I stopped counting!

I stopped tracking when I went into maintenance (6ish months ago), and since then have continued to lose weight here and there. At first I was ok with it, because I liked how I looked (and yes, it's a rush to be able to comfortably wear size 2 jeans :blushing: :laugh: ).

But, I've had to start tracking this week again, after hitting another new low which puts me uncomfortably close to an underweight bmi (I'm about 3 pounds away right now). I decided to start tracking 3-4 days a week and see where I'm at, and the first day was this past Wednesday. I even ate more than I normally did and felt sluggish and icky by the end of the day. With exercise calories factored in I came in at over 300 calories short :noway: No wonder I've been losing weight still!

After thinking about it I've realized two things-1. I've started walking/running AFTER I transitioned into maintenance (I did no exercise at all during active weight loss). Those exercise calories are messing me up to an extent. And then 2. I've started eating a mostly whole foods, plant based diet since transitioning into maintenance and the foods I now eat are ridiculously high in fiber and have a lot of filling power. The old me could scarf down 1,000 calories in french fries and still be hungry. Try eating 1,000 calories in oatmeal :laugh: Soooo-in summary, I don't know what the heck I'm supposed to do next. I think I'm a maintenance failure :sad:

I stopped this weekend. I wrote down everything I ate and when I got to back to work I put it in. I found that I ate less then usual. I was listening to my body and not how many calories I have left.
This was only my first time trying but I think I will try again this weekend.


I think I will try this out this weekend. I'm tired of obsessing about calories and going over my allowed limit. I realized when i maintained my weight on vacation I never counted anything. It was when i started counting again, i started gaining!

When I transitioned to maintenance, I initially logged during the week but not on weekends. In October I set myself the challenge to not log food at all. I essentially eat the same type of food day in day out anyway, with the occasional meal out etc.

I've maintained pretty well over the last month! I've kept up my exercise and have moved onto a more strength-based routine with some added cardio, and I just eat when I'm hungry. Although I do fast once a week (6:1), so that allows me a lot of leeway.

What has changed is the type of food I eat. Whereas before when out, I would have ordered a lasagne with a side of chips & salad, I now order a lovely chicken or seafood salad (without the dressing). And I scoff the lot :drinker: I still drink beer/wine etc, eat ice cream, have the occasional 'treat', but my usual food of choice is high protein, high fibre and low-ish carbs. I now know they are the foods that make me feel good inside and out, so I'm more than happy to continue eating them

I couldn't keep logging food. For me, I get a little too obsessive. I needed to relax a little. I understand why some people will continue to log, and that's awesome. If I had of kept logging my food, my head would have got a little messed up. It's already a little warped, so I need to keep what little sanity I have :laugh:

Even the best systems need constant evaluation and without some point of references ones cannot do that!

However it all comes how bad you want something. I had my ex who lost her job as she really did not like to wake up early in the morning.

I truly believe that to have excellent results you have to undertake sacrifices, but of course most of them fear excellent results.

Anywaw good luck to all of us, with or without logging activity.

Cheers

I usually count from Mon to Fri and on Sat and Sun I don't log on to count calories...this doesn't mean I go crazy...I guestimate calories and I eat some of the same foods so I know more or less - but yeah, counting every day gets tiresome.

Timely topic for me. I had become so obsessed I would not sit down to eat until everything was logged, then I'd start manipulating my plate. Today I made the decision to stop counting for 3 weeks. I am very well versed on nutrition and portion control plus being physically active every day. I needed to give myself a break to get grounded again. I'm not afraid of gaining weight, but will miss the data and...reactive behavior...

Heybales and I were talking and he reminded me: the more repetitive and habit like your eating is, the easier it is to not log. I eat one of 3 things for breakfast every day. I eat one of maybe 5 things for lunch. And we have a number of dinner recipes, and add new ones all the time, but using a handful of whole foods as the primary ingredients. THAT makes up probably 80% of my eating (plus wine with dinner most nights). Intuitive eating isn't too hard if you know what you're eating.

When I go out, if it's a new restaurant or I'm going to try something new you can be sure I'm going to use MFP to look at the nutritional information of what I'm wanting to eat.

I bet many of us know what we eat for 2 of our 3 meals most days and could eat by allotting calories for the third and snacks.

I've been a slave to the numbers.

I'm considering trying a modified version of Paleo starting Monday (11/4) with no logging of food for a month. If I get results, it's probably the way I will move forward. Good luck!

I closed my account after losing 110 lbs in 7 months..L.ived two days without counting and realized I have no idea about calories because MFP was doing all for me. Here I am again. I am a slave lol

Whats your game plan now? Are you going to wean? Or do you plan to count forever?

My plan is to lose 15-20 lbs more and start to live without counting...sounds difficult but I can't keep losing weight forever. Didnt expect it to be that difficult