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

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Replies

  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Yes. I also intend to continue going to the gym for the rest of my life and working on my fitness goals.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
    Nah, I've taken numerous breaks and proved to myself I can maintain pretty reasonably when I'm not counting.

    Keeping track of my carbs/fat/protein numbers pushes me to make more diverse choices in my diet however, and I feel better for it, so I wouldn't necessarily mind tracking even if I didn't think I'd need it.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Yup.
  • babeontherun
    babeontherun Posts: 10
    No. Once the healthy habits are a normal part of life, I will stop.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    I read somewhere that they suggest weighing your food once a week to check you are still within your portions, so my plan is to start easing up now for the holidays (I have noticed I was getting a little obsessed now and the rest of my 'goal' is vanity anyways) and then check where I stand in January. I'll still weigh myself, but I got up last night because I remembered I hadn't logged some cucumber and that's just not normal (it was like 5 calories) :blushing:
  • cathylopez1975
    cathylopez1975 Posts: 191 Member
    Even though I continue to lose (slowly) I quit counting calories some time ago. I felt like I was obsessing and stressing, so I quit. But I keep up with my macros and make sure to include plenty of fresh fruit and veggies at mealtime.
  • chubbybword123
    chubbybword123 Posts: 54 Member
    Yep, it keeps me accountable. Plus I feel like I can eat anything I want without effing up my weight loss.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    i expect to have to portion control and log
  • jents4
    jents4 Posts: 7
    I'm hoping it will just come naturally after a while...knowing how much I should eat
  • JulieAnnRap
    JulieAnnRap Posts: 8
    I haven't counted calories in the 3 months of "dieting". I hate counting calories, therefore I limit my diet now to vegetables, fruit, legumes, and whole grains. I find this much easier than counting points or calories, though that might sound crazy to some. :-)
  • odddrums
    odddrums Posts: 342 Member
    No, I plan to live for quite awhile. Someday I'll just be using it a bit, then one day I'll just stop caring...and I'll still be as happy and healthy as ever.
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
    Yes... I've already proven to myself that I can't be trusted to keep macros / weight where they are to be without doing it.
  • nicole1278
    nicole1278 Posts: 1
    I think I will. fell off the wagon and had 5 kg's back on within no time... :( ah well... got to have something to do hey? :)
  • xDawnsgrace
    xDawnsgrace Posts: 436
    In august i stopped logging and maintained my weight range of 110-114. I didn't count, but i listened to hunger cues. So if that still is true once i reach my goal weight, then no, i won't count- unless i see the number go up.
  • PapaverSomniferum
    PapaverSomniferum Posts: 2,670 Member
    of course!

    After a couple years, counting calories has become habit anyways.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I've been in maintenance for a year and I still log. Not really because of calories since I know about how much to eat to maintain, but because of my macros. I suck at getting enough protein if left to my own devices. Also I may do some bulking and cutting at some point and I would need to count for that.

    It takes me 10 minutes to log (less if I'm eating foods I've had before) so I don't mind doing it.
  • Oh_Allie
    Oh_Allie Posts: 258 Member
    I did this all once before and gained it all back and then some, so I'll have to count calories for a good long time after hitting maintenance. I have a good handle on portions and only eating when I'm hungry now, but old habits are easy to fall into and I really don't ever want to do this all over again.
  • Just_Kim_
    Just_Kim_ Posts: 38 Member
    yes
  • akathatoneguy
    akathatoneguy Posts: 38 Member
    At this point, I don't mind doing it at all. If I was having to add everything up and write it in a notebook or something, that'd be different, but having an app on your phone and being able to do it in a few minutes a day is hard to argue with.

    Plus, even when I hit my goal weight I'll want to know where my protein is at each day, and I may still be trying to make fine adjustments by eating above maintenance for awhile to put on a bit of muscle or cutting down a bit from time to time.
  • muwchck
    muwchck Posts: 261 Member
    Not exactly. I hope to learn healthier habits so that I can continue on with my life without a fear of turning back. Of course, I'm not to the end of my weight loss by any means either. As I've seen others say, I'll watch the scale, and if I see numbers going up, I'll track religiously again to see where I'm going wrong.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
    Yep. I have no intention of putting the weight back on, and I also have some macro goals that I like to hit. Logging is easy, quick, and it works.
  • melfitnesspal13
    melfitnesspal13 Posts: 378 Member
    I have two options:
    1. Count calories
    2. Be fat.

