Calorie Counting FOREVER.
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I track every bite of food I eat in my journal. 80 pounds gone. 1150+ day streak. Maintaining for over 3 years. No weight regain.
It does not take a lot of time at all. I pre-plan my meals at night for the next day and write down everything I eat. This keeps me focused and on plan.
I don't calorie count hardcore, but I am aware of the calories and macros of what I am eating.
Did I mention how quick and easy it is? This helps me to stay fit and slim, so I will continue to do this indefinitely.
I used to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. I do not want to go back to being overweight/obese. I see too many people stop counting or being aware of what they eat and they gain weight back. I'm working hard to stay in my range and so far so good.
Tracking helps me to stay in control.9 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Exactly. Maybe I'm weird in saying I don't wish to rely on something other than myself to stay fit for the rest of my life. Everyone's different I suppose. I just don't understand the reasoning in not wanting to forge a healthy and sustainable relationship with food on your own.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Our of curiosity OP when you are trying to lose weight do you modify your diet away from what you would normally eat or do you just moderate your portions? If losing weight is not only calorie counting but also changing your diet to something you wouldn't normally eat then that could go a long way to explain problems with maintenance. Not that I am an expert on maintaining, I have issues with that myself.
^This is the issue for me!! Low-carb and/or Low-fat diets always worked for me in the past. But they were never sustainable for me long-term because who wants to do without pizza or cookies forever? I always gained it back because elimination diets aren't the best for training my brain to recognize proper portions. Weighing and logging food helps me tremendously with this. I have logged for 265 days now, and I haven't gotten bored with it yet so I guess I will keep going. I am kind of geeked-out with my food log data anyway, it's oddly satisfying and comforting to see so many days of sensible eating without undue amounts of hunger.6 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Exactly. Maybe I'm weird in saying I don't wish to rely on something other than myself to stay fit for the rest of my life. Everyone's different I suppose. I just don't understand the reasoning in not wanting to forge a healthy and sustainable relationship with food on your own.
It seems weird to me too. Which is why I didn't weigh and measure while losing. I wanted a smoother transition into maintenance. But, different strokes.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Exactly. Maybe I'm weird in saying I don't wish to rely on something other than myself to stay fit for the rest of my life. Everyone's different I suppose. I just don't understand the reasoning in not wanting to forge a healthy and sustainable relationship with food on your own.
It seems weird to me too. Which is why I didn't weigh and measure while losing. I wanted a smoother transition into maintenance. But, different strokes.
You didn't weigh or measure yourself at all? I gotta do both. Simply because I'm building a particular look. I do it sparingly though. Once a week is fine. What I don't do is weigh my food. That's extreme to me. This isn't my profession for me to be so exact to the gram.0 -
You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
That's what kept me thin for 40+ years. Like I said, my weight never crept up until I was 46 (2 years ago). I grew up with a diabetic mother, so we never had cookies, cake, ice cream or soda in the house, and I never developed a taste for them. I LOVE chips and fried things, though. I was probably a teenager when I figured out that if I just stuck to vegetables and the lean meats my mother cooked, I'd be fine...AND...if I wanted to eat junk food, I'd have to watch my diet carefully over the next few days to compensate. I don't have a lot of patience for "let's make a deal," so it just became easier for me to eat the veggies and ignore the junk food. Basically, I ate only when I was hungry and stuck to the foods that worked.
A thing on relationships: We underestimate how much the people we date or live with influence our eating, and it's important, I think, to be mindful of that and behave accordingly. My ex loved the heavy meals and junky meals, and it was easier to eat those than to hear him harping throughout the meal on why I felt that I was "too fancy" to eat what he ate. Obviously, he's been dumped (the dumping had to do with many other reasons besides his food issues)! The guy I'm with now does not have those controlling tendencies -- he is diabetic like my mom was and has his own diet, so he's too busy monitoring that to monitor mine (laughing). The meals I cook for both of us end up being healthy for both of us. Diets that are designed for diabetics are healthy for most of us, because they are low sugar, low carb and balanced. I'm losing weight now because I want to, and he's dropping some pounds, too, without realizing it. And we're not famished throughout the day, either.0 -
I came to a similar conclusion the last time I did this. Am I the only one who is unable to eyeball portion sizes? I may not have to calorie count, but I find that when I stop measuring things, my portion sizes go up and up and up and then I'm eating for 3 people and still only counting it as one serving.2
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Exactly. Maybe I'm weird in saying I don't wish to rely on something other than myself to stay fit for the rest of my life. Everyone's different I suppose. I just don't understand the reasoning in not wanting to forge a healthy and sustainable relationship with food on your own.
