When to stop counting calories?

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Replies

  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    a lot of ppl are too obsessed with counting calories and very strict with what they put in their mouth. i like how you say "i want to live"! exactly!!! enjoy your life! life is too short to not try delicious food! and torture yourself with all this dieting. just try to be healthy, be active, and enjoy food. eat whatever you want is ok! i like to use this site to keep track of my food, becos i find the info interesting, but i'm not counting the #'s.. i hope ppl can be less obsessed, too obsessed is not healthy (mentally)


    Being informed is not the same as being obsessed. I don't deny myself any food if I really want it, but I have a little more knowledge to go on when I'm deciding whether I'll work in a Big Mac (like today) or whether I'll pass. You can have delicious food and still be conscious of how often and how much you are having. Being overweight is unhealthy both physically and mentally. I"m not obsessed with brushing my teeth, but it's part of my plan for having healthy teeth and gums so I do it two times/day.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    I continued to log for awhile while maintaining and thought I'd be fine doing it forever, as others have said, as the price to pay for being at a weight I was happy with.

    It got old.

    I decided that what I really wanted, even more than being at "goal weight", was to have a normal, healthy relationship with food, to trust my body and work with it instead of against it, and to stop obsessing. I started to put all the energy I had been putting into logging into really listening to that little voice that tells me when I've had enough and what I am really hungry for. I had a lot of help on this from the book "how to have your cake and skinny jeans too", which I recommended earlier in this thread.

    It's working. I'm maintaining. I feel like I have a super power. I get more enjoyment from food, no guilt, and no obsessing. Food =/= math for me anymore.

    It's harder than logging, at first. If you're happy logging forever, that's great, more power to you. But it's not the only way.
  • HRLaurie614
    HRLaurie614 Posts: 260 Member
    I feel your pain, but I found out that maintaining weight without tracking is a lot harder that it sounds. At one point during my recent extended plateau, I decided to give my mind and body a break and just maintain for a bit instead of trying to lose. I made the decision that I would try to do it without counting calories. What I found out is that it really isn't a matter of willpower -- it's kind of hard to explain. I was earnestly trying to only eat reasonable, healthy things most of the time and only eat when I was hungry and only until I was full. I didn't have a battle of willpower with myself over things -- I had an occasional treat and didn't worry about it. I never once sat there and said "I know I shouldn't have those oreos, but I'm going to anyway" or "this is probably too much food, but I'm going to eat all of it anyway because I really want it." It was more of my mind playing tricks on me, like I just didn't realize that I was eating that much. I think it's that those of us that have trouble with keeping our weight down often have a distorted view of food that may never be resolved even after we learn healthier habits. Our idea of reasonable portions will start to slowly get bigger if we don't weigh and measure. Our perception of how calorie-filled a meal is or how much food we've eaten in a day will get steadily more and more out of proportion to reality if we don't take the time to check actual numbers. Our notion of what an "occasional treat" is will get more and more frequent if we aren't being forced to fit it into a meal plan. What I found trying to eat this way is that I started to slowly put a few pounds back on (this was after over a year of maintaining in my plateau) and, when I forced myself to simply track what I was eating, I had somehow crept over what I should have been eating by 300-400 calories a day. Not a huge amount, but enough to start adding up over time.

    I am planning to count my calories for the rest of my life. I'm not planning to be obsessed with my weight for the rest of my life. I'm taking the attitude that being aware of what I'm eating is simply part of my overall health plan. It's just something that I do, like taking my blood pressure medication or going to the doctor when I'm sick.

    TL;DR: I tried not counting, it didn't work, I'm planning to count forever, but not obsess over it.

    ^^^^ So well said!!!!!
  • funhouse77
    funhouse77 Posts: 179 Member
    It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle. I will always be counting calories. And I'm absolutely fine with that.
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    My aim is to soak up as much information as possible during losing weight, then keep logging for a while when beginning maintenance mode, until I'm ready to put everything I've learned into practice; exercise (how it affects my body as well as nutritional needs), and food (what I want/need and how it is built up).

    I have to think it is possible to use what one learns and the mirror, the personal scale, the measuring tape, and mindfulness/awareness, without counting and logging daily. Perhaps it is good to brush up on the calorie info a few times a year or such, but for me this is about trusting myself to make good decisions, taking responsibility over my actions in daily life, using the databse that is my brain.
  • crayonbreakywillow
    crayonbreakywillow Posts: 44 Member
    a lot of ppl are too obsessed with counting calories and very strict with what they put in their mouth. i like how you say "i want to live"! exactly!!! enjoy your life! life is too short to not try delicious food! and torture yourself with all this dieting. just try to be healthy, be active, and enjoy food. eat whatever you want is ok! i like to use this site to keep track of my food, becos i find the info interesting, but i'm not counting the #'s.. i hope ppl can be less obsessed, too obsessed is not healthy (mentally)

    I don't see counting calories as restrictive or obsessive at all. In fact, I find it quite freeing. By keeping count of my calories daily I feel more in control and I love that feeling! I intend to count for the rest of my life, and I'm totally cool with that. I think it's fun too!
  • lindustum
    lindustum Posts: 212 Member
    Counting calories =/ logging.

