Do you plan on counting calories for the rest of your life?
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Yes. I suck at estimating portions.0
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I don't know. I think I will probably do it now and again; or at least try to be more aware of what I'm eating (the quantity, and estimate the calories) even if I don't log everything every day. I think it also depends on how long it takes me (if it becomes so much of a habit I might as well continue) and, most importantly, how well I'll do once I actually get to maintenance -- if I start gaining, I would need to log for a while and see what's up. Hopefully I would be able to "slow down" though, and even have time "off" logging. But I like the idea of phasing out the logging slowly, where I would still be logging at least a week every month even when I consider myself to be "done" (again, depending on how well I do with maintenance).
I'm not sick of it yet, but I've not been doing it for "real" for very long (this time, if you count the time before summer it would be about a year). I also like to pre-plan and prepare meals in advance so that I don't have to think about it day-to-day. So unless I change (and that would be a big change for me, as I've always loved doing that - I've just not logged it before) I will probably do a kind of mental tally of calories in, even years from now.0 -
Nah.
I just know all the foods I eat intimately and I eat the same things weekly.
I underestimate what I burnt and overestimate what I ate. I do regular, heavy cardio and eat till I'm about 90% full. Keeps me in check just fine.0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »
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Counting calories? Heck no.
Fasting is a different matter however, and should keep me in check.0 -
I personally probably will mainly. But I find I just know the nutrition in foods automatically. When I went off it last time, I gain back 30lbs of 60 I lost calorie counting. 120 total. But lost 10 and more to go!!0
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Nope0
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Yeah, but I don't even think about it too much anymore. It is pretty automatic.
My co-worker lamented this. She asked if this is how people really have to live their lives to lose weight and keep it off. If true, it just isn't normal or a reasonable thing to ask of someone. I just shrugged. I don't know what to tell you if you aren't ready to commit. When she did what I told her, she lost weight. When she gave up because she didn't feel like she was losing fast enough and ran off to some restrictive fad diet, I don't think she has lost a pound since.0 -
I feel I will always have to count calories and exercise. If you want the body, you have to put the work in. For me the result is worth it0
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I think I'll have to. I have tried just eyeballing portions once for a month and my weight loss stalled. That made me recommit to using my scale.0
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Yes, I plan on counting calories and logging for the rest of my life. From my viewpoint, I have a chronic condition that must be managed. I never thought in the past that I could get to a certain weight and then do whatever I wanted, but I always believed that I could get to a point where I could eat like a "normal" person - meaning no logging or counting and just eating when hungry, only till satisfied, etc. I no longer believe that to be true. I have a different relationship with food and always have and always will. I think of my lifelong pattern of obesity as being similar to having something like diabetes. There's no cure.0
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kind of pretty much know how much to, and to not, eat now, so i doubt i will count calories for years to come but, i will still use my food scale and keep a mental note of how many calories i am consuming throughout the day.0
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probably not, but I can see myself continuing to weigh everything I eat.0
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Yes, if that is what it takes. I have brushed my teeth for about 65 years and taken a shower or bath almost every day of that time.....and even made my bed and I have never thought of giving those up. So counting calories is just going to be part of that lifestyle. No big deal.0
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Yes I plan on it. I don't see it so much as counting calories, more just keeping track of my food intake. I've been a binge eater for my entire life; it's too easy for me to fall into mindless eating and logging my food stops me from doing that. I don't stress about going over my calories, which I still do a lot. I just keep track.
I'm 3 years into MFP and 2 years of maintaining my 100lbs loss so don't see a reason to stop doing something that works for me.0 -
Maybe. I have a really hard time knowing if I'm hungry or not and remembering when I've eaten so logging is important for now to keep me on track. I just each the amount I've designated when I've designated. Maybe I'll get better at that as I go along. I gained weight from drinking too much so not really sure I need to be counting so closely to lose now that I've cut that out but don't want to waste my time so I am.0
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afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »Yes, I plan on counting calories and logging for the rest of my life. From my viewpoint, I have a chronic condition that must be managed. I never thought in the past that I could get to a certain weight and then do whatever I wanted, but I always believed that I could get to a point where I could eat like a "normal" person - meaning no logging or counting and just eating when hungry, only till satisfied, etc. I no longer believe that to be true. I have a different relationship with food and always have and always will. I think of my lifelong pattern of obesity as being similar to having something like diabetes. There's no cure.
