Do you guys really count calories?

I dont get why you wouldnt?
Its all down to chemicals and math...

you wouldnt build a concoction of chemicals with a splash of this and a splash of that, youd measure them out.

the same as making a shepards pie, you would grab a bit of potato and some mince and expect a pie to form.

you should measure and calculate everything. takes about 2 minutes to log each meal, and manual scales are about £3.

you get a sense of joy from knowing what youve logged has been weighed and the numbers are as accurate as you could get them. its a mental cleanse as well as a physical one.

I have to log every single calorie that I eat. When I stop logging, that's when I get off track & the weight goes back on. I find the logging a real motivator!

I measure and log 85-90% of what I eat. In other words, I do it fairly religiously.

However, once you've been doing it for a while, and you know that you have, say, 400 calories left for the day, and you're out at a restaurant, you can kind of guess about how much that steak weighs, and that sort of thing. When I am being conscious of my caloric intake, I usually eat plain foods at restaurants--in other words, it's much easier to look at a slab of meat and know how much there is than to try to guess what went into a pasta sauce.

If you're looking at maintaining, it's a good idea to log religiously for a few weeks to find out at what number you maintain. Then you have that for reference, and if you wanted to ignore logging until you see a gain or a loss, you know what number to add to or subtract from in order to get back to your goal. If you really are at maintenance, then you don't necessarily need to log unless your weight has changed.

That being said, one of the key the benefits of logging is that you really get a good idea of what you're putting into your mouth, as other people have mentioned here. If you've never logged calories, you DON'T actually think, "that cup of coffee has milk and sugar in it, which have calories." Or you don't realise just what three pieces of pizza mean, to use the examples listed earlier.

Experience with logging can help you make good decisions. For example, I know the difference in calories between a skinless chicken breast fillet and one that is deep fried from KFC. So if I am really craving that one from KFC, I can allow myself to have it if I work it in. On the other hand, if my goal is to lose, and I'm just feeling hungry, I know that I can have twice as much of that fillet.

Looks like I am one of the few who rarely logs. But I have a common set of a few workday breakfasts and lunches I usually eat (and have logged them in the past) and don't snack on the job, so I am really only ball parking the night time and weekend food. Mostly what I did while losing 55 pounds and what I am doing now to maintain is mix days that I am sure are under goal with days that are around or over and keep an eye on the scale and the belt. I adjust the mix of days as needed. The good news is that lately it has been needing more days that aren't below.

I never measure and I never log on here. But I do count my calories on some days. I eat a very similar diet the majority of the time so I tend to know my general calorie intake without bothering to count.

Guesstimating my calories is what got me in trouble to begin with! So yes, I weigh and measure all of my food.

I log everything but do not weigh, just measure with measuring cups and go by estimation. I have been losing weight consistently so I don't feel I need to weigh. I also have 3 children and really don't want them seeing me weighing food. I think weighing food might be necessary if you are trying to be spot on with everything.

Yes, I faithfully log & measure everything. I was totally shocked to find out that what I THOUGHT I was eating was not what I was REALLY eating. I love MFP as it keeps me on my goals & I can review my reports to see when I am off track & on track & see what is working & what is not.

Also, daily water has been a "biggie" for my weight lost success.

P.S. I am loosing inches faster than lbs.

After a while of tracking, when you look at food....all you see are calorie numbers, grams of protein, sodium levels...etc...

Yeah^

at first it takes a long time than its pretty easy.

Yes. I really do.

There are days, however, where I only track through my afternoon snack and I "rough it' out for the rest of the evening. I also weigh regularly so I can see trends with my eating. I don't plan to ever stop logging!!

This is probably obvious, but figured I would throw it out there, since a common concern is forgetting something if you are trying to keep a rough count in your head. IMO, that comes from being so used to logging that you are using the wrong operation. You don't add anymore; you subtract. Then all you have to remember is one number - what is left. This is calories only and doesn't account for macros. I eat a fairly balanced diet and macros are generally fine.

To count calories - and I do it to a fault since I started on MFP

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Read all labels carefully, if you make something like a salad or one of my breakfast sandwiches - count the ingredients individually and add together and divide by the portion you eat.

I log in to MFP and let it worry about the calories. I don't. I DO worry about the carbs. if you're interested in reducing FAT, focus on the carbs over the calories.

I'm a **** cook, I only really eat quorn products and things that have clear labels. I'm aware that labels can be off a bit but I'm doing well so far. I try to log every day -I did take a week off of logging whilst I was on holiday though. Honestly, I had some freakish adrenaline rush from being 'normal' with food but I was estimating in my head anyway.

I've tracked calories for years and years so my estimates are pretty slap-bang on the mark.

Sometimes things happen and you find yourself eating mac and cheese in a resturant and you really curse yourself for you caloric know-how. If anything can put you off junk foods it's the big scary numbers, so in that sense calorie tracking is extremely important.

Edit: don't jump into estimating, it comes naturally when you weigh for a long time.

I don't count calories anymore. I stopped counting when I went into maintenance. I have still been working on fitness I just adjust intake based on what I have learned through this experience. I feel more normal since being able to maintain without having to count calories. Calorie counting and ocd (actual diagnosed ocd) don't always get along. As long as I continue to see results I see no need to log food intake.