Tips to stop calorie counting
AusteenaHayes
Posts: 91
I am finally at the weight I want to be at. But I feel calorie counting is a bad habit and I want to stop counting and start eating normally. I do eat 98% healthy. And I run and workout six times a week. I need tips to lead myself to stop calorie counting.
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Replies
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AusteenaHayes wrote: »I am finally at the weight I want to be at. But I feel calorie counting is a bad habit and I want to stop counting and start eating normally. I do eat 98% healthy. And I run and workout six times a week. I need tips to lead myself to stop calorie counting.
Why do you think calorie counting is a bad habit? If you counted calories to lose weight,why is it bad to count to maintain your weight. I don't understand the question. If you are just reached maintenance,now is defenitaly not the time to stop counting calories. Maybe later when you are more experienced at maintaining.0 -
Try the diabetic exchange. You don't have to be diabetic. You track fruits, starches, proteins, fats, etc. Just google it. The amount of exchanges you get per meal is based on your desired caloric intake. It's similar to that 'deal a meal' thing years ago. You're still tracking-but much less stringent than counting calories.0
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When you were losing weight, did you use calorie counting and your diary as a tool to learn how to eat...or just to keep track of calories? If you used it to learn how to eat then you should have a pretty good grasp of what serving sizes of X, Y, and Z look like...how much food you need...what your macro ratios generally equate to, etc. Really, you should be able to keep a rough tally in your head.
I've pretty much maintained for 18 months + without logging. My eating habits aren't really any different though from when I was losing...still eat primarily lean proteins, tons of veggies, some fruit, some whole grains, and plenty of healthy fats...I don't eat much "junk"...and I rarely eat out as I have a hard time controlling my intake when I'm out a lot.
I am mindful of what I'm eating...I may not log, but I keep a rough tally in my head...I'm always mindful. I do not eat mindlessly. I workout regularly...in fact, moreso than when I was losing...and I step on the scale at least once per week to log a data point so that I can track my average weight and trend. I also pay close attention to how my clothes feel. If I see my averages creeping up on the scale or my clothes getting tighter, I take a step back to see if I'm doing something different in my diet or exercise that I can correct...it's always something...usually something that has crept into my diet like grabbing handfuls of my kids gold fish crackers, etc.
I don't weigh or measure everything...but I weigh and measure a lot of things still...particularly items for which I just have a hard time visualizing my serving...dried spaghetti comes to mind. I pay attention...I eat healthfully...I stick to my healthful habits as much as possible...living a healthful life is my way of life now.
If you think you can just kind of forget about it and go on about your way, think again. If you've really and truly developed healthful habits then you should be fine...if you've just been waiting for it all to be over and to be done...you'll probably have issues because the reality is that you are never done.0 -
I agree why exactly do you want to stop counting? There is a lot of benefits from it. That being said counting isn't for everyone....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/A_Dabauer/view/logging-the-pros-and-the-cons-707948
That's my personal take on counting calories...0 -
I am close to my goal and I am planning to continue track my food. Its like a habit now and doesn't bother me. Also its so easy to lose track of what you are eating and slip back into old habits0
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keep eating similar foods as you did when losing but just add in a bit more. Keep an eye on your weight and just go back to counting if you gain (or lose) more than 5 lb0
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I just checked out her profile and she's struggled with an ED. She may have a valid reason to not count her calories as I find for me it feeds the obsession. Adding and ED into weight loss does complicate the matter. For me I find periodic logging is helpful, shows I'm on track neither too high or too low without the daily obsession of eating "perfect." I work with pre-portioning and working on listening to my bodies cues for hunger. It's a balancing act but it is indeed one that's workable.0
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If you weigh or measure your servings, I would suggest stopping that first. I am not yet at goal, but I am already starting to eye-ball and estimate servings of foods. Its a first step anyways, relaxing the strictness with which you log. I don't want to calorie count for the rest of my life but its a useful tool.
Second step for me has been logging my intake without restricting. Ignore the daily calorie goal. Its a reality check in a sense. To see how close or far you naturally come to hitting your old intake goal number. I have a tendency to swing between over eating and under eating extremes. I focus more on balancing the two than I do with hitting a certain deficit.