This is how I feel also. I heard the term "obesity in remission", and after four years of counting calories and getitng myself in pretty good shape, that's how I describe myself.0 -
Yes, because at my age and size, it's very easy to overeat my calorie allotment and put the pounds on. I don't count on vacations and always come back 5-7 lbs. heavier.0
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blankiefinder wrote: »I counted calories while maintaining for the first six months. My maintenance range at 5'7 is 130.8 to 132.8 which is pretty narrow range for most people. In the 8th month my weight jumped up to 134.8 due to bad eating. Since then I've cut out the jars of Nutella with a spoon, been more aware, and used my food scale for a few days to remind me my serving sizes an a few things, and after 3 weeks am back within that maintenance range.
So I will continue to monitor my weight, and if and when I need to, I will start logging again.
That sounds so very realistic. Thanks for sharing!0 -
That is true, but after you've looked up the caloric value of let's say, and egg, for the 600th time I'm thinking you really should be remembering. There's always the exotic dish you don't eat often but really you can look at the tuna sandwich and your mind can visualize what part of the allowed daily food that would be without having to count up, after a while.Numbers rule
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Don't count them now. I used to count calories because I believed in the calories in calories out theory even though it never worked for me. I now do keto and count carbs. With that method I have lost 19 pounds in 5 weeks. So I will probably count carbs until I lose all the weight I want to and then periodically monitor them.0
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Most likely. I have proven that I can't be trusted if I don't.0
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When was your last logging break?0
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Interesting question…and answers. At times I would have answered "no way!" Other times, maybe "yes." But the more I think about it I think the answer is maybe. I, like others here, think that being on MFP has taught me a lot about appropriate portion size and about eating moderately in general. But I also think that why not count/log calories forever? Obviously not literally every bite forever, but we follow recipes to know how much to make for a particular number of servings and we cut things like pizza and cake into slices instead of eating the whole thing. There are obviously people who never need to worry about gaining weight but MOST people put on weight as they age so knowing how many calories we put in our bodies would be very helpful.0
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I expect to be doing a lot of things for the rest of my life. I don't see why calorie tracking should not be one of them. I expect there will be a time when I can be a little less strict about it but I plan on it being a part of everyday life for good.0
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Not a chance.
I'm learning to eat without a crutch while I lose. With any luck, I'll be able to eat without a scale or logging everything by the time I'm done. That's the plan, anyway.
After I'm done losing, if I mess up and gain like five pounds, I'll diet it away...with any luck, without a scale. I'm hoping I don't get to that point, though, and am able to keep it under control without that.
I don't love the weighing/logging and consider it a pain in the butt.0 -
Lucille4444 wrote: »
That is true, but after you've looked up the caloric value of let's say, and egg, for the 600th time I'm thinking you really should be remembering. There's always the exotic dish you don't eat often but really you can look at the tuna sandwich and your mind can visualize what part of the allowed daily food that would be without having to count up, after a while.Numbers rule
Since you quoted me I assume you're replying to me. But I'm afraid I don't get what you're after.
I probably have logged eggs 600 times, and I know the nutritional values pretty well. How much mayo is in my tuna sandwich? How much tuna? I can visualize a 200 calorie tuna sandwich and a 400 calorie tuna sandwich. Shall I remember all of the caloric and nutritional values of all the food I eat? Pad Thai, 50 kinds of ice cream, different kinds of breads, bagels, cinnamon rolls, pot roast, thin crust vs thick crust pizza, nonfat vs 2% vs full fat Greek yogurt, 80% vs 90% lean ground beef, Cap'n Crunch vs Grape Nuts vs Wheaties, French toast, pancakes, Italian sausage vs brats vs hot dogs vs pork tenderloin, couscous, sweet corn, et cetera ad infinitum? Do I have room today to squeeze in some ice cream? How much? How about a beer? An imperial stout or a gose? If I don't track I'm guessing; if I track I know.
Logging and tracking calories takes about 2 minutes out of my day, and to my mind it is just as valuable as (and easier than) keeping my bank account balanced. Tracking calories is the only thing that has worked for me and I'm not about to abandon it.0 -
Hopefully not but I will if necessary. I find my appetite to be a very accurate gauge of how many calories I have eaten. Portion control during "stress free" times was never my problem.0
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