    I did WeightWatchers a few years back (2007) and I hit my goal weight back then (2008), and had maintained ever since (now I have more ambitious goals, that's why I am here- I did not revert back!) because of the following:

    1. I didn't forget the points. Popcorn at the cinema? 16 points! It just sticks with me. And now I'm doing the same with calories. One of my wraps? 159. My favourite going-out pizza? 951. I don't need to look that up.
    2. I learnt about food for the first time in my life. Nowhere near as much as I do with MFP which is why I decided against another round of WW, but I learnt things like "chocolate with nuts has more calories than chocolate without nuts" or "fruit juices are not as healthy as they are made out to be"- I mean it was such simple stuff, and I hadn't known!
    3. I learnt to like healthy food. I went out today and had a greasy burger, I couldn't even finish it. Things like that literally keep me from craving it in the first place. I don't feel deprived. And that's the most important thing.
    4. I love sports, and that helps me being able to eat more than just turkey and salad :)
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    I have to ask those who will keep counting. If you are a creature of habit, won't that smoothie or steak or yoghurt with banana contain as many kcal today as it did yesterday and the day before that? I might use the scale to weigh something as long as I'm not 100% sure yet, but if I've weighed something of approximately the same volume ten days in a row, one would think that the average result on the eleventh day won't deviate too much from the ten earlier weighings? If I'm eating something sweet (candy, ice cream, whatever) or chips perhaps, I could always consult the wrapping and compare with the daily kcal I've determined in the beginning if maintenance mode. No?
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
    even if I don't log I still add it all up in my head, it's just engrained into my head at this point so why not enter it into a cool app with a barcode scanner and cool people?
  • eazy_
    eazy_ Posts: 516 Member
    I've already accepted the fact that I'm going to use MFP to count calories and macros the rest of my life. Without it, I know I'll NEVER be able to eyeball calories well enough to maintain, or take in optimal macronutrient intake and calorie intake. I find MFP not only extremely effective, but very very easy to use. Entering food takes only a couple minutes a day, and it's not a big deal to me, but everybody is different.

    Same with me. I have accepted this fact. I must count calories and stay on MFP. If I don't, I will revert back to my original weight.
  • mysticeagle4
    mysticeagle4 Posts: 2 Member
    I AM IN THE PROCESS OF LOSING WEIGHT STILL. BUT ITS A MATTER OF PORTION SIZE MORE OR LESS. i MEAN YOUR MIND PROBABLY KNOWS ALREADY HOW MUCH MOST CALORIES IS. yOU HAVE TO JUST HAVE SMALLER PORTIONS. YOU CAN EAT JUNK FOUND BUT YOU CAN NOT EAT TO MUCH IN ONE DAY OR IF YOU DO YOU NEED TO SPLIT THAT MEAL INTO 2 PORTIONS. LIKE WHEN YOU GO FAST FOOD GET A SMALL DRINK AND FRY NOT A LARGE.

    SO ON AN SO FORTH. MOST MEALS YOU EAT OUT ARE TO BIG AND MOST PLACES YOU CAN EAT HALF THE AMOUNT AND TAKE IT HOME. or JUST ORDER HALF OF WHAT YOU DID. EXAMPLE IF YOU WANT AND ENTREE AND CHILLI'S OR TGIFRIDAYS ETC.... AS FOR A TO GO BOX WHEN YOU GET YOUR FOOD TAKE HALF PUT IN THE BOX AND SET ASIDE.

    TRY NOT TO DRINK SODA EVERYDAY OR COFFEE BECAUSE THOSE CAN ADD UP QUICKLY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO COUNT EVERYTHING. ITS JUST ABOUT SMALLER PORTIONS. i HOPE THIS HELPS IF SOMEONE HASNT ALREADY SAID IT!
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  • shellgirl144
    shellgirl144 Posts: 33
    I've already accepted the fact that I'm going to use MFP to count calories and macros the rest of my life. Without it, I know I'll NEVER be able to eyeball calories well enough to maintain, or take in optimal macronutrient intake and calorie intake. I find MFP not only extremely effective, but very very easy to use. Entering food takes only a couple minutes a day, and it's not a big deal to me, but everybody is different.




    Me, too! I'm good with always having to enter my food. I might be good with math, but when it comes to estimating calories...forget it! :laugh:
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    I plan to stop counting calories about 50 years from now.
  • LoseYouself
    LoseYouself Posts: 249 Member
    deleted.
  • LoseYouself
    LoseYouself Posts: 249 Member
    After a couple of years on maintenance I allow myself a day or two of not logging each week, but that's all.

    You've worked so hard to lose the weight, don't get lazy now.

    Guesstimating is what gets you to have to come here in the first place.

    Do the work, reap the rewards. Don't and, well, as has been posted, factual evidence about regaining weight does not look favorable for you. Maybe you will get lucky, but why take that chance, especially with a tendency toward binge eating and the easy availability of too many indulgences?

    This.

