I stopped counting!

I'm comfortable to continue logging indefinitely because I know that I would undereat out of paranoia if I wasn't counting. I really don't think I look good any thinner than a size 4. I've started doing a lot of pre-logging at the beginning of the day and it helps me plan out a healthy day, and not just binge at the end of the day to get in the leftover calories.

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I think you know you've done well when you don't need to count anymore. Intuitive eating should be everyone's goal.

I only guesstimate, as I am doing warriors diet, and am too lazy to put in my macros here every day. I eat very very few processed carbs...I hate scales too... I've always weighed heavy. No one believes my weight anyhow, and I have four girls who I don't want obsessing. It's how my clothes fit... I was 134 lbs this time last year and a size four...I do a lot of weight training and HIIT, and controlled fatigue training, so, I expect my fat to drop, and muscle weight to stay pretty stable... Cut out the beer, and VOILA! I dropped 12 lbs in six weeks!

I counted for over a year and now have stopped. I always get some form of exercise every day. I make mindful decisions of what I am going to eat. I eat when I am hungry not when I am bored. I stop when I am full.

With counting I started noticing I was obsessing over food too much.

I need to count but I understand not obsessing. The big thing is the habit.

This is stupid, but only checking the maintenance community (which doesn't change much) and not the other lists helps keep me off the site. I actually don't obsess about food. It's just an internet thing that I can get into the habit of.

I have stopped counting too. I am still losing, but at a slower pace, which is fine. I don't have that far to go anyway and I feel so much better eating a bit more. My goal was to stop counting and just maintain for a while, so continuing to lose was a nice bonus.

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

Me too.

I would like to make the gentle suggestion to everyone here that the issue isn't that counting makes you a slave/makes you obsessed/makes you crazy... This is categorically impossible, in the same way owning a gun doesn't "make" you a killer. Fitnesspal is nothing but a tool, and counting calories is the method by which we use that tool - in the same way we brush our teeth with a toothbrush. It is neutral. It cannot "make" you "feel" anything.

The problem is Control. Specifically that people like us (and I lump myself in with this group) HATE having to control ourselves. Deep down, we HATE Accountability. On the other hand, we hate what life is like when we DON'T control ourselves, or submit ourselves to Accountability. We have this constant, unbearable tension going between these two extremes: knowing we can't succeed without controlling ourselves or having some sort of structure that holds us accountable to our actions, yet hating the necessary processes to do so because we have "enjoyed" being passive and unrestrained for so long. I define passivity as ignoring the need to control oneself or submit oneself to structure. Being passive allows us to eat compulsively and without restriction, even though this traps us in a devastating cycle of weight gain and misery. *This* is one of the biggest reasons we became overweight - we never resolved that tension of control vs. passivity. We could not handle the emotional toll this took on us, and thus we gave in to the vicious cycle of compulsively overeating and compulsively dieting.

I believe that instead of believing that real Freedom begins when we *stop* counting, we need to embrace the JOY of living *with* the structure...for life. Joy?! Why would I say Joy? Because one of the most ironic life-truths is that Discipline (such as recording one's calories) brings FREEDOM. Control + Accountability = Discipline and Discipline brings the greatest freedom you'll ever know. Why? Because the thing you want most in the world is to be free over your compulsive overeating and your heavy weight - and you'll never achieve that....without the discipline. Discipline is not temporary. It is a life-long thing. As someone who has tracked every calorie that's gone in her mouth for almost two years - I can personally attest to this phenomenon of absolute Joy and Freedom due to Discipline. And I say this as a gal who would've laughed in my own face had I said this to myself 10 years ago! The thought of counting the rest of life would've sent me to the grave. LOL

I lost almost 70 lbs here on MFP and have maintained it for almost two years. Yeah, I'm still a newbie. But now I consider counting calories as a life-and-death activity. Not as a burden, not as something to make me anxious, not something that's a drag or a drudge. It's a joy. It protects me. It protects me like putting on my seatbelt when driving on the highway, or locking my doors at night. It's that serious for us compulsive folks. We need boundaries and this is such a fantastic way to achieve that.

If you're feeling nutso about counting, I'd maintain that belies a deeper issue that will impact your future success in a way that might not be so positive for you. It shows that you probably still have deeper issues of resistance to discipline and control, anxiety issues, and even issues of compulsivity and obsession. *These*, folks, are the REAL problem. Not calorie-counting. That's the least of your worries. Deal with the emotional issues, resolve those...and watch how quickly you'll learn to love Counting.

Blessings.

You're getting it! Although I'd take it one step further and say it's more like saying, "I have diabetes but I don't like having to take my insulin everyday...so I just won't do it anymore." Freedom from Compulsive Eating is more like treating a disease than just having a want or wish to be thin!

Just want to say I have done this for a month. I have manitained you can do it too. I have not gained or lost any weight. You can do it. I am now felling like getting back to the numbers I have 39 lbs to go.

Not me..very faithful to logging everything so I can stay within my daily goals. This is the only way I can see what I am doing, what works/what doesn't & view reports for the day/week.......if I don't, look out!

Good luck to all of you who have stopped counting. I hope it works for you. For me, I'll be logging for a while. Not logging means I have no idea what the count of some foods are. Not just the calories, but the amount of sugar and such. I am a scan-a-holic. Instead of logging and re-logging the same foods, I grab my phone, hit the bar code scanner and walk away. It's so much easier. I also have several saved meals that I use often. When I get to my allotted calories. I stop. Maybe when I get to goal weight I'll feel the same as some of you who have stopped, but I like having the info as others have stated. Happy logging to the rest of us.

I deleted the MFP app (purposefully) when I was drunk over the weekend because the numbers have been a source of anxiety lately, and I'm working to reduce the anxiety in my life. I've figured out how to eat well, so I am going to try to just make healthy choices and only eat when I'm hungry. I will still weigh and measure and look at calorie counts and have a general idea of where my calories are at for the day, but dealing with the exact numbers is too much for my anxiety.

I haven't counted in 2 months and I can honestly say, I feel so much better!