your estimates. You just find a point where it mostly swings in your favor. Lol. That's my take on it anyway.