Anyone not count calories anymore in maintannce anymore

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  • aarar
    aarar Posts: 684 Member
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    I've been in maintenance for about a year now and still log and count calories. I'm training for an ultra marathon and my daily calorie allowance varies from 2200 up to 5000+ depending on my training runs so yes tracking is completely necessary for me so that I don't undereat and overeat.
  • einzweidrei
    einzweidrei Posts: 381 Member
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    I just decided that I would like to try maintaining without MFP. I stopped losing weight around December 2013 and I have been tracking since then---except on my "off days" (1/week) and vacations. So I am going to try that now even though it's not a great time---lots of stress-eating, horrible sleeping patterns making me eat more, etc.

    Here we go.
  • dbiggs
    dbiggs Posts: 9 Member
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    I agree that it can be used as a crutch, but that doesn't have to be the case. I still count a full year after hitting my goal weight. I do it for two reasons 1) It is so second nature that I do it w/o much thought or effort. 2) I do it for awareness. I don't believe I use it as a crutch. Furthermore, who's to say what is right for someone else. People, figure out what works for you and do that.
  • unicorn1081
    unicorn1081 Posts: 133 Member
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    I just decided that I would like to try maintaining without MFP. I stopped losing weight around December 2013 and I have been tracking since then---except on my "off days" (1/week) and vacations. So I am going to try that now even though it's not a great time---lots of stress-eating, horrible sleeping patterns making me eat more, etc.

    Here we go.


    you dont have to go without mfp, just without the upkeep. I still enter my weight and other than that it's straight to the community boards to learn and share. You have so much knowledge now that you hit goal. Bring it here and help others achieve their goals!
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I track on and off now. I log on MFP every day to check in, see what friends are up to and let them know what I'm up to. It's very freeing to be able to eat what and when I need to, without worrying all the time if I'm going to be up or down in weight.

    This topic comes up all the time and it's a good reminder of where I came from. I like logging because it satisfies my need for organization, but I no longer need it for control.
  • choligeetu
    choligeetu Posts: 22 Member
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    I would say you don't need that anymore, since you've established the habits to listen to your body's need and eat the right things during the long-term weight loss.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    I hit my ideal weight 127 and body fat % 15-18 a while back and have been maintaining for a few months. I've recently come off counting since my wisdom tooth operation 3 weeks ago. So far so good. I'm still weighing everyday and eating when I'm hungry, particularly on sports days because I don't want to burn muscle. I know when I've slightly over eaten now, what will be hard is trying to do the 100 calories under maintenance I was doing before to 'save up' for party days. I simply cannot be hungry in the evening. But I still need lots of fuel for my daytime workouts.

    It's really hard. But I should be able to do this now. I've been following my sports eating plans for a long time now.
  • Scottmufcrvp1
    Scottmufcrvp1 Posts: 147 Member
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    I don't count calories anymore, I just do a rough estimate to be honest, same with protein intake, and it's been working, if you look at my pictures from a few months ago and look at my most recent pic :)
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    I just don't believe that relying on the calorie counter for the rest of your life is a realistic or healthy thing to do.

    Why not?

    Should have been obvious from my post...

    If you lean on the crutch, you never learn how to walk by yourself.

    It's a tool; a crutch. It stunts your ability to learn how eat naturally; to listen to your body naturally; to learn the habits you need to develop to have a healthy relationship with food.

    As I stated, humans have eaten without a calorie counter for thousands of years. We have many people, present day, who can eat healthy and not log calories to do it. These people know how to listen to their bodies, how to recognize a portion size, how to not overeat, and how to fuel themselves for their activity level. They have a healthy, natural, unaided relationship with food.

    The counter is a crutch. One should seek to learn the natural skills and habits that allow one to eliminate the crutch.

    Think about it for a moment: wouldn't you prefer to never have to log another calorie ever again? To be able to go through your life eating naturally? To have a healthy relationship with food? To eat, feel satisfied, and not have the specter of guilt hanging over you ever again?

    That can happen, but people choose to lean on the counter instead of developing their relationship with food.

    Do you not think that we've kind of permanently lost the abilities to register satiety and hunger like those others? I'm only getting away with it at the moment because I'm going from memory and habit. I still feel like I could eat at any time day and night! There's always a little hunger there. Same the other way. If I go past a meal time, my hunger hormones turn into a nervous high, and I could keep going without. I've been at maintenance for a few months now. It IS easier. I will see after another year if I can get better at reading my body.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    I'm not currently tracking on a regular basis. I will occasionally log a day every couple of weeks.

    I'm currently slowly losing weight.

    So are you on a planned cut? Is your deficit going to plan?

    I can imagine you've done many cycles of this so have a good 'feel' for it, but how do you know you're not cutting into muscle?
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
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    I've been in maintenance for about 2 years, and don't log. But then, I lost 50 lb without logging too. For me, I was never hugely overweight, so I didn't need to adjust too much to lose/maintain. I AM much more conscious of what (and how much) I eat though than I was before.

    I think some people will be able to do it and some will need to keep logging. Try not logging if you want, but do keep an eye on the scale. Go back to logging if it doesn't work for you!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'm not currently tracking on a regular basis. I will occasionally log a day every couple of weeks.

    I'm currently slowly losing weight.

    So are you on a planned cut? Is your deficit going to plan?