Another suggestion might be to only weigh or measure the calorie dense items like oil, nuts, peanut butter, etc. Kind of like weight watchers and their "free" veggies and fruits points.
Part of the decision to quit counting comes from you and why you even needed to start in the first place. I would say that if your weight gain was a gradual thing and not a disordered eating thing then stopping might be okay, you could monitor it thru regular scale checks. But if you have a poor relationship with food you might struggle more to maintain without logging everything.0 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »I've been in maintenance for three months and I'm still logging. This week, I decided that I was spending waaay too much time looking at my calories, macros, and micronutrients figuring out exactly what snacks/food I could have which would make all my numbers match. I really work hard to make EVERYTHING match up. I'm jealous when I read people who are saying they spend 5 minutes logging at the end of the day, no big deal. I must spend at least an hour a day, planning and analyzing every micronutrient. I totally understand the desire to not log anymore. Yesterday, I started something new. I'm not yet ready to stop logging, but I need to stop depending on the app to tell me what I can eat. So I'm experimenting with just eating as best I can, weighing what I can, but not entering it. I'm just writing it down. After I'm done for the day, I'm going to enter everything and see how badly I did. I think that's the only way I'm going to learn how to do this on my own. A new start every day...try my best...enter everything and see where I went wrong. Maybe someday, I'll learn enough to stop logging completely. If not, and this works, at least I won't be spending hours looking at my diary. Yesterday went better than I had expected for a first day.
I'm not sure if something like this would help you transition better than just quitting, but it's my current plan for easing off.
That is a great plan.0 -
I lost my last 10 pounds (68 pound total loss) while pulling away first weighing and measuring, then logging. I started with one day a week, then 2, then 4, then eventually all days. Once I had the not weighing/measuring under control, I applied the same approach to not logging.
I was anxious at first, questioning myself at every turn. Am I getting enough protein? Am I over on carbs? I wonder how many fat grams I'm getting? At some point, I realized that I knew how to do this. After 2 1/2 years of weighing and logging, I knew what a serving looked like. I knew each meal should have a balance of macros. I knew I had a way of knowing if I was eating too much, or not enough.
I hit my goal weight 3 months ago, and have maintained that weight without logging for 1 1/2 months now. I am confident I can keep that up, by always being aware of what I need to do, never getting careless and going back to old habits of eating mindlessly.0 -
I was at my goal weight about two years ago. I still had a dieters mind. I loved the rush of losing. In some ways, I still do. I know I don't need to lose, but I had been losing for so long and concentrated so hard that it was a hard habit to break. What worked for me was to only weigh myself in my pajamas, after my coffee, after my breakfast. I had to make my mind up that I didn't need to be rewarded or boast/post that I had lost .5 of a pound. I turned off my notifications as my goal was achieved.0
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I've been in maintenance for two years now and I continue to log. It takes only a few minute a day and it keeps me accountable. For me at least, it helps me stay on track, especially in the evening when I have an accurate number to plan that last snack of the day. I don't consider my calorie counting a bad habit any more than keep track of my bank balance.0
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It's funny, I was thinking the other day that I'll probably end up having to track my calories for the rest of my life. Or at least until I'm senile and other people are in charge of feeding me. If you think tracking has taught you self-control, that is AWESOME. But, as someone who is not dieting for the first time in her life, I encourage you to at least remain mindful of your eating. Just my 2¢.0
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Counting my calories has helped me understand portion controls and in all honesty has taught me what foods to kind of step a little away from. Like, I know I am active, very active actually, but I cannot have too many carbs and glutens without getting sick. So you could say I am close to a gluten free diet. I'm not gluten sensitive but that's just one group of food that makes me physically sick, like red meat and fish for example. I practically only drink water and green tea and if I do have a little chocolate it would be dark chocolate since I hate milk chocolate and find it gross.0
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some look at counting calories as training wheels…others do not. It is a personal choice. You are not going to gain just because you stop counting. you'll gain from eating too much, or bad foods, or not exercising. I understand your thinking, that by the time you have lost the weight. .you pretty much know what to do… the counting is an obsessive crutch.0
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Obsessive crutch?0
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I love this......I think I might stick it on my fridge!cwolfman13 wrote: »If you think you can just kind of forget about it and go on about your way, think again. If you've really and truly developed healthful habits then you should be fine...if you've just been waiting for it all to be over and to be done...you'll probably have issues because the reality is that you are never done.