    Great reply!
  • krayzieroach
    krayzieroach Posts: 17
    i stopped counting and have been fluctuating up and down as i was when i was counting :drinker:
  • Ianultrarunner
    Ianultrarunner Posts: 184 Member
    I promise you, if you stop, you'll gain it all back
    Wow, that was very unhelpful. Maybe you could elaborate on what seems to be a rather negative comment?
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    I promise you, if you stop, you'll gain it all back
    Wow, that was very unhelpful. Maybe you could elaborate on what seems to be a rather negative comment?

    I imagine a clap of thunder and a "muah ha ha ha" accompanying that post . . .
  • Binkie1955
    Binkie1955 Posts: 329 Member
    I don't count calories. I just count grams of carbohydrates. why would you count calories? their kind of irrelevant.
  • rezn8
    rezn8 Posts: 263 Member
    What's wrong with keeping track. You can have your once in a while binge/bad day when you know you've been completely on track for most others.
  • daisysmamu
    daisysmamu Posts: 29 Member
    Agree. I used MFP religiously for a while, lost some weight, then thought I could ease up and didn't need to do the food diary thing anymore. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm back again, re-starting my diary, adding some techy things to help get me motivated again, and go for it again. I decided long ago, I don't have a weight problem, I have a food problem - I love food! (Combine that with a husband of like mind, who does the shopping, and likes to bring home "goodies.") So I, personally, need the constant control something like MFP provides.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    A couple of books you might want to read:

    Mindful Eating

    Intuitive Eating

    There are ways of experiencing your food and hunger without attaching numbers to them. Basically the idea is to only eat when you can really taste it and experience the fullness in your belly (as opposed to eating while driving or watching TV). Enjoy your food. Taste it and relax. However, don't just pile your food in your mouth without any thought.

    I stopped calorie counting a long time ago. It was really great for me to learn about my food at the time, but all the planning that I was putting into my food only made me think about food even more and I just felt so darn hungry all the time. Now that I only think about food at meal times, rather than spending hours looking up calorie counts, recipes, etc, it is a lot more comfortable. I know about how much I should be eating.

    Of course, everyone wants to know how this affects my weight. Do I have as much control over it? Well... did I ever really have control over it? I have had a history of thyroid problems, so sometimes, yes, I can control it, and sometimes, no matter how few of calories I eat or how much I work out I feel like a slug and don't lose an ounce. So my answer is yes... you have the same control over your weight whether or not you read labels and look up your food and log it. If it tastes greasy, there's probably a lot of calories. If it tastes sweet, it's probably loaded with calories. If it tastes like vegetables... well... you can probably chow down.

    Just eat slow and let your food hit your belly before you start chomping down on the next treat. It's ok to have a dessert. Is it ok to have 5 servings in a row? Not if you want to be healthy. Take the time to enjoy your food one morsel at a time, and you should be able to tell if you're full or still hungry or whatnot.
  • margaretturk
    margaretturk Posts: 5,293 Member
    I have maintained my 25 pound weight loss for 10 months. I lost 13 before MRP and 12 after. I find MFP extremely helpful. It has helped me from overindulging. Also my friends at MFP help keep me on track with their hard work and with their working through their struggles with becoming healthy. Thank you to all. :drinker:
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    I don't count calories. I just count grams of carbohydrates. why would you count calories? their kind of irrelevant.

    not sure if serious.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I promise you, if you stop, you'll gain it all back
    I didn't. I followed the basic principles of the way I chose to eat. I'd log if I started eating a new food, or if the scale crept up. But no, I didn't log for 10 years. And did NOT gain it all back.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I don't count calories. I just count grams of carbohydrates. why would you count calories? their kind of irrelevant.

    not sure if serious.
    What the difference?
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
    I don't count calories. I just count grams of carbohydrates. why would you count calories? their kind of irrelevant.

    not sure if serious.
    What the difference?

    Because this person believes that the number of carbohydrate grams is important, but the number of calories is irrelevant which is ridiculous.
  • IronMan_DuhamNC
    IronMan_DuhamNC Posts: 52
    I don't understand. if you counted calories and properly proportioned your food the whole way down ,you should be able to look at the foods your eating and know instantly if you're following a proper diet. By your own admission, you have not learned what you needed. Maintaining is simple. 33% carbs, 33% fats, and 33% Protein, combined with exercise. Find your new BMR+Exercise+Daily activity= Daily Goal. It no longer has to be difficult eat only until you're full no more.
  • pamfm
    pamfm Posts: 93 Member
    It sounds like you still need to count for a while, but you need to get out of the mindset of staying UNDER a calorie goal. Aim for within +/-100 calories each day (but don't freak out when you're off. Pay attention to what you're eating, how much an ounce of a food looks like, and feels like...
    When you get more comfortable, try just writing down your food and exercise for a week, and then log it all later to see how close you got to averaging your goals for the week. This will help you learn to remember caloric values on your own, and "count" calories without logging.
    I personally only log calories occasionally to see if I'm still within my target range, and especially if I experience a change in my routine (start eating something I rarely used to have, start waking up earlier and thus getting snacky, etc.). I have lost and/or maintained off and on for over a year, depending entirely on my activity level (I eat enough to maintain if I'm being lazy and not working out).

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