Calorie Counting: Does it Work Long-Term?

Well I am 52 lbs down on my journey with another 25 to go. The only thing that keeps me honest with what I eat is logging the food. I've lost weight before albeit not as well as this time, but I always gained it back and I only logged while I was losing the weight. Once I reached goal I basically slowly stopped my logging and fell back into over eating. This time I will continue to log and weigh every day to keep myself accountable to myself.

I've lost around 50lbs and I'm approaching 4 years of maintenance. I'm where I'm at today because I continue to be mindful of my calorie intake. I keep things simple though and usually just track on a piece of paper on my kitchen counter

I looked at calorie counting as a teaching tool...I calorie counted for much of my initial weight loss...I haven't counted calories in about four years...I liken it to training wheels...eventually you should just know how to ride and you can take those things off.

I have more or less maintained going on four years without calorie counting and just going by what I learned when I was calorie counting. I usually put 8-10 Lb on over the late fall and early winter due primarily to a decrease in overall activity...I've never had issue dropping that weight without going back to calorie counting.

Normal eater ? would not that be someone that maintained a NORMAL weight ?

Dinosaurs6259 wrote: »

I've been doing some research and I understand that different things work for different people, but has anyone lost a good amount of weight and kept it off by counting calories? And if you have, did counting calories make you obsessed with the numbers, and obsessed with food? Or were you able to transition into a "normal" eater?

Two questions:

1) What do you mean by "obsessed with number . . . food"?
I ask because part of my issue with weight grows out of a big obsession with food already. Being concerned with the number of calories one eats does not mean being obsessed.

2) What is a ""normal" eater" to you?

Personally, I can't do long term calorie counting for the purpose of long-term maintenance. It seems to work fine for losing weight, but when I'm at maintenance I find myself fudging on my calorie counts. Then I eat right up to my "limit" even though I know I haven't accounted for all calories. When I'm at maintenance and not counting calories, all I have to know is whether I'm hungry or not. If I'm hungry then I just need to eat moderate portions. Occasionally, if my weight starts to climb I might count calories for a few weeks. But once I start fudging the numbers again I stop counting.

It better. My maintenance calories aren't going to be huge, and I obviously cannot just go back to how I ate before. I figure I'm going to be doing some kind of tracking forever.

Dinosaurs6259 wrote: »

thank you guys for all your input!
By "normal" eating, I just meant that since counting calories, although it does work, I can't seem to maintain it for too long. An apple is no longer a source of nutrition for me, but 60 calories. If I go over my caloric limit, I end up sabotaging the rest of the day with a binge, that or I end up being heavily disappointed in myself which ends up ruining the rest of my day.

The thing was, I used to be pretty skinny and never really watched what I ate (BMI of 19-20) but I was also younger and a lot more active. When I gained a little weight I discovered calorie counting as a means to shed a few pounds. But after restricting my calories for a few months, I binged out of control and regained all the weight I lost. After a couple of years of counting and not counting I gained about 40 lbs. I know calorie counting works, but I don't know what my problem is and why I can't stick with it for more than 2 weeks at a time. I personally became obsessed with food and the numbers and if something didn't have a nutritional label on it it would freak me out.

For those of you who have lost the weight calorie counting and kept it off (first of all that's amazing, congratulations), how did you stick with it? Without becoming crazy (like me)?

Again thanks for all your honest input.

Whether logging my calories or not logging my calories, the key for me is the weekly weigh-in. I have a number I don't want to see and I know each week that I am going to step on the scale. I often think about that when I am considering whether I am going to eat something or not.

Dinosaurs6259 wrote: »

I've been doing some research and I understand that different things work for different people, but has anyone lost a good amount of weight and kept it off by counting calories? And if you have, did counting calories make you obsessed with the numbers, and obsessed with food? Or were you able to transition into a "normal" eater?

Three and a half years ago I lost 30 lbs (15% of my starting body weight), which to me was "a good amount," and I've kept it off for three years.

Obsessed with the numbers? I don't think so. I'm aware of the numbers on foods I eat regularly, and have a better idea of what the numbers probably are on things I don't eat regularly. Most of the time, my decisions about what to eat aren't determined by the numbers, although sometimes toward the end of the day I'll make choices aimed at getting enough protein or fiber.

Obsessed with food? Certainly not anymore than I ever was. I always liked to cook, and eat at interesting restaurants, and just plain eat. I think now I'm somewhat more inclined, at least sometimes, to think of food in terms of fuel and nutrition rather than just what's going to taste good or meet some momentary urge.

Was I able to transition into a "normal" eater? Hmmm. You're going to have to define that one for me. I still log almost everything I eat, almost every day. It's not a big deal. With pre-logging, it also serves as a meal planning guide and a way to help me remember what's in the kitchen that needs to be eaten before it spoils, which I think is a good, "normal" practice whether or not you're concerned about calories and macros. I feel a lot more like a "normal" eater consuming amounts of food that allow me to maintain a weight at which my blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are under control, rather than the weight I was before I started tracking my food intake.

