Counting calories forever

cookieinbk82 · August 2014

I'm less than 10 pounds away from my goal weight. 7 pounds to be exact. Which got me thinking...do I have to count calories forever? I am used to counting my calories of MFP so it's not a big deal if I continue to count calories. I'm just wondering if everyone is going to count calories forever if not, when do you plan on stopping?

alereck · August 2014

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.

snowflake930 · August 2014

I will never stop.
Yes, I do know what portion sizes look like, and I do know not to overindulge.
But...................I know myself. I need to keep logging to keep myself from straying back to where I was 2-1/2 years ago.
I will be counting calories forever.
That is me. Everyone may be different.

Francl27 · August 2014

Nope, I'll never stop.

luckydays27 · August 2014

I sure hope that I can stop but its been 6 months since I hit my goal and I still dont trust myself to stay on track all the time. I can do pretty well but I am sure that if I dont have a counter to look at, i will screw it up.

kit_liu · August 2014

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.

GBO323 · August 2014

There is a middle ground here. If you're at goal, take a try at not counting yet keep a weekly or monthly date with the scale.

Give yourself a range as the body will fluctuate +/- 5 pounds. If you get way off, then calorie counting is for you.

SezxyStef · August 2014

simply yes...

maybe not as strict but yes...

Ideabaker · August 2014

I always hope I'll be able to "eyeball" meals and stay within my maintenance range, but when I've tried for a few weeks, the pounds seem to creep back up.

Right now, it looks like I'll be logging my calories for the unforeseeable future to stay on track!

fizzletto · August 2014

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.

hirsh · August 2014

i have been on mfp for a few years now, and every time i stop logging, i eventually start gaining weight. i think i am one of the sad cases of food addicts. if i don't stop and log, i may overeat and just stop caring in the moment. i wish i could just stop logging and not eat too much, but for me, the very act of logging makes me cool my big fat face.

rosebette · August 2014

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.

SherryTeach · August 2014

I do not plan to stop logging. I know that it would lead to regaining the weight I lost. Since it takes less than 5 minutes a day, I don't see the problem. There are many routines that I perform every day; I'm not going to stop doing those things either. Just part of an accountable, organized life.

strassenkoenigin · August 2014

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.

ancurtis · August 2014

I've been logging each day for over 800 days and for a bit longer before I got 'serious' about the everyday thing. It's part of my routine. I weigh right at 110-112 which is an ideal weight for me. I've been there for a while so my 1500-1600 a day maintenance is working. I like to log. Only takes a few minutes. Should I ever need to loose I wouldn't want to be out of the routine.

sun_fish · August 2014

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.

Calliope610 · August 2014

At day 574, I still have 20-40lbs to lose. When I get where I want to be based more on body comp and strength than on a weight on the scale, don't know whether or not I will continue to count calories. But I do know that I will continue to weigh myself daily and make adjustments to my daily diet accordingly.