So I would have no problem calorie counting forever if that what it takes to maintain my weight, but I've been feeling kind of like it's causing me a little anxeity lately in the sense that I'm a little OCD about it. So I was wondering, I pretty much eat the same 10 breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. When I get bored with something I replace it with something of similar caloric value. So I was wondering as long as I stick with these foods and when I introduce a new meal I make sure it's within the proper calorie range could I theorectically just mix and match my meals without counting. All my meals range from 300-500 cals and my snacks are between 100-200 sometimes 300 cals. So at most I'd be eating 1900 cals and at least 1100 cals (this would NEVER happen). I'm not at all worried about the 1900 cals because I lose at 1750ish with at least one 2000 cal day and I'm very active. I guess my biggest fear is that some days I bank up cals for a special indulgence or dinner out, which I suppose I could still just track on those days and not allow myself to exceed x number of cals depending on where my weight is or whatever.

I just feel like I want to think about food/fitness and maintenance/weight loss only 97% of the time instead of 99% of the time On the other hand, I'm TERRRIFIED to stop counting, I know I always go back if the scale starts to move in a direction that I don't like, but I don't even want to go there and I'd really like to make this maintenance transistion as painless as possible. I did maintain my weight for a bit before I started calorie counting doing this same thing, so that's comforting, but I weighed about 30 lbs more so I probably had a little flexibility there.

I guess I'd just like to hear some success stories or alternate plans from people who've been there. And also opinions on whether or not a plan like this would be problematic and lead to potential regain. I think maybe I could start by just trying it on the weekends and see how it feels til I get the hang of it.

I am at goal and find it is necessary to still count calories. In the past I could lose but I could never maintain. When I reached goal thiis time I asked the long term maintainers how they maintained their loss. I got a revolutionary answer, they said they kept it off by doing the same thing they did to lose it !! So....I still plan my meals, still count calories, still keep a food log. This is not nearly as much trouble as it would be to start wearing XLarge clothing again.

Most people will say that they do the same thing when they maintain as when they were losing, but I take a similar approach to what you described. I have certain things that I eat, I know what the calorie content is, and I rotate through them and feel somewhat safe just estimating my calories each day. But if I have a treat (which I do more often than I should), I make adjustments in what I "normally" eat to make up for it.
I totally understand what you mean about getting "OCD" about calorie counting. I was the same way for a while. I think it's really easy to get that way. And what you're describing is a healthy way of monitoring calories without getting crazy about it. This is a change that you will have to maintain for the rest of your life, so either way make sure it's something you can live with.

That's so funny brightangle! I am pretty OCD about my passions. I'm developing new OCD tenancies about my running and training, when I was breastfeeding my son I was SO OCD about knowing everything I could about it, I'm also that way about being a mom, I'm a cronic internet researcher about everything in my life, I getting a little OCD about nutrition, I could go on and on.

Most days I don't even think about counting or logging it's just part of my day, but there are times I get a little overwhelmed by it all. But I think it's way to early in my maintenance to stop, and like I said I'm perfectly fine doing it forever. I'm just wondering if there's another way.

I eat the same breakfast every day.

I eat one of a couple of different lunches, all with the same or very similar calorie counts.

Dinner