It seems weird to me too. Which is why I didn't weigh and measure while losing. I wanted a smoother transition into maintenance. But, different strokes.
You didn't weigh or measure yourself at all? I gotta do both. Simply because I'm building a particular look. I do it sparingly though. Once a week is fine. What I don't do is weigh my food. That's extreme to me. This isn't my profession for me to be so exact to the gram.
LOL We were talking food.0 -
At 19 I went from 220 to 160 lbs in 9 months with strict adherence to the Slim Fast diet.
Ober the next 17 years I watched my weight go up a total of 110 lbs. It was for the most part a very slow, steady gain of only 6.5 lbs/year -- easy to miss, easy to ignore, and easy to rationalize.
I wasn't very wrong in estimating or portion control. The numbers work out to being wrong by only 62 calories/day. But I was consistently off over a long period of time.
Coupled with how miserable my weight loss effort was in early adulthood, I just wasn't motivated to fix the obvious growing problem until I took a long, hard look at my future if the trend continued.
I am back down to 166, and this time I know that my stomach lies, and that I can avoid a lot of misery in the future by not relying on eyeball estimated of my food. I used to think being thin required severe deprivation. Now I know that as long as I track my total food, I can enjoy all the delicious things.
#counting4lyfe4 -
I'm a fairly boring eater. I usually eat about 6 slices of bread per day, something inbetween, some fruit and dinner. That certainly makes counting calories fairly unnecessary in the long run. I do step on the scale every morning after getting up, which is my way of not counting anymore. It works for me because I know my weight fluctuates fairly little and because I know what causes more water retention. And every two to three months, or if something happens in my circumstances (international move) I do a few days of counting just to see whether portion creep is happening, and if it did then I adjust accordingly. I'll be maintaining successfully for two years come the new year 3
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Exactly. Maybe I'm weird in saying I don't wish to rely on something other than myself to stay fit for the rest of my life. Everyone's different I suppose. I just don't understand the reasoning in not wanting to forge a healthy and sustainable relationship with food on your own.
It seems weird to me too. Which is why I didn't weigh and measure while losing. I wanted a smoother transition into maintenance. But, different strokes.
You didn't weigh or measure yourself at all? I gotta do both. Simply because I'm building a particular look. I do it sparingly though. Once a week is fine. What I don't do is weigh my food. That's extreme to me. This isn't my profession for me to be so exact to the gram.
LOL We were talking food.
Lol. For some reason I thought you segued into talking about your physique. Facepalm.0 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.
There's some true talk in this. You talking about listening to your body *intuitive eating?0 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.
I think maybe we mean different things when we speak of portion control. One can't overeat and have good portion control. When I say portion control I mean eating amounts that keep you at a healthy weight. I really don't understand what you mean.0 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.
There's some true talk in this. You talking about listening to your body *intuitive eating?
Thanks. Yes, some of it is "intuitive" eating but it's not important enough. Most of it is relying on the body's ability with fluctuation, if I can simplify it.
So because of this wonderful mechanism, we don't *need* to count specific calories or eat specifically x oz of meat, etc. per meal for example. Let the body deal with the margin of gain/loss and the longer range the better. It's perfectly healthy and I would think even desirable since we never know when food scarcity would occur.0 -
I've come to the same conclusion. All through high school and college I've yoyoed from 105-135 and anywhere in between. I've decided I don't want to lose weight again. I will have to log and enjoy when I can and find the balance. But I know my self from several times of losing and gaining that I need the accountability to stay on track cause I'm tired of going back and forth.0
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endlessfall16 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.
