When to stop counting calories?

@ wendy, that I do agree! but it won't be your true TDEE. Your true tdee, is the level of you being active correspondence for a lack of a better word to your height and weight and what your body requires with NO further activities which I am sure most of us know this, but yes, if you want to lose weight then "lowering" your level or how active you are can def. change things for you I can see that. like mine is supposed to be around 1900, but, if i want to lose weight i def. do not eat all those calories back to create a greater deficit when combined with a workout regime. so good deficits are created. Eating things from the center of the store like packaged foods and macaronis is totally sabotaging that TDEE so technically , one should not get whatever they want from the center of the store if weightloss is on the topic LOL I mean that doesn't make sense. Now if you work things into your daily goals then yes ok fine whatever floats your boat=). But you don't want to eat fattening stuff all day even if its within your calorie allowance for the day. Cellulite-city can we say? I mean everything in moderation is key. I do shop from the center isles in the store but I don't hover there and get majority of my food from the produce and outer skirts of the grocers is most beneficial to a healthy life!:) Thats what I find when you go about things that way in regards to food and calories consistently, is more effective. I mean it doesn't have to be so complicated. Eat good food more and bad food less, be active and as much as possible for best results = a fantastic quality of life that no money can ever buy thus leaving one literally richer than the majority of Americans' even millionaires ..

I hope that wasn't strictly to me:) because I very well know what they are just cause i don't explain everything in my replies doesn't mean idk if that wasn't to me ok that is fine and I didn't know.

Totally agree I also see myself as a life long mfp member

I started counting calories with no intention of actually losing weight, I just wanted to know that I wasn't eating too much over the UK recommended amount of 2000 calories per day for women - I worked out my BMR plus the Harris Benedict Equation, using an online calculator last July and it spat out 2100 ish, so I manually set my daily calorie limit to 2000.
Over the last 9 months I've logged everyday, but changed my app of choice to mfp in November, and I probably average about 1800 a day and have lost 26lbs. I started off at 158lbs which I didn't think was a "bad" weight for my height of 5'7" and I'd been the same weight for about 3 years.
I agree with other posters - logging gets to be a daily habit and is quick and easy to do, I'm not sure I want to stop logging, I can eyeball most things and I know so much more about food and calorie content now, so I would probably be ok, and if my clothes got tight I know I would cut back, but at the moment I'm happy logging.
(I don't even look at macros - a lot of the UK food submissions don't have an awful lot of the macro data on them, so it's all a bit pointless.)

Maintenance CAN be achieved when you learn you TDEE. It is what the number of calories you need RIGHT NOW without working out. Mine is near 2,000 but even to maintain I would like to stick to 1,500. I am a little below that to lose weight. But having a regular time for activity I don't think i will ever worry about weight but just adjust it to my needs. And everyday is different. Some days you had enough sleep so you won't be s hungry-go for low. Other days you feel ravenous like I have been then increase activity and watch your portions if there will be an occasional treat...

Can I ask why you would want to lower your TDEE? Surely being able to eat more and still maintain is a good thing...?

I'm pretty sure it's confusion about what TDEE actually means. Personally, I've been deliberately going slowly with my weight and lifting heavy to ensure that I don't lower mine. I food! :drinker: :devil:

My answer is:
Look at the "success stories" on here. Tally up how many say they are STILL monitoring calorie intake versus those who say they "just quit" and are maintaining their desired weight. When you have those numbers, you'll have your answer.