Counting calories forever

I think that after we’ve been doing this for a while we get a pretty good idea of what a 200 meal or a 500 meal looks like. After a few months of eating around 1600-1800 calories I know what a day like that looks like without having to log. Most days I log at the end of the day and have no problem staying within my calorie goal. I have continued to log because I am trying to slowly build muscle and I do not want to fall short in calories but once I get to where I want muscle wise I will probably stop logging.

I got to the point where the fear of gaining weight again is over. I take progress pics at least twice a month and I still weight myself almost daily. If I see a change I don’t like for a week or two I know I can always go back to logging and lose the weight.

Nope, I'll never stop.

I have a good idea of the calories in all my food after counting religiously for a year now and reached my ideal weight. Ill probably keep counting till I'm confident with maintenance and just go back to counting again when I see my weight go up on the scales.

simply yes...

maybe not as strict but yes...

I'm coming to terms at the moment with the idea that I'll have to. 2-3 years ago I lost lots of weight (about 35 pounds) and after using MFP to maintain my weight for a couple of months, I said to myself "surely I don't need to count calories any more, I'm so used to this by now that I should be able to eyeball it, shouldn't I?"

Yeah no. I gained ALL the weight back, and honestly didn't realise I was overeating. (I wasn't weighing myself because I'd become slightly obsessed with the scale and my family recommended that I stop.)

So now I'm back here again 2 years later and have to start all over again. I'm going to have to track calories forever now I think, because I don't trust myself with being able to guesstimate how much I'm eating.

Yes, I've accepted that I'll have to. At age 55, if I'm plateau'ing at 1200, I have to keep very strict control. That being said -- I had a cheat day when I didn't track yesterday. But I can afford only one of those a week.

I hope that I do not have to count for the rest of my life. I have been doing it now for a little bit over a month and I know exactly which food will add a lot of calories and which will not.
I have resigned to the fact that at my age I have to eat much less and that I have to avoid everything with flour in it. It makes me addicted and I cannot stop eating. I also only eat fresh food, absolutely nothing processed, no fast and no junk food.

I hit my goal weight about a week ago, taking over 2 years to get there. My plan is to not log forever, but just like I had to learn new habits to lose, I am now learning how to eat without logging. I started 2 weeks ago taking one day to not log, last week I didn't log 2 days, and this week I am going to not log Mon-Thurs. I will probably stay with this for a few weeks, continuing to log on Fri-Sun (days where I have the biggest potential to go over). I'll see how that goes and continue to monitor my weight.

I think it is a very individual thing. My goal has always been to eventually not log, but nothing wrong if someone wants to.

I am not planning on stopping

This would be me, too.

I'm going to keep logging when I get to my goal, because it keeps me accountable for what I eat on a daily basis, so I won't have a problem with the weight coming back.

I was logging for over a year but I stopped once I hit my goal weight a few months ago. Since then I have stayed within 3 lbs of that weight, and the gain has been due to extra wine and ice cream, and a little less cardio when I started a new job. Overall I think I have learned enough not to have to count for the rest of my life. Portion control, smart choices, and a little will power should be enough for me to maintain a consistent weight. I hope

In the past I have reverted back after reaching my goal weight at least 20 times. I am a poster child of yo-yo dieting. This time I am more hopeful. with the help of MFP consistent logging and running weekly reports, I have better sense of my weekly intake. I am a food addict. In the past once I indulge for 2-3 days in a row, I would just give up and go back to overeating since I felt it's over. This time I look at my data for last 7 days or so and get a sense that all is not lost.
I am a data person and looking at numbers and graphs motivate me and give me a sense of control. With the help of motion chip in iphone and honestly logging what I eat, I think I can maintain this time. Time alone will tell. After all I have always failed in the past....lol.

why not? it helps keep track of protein, carbs and fat, as well as calories, vitamins and minerals. i logged in a notebook for a while before i found MFP. MFP is much faster and easier.

I have posted this before, but logging is comforting to me. It doesn't take so much time anymore, and I am fine with having to do logging as my safeguard to keep my eating in line and making sure my activity is high enough. I don't want to go back to being out of shape.