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becksxxx70 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »If you think you can just kind of forget about it and go on about your way, think again. If you've really and truly developed healthful habits then you should be fine...if you've just been waiting for it all to be over and to be done...you'll probably have issues because the reality is that you are never done.
This is well said. Another positive saying to hang on my wall. :-)0 -
Wolfman nailed it. If you used the tool to learn how to eat in a healthful and appropriate manner, and have truly made that learning a HABIT (a true lifestyle) then you should be fine to stop counting. Just keep eating as you have been, and being mindful of portion size.
I think stopping is a great goal and should be the goal for most people.
Good luck!0 -
Normal: I'm think you mean, just eat rather than constantly counting the calories.AusteenaHayes wrote: »I want to stop counting and start eating normally.
For some people 'normal' means, "now that I've lost all this weight I can eat the way I used to eat now. Yipee!". The consequences of that mindset is putting the weight back on. Finding a new normal plays a huge role with losing weight and maintenance.
Whether or not counting calories is part of your new normal is up to you. Elisa summed it up well:elisa123gal wrote: »some look at counting calories as training wheels…others do not. It is a personal choice.
I simply stopped counting as a way to test myself. Set a timeframe (ex; 3 months) and stop counting. Continue to track your weight to monitor your progress. If you continue to maintain without counting for a couple of months you're good to go. If you put on some weight you may need to reevaluate. You'll never know until you give it a shot.AusteenaHayes wrote: »I need tips to lead myself to stop calorie counting.
Remember that stopping counting doesn't mean stopping mindful eating. You've learned about portion sizes and calorie dense foods. Continue to be mindful and you'll do fine.
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Normal: I'm think you mean, just eat rather than constantly counting the calories.AusteenaHayes wrote: »I want to stop counting and start eating normally.
For some people 'normal' means, "now that I've lost all this weight I can eat the way I used to eat now. Yipee!". The consequences of that mindset is putting the weight back on. Finding a new normal plays a huge role with losing weight and maintenance.
Whether or not counting calories is part of your new normal is up to you. Elisa summed it up well:elisa123gal wrote: »some look at counting calories as training wheels…others do not. It is a personal choice.
I simply stopped counting as a way to test myself. Set a timeframe (ex; 3 months) and stop counting. Continue to track your weight to monitor your progress. If you continue to maintain without counting for a couple of months you're good to go. If you put on some weight you may need to reevaluate. You'll never know until you give it a shot.AusteenaHayes wrote: »I need tips to lead myself to stop calorie counting.
Remember that stopping counting doesn't mean stopping mindful eating. You've learned about portion sizes and calorie dense foods. Continue to be mindful and you'll do fine.
I eat healthy 98% of the time.0 -
If I was to stop logging and decided to eat "normally", Ill be in big trouble, eating normally got me so big in the first place, but really I been loggin to over 15 months, now, I just log everything at the end of the day, if go over, no problem, I just eat less the next day, I just think it as a loan, and if I ated too little then I get to enjoy the next day by eating a bit more, loggin a full-day only takes 1 or 2 minutes, no different from brushing your teeth everyday.0
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SherryTeach wrote: »I've been in maintenance for two years now and I continue to log. It takes only a few minute a day and it keeps me accountable. For me at least, it helps me stay on track, especially in the evening when I have an accurate number to plan that last snack of the day. I don't consider my calorie counting a bad habit any more than keep track of my bank balance.
