Is calorie counting really a lifetime/long term solution?

For me, yea

So your concerned that someone selling you a product is talking down its competition? Intuitive eating bad mouthing calorie counting.

So far I have found calorie counting to be good.

I think if you fail at calorie counting it isn't it's fault it's yours and you would probably fail or stumble on any weight loss plan.

These are tools for you to use, they aren't going to control you, you need will power.

I have been calorie counting for like 280 days. I don't feel deprived of foods. I eat pizza and other junk food, just not every day or 3 times a day.

It can inspire you to lookout side of your normal food groups to find foods that are tastier, nutritionalier or more satisfying for less calories.

I think for many people, it becomes second nature to count calories once they've done it long enough - logging is no longer necessary for them. Portion control is probably a bigger problem - especially here in the US, because our restaurants serve such huge portions - often 3-4 times a true portion size. When I eat out, I don't count calories, because I'll never be sure, but I ask for a to-go box at the start of my meal, put the excess food in it to take home for a couple extra meals and guesstimate my caloric intake. I don't think I'm usually that far off.

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I've looked into the whole intuitive eating movement and I wasn't impressed. It sounds lovely, but the reality is I need structure to keep my focused and on track. I'm in maintenance now and I have been able to get away from tracking calories every day, but I have other checks and balances in place (and I still spot check calories a few days each month too).

So far for me counting calories has worked and I feel it's sooooo easy. I've tried weight watchers and I hated it. I felt so restricted, deprived. It was horrible for me! But since MFP I don't feel deprived at all. I feel awesome! Good luck!

It sounds like you should look at calorie counting as a way to help re-educate your mind about portion sizes, frequency of eating etc. But whatever your goals are, you should make sure that you have a sustainable support system, regular therapy to help you address your emotional eating issues. If you find that calorie counting is feeding into an obsessive habit, or you start being really hard on yourself for slip-ups, it's probably not the most healthy solution for you. Try to find ways to identify what triggers your emotional eating and develop coping mechanisms to help you move away from turning to food. Do you meditate, keep a diary, listen to relaxing music, get outside? For those of us who are lucky enough not to have emotional issues with food, calorie counting is a no brainer, but your situation is more complicated and you need to make sure that you're protecting yourself and that you have support and encouragement around you.

Tatarataa wrote: »

Is calorie counting a lifetime solution?

Yes, I think so. I plan to do it forever. At maintenance, but I overeat on lifting days and fast on some others, so there's no realistic way I could manage calorie cycling without tracking.
I don't believe in "intuitive eating" or intuitive anything, really. Our brains are too complex and tricksy, so I trust in math.

This gets posted all the time, because it's great:
rippedbody.jp/nutritional-hierarchy-importance-fat-loss-muscle-growth/

Calories aren't everything, but they're the best and most essential thing to nail down first. You'll see post after post on here of what happens when people invert their priorities and the screw-ups that result.

It's been 5+ years (9 months losing and 4+ yrs maintaining) for me so..............my answer is yes. Like the poster above me, I don't ever want to be out of my goal weight range again. It (logging) really does become second nature after a time.

Not necessarily. It depends on the individual. I've been calorie counting for years and I'm getting to a point where I have most of the stuff I eat figured out. At some point, I will not need to count calories. I will know what to eat and how much to keep my body in a bit of a calorie deficit or at least maintain.

As a fellow binge-eater/emotional eater I really think calorie counting is the best way. It's way too easy to kid yourself with intuitive or mindful eating that what you're eating is low/normal/okay (in my opinion/experience anyway).

The only way for me is to set my calorie goals relatively high - when I try to cut down to 1200 that just leads to binge eating for me. When I started I was aiming for 2000 + eating back my exercise calories - now I'm aiming for 1700. Again, I'm no expert and this is a learning curve for me but I have had a long history of bingeing/bulimia.

One of the things that has really curbed my binges is to fill my house with the things I binge on. Chocolate is a big one for me - so I buy more chocolate than I could ever possibly eat in one sitting and I have 2 drawers bulging with chocolate. I know people tell you to clear out everything that tempts you when you diet but I personally don't think that works for binge eaters and I've read a few books that agree (Beyond Temptation is a good one, Geneen Roth is another recommended author). I know when I wanted a binge and didn't have the stuff in the house I would just go out and buy it - it was never a case of "oh it's in the house so I'll eat it". Anyways - that's really stopped me bingeing I can't remember the last time I binged on chocolate.

I've always known weight loss would be a long process for me and in terms of weight loss I have a long way to go. I still overeat a load. But I've stopped bingeing and to me that feels like a big success. Just from my personal experience and I know others will disagree and have had different experiences.

With me, i find i have to calorie count/weigh food.
I've tried estimating my calories/estimating food weights, but it never works out.
For example, what i thought was 1600 cals [estimating], was probably nearer 2000!
And as we know, that 400 cals makes a huge difference.
Some people that do a shed load of exercise may be able to get away with not calorie counting. But then again, it still depends on the amount of calories being consumed.

Forever is a long time - but I do intend on calorie counting for the indefinite future. I don't account for every single calorie any more, I do a lot of estimating and aproximating but I do log it all ( other than a week off if I go on holidays)

Works well for me.

Mr_Knight wrote: »

Judging from the number of "I'm ba-ack!" threads, it's reasonable to guess that no, calorie counting isn't a viable lifetime solution for a significant number of people.

You presume they continued calorie counting. That's a major presumption.

To the OP, you have to figure out what will work for you and ignore the noise of what other people say should be "right", because different things are going to be "right" for different people.

Look at it this way -- there are lots of different reasons people are overweight to begin with. The specific problems behind why we were all overweight in the first place all required different approaches to finding lasting solutions. There's no one-size fits all approach to this whole thing.

If you don't think intuitive eating will ultimately work for you, there's no need to feel shamed about it by some authors. I'm a former bookkeeper. I get numbers and a neat balance of debit and credits appeals to me, so the idea of counting my calories for the long term is a good fit for my personality. If you think it's a good fit for your for whatever reason? Go for it.

If, however, the idea of it stresses you out, then obviously finding another approach would be best. That stress should not come from some outside idea of what you "should" be doing, though. You get to decide what's best for you.

rybo wrote: »

I feel sorry for anyone who has to count calories forever.

Mmm hmm how's that high horse working out for you? :noway: