anyone had success NOT calorie counting?

When I went vegan I found I needed to count calories to keep from putting on weight. I was hungry all the time although I ate mainly whole foods. Very quickly I went up by 15lbs which did not happen when I was vegetarian or pesco vegetarian. I have now returned to being vegetarian/pesco vegetarian and the weight has began to come off slowly. When I logged my calories as a vegan it was way higher than what I needed for the day because I tried to get up to 120 grams of protein using peas, beans and nuts. Now I add eggs and fish sometimes and my calorie count is now with in range. I have also added some pea\hemp\rice protein powders which help to increase calories without increasing carbs.

recently, i've become concerned that i'm going to be dependent on calorie counting for the rest of my life. i want to continue losing weight, but am wondering if it's possible to do it without counting. i've recently switched to veganism, which i hope will help. does anyone have any thoughts on this? has anyone had experience losing weight, either by vegeterianism/veganism, or other ways besides calorie counting?

Honestly, you probably will be dependent on the concept, but not on the actual drudgery of the day-by-day calorie-by-calorie practice.

In other words, as you are losing weight by calorie counting, you are learning portions that work for you, approximate calories in each, which foods you can eat more of with less impact and which you really honestly need to watch closely. In short, you're learning how to eat MINDFULLY and with purpose. You don't suddenly forget all that valuable information when you stop logging food to a database.

You'll still know that one handful of chips with salsa is OK as an appetizer, the entire basket + three more baskets is not. You'll still know that a small slice of cake is OK, eating the whole thing and going back to the baker's for a second cake is not. And you'll still know that a portion of oatmeal and an egg in the morning keeps you full until lunch, while three bowls of sugar-frosted fr00t smacks with a 32-ounce sugary soda poured over it will leave you out hundreds more calories and you'll be hungry enough to chew off one of your own limbs by 9:30.

You just won't have to see if that slice of cake is 100 or 150 calories. Because no matter which one it is, you'll be in the ballpark. You won't have to fret about being 5g short on protein on Tuesday, because you know that your routine diet will have enough to support you.

If you do this right, and slowly, and mindfully, the transition to maintenance will probably be completely transparent (after all, you should have been lowering your goal gently as you approach your ideal) and you'll just track calories for a month or two, then just keep an eye on the scale and the fit of your clothes for any unwelcome trends. And if things start trending in the wrong direction, you come back for a refresher lesson. Set an upper limit of, say, 10 pounds above your goal. Mark this spot on your scale "RETURN TO MFP".