I don't know what restaurants you've been going to, but many many restaurants do indeed serve very large portions.
I'm thinking of the size of steaks served, serving sizes of pasta... things like that. They are huge.
For you to not think they're overly large? You must be a very, very tall man with a large frame whose normal portions are on the large side.
A palm sized piece of meat is something I don't recall seeing in any restaurant I've been in for a very, very long time. Don't even get me started on the size of a baked potato that comes with the average meal.6 -
Weighing food/counting calories is a perverse little habit that I've come to enjoy. CalorieCounter4Lyfe!1
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.
I don't know what restaurants you've been going to, but many many restaurants do indeed serve very large portions.
I'm thinking of the size of steaks served, serving sizes of pasta... things like that. They are huge.
For you to not think they're overly large? You must be a very, very tall man with a large frame whose normal portions are on the large side.
A palm sized piece of meat is something I don't recall seeing in any restaurant I've been in for a very, very long time. Don't even get me started on the size of a baked potato that comes with the average meal.
There are a few restaurants that give you options to order a very large steak but they also have options for very small steaks. A few months ago I went to a fine diner and ordered the largest 32 oz steak. I had to bring half home for next day, but it hardly did any damage to my diet that week.
I eat out a lot at casual places like Chipotle, Rubio, Carl Jr, privately owned restaurants and I never see any option that a healthy adult man couldn't finish.
However, the point here is if you manage your meals well, be a little disciplined with cutbacks, it makes no different whether you eat a 1500 cal Carl Jr meal or a 900 cal BajaFresh bowl. While you and others like yourself are concerned with every calorie point, I'm focused on cutbacks with other meals. Our bodies don't care that you eat 1500 calories in one meal and then 200 calories (a small sandwich) the next meal, or however less until the excess is gone; or even so less that it goes into deficit level. That's how weight is lost.
So, the issue is not the portion assessment or tight control. The issue is whether you are disciplined with cutbacks when needed.0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »You will NOT be forced to count calories for the rest of your life. Once you are at your goal weight. You will just count calories for a couple months to learn what your body will need to maintain, then it should be easy
Just like any other diet some will eventually learn proper portion control without the tool and some will not. The reason most people regain is that they quit whatever they were doing when they lost weight. That's why it's so important to find a method of weight loss that is comfortable enough to be sustainable long term, or will at least give you the knowledge to proceed without it.
Since you and another mfp veteran Aaron have mentioned "proper portion" , I also feel the need to chime in that the "skill" to identify "proper portion" or accurate control is really unnecessary, if not time wasting and futile, per my experience.
Generally, for outside, unless you order a second meal -- who does that --, most restaurants don't serve obscenely big portions. So no accidentally walking into a calorie bomb that the body cannot handle. Or at home I doubt if people can't tell between a very full plate and a good size plate that is in healthy range.
My point here is the difference in portion size that we cannot tell does not significantly contribute to our weight problem. Our bodies and actions can easily manage this fluctuation.
What significantly contributes to most people's wt problem is the consistent over eating behavior. More specifically, it's their lack of discipline to cut back when they have to and they know that time. It's not their lack of portion assessment.
Anecdotally, in my counting days I (mistakenly) also thought that I needed to learn the "portion" skill. Soon I realized it was unnecessarily difficult and suffocatingly restrictive.
It's 10x easier and less energy to focus on developing discipline to identify when it is OK and cut back. Our bodies are very much built for handling fluctuation, much bigger than our perception could do with portion assessment.
I think most of my success comes from knowing where to focus my effort.
I don't know what restaurants you've been going to, but many many restaurants do indeed serve very large portions.
I'm thinking of the size of steaks served, serving sizes of pasta... things like that. They are huge.
For you to not think they're overly large? You must be a very, very tall man with a large frame whose normal portions are on the large side.
A palm sized piece of meat is something I don't recall seeing in any restaurant I've been in for a very, very long time. Don't even get me started on the size of a baked potato that comes with the average meal.
It might depend on where you live. I know that Canadian restaurants serve smaller portions, although still larger than necessary, but I think certain regions of the US have different standards as well.0
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