If "normal" eater means I don't focus on "diet" foods, or even "healthy" foods any more than I ever did, or on eliminating whole food groups from my diet (diet = whatever you eat), then yes, I'm a normal eater. I always ate (mostly whole) grains and legumes and veggies and fruits and (usually low-fat) dairy and eggs and various kinds of animal protein, and occasionally nuts and nut butters and seeds. I probably eat higher-fat dairy and animal proteins and nut/nut butters/seeds now that I did before I started tracking my intake on MFP. I drink more alcohol (mostly wine, but also beer and spirits) than I did before tracking, but I was never a big drinker and still am not. On the other hand, I also eat a little more seafood now than I did before tracking my intake on MFP. I eat fewer candy bars and other snacks from the vending machine at work, but by no means have I cut them out entirely.

I see you came back later on the issue of normal eater, although it's a little vague -- more what you feel you do that's not normal, rather than an actual definition of normal.

Dinosaurs6259 wrote: »

thank you guys for all your input!
By "normal" eating, I just meant that since counting calories, although it does work, I can't seem to maintain it for too long. An apple is no longer a source of nutrition for me, but 60 calories. If I go over my caloric limit, I end up sabotaging the rest of the day with a binge, that or I end up being heavily disappointed in myself which ends up ruining the rest of my day.

The thing was, I used to be pretty skinny and never really watched what I ate (BMI of 19-20) but I was also younger and a lot more active. When I gained a little weight I discovered calorie counting as a means to shed a few pounds. But after restricting my calories for a few months, I binged out of control and regained all the weight I lost. After a couple of years of counting and not counting I gained about 40 lbs. I know calorie counting works, but I don't know what my problem is and why I can't stick with it for more than 2 weeks at a time. I personally became obsessed with food and the numbers and if something didn't have a nutritional label on it it would freak me out.

For those of you who have lost the weight calorie counting and kept it off (first of all that's amazing, congratulations), how did you stick with it? Without becoming crazy (like me)?

Again thanks for all your honest input.

Calories are part of the nutrition picture, but not the whole picture. An apple is not just 60 calories (well, I find my apples are at least 70 calories, and I tend to buy the smallest ones I can find); it's also 3 or grams of fiber, including soluble fiber, depending on size, and about 10% of my daily vitamin C.

The binging and being unable to stick with it -- I'm not sure that getting random opinions and anecdotes from people for whom calorie counting has worked long term without being "obsessed" or binging or quitting is necessarily going to help you, because, frankly, they may not be like you. You might need to talk to an accredited professional who specializes in eating disorders. It's also possible that you set your calorie goal too low, in an effort to lose the weight fast.

It does sound like you tend to make emotional investments in what you eat and sticking to a plan without deviation, and to judge yourself for any deviation. Calorie counting and weight loss are not indicators of your moral worth; certainly each individual decision you make about what to eat is not something that should make you "heavily disappointed in yourself" or ruin the rest of your day. Take note of decisions that keep you from meeting your goals, see if you can learn any lessons about your trigger foods or trigger occasions or being prepared for certain situations or what foods do and don't leave you satiated, and move on.

Honestly, I don't think it's the calorie counting that leads you to "becoming crazy." From what you say, it sounds as though you've internalized moral valuations about food that would affect any approach or practices you took with respect to eating.

If something doesn't have a nutritional label, find a similar food in the database or log your best estimate by deconstructing the food (hmm, seemed like about 6 oz. of flank steak, half cup of cooked beans, let's call it 50 g of onion and 50 g of bell pepper, maybe a couple of teaspoons of oil just to be safe, done). It's not something to freak out about.

Dinosaurs6259 wrote: »

thank you guys for all your input!
By "normal" eating, I just meant that since counting calories, although it does work, I can't seem to maintain it for too long. An apple is no longer a source of nutrition for me, but 60 calories. If I go over my caloric limit, I end up sabotaging the rest of the day with a binge, that or I end up being heavily disappointed in myself which ends up ruining the rest of my day.

The thing was, I used to be pretty skinny and never really watched what I ate (BMI of 19-20) but I was also younger and a lot more active. When I gained a little weight I discovered calorie counting as a means to shed a few pounds. But after restricting my calories for a few months, I binged out of control and regained all the weight I lost. After a couple of years of counting and not counting I gained about 40 lbs. I know calorie counting works, but I don't know what my problem is and why I can't stick with it for more than 2 weeks at a time. I personally became obsessed with food and the numbers and if something didn't have a nutritional label on it it would freak me out.

For those of you who have lost the weight calorie counting and kept it off (first of all that's amazing, congratulations), how did you stick with it? Without becoming crazy (like me)?

Again thanks for all your honest input.

Well, I've found that after doing the whole weighing/measuring thing for awhile that I'm pretty good at eyeballing portion sizes. Like you, I've gone through periods where I just get tired of calorie counting and "just want to eat like a normal person," meaning (to me) eat without weighing and logging, which is what I did successfully for many years. The key for me seems to be having an exercise schedule, and knowing what foods work for me, and what foods need to find their way out of my diet. I usually do pretty well if I stick to an eating plan. When I start to get complacent, that's when stupid food choices happen and the weight starts to pile back on.

Simply put...you have to be conscious of what you put into your mouth...ALWAYS. If it is generally clean foods then there is no need to count...you know when you have gone overboard or overindulged, you just have to be honest with yourself.

mrcs_jolly wrote: »

Simply put...you have to be conscious of what you put into your mouth...ALWAYS. If it is generally clean foods then there is no need to count...you know when you have gone overboard or overindulged, you just have to be honest with yourself.

Wrong. You can most certainly gain weight eating 'clean' (which is a totally subjective and arbitrary term), if you're eating over your maintenance calorie level.