Coutnin' calories for the rest of your life?

I do not plan to count calories forever. The whole point of counting, for me, has been to learn what 'normal' portion sizes look like. Once I've lost the weight I will count to maintain for a few months until I start to get a feel for what 'normal' is at maintenance calories and then I intend to stop. I will weigh once a month to make sure I'm not gaining but other than that I intend to stop obsessing over the numbers and start just enjoying life.

For me, this 'weight loss' thing is a lifestyle change but the counting calories part is just a tool to help me learn how to eat better and healthier.

I probably will to some extent. I would like to believe that one day I can just maintain on my own, but I also know as I get older that my calorie needs will change. I am sure I will eventually gain more than I like then go back to tracking to get things back to a manageable weight.

While I have always been a health conscientious person, I know the older I get the more health issues will pop up and make it not just calories but macros even more important to keep in check. I am already in the habit of weighing food and exercise like its brushing my teeth, but I also know how easy it would be for me to just let it go, too. I can be a very live-in-the-moment enjoy-it-while-you-can person.

I am ok with it. I see how my Mom and my Grandmother are aging and know what happens when you don't stay on top of your health. Hopefully I get to that point where I don't have to log everyday, just check in here and there thing.

I've lost in the past but carefully tracking portions (see Zone Diet) and have developed a decent eye for calories and portion size. Even still, I managed to gain weight because I can fool myself and fall into the trap "that one bad meal won't hurt because I know better and can correct". The truth is that I used to eat way more than one bad meal and MFP has helped control and keep myself honest. It is not a very difficult thing to log every meal and only takes me a minute or so. If it is the investment in myself that is necessary to manage my weight, it is easy and cheap and non-evasive. My other option is to yo-yo my weight and ultimately damage my health.

The reason we have to count is because left to our own devices, we will eat more than we need to maintain our weight. I have accepted the fact that I will have to count calories from now on.

That's why it is important to come to some form of this that you can live with -- that's where I see some people come in and say they can't do this if it means giving up certain foods, that's where "cheat" days come in.

The realization I had this time around is that fewer calories is not always the answer--you have to make sure not only that you don't go over your daily totals, but don't come in too far under, either.

If I want to eat more on a given day--there's the elliptical trainer, or even just taking a walk.

And every once in a while--as in going out to dinner with a friend--it's OK to have what you want. Remember it takes 3500 calories to make up ONE pound--and it's highly unlikely that one day is going to blow out your goals.

Can I ask why you don't like putting a 'g' at the end of your words? :laugh:

On a serious note, I am quite happy to count calories for the rest of my life if it means I get (and keep) the body I want, but once I hit maintenance I won't be as strict, as it were.

LOL, I didn't even notice that, but had to go re-read the OP to see it. Maybe she doesn't like the letter G and prefers a ' instead. Too funny.

I firmly believe that after years of trial and error, if one adopts the clean eating lifestyle, your body will eventually learn how to regulate hunger itself, efficiently. I take long breaks from logging (been logging for 2 years) and it wasn't until I started eating clean (a year ago) that I have been able to quit fluctuating. I eat when I am hungry, sometimes less and sometimes more. No day is the same for me. I don't plan to log the rest of my life, but even now, I'll go months with no logging, then log for a month, then take another break. Make good choices, focus on protein and veggies, and you'll be fine.

I'm very careful in restaurants because of the "super-size" portions. And yes, you CAN do dinner for 700 calories. Get a salad with no cheese or meat, dressing on the side, and dip your fork in the dressing before stabbing the veggies rather than pouring the dressing on. Instead of a main dish order an appetizer that's not fried or a non-cream based soup. Get a side of steamed veggies if you want. Skip the bread and dessert. Heck, you can even enjoy a glass of wine or a small scoop of sorbet.

No need to stress, and no need to give up and think you can't stay within your calorie limit.

