Lost 80 lbs and never counted calories!

If I eat correctly during the week?
So what you are saying is that I should be mentally keeping track of everything I eat and my activity level and hoping that I don't forget anything in order to make sure I'm at a deficit, I hope, each week? And then I should trust my intuition/memory to know if I can have some high calorie treat, instead of having the documentation and confidence to be sure it fits? If I'm not keeping track, how do I know if I can even have that apple with yogurt tonight, and do I have room for some granola on that? At 200-300 calories, that's not unhealthy or indulgent, but, it could cut my deficit in half if I'm already at my goal for the day...which I wouldn't know if I wasn't logging it all.

How exactly is all that mental keeping track better than actually writing it down and not having to worry about it? I don't have a regular schedule where I eat my meals at a specific time and only eat at those times, and only eat a specific kind of thing in specific amounts at specific times...nor do I want a schedule like that. If every day is different...well, I just can't (and don't want to) spend so much mental energy thinking about how much I've eaten. I can write it down and forget it. You seem to look down on logging because it's stressful and obsessive...for some if us, logging it all allows us NOT to stress and obsess.

As I said, IF IT WORKS FOR YOU, that's awesome. I'm glad you've found a sustainable method that works for you, and I hope it keeps working that way even as you approach your goal and a couple hundred calories a day starts to make a difference...but the tone you are taking with those of us who are pro-logging is condescending. Please stop insisting that a method that is working for so many people is unnecessary, just because it's unnecessary for you. I would hate for a newbie to become discouraged because they read something that makes them feel like logging is too stressful, too obsessive and they should be better than that and not need it.

I'm honestly not sure if you simply don't understand what people are saying to you, or are just being deliberately obtuse because they're not saying what you want to hear. There have been several good points that people have made that you seem to be ignoring:

1. You are young. Yes, you've acknowledged that it is an advantage, but you don't seem to grasp the enormity of what that means. It's not just metabolism slowing down with age. Aging also means joint issues, mobility issues, range of motion issues, and a host of other issues which can affect a person's ability to exercise and lose weight. I'm 35, and the difference between what I was physically able to do at 29 and now after having two children is startling. And I've never been overweight in my life, I'm here to lose weight put on during a difficult pregnancy that also resulted in joint damage.

2. You had a lot of weight to lose. Several people have pointed this out. It's the science of weight loss. The less you have to lose, the less wiggle room you have in your calories. So while eating a certain way and eyeballing things may work for you, it's not going to be that way for people with less to lose. A few extra calories here and there can make a really big difference.

3. You're making a lot of assumptions. You may have gained weight from being lazy and stuffing your face with fried food, but that is not the case for everyone here. So while it is great that getting exercise and making better food choices was the key to your weight loss, it's not going to apply to everyone. Some people gained weight from medical issues, changes in lifestyle, stressful life events, etc. There are users here who gained their weight over a matter of years. As in, went from an active job to a management position desk job and put on 20 lbs over 5 years. These aren't people who are inactive or eating poorly, they simply had a priority shift (which also happens with age and increased responsibilities, btw) and those changes to their TDEE meant weight gain.

4. Not everyone on MFP who counts calories has or has had a weight problem. Plenty of people use it to track calories and macros to meet their training goals. We're not all here for the same reason.

You've found something that works for you, and that's wonderful. But you don't need to put other people down as not being as enlightened about weight loss as you tout yourself to be simply because they take another approach that fits their needs and their lifestyle.

I think it's funny how some of us calorie counters seem threatened when someone is doing something different ! All of these " this is a calorie counting site". This site is so much more than a calorie in/ out log. There is tons of information about exercise. Many motivational threads. Success stories. Challenges. You can find groups that cover every exercise and eating choice. If the only purpose of MFP was to count calories it would not be as popular or as useful. So in an area about motivation and support - let's be supportive! Congratulations on your weight loss.

The most supportive thing anyone has said in this thread. Thank you for understanding the context of my post. Also, thank you to the others who also acknowledged my point and congratulated me. I was able to break my weight barrier by joining this website and learning from you guys. Seems to be more negative people on here than I thought. To the poster that said I have a lot of weight to lose and that I'm still a young guy....Go Figure!!! That is why I am here! And I am proud of my youth and wouldn't trade it for the world. Enjoying life.

I'm the one who said you're a young guy with alot to lose and that's why your plan is working--you don't get it at all. As you get older this won't work. It's easier to lose when you're younger. In 20 years I'd like to see you on this plan of yours. However, I don't want you to fail, and I don't think anyone on MFP wants that. All of the negative comments are from people that have seen it before. They are just trying to inform you to be careful as you get closer to goal so you won't stall. I think that's nice even if you don't.

What nonsense.

What do you think all those millions of human beings did to lose weight BEFORE the calorie was ever discovered? Or in the many parts of the world today where caloric labeling is spotty, at best, and access to calorie counting material is equally as unreliable? And sorry, not all of them were in their 20s.

Lets get real. Calorie counting has almost as abysmal long term statistics as any other weight loss method. It does not, even remotely, give you any kind of significant advantage for long term results, regardless of age.

To tell somebody that when they get old they're likely to fail if they don't calorie count, yet acting like calorie counting has been proven to be the holy grail, is so disingenuous. The VAST majority of people eventually fall off the calorie counting bandwagon. They get frustrated with walking that tightrope, rebel, and dive right off. Don't believe me? Check the statistics and studies.

If people learned to eat intuitively, as we once did naturally, we wouldn't even need calorie counting apps. Also learning to buck modern western society's obsession with avoiding hunger is helpful. We once understood hunger, and delayed gratification, was an absolutely normal, expected occurrence. Yes, it's going to be very difficult to lose without counting and logging for the rest of your life if you panic every single time a little hunger, or craving, comes knocking.

Honestly, it is true that counting all the time isn't the way to live. Counting i believe is the stepping stone to learning healthier choices and to learn your bodies ques at what is enough to eat vs what feels like enough to eat. This site and counting have helped me greatly. I've learned a lot and i can see more and more just how much i should be eating each day (visually.) When i get down to my goal weight i will run through maintenance to see how much i should be visually feeling and how it makes me feel and then eventually i'll stop counting when i feel that i can comfortably make the right choices for each meal. It's all to ones own preference. Helps some but not others! Congrats on your loss by the way!