    I can imagine you've done many cycles of this so have a good 'feel' for it, but how do you know you're not cutting into muscle?

    I'm on a "try to cut but DGAF what happens" mode so that I can learn more about non tracking diet method and mindful eating/etc.

    I don't have a plan so I can't say whether it's going to plan, but I have posted results in my blog (second blog post down) with some preliminary results. Granted, it's early yet but so far it's going reasonably well. I'll be writing more about it soon.

    I'm not concerned about losing muscle at all honestly. I know my deficit isn't severe based on the one or two days I've logged as a reference. I know my protein intake is sufficient. My gym performance is great. These collectively convince me that bad things aren't happening if that makes sense.

    As far as having a good feel for it, yes and no. I've been working on developing awareness which IMO needs to take place regardless of whether someone has cut several times or not. It's certainly interesting.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    I'm not currently tracking on a regular basis. I will occasionally log a day every couple of weeks.

    I'm currently slowly losing weight.

    So are you on a planned cut? Is your deficit going to plan?

    I can imagine you've done many cycles of this so have a good 'feel' for it, but how do you know you're not cutting into muscle?

    I'm on a "try to cut but DGAF what happens" mode so that I can learn more about non tracking diet method and mindful eating/etc.

    I don't have a plan so I can't say whether it's going to plan, but I have posted results in my blog (second blog post down) with some preliminary results. Granted, it's early yet but so far it's going reasonably well. I'll be writing more about it soon.

    I'm not concerned about losing muscle at all honestly. I know my deficit isn't severe based on the one or two days I've logged as a reference. I know my protein intake is sufficient. My gym performance is great. These collectively convince me that bad things aren't happening if that makes sense.

    As far as having a good feel for it, yes and no. I've been working on developing awareness which IMO needs to take place regardless of whether someone has cut several times or not. It's certainly interesting.

    Thank you for your reply, as I found what you're doing very interesting. Those indicators, gym performance, mood, and the long term habit of eating sufficient protein and constantly not overeating should stand for something.

    One weird thing I noticed, I know my numbers really well now, but I've got to the point where I can eat slightly more than I should be able to and not gain, but I seem to have more explosive sprints at hand. It's amazing how the body adapts to what you ask of it. I'm sure my body has decided to not store fat any more and store and use more glycogen because I've spent the last couple of years telling it to by triathlon and strength training.

    Keep us posted on your experiment!
  • DianeFrannie
    DianeFrannie Posts: 25
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    Maybe you can if you remember to eat enough protein, some fruit and veggie at every meal.
    I made goal in 2004 and took 1 year to gain 20 pounds back. So calorie counting is good for me, esp here where I can see if I am eating enough protein. You are on the right track, wishing you the best results.
  • runny111
    runny111 Posts: 58 Member
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    I think if you can do it if you use the scale and rely on clothing fit (get very fitted clothes and if your pants get tight, refuse to buy the next size up).

    Personally I still track.
  • ksolksol
    ksolksol Posts: 194 Member
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    I'm glad to hear some people reporting success with weaning themselves off the tracking. I am hoping to use this to re-train my eating habits, but be able to fly free eventually. If it turns out I can't, if I stop tracking and I gain, I'll go back to it.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    There no problem with counting calories. In fact, I think it's gaining momentum. It might be more normal 20 years from now than it is today.

    Why do people think that counting is a crutch or not natural?

    I don't think it's a crutch so I agree with you there. However, whether or not there's a "problem with counting calories" depends largely on the individual and how calorie counting impacts their relationship with food/quality of life. And I think that answer is going to vary for different people.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'm not currently tracking on a regular basis. I will occasionally log a day every couple of weeks.

    I'm currently slowly losing weight.

    So are you on a planned cut? Is your deficit going to plan?

    I can imagine you've done many cycles of this so have a good 'feel' for it, but how do you know you're not cutting into muscle?

    I'm on a "try to cut but DGAF what happens" mode so that I can learn more about non tracking diet method and mindful eating/etc.

    I don't have a plan so I can't say whether it's going to plan, but I have posted results in my blog (second blog post down) with some preliminary results. Granted, it's early yet but so far it's going reasonably well. I'll be writing more about it soon.

    I'm not concerned about losing muscle at all honestly. I know my deficit isn't severe based on the one or two days I've logged as a reference. I know my protein intake is sufficient. My gym performance is great. These collectively convince me that bad things aren't happening if that makes sense.

    As far as having a good feel for it, yes and no. I've been working on developing awareness which IMO needs to take place regardless of whether someone has cut several times or not. It's certainly interesting.

    Thank you for your reply, as I found what you're doing very interesting. Those indicators, gym performance, mood, and the long term habit of eating sufficient protein and constantly not overeating should stand for something.

    One weird thing I noticed, I know my numbers really well now, but I've got to the point where I can eat slightly more than I should be able to and not gain, but I seem to have more explosive sprints at hand. It's amazing how the body adapts to what you ask of it. I'm sure my body has decided to not store fat any more and store and use more glycogen because I've spent the last couple of years telling it to by triathlon and strength training.

    Keep us posted on your experiment!

    This is more for purpose of discussion but do you think it's possible that you simply underestimate your maintenance needs? So for example if you continue to manage to eat "slightly above maintenance" and not gain, that would tell me that you're eating at maintenance.

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