    I'll count calories. At least 5 days/wk. Basically forever or until I'm too wrinkled to care about being fat.

    DITTO - I have a long way to go yet but HECK YES!!
  • LisaDunn01
    LisaDunn01 Posts: 173 Member
    Counting calories becomes completely unnecessary when your food doesn't come with labels.

    https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1460266_245062662316452_969547527_n.jpg
  • cevalid
    cevalid Posts: 59
    No.

    I have an obsessive personality, so I know that even if I manage to get to my goal I will struggle to stop counting and logging. I do want to develop a healthy relationship with food and a good sense of what my body needs (almost all of us are here because we haven't managed to do that). To me that means learning roughly how big my portions should be, what high calorie dense foods to avoid most of the time, and how to enjoy amazing nutritious and yummy food- when I'm actually hungry.
  • toofatandy
    toofatandy Posts: 74 Member
    No. On reaching my optimum weight.
    Will eat normal 6 days a week ( no junk food)
    Fast or restrict to 500 cals one day a week.
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member
    No.

    I have an obsessive personality, so I know that even if I manage to get to my goal I will struggle to stop counting and logging. I do want to develop a healthy relationship with food and a good sense of what my body needs (almost all of us are here because we haven't managed to do that). To me that means learning roughly how big my portions should be, what high calorie dense foods to avoid most of the time, and how to enjoy amazing nutritious and yummy food- when I'm actually hungry.
    The problem I have, and I'm very nervous about this, is that I was a normal weight until I was, hmm, late 30s. I then gained weight, very slowly, and didn't notice.......... didn't notice?? I've managed to lose 10 -20lb a couple of times but as soon as I stop "dieting" the weight creeps back on. It seems as soon as I stop monitoring what I eat I start eating too much again - not a huge amount probably no more than an extra 200 calories a day, extra granola for breakfast or a slice of toast as a snack would do it.
    Now, this time, I'm not dieting, this is a lifestyle change which is going to be forever, I'm the lowest weight that I've been for the last 15 years and I really believe that I will get to my target but I don't think I'll ever be confident enough to stop logging and weighing - the maintenance phase is the bit that worries me most. However, not a problem at the moment I probably won't get there till next February or March, but I am worried about this, I don't want to sabotage all my hard work again!:noway:
  • eversosquidly
    eversosquidly Posts: 59 Member
    When I decided to change my lifestyle and opt for healthy eating, I knew that I'd be logging my food for the rest of my life. And here's why I don't mind: when I note what I eat, I feel fuller. If I have to guess all day, I'l absolutely eat more than necessary. Beyond that, if I go to a restaurant and I want to know how much of my daily calories I'm putting away in one sitting, MFP is super helpful with that. MFP has saved me in several situations when I otherwise would have eaten something.

    Back when I started MFP for the first time, I'd gotten a dessert from Cracker Barrel. And I was enjoying it. Until my sister told me what all I was eating. Last year, I'd sit in my car and easily put away three thousand calories worth of food for one meal. I never want to be that unaware again. So, yes. I'll be counting for the rest of my life. However: I won't be counting obsessively. I'll be making note of what I eat. But if I don't weigh my chicken, I don't care. I try not to sweat the small stuff.
  • joybedford
    joybedford Posts: 1,680 Member
    I don't find logging and counting calories a hassle at all. It is second nature now to log what I eat and I enjoy it. MFP is a part of my life. Counting macros drives me a little crazy I tend to stress over the little things and at times become obsessive.
  • padams2359
    padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
    Working on macros now, so yes. Other than that, not really. As with many of us, creatures of habit, learning what portions of what foods we like, along with paying attention to our bodies should make it unnecessary. Only time will tell.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    Yes I really do. I tried not counting for the first 50 years and that didn't work out so well.
    LOL i like this^^

    I think that if we look at MFP as "new way of life" and not "short/long term diet" then yes - I will continue to count/weigh my food and keep an eye on my exercise. I hope that I will simply continue along this path of making sure to exercise in some way every day and watch what/how much i eat. i hope that if and when i'll something that is out of the norm (birthday cake, special occasion, etc), i will use the tools i learned here to make up for the extra calories (eat less the rest of the day, add more exercise). I hope that i will continue, even at a special event, to make healthy choices - not saying not to have the cake or the fried chicken, but have a small piece and some fruit with it. or have the chicken with salad and vegetables - not fries. etc.

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