Do you expect to count calories the rest of your life?

If I expect to keep the weight off, yeah.

Yes.

If that is what it takes to help me maintain (once I get there).

Occasionally.

At maint, I'd keep an eye on the scale .. if it creeps up a little, a couple days of calorie counting will be in order ..

Otherwise, there's no need.

I hope not. It is sort of annoying. I dont mind doing it now to lose but by the time I hit goal I hope that my eating habits will have shifted enough that I will naturally stay at or around the same weight. If not, then I will be back!

I intend to weigh my foods when I can, and count calories yes. I have found that calories add up VERY quickly and keeping track helps me alot. To each their own though!

Not exactly, though I do have an emergency contingency in my maintenance plan (not there yet) that triggers at certain size or weight thresholds; and you can bet that if that happens I'll be counting again.

If I expect to keep the weight off, yeah.

^

I'm not sure, at this point it's kinda hard to stop analyzing how much of what is in what... almost second nature...

Yes and no. I expect to use it as a tool for the rest of my life but I have a goal range in mind. My plan is to hit the bottom of the goal range, maintain that for a couple months, then stop counting. If I go out of the top of the goal range, I'll start counting again. My goal for life is to never stay out of the goal range.

I expect to have to be aware of what I eat for the rest of my life. Whether or not it will require meticulous counting, weighing and measuring remains to be seen. But if that is what it will take then yes. I will doso forever. I cannot and will not go backwards. I am not dieting, I am making a lifestyle change. I figure by the time I get to maintenance it will be pretty much a habit and a little guestimating will probably occur. And, like another mentioned if I gain a little I will get more meticulous until I am back on track. I want to see my grandchildren one day and while I am old enough to be a grandmother today, my kids are not old enough to be parents...so I will do whatever I have to do.

CW

No, just carbs.

And keep an eye on the scale.

Yes, I'm not sure I could stop now and don't want to. It helps me a lot!! but when I maintain if I miss a day every now and again I won't freak out. But yes, cause I don't ever want it to get out of hand again.

If you think counting calories every single day is the "lifestyle" that everyone speaks of, you are most certainly missing the boat. You should be using this time to learn how to eat...learn portion control...learn what your calories look like and how much of whatever you need to fuel your body. You should be focused on proper nutrition and fitness...that is the "lifestyle"...fitness and proper nutrition should be your life time endeavors.

I've been maintaining for 7 months and do not count...I apply the things I learned while I was losing to my day to day life...I continue maintain a diet rich in nutrient dense foods...lots of veg, fruit, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats...and as importantly, I continue to rock my fitness.

Maintenance is actually really easy...your body naturally wants to maintain weight...the biggest mistake people make is simply going back to old habits...and they so closely associate their fitness with weight loss that they fail to set independent fitness goals...and they just stop working out once they've crossed some arbitrary finish line and reached some arbitrary scale weight.

Take this time to learn...and then apply your knowledge in maintenance...and for the love of god, get your fitness on...it is as much or even more important in maintenance than it is for losing.

I think so, but maybe by the time I get to target I won't need to?
I've lost weight and then put it back on before, I really don't want to do that again so maybe weighing, measuring and counting for ever is the better option.