Also, if the restaurant has a nutrition menu you can look up before you go, use that to help with your decision. I like to get a meal and a to-go box (immediately if possible) and put half the meal in the box. That way I have lunch for the next day, and don't have to take in an excessive amount of calories.

I'm hopping one day to be so well trained that I won't have to. No I do not want to count calories forever.

Agreed. I already have a good idea of what calories are what and better portion choices, so once I hit my goal wieght and I am maintaining I will be "off-track" and not journaling. We will see how well I do and I can always come back if needed.

I plan to do it until I reach my original goal, and then for a while - maybe a year - on maintenance. So, at least for a couple more years. Hopefully by then I'll have the tools to be able to do without. Although it's not that hard to do - takes 5 minutes a day.

I've taken two breaks from MFP and I regained a little weight each time. It wasn't terrible, but things just started to slip. Also when left to my own devices I am not inclined to eat very much protein at all, so that's really my focus right now more than the calorie counting part.

If my weight starts creeping back up i will start counting again but I think the best part of MFP is that you learn what foods to choose and which to avoid. That being said, i totally blew my diet last night. I have food diary shame LOL

oh well! back on track today

Can I ask why you don't like putting a 'g' at the end of your words? :laugh:

On a serious note, I am quite happy to count calories for the rest of my life if it means I get (and keep) the body I want, but once I hit maintenance I won't be as strict, as it were.

Hahah - I was going to ask the same.

I guess for me I am a looooooong way off my eventual goals, and I have some challenges to face in between - but I chatted with a good mate who went onto WW and asked her the same thing... and we both agreed - I have made a lifestyle choice - and I think that being more aware of what I scoff calorifically is something that SHOULD stay with me as I go from middle age to old age with my metabolism slowing down.

I think my uber-target maintenance cals are a good 150-200 than I am having now - so that is plenty ... Maybe the only change I will make is not weighing weekly when I hit my magic number... perhaps just doing one monthly check in.

I dunno - ask me again when I get there!

A second thought on this. Once you get good at it, perhaps you can eyeball to a +/- 200 Cal margin of error. At first, the up days will offset the down days. But as you age, your maintenance calories go down and your ability to maintain the intensity of your workouts diminishes. If you aren't counting, will you account for this?

That 400 Cal margin of error will skew slowly. It will become a 150 deficit to 250 surplus.
Then a 100 Cal deficit to 300 Cal surplus. For every up day, you might need three down days to offset.
Then between maintenance and a 400 calorie surplus. Now your weight ratchets. Your up days put on weight, your down days just maintain it.

So it may not be as simple as 'learning to eyeball it' and then moving on.

Now sure, many people can maintain healthy weights without calorie counting at all - my in-laws for example - but let's be honest, if that was the case for us, we'd not be here, right? :laugh:

I'll track 'til I reach my goal weight. Then for 6 months to a year on maintenance. Hopefully, eventually I'll be able to just keep my eye on the scale and when I'm 3 - 5 lbs. up, I'll go back to counting until I'm back at my prescribed weight.

Your body doesn't count calories, and neither should you! It only counts nutrients.

When you eat a calorie dense meal that is nutritionally bankrupt (Chinese food comes to mind), you're starving in an hour.

When you eat a low calorie meal that's nutritionally dense, on the other hand, your body is content for 3 to 4 hours (also the optimal time needed for digestion process to fully complete).

So, no way I will count calories!

The calculator here, though is a great place to keep honest about nutrients, exercise and other healthy habits.

So, calories don't matter? Is that what I'm to understand from this post?


As to the OP: There are times, even now, when counting calories or logging just doesn't work...like if I'm out with friends or family. We want to lose weight, but we also want to live a normal life. Worrying about every single calorie, every single minute or every single day just isn't realistic...nor is it even healthy. Tracking the majority of the time, about 90% give or take will bring the desired results without making you lose your mind. And, it's something you can easily accomplish for the rest of your life if you want.