What makes you MOST successful in calorie counting?

Even if I slack on logging I make sure to read the nutrition information on packages. That way it's still in my mind somewhere and usually keeps me from overeating most of the time because I know "this entire package is 1000 calories" etc

Eat a lot more single ingredients that you assemble into a recipe yourself instead of opening packages of already prepared ingredients. Have larger servings of veggies/meats you know have low calories and much smaller portions of everything else

Nothing wrong with prepared foods but I do find calories add up a lot faster for it on average.

It gets way easier once you get your favorite meals added as recipes and your frequent items all queued up when you need them instead of having to keep looking them up. Pre-planning helps me a ton as well - I figure out how much of each I need, and then I weigh that amount when I'm cooking, instead of weighing what I'm cooking and then trying to log it after. That way you know you can fit it into your calories. I find weighing to be far easier than measuring cups (also less dishes) and it keeps my recipes much more consistent than "eyeballing" it.

I use the "frequent" and "my recipes" tabs ALL the time. I find that for the most part, I tend to cook and eat the same things a lot, so if it's in my history, it makes it easier to log.

The other thing that makes logging easier for me is seeing the RESULTS. I know for fact that I suck at estimating portion size. When I weigh my food, I lose weight: end of story.

Logging is not at big a deal if you've got a kitchen scale, a bar scanner and are not OCD about it.

Close enough is good enuf. The important thing is to log most of the things that you est and, if in doubt, OVER estimate.

Consistency.

Simplifying it by ignoring most of the macros (except protein). I have found that the more I obsess over carbs, fat, and sugar, the more stressed out I get. Most of those numbers stay on the low side by keeping within my calories anyway, but I used to really get in my head about it. Then I would get too stressed out and overwhelmed, over-restrict, then binge. Over and over again.

I do my very best (especially for a restart) when I plan out my whole week and pre-log most things. I don't keep that up long term, but for early on it takes out a lot of guesswork and gets me in the habit.

And I try to keep things simple. I have the same shake for breakfast every workday. I meal prep my lunches and usually eat the same thing for a week (salads, soups, wraps, or "casserole" type dishes, I like to mix it up!) Sometimes I'll make 4 servings and plan to eat out with coworkers one day a week.

I meal plan my dinners and only pick 3 recipes for the whole week so I don't feel like I'm cooking every single night. When I first started meal planning I was choosing a recipe every day and it was way too much food! So we'll eat leftovers (or a simple dinner) the other nights of the week. If I want to try out a new recipe, I usually only do that once a week, because I find my evenings and logging go smoother if I'm mostly sticking to things I already know. Usually I'll put that new recipe on Thursday night, so at some point between Sunday and Thursday night, I find some time to build that new recipe, and then just make tweaks to the entries when I actually get into the kitchen.

I don't snack a lot, but I'll usually just work that into my counts as each day goes on, and make adjustments as necessary.

And also leaning on convenient/easy options when things are hectic. Having some reasonably low-cal options in the freezer can be a lifesaver. Or I was not feeling well recently and didn't have energy for pulling together a healthy lunch, and a PB sandwich and some crackers were easy to weigh, track, and made me feel better. Not every meal has to be a superfoods salad with homemade herb vinaigrette :-P And even if you do succumb to the drive thru, just accept it and try to do better at the next meal instead of throwing in the towel.

I second the meal prep...I don’t eat anything unless I’ve added it—it’s now become a habit

Honestly, not giving that much of an f...I travel a lot internationally and eat out a lot in random places that are not gonna be in the database, live alone and have an irregular job and no routine whatsoever, don't have a food scale, etc. I've accepted just searching the database, finding a bunch of stuff that kinda-maybe looks right, picking one (I probably do something like the second-highest calorie count of the first ten results...but its also not actually that organized. I just pick one) and not actually worrying about it ever again. Some days I'll be way over. Some days I'll be way under. I figure it balances out, and so far I've always lost fairly consistently when I stick to it.