calorie counting is impossible in the long run

I wouldn't say it is impossible. I'd say it is a matter of preference. Some come here to learn how to just portion control their food and then take what they learn and leave. Others will continue to count calories as it is their preference, and they consider it to help them the best to keep themselves on track. I'm trying to learn how to not count calories and lose weight. I have been successful so far. I do not want to count calories forever personally.

I spend probably five minutes a day on average to track food using my iphone, it's not exactly an obsession or an impossibility. Tracking gives me freedom, because without it I would feel too uncomfortable eating food that I like. Now I just eat whatever and make sure I don't blow my caloric budget.

Option 1: Lose weight by logging calories to ensure caloric deficit, when weight is off, stop logging as to not become obsessed. Fall back into old habits and put weight back on.
Option 2: Lose weight by logging calories to ensure caloric deficit, when weight is off, eat and log maintenance calories and keep weight off.

Option 3: Lose weight by logging calories to ensure caloric deficit...while you are doing this, focus on proper eating habits and making overall better nutritional decisions...learning portion control and moderation of not so healthy choices...make healthy eating a "habit" and get your fitness on. Stop logging at maintenance because it's no longer necessary given your new and improved eating and fitness habits that have truly become a "lifestyle" and maintain easily.

That would be me...IMHO, calorie counting isn't the "lifestyle"...the decisions you make are. If you go back to old eating habits and drop your fitness regimen it is because you've failed to actually adopt a sustainable dietary and fitness "lifestyle." Now if you'll excuse me, I have cyclocross practice to attend...

This. I hate logging. Absolutely word-that-MFP-will-replace-with-asterisks HATE it! I do it when I need to lose weight. I reached goal weight a few years ago, stopped logging, and maintained my goal weight for quite a long time. It wasn't until I had several injuries and illnesses that I gained weight again, so now I'm back here trying to lose it again. And when I have, I will stop logging again. Because I hate it. It's a personal choice for everyone; do what works for you.

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I am one of those people who developed the bad kind of obsession while tracking my calories. To the point that I was regularly breaking into tears at restaurants and in my friends' driveways before parties because I knew there would be delicious food there and I would eat more of it than I intended. My therapist and I had an honest discussion about it and I relaxed my thinking and my logging.

I still believe that logging your food and tracking calories is the single best method of dieting and would recommend it in an instant to anyone who asked me how I lost my weight. I don't believe that it leads to disordered eating in all or even a majority of users.

I am currently returning to calorie tracking after putting on about 15 pounds this year. I clearly cannot trust my body's signals alone to maintain my weight. Will I continue tracking forever? I don't know. But for now it will be a necessary tool while I relearn what my body needs.

The recurring pattern I am seeing in some of the posts is this.

1. Log all food and lose weight.
2. When reach goal, stop logging food.
3. Regain some or all of weight.
4. Restart logging food to re-lose the weight.

Lather,rinse, repeat.

How about when you reach goal, continue logging food in some capacity, to stay at maintenance. Result- never re-gain weight and have to re-lose it again.

Makes sense to me.

ETA This wasn't in response to the post above me, or directed at anyone personally who has regained their weight. Just an observation of what many of us do, and therefore pointing out the need to continue logging after we reach goal. Many people do this, and are successful long-term, thereby disputing the title of this thread. It is NOT impossible.

For me its a tool to help me keep it real. I enjoy tracking my food because I can't count calories.

Honestly, I cringe at the thought of tracking my calories forever. When I lost my first 30 lbs I didn't count calories, I made drastic lifestyle changes (sold car, became a vegetarian) that just resulted in weight loss without having to think much about it.. I had bouts of workout periods and regularly weighing myself, but for the most part I ate when I was hungry and weighed myself when I felt like it (maybe every month or two). I stayed at a steady weight with occasional 5 lb fluctuations for a year or so. But after mostly maintaining, there came a period where I realized I wasn't done yet and still had more to go. I'm here because I need to push past stagnating and actually keep definitive track so I can get down to a healthier and more appealing weight for myself. Also, I felt like I was starting to eat really unhealthily, and didn't want my weight to creep up more than 5 lbs.

Don't plan on counting forever, but I do anticipate counting for a few months after I reach goal to learn how to maintain a weight I've never been at before.

I can see where it can become an obsession for some people. I track immediately after eating so I don't forget, so I hit up this place at least 3-4 times a day, sometimes more if I snack a lot. It gets tiresome after a while. I want to pour popcorn directly into a bowl without meticulously measuring it first and feel "normal" again, dammit.

I've been counting calories on and off since I was about 15. I'm 25 now...I've been on MFP for two years, before that I used a tiny notebook that I carried with me. Any time I don't count I gain weight. I guess I just don't know how to control my eating without logging everything that goes into my body. I assume I'm probably going to be counting calories for the rest of my life, and I don't mind it.

Try counting your protiens, starches, veges, fruits, dairy and fats instead. I find this works well for me. Have the recommended daily allowance of each of these and zip...the weight begins to come off. It will be slow...1-2 lbs a week, but that is what you want in the long run. Add in cardio and strength training and your weightloss will be even more significant.

3 weeks in and down 12 lbs.:happy:

OK......Give me your opinion.

calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...

"Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated"

This. What exactly is wrong with calorie counting for the rest of your life? I will need to do it in order to maintain as I cant be trusted to guess. Its not a big deal, really, how long does it take? no time at all!!

Both of these responses, exactly.

The thing is that most things in life require some kind of discipline and counting.
We have tasks at work that we allocate certain days/hours/minutes.
We count our days of hours spent at work, hour allocated for housework, family, friends.
We (should) control our sleeping hours and rest hours.

It's great from time to time to make what the hell we want, when we want, how we want. But we must admit that some things work great when we organize and quantify, not when we go with the flow.

Our bodies are magnificient engines that go by the rules of chemistry and physics. We need certain nutrients in certain quantity ranges to work properly. It's quite difficult to know the right ranges. There are HRMs, metabolism calcultors, etc. but in the end we may never know exactly what nutrients we need and in which quantity at every single moment.

It's important to quantify what goes in and out our bodies. But it is also important to make this an obsession and lose other parts of us and our lifes just because of +100 calories.
There is always a sane middle way.