Is it possible to maintain weight without counting calories

It's absolutely possible! From my own experience, I know that I will always have to track my food and exercise to keep the weight off. That's just my reality.

My plan for maintenance (which is what I did pretty successfully for a while a few years ago, and some of my more-successful friends have done) is to stop counting calories, but continue to weigh yourself weekly or semi-weekly. That way, you catch yourself before you regain too many pounds (or lose more than you want because you're used to eating at a deficit) and can adjust your diet that way.

It's possible. But definitely difficult if you don't periodically weigh yourself and make a concious effort to maintain.

Falling back into bad habits is very easy when you don't have the reminder of your daily calorie goal in front of you.

I am curious about this too. For almost 7 years I have been keeping track of every calorie that I consume, and lately I'm sick of it. I'm never happy with food or myself anymore. I've kept the weight off, which makes me so proud of myself but I know people who have never had weight issues who eat whatever they want and don't keep track and never get heavy. Is that a possibility for me too?

yep! i tried to lose weight not counting, ended up maintaining for a year.

I'm not currently counting/tracking and I'm maintaining within a 3lb window

I can. My problem with weight gain has always been more related to trying to make myself pass out by eating large quantities of food (an eating disorder) rather than knowing how or what to eat. I've been counting since I was in 2nd grade and often restricting would get me in a binge/restrict cycle. I know how many calories are in most foods, so for me the issue is just making good choices. I know people say there are a no good or bad foods, but for me, some foods just don't work as well as others and some are more trouble than they are worth FOR ME.

I often do the best just watching my portions and choosing healthy foods and learning to eat when I am hungry only. This means you have to keep junk out of the house though if you can't manage it easily. Don't make it harder on yourself. Just enjoy it at restaurants or parties in limited quantities, etc.

Basically my philosophy is that you can have one of two freedoms:

1) count calories and eat WHATEVER you want as long as it fits in your calorie goals; or
2) eat mostly lean proteins, fruits/veggies, with a bit of of dairy and grains, in reasonable portions without counting. Save your treats for special occasions, not every day.

I like the 2nd but most people like the first. I would rather cook at home more and so it works for me. I'm not saying you can't eat whatever you want and not count calories, but you are giving yourself a hard task. I also feel better when I have a really nutrient dense diet so I feel better on option #2 vs. #1 but for most people counting is easier and more manageable than re-arranging how they eat.

Right now I am following an athletic performance based eating plan so I am counting the heck out of my macros and calories but if I did not have a specific thing I was training for, I would just maintain by not counting. I did for the prior 8 months.

P.S. Don't slack off on your activity and then blame it on food either. If you cut back on activity, cut back on food.

It's absolutely possible! From my own experience, I know that I will always have to track my food and exercise to keep the weight off. That's just my reality.

Oops... AND weight. I'll also need to track my weight forever I'm ok with it though... It's all become a part of my lifestyle. Tracking doesn't really bother me.

^^Yup

Between my years of doing bulks and cuts, I basically ended up with a cookbook of meals and desserts that I ate. The funny thing is most meals and desserts have about the same amount of calories. Thus, after I was done counting calories, I knew exactly what I was eating. If I see that I've gained 2-3 lbs of actual fat, then I just reduce calories for a bit to go back down.

MFP logs have taught me what foods to eat more off and which ones to eat less or avoid, technically I log all my entries at the end of the day, and I rarely now see myself go over my calorie goal, so yeah it's certainly possible.

Why don't you try it for a few days and see how it goes, eat when you are hungry, drink lots of water but keep your portions small. You know that you can't get like crap 6x a day to maintain your smaller figure, so eat like your counting calories but don't track them. Keep up with your exercise, I know I cant maintain my lowest weight, but I am staying with a 5 pound range of my maintenance goal. iI am maintenance but I am still counting my calories, but sometimes I do slack off and I am fine. When I over indulge on one day I ramp up my exercise and eat less for a few days afterwards.

I haven't racked calories in over 2 years.

For me, it is very difficult to maintain without counting cals. Too many bad habits I fall back into. Many of the other responders have methods to keep themselves on track (weighing, tight clothes, etc). But for me, I'm sorry to say, I have to keep track, otherwise I will eventually start to gain again.

Absolutely. I maintained for 2.5 months without tracking. Tracking again now cause I am trying to go up a bit in weight, but will stop tracking all together once I get a system/schedule down.

It's definitely possible, but if you're one that has to track calories to lose weight or you stall, it might be beneficial to maintain while counting calories for a while. Until you can train yourself to know what portion sizes are and get really good at estimating, I'd say to keep counting.

I'm one of those that would eat everything in sight if I didn't physically see everything I've eaten written down, so I will be counting calories forever. But it doesn't bother me.