^^THIS!^^0 -
If you've been counting for a while you should have a pretty good idea what your energy needs are and how to eyeball portions sizes etc. You can stop tracking and maintain but you need to keep an eye things to make sure you don't slide too far backwards. Most people maintain within a range. Sometimes you'll be at the lower end and other times the higher end. Have some sort of mechanism in place that can act as a warning indicator for when you're reaching your upper limit (not necessarily the scale) - for me when certain pants/dresses start to get a little tight I know it's time to reign things in a bit. You can always come back for a brief stint of calorie counting again to get you back on track. The key is to catch yourself before it's too late.0
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »I've been in maintenance for three months and I'm still logging. This week, I decided that I was spending waaay too much time looking at my calories, macros, and micronutrients figuring out exactly what snacks/food I could have which would make all my numbers match. I really work hard to make EVERYTHING match up. I'm jealous when I read people who are saying they spend 5 minutes logging at the end of the day, no big deal. I must spend at least an hour a day, planning and analyzing every micronutrient. I totally understand the desire to not log anymore. Yesterday, I started something new. I'm not yet ready to stop logging, but I need to stop depending on the app to tell me what I can eat. So I'm experimenting with just eating as best I can, weighing what I can, but not entering it. I'm just writing it down. After I'm done for the day, I'm going to enter everything and see how badly I did. I think that's the only way I'm going to learn how to do this on my own. A new start every day...try my best...enter everything and see where I went wrong. Maybe someday, I'll learn enough to stop logging completely. If not, and this works, at least I won't be spending hours looking at my diary. Yesterday went better than I had expected for a first day.
I'm not sure if something like this would help you transition better than just quitting, but it's my current plan for easing off.
but you are doing the same thing counting calories just not tracking them on this website called myfitnesspal. which isn't any more right or wrong than counting them yourself. at the end of the day though if its what you like and if it works for you then do it.
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AusteenaHayes wrote: »
Normal: I'm think you mean, just eat rather than constantly counting the calories.AusteenaHayes wrote: »I want to stop counting and start eating normally.
For some people 'normal' means, "now that I've lost all this weight I can eat the way I used to eat now. Yipee!". The consequences of that mindset is putting the weight back on. Finding a new normal plays a huge role with losing weight and maintenance.
Whether or not counting calories is part of your new normal is up to you. Elisa summed it up well:elisa123gal wrote: »some look at counting calories as training wheels…others do not. It is a personal choice.
I simply stopped counting as a way to test myself. Set a timeframe (ex; 3 months) and stop counting. Continue to track your weight to monitor your progress. If you continue to maintain without counting for a couple of months you're good to go. If you put on some weight you may need to reevaluate. You'll never know until you give it a shot.AusteenaHayes wrote: »I need tips to lead myself to stop calorie counting.
Remember that stopping counting doesn't mean stopping mindful eating. You've learned about portion sizes and calorie dense foods. Continue to be mindful and you'll do fine.
I eat healthy 98% of the time.
did you know 98% or percents are made up? lol jk anyway just say the majority of your diet is whole foods and vegetables with the balanced and planned out foods. aka IIFYM0 -
This is easy. First just keep a food diary. Do that for as long as you feel comfortable and weigh your self and record that as often as you normally do too.
After a while you will get sick of the food diary and you will feel confident of leaving that off too. That's what i've done.
The only thing i'm still recording is my weight. I weigh every day. I will probably stop recording that at some point in the future too but for now, i need to do record it because i am not sure how stable my eating patterns are yet.
I would add that most of weightloss diet has been only about food logging without counting calories. I started counting calories when i did a stint of low carbing and needed to be able to watch my macros.
Food diarising in itself is an excellent way to monitor yourself to lose weight providing you know your macros are in good order.0 -
Why stop counting? If it made you who you are today...I do have a days when I am not logging in but there is always pen and notebook next to me in my kitchen..to have some idea of how I am doing...I think its good habit.0
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Not having got to my goal weight yet, I guess I really don't know how I will feel about continuing to count, though right now I can't imagine not tracking. For me tracking has become a good habit, kind of like brushing my teeth. Just because the dentist said I have no cavities - I continue to brush. Again, I might feel different by the time I get to goal. Congrats on getting to your goal.0
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