Counting forever, good/bad?

I'm nowhere near maintenance, so I don't know what my plan will be, but I think that I will absolutely have a strategy in place, even if it's not using MFP. 'Intuitive' eating would probably just lead me to gain weight

I've been counting since April of 2011 and maintaining since May of 2012. Counting is easy and it keeps my weight in check. I don't plan on quitting.

Of course you count every day! You would never stop checking your bank account even if you were independently wealthy!

I do not plan on stopping calorie counting. I like it, it makes me feel secure and I don't feel like I obsess. I can go to a party, and snack. I can eat out, and I can eat homemade food. I don't restrict. I don't want to become another statistic.

I wouldn't say it's a matter of "good" or "bad"...i would say logging for all of eternity is unrealistic for most....hopefully I have another 45 years or so in me....I highly doubt I will keep a food diary for the next 45 years.

I stopped counting when I went to maintenance and maintained for a little over 1.5 years. I still ate very healthfully and I still measured out and weighed most things, but I didn't keep a diary; despite what so many people seem to think, not logging doesn't mean not being mindful or maintaining healthful habits...I always think that's such a ludicrous notion...

I had no issues maintaining without logging. For me, logging was kind of like training wheels on a bike...it was a great learning experience, but nothing I intended to do forever.

I'm currently logging again because I went on an intentional bulk cycle from September through the New Year and now I need to cut. Logging is definitely beneficial to cutting and making sure I'm getting proper nutrition and enough calories to meet my training needs, but still cutting...but when I go back to maintenance I won't be logging anymore.

tinallen863 wrote: »

Of course you count every day! You would never stop checking your bank account even if you were independently wealthy!

I'm not wealthy, and I check mine maybe 2-4 times a month.

I think it all depends on your mindset. When I first started counting calories, I became obsessed and developed an eating disorder. I would stick to less than 1400 calories a day, and I would cry and hate myself if I went over. I was so proud of myself if I stuck to 1000 calories (which I don't care what anyone says, it's not healthy for anyone, especially for a growing 16 year old girl). And the sad part was, I was still overweight. Eventually I gave up counting for awhile, and I tried to just focus on eating mostly healthy foods and not beating myself up when I had something unhealthy, and I was exercising 3-5 days a week. That was actually when I lost the most weight, and I was actually comfortable around food again. I started counting again after just to see how much I was eating, and I was eating 1800-2200 a day. Now I count sometimes just to see what I'm eating (I'm actually trying to put on muscle, so I'm making sure that I'm eating a little above maintenance), but when I find myself obsessing then I step away again.

Jruzer wrote: »

Let me give you a counterexample.

Mrs Jruzer lost about 50 lbs a few years before we met. She did it by cutting portions, reducing treats, and walking a lot. (She had to fit into a bridesmaid's dress!)

She has kept that weight off, more or less, for more than 20 years. She has figured out how much she can eat to keep her weight stable. She gets on the scale daily. If her weight has gone up beyond where she's comfortable, she'll cut back on portions or exercise a bit to bring it back down.

She doesn't need to count calories because she has figured out how to do it without counting. She still controls her intake and activity, but without logging.

This is more or less my feeling on the matter...one should be able to learn healthy habits by counting and keeping a diary and eventually be able to go out into the world and employ those habits...I liken it to training wheels on a bike...at some-point, you really should just be able to ride.

The only time I log is when I'm cutting. I maintained easily for 1.5 years without logging. I did the same...I weighed myself regularly and I continued to eat healthfully and exercise regularly...no biggie. Anytime there was a little bump in my average that I was worried about I just cut out a little snack or something.

I'm in a full on cut now after going through an intentional bulking cycle and really, that's the only reason I will log.

I will probably count forever. I was very skinny in my mid twenties, and very slowly got fat at the rate of 4 lbs per year for 20 years. That's an average daily surplus of about 40 kcal a day, so like half a slice of toast.