Counting calories forever

YES!!! What wolfman said!

No fricken way I'm counting calories forever. For me, it's annoying as hell. I'm only going to do it when I'm bulking or cutting. Once that's done with, I'll probably say goodbye to MFP. It's fun, but I don't feel like I could be on here for the rest of my life.

Yes, I will count calories forever,that way I can keep track of the foods I'm eating,when I'm eating,why I'm eating & how much I'm eating. I have been a MFP user since Jan 2013,been 1 and a half years of logging my foods. I have lost 15.7kg & my weight now is 78.5kg. In the present & future I will still use MFP for counting calories forever.

I plan to log forever. Guessing and estimating got me nowhere for 40+ years.

After 6 weeks I've lost 15lbs thanks to MFP - would like to lose another 14lbs.

Six weeks is the longest I've ever stuck to a diet and put that down to being so aware of the calorie count of everything I'm planning to eat.

I think those of us with a tendency to gain weight will forever have to count calories - doesn't mean meticulous logging, as at present for me, but constantly being aware of intake.

That's just how it will be, or the weight will creep back on!

I will keep track of my calories for the rest of my life. I want to be the exception, not the rule when it comes to regaining weight.

I lost the weight and maintained for over a year. Then I stopped logging and weighing myself. The weight came back on. Slowly but in a year, I have gained most back. I am. Ow back to logging and weighing myself. For me, I will have to be accountable forever. It helps

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?

I don't know...have you managed to actually learn anything while you were logging or did you just obsess about the scale?

I've been maintaining for 16 months plus and don't log...logging and keeping a diary is like training wheels on a bike...you're supposed to actually learn to ride without them...it's kind of the point. If you truly turn that corner and make a lifestyle change then logging isn'e necessary. If you just revert back to old ways and the SAD then good luck..and yeah...you'll have to log forever....which really, c'mon...how realistic is that?

The only time I would consider logging is to actually drop weight...maintaining weight is really ****ing easy without logging so long as you're eating right and rocking your fitness...really ****ing easy.

I disagree with this.

If not logging works fine for you that's great.

But I dont think there is any 'supposed to learn to live without training wheels' deal.
Some people have likened it more to cleaning your teeth - you don't eventually learn to keep your teeth clean without brushing- more like brushing takes a few minutes a day and you plan on doing it indefinitely.

Myself I use a maitenance version of logging called approximate loose logging - I still log daily but I don't weigh and measure everything; every mandarine is just a small or medium mandarine, every subway sandwich is just logged as the same one, I don't count lettuce or measure the amount of milk in my coffee.

This keeps me accountable without getting obsessed over it or spending much time on it.

100% Agree! Whether people continue to log or not is a very individual thing. Great teeth brushing analogy!

I use the same "loose logging" approach. no more food scales, just general tracking of food to keep an eye on my macros and micros.

brushing your teeth is essential to your health. Proper nutrition and fitness are essential to your overall health and well being....nutrition and fitness and living a healthful lifestyle is like brushing your teeth. Logging isn't at all necessary for your overall health and wellbeing...logging isn't like brushing your teeth at all. It is a training tool.

How long to you intend to live...I'm, looking at hopefully another 40 - 50 years if not more. I some how find the entire idea that I would be logging in a food diary for the next 40 - 50 years laughable...I mean maybe you will, but somehow I doubt it. It's really not realistic at all.

I don't know, maybe I'm weird...but I can be mindful about what I'm eating and keep a rough tally in my head without logging it on paper...that's just one of the things I learned while I was logging.

No, and I seldom log now.

Here is my current opinion....

Ultimately I think the goal for most people (perhaps not everyone) should be to learn to establish habits such that minimal or no logging is required.

Additionally, if people can log over the long term without it effecting their relationship with food or without it having a negative impact on their life then I don't see any problem with it. But I do think there are many people for whom this does cause some issues, and those people should seek to establish proper eating habits to hopefully get to a place where no or minimal logging is required.

It's not something that can be approached without strategy though. In that, for most people I don't think just "stop logging" is going to likely lead them to being able to maintain weight or to continue to lose weight. I think it requires some attention to habit forming and establishing a general set of guidelines around eating habits/etc.

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?

I don't know...have you managed to actually learn anything while you were logging or did you just obsess about the scale?

I've been maintaining for 16 months plus and don't log...logging and keeping a diary is like training wheels on a bike...you're supposed to actually learn to ride without them...it's kind of the point. If you truly turn that corner and make a lifestyle change then logging isn'e necessary. If you just revert back to old ways and the SAD then good luck..and yeah...you'll have to log forever....which really, c'mon...how realistic is that?

The only time I would consider logging is to actually drop weight...maintaining weight is really ****ing easy without logging so long as you're eating right and rocking your fitness...really ****ing easy.

I disagree with this.

If not logging works fine for you that's great.

But I dont think there is any 'supposed to learn to live without training wheels' deal.
Some people have likened it more to cleaning your teeth - you don't eventually learn to keep your teeth clean without brushing- more like brushing takes a few minutes a day and you plan on doing it indefinitely.

Myself I use a maitenance version of logging called approximate loose logging - I still log daily but I don't weigh and measure everything; every mandarine is just a small or medium mandarine, every subway sandwich is just logged as the same one, I don't count lettuce or measure the amount of milk in my coffee.

This keeps me accountable without getting obsessed over it or spending much time on it.

100% Agree! Whether people continue to log or not is a very individual thing. Great teeth brushing analogy!

I use the same "loose logging" approach. no more food scales, just general tracking of food to keep an eye on my macros and micros.

brushing your teeth is essential to your health. Proper nutrition and fitness are essential to your overall health and well being....nutrition and fitness and living a healthful lifestyle is like brushing your teeth. Logging isn't at all necessary for your overall health and wellbeing...logging isn't like brushing your teeth at all. It is a training tool.

How long to you intend to live...I'm, looking at hopefully another 40 - 50 years if not more. I some how find the entire idea that I would be logging in a food diary for the next 40 - 50 years laughable...I mean maybe you will, but somehow I doubt it. It's really not realistic at all.

I don't know, maybe I'm weird...but I can be mindful about what I'm eating and keep a rough tally in my head without logging it on paper...that's just one of the things I learned while I was logging.

Cleaning your teeth was an analogy - not exactly the same, I agree.
A better analogy perhaps is writing out a shopping list - some people might think writing a list is a tool or training wheels until you learn to shop without one - others might continue to use a list long term.

I dont know if I would log forever but I do plan on doing it indefinitely - have done so thus far for nearly a year (in maitenance)
I agree doing it long term is not for everyone - as I said before, if not logging works for you, that is great.

My version is working for me and at this stage I have no intentions of changing that.

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?

I reached my goal weight then dropped a couple more pounds. I do not feel it is in my best interest to count calories unless I am actively trying to lose weight. I am tracking certain micro nutrients right now otherwise would not be logging at all.

I suspect I will need to log in some way forever. I am not the same as a normal person. If I was, I wouldn't be over 100 lbs. overweight. For me, a willingness to do some simple things to keep my health in check is worth it. A diabetic has to test every day. And I will likely have to log every day. I hope I will be willing to do it to stay healthy.

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i think what would balance it is to keep working out, everyone of us has a good idea after counting calories for such a long time and you can just give an estimate to your intake in a day and if you miss calculate then work out will take care of the difference and turns out that ur keeping an even much better life style by working out for good and making it your second nature instead of counting calories for good

i can say that barring injury i will probably work out forever though, and over time i will probably get more and more atheletic and my workouts more and more intense. i am pretty in love with fitness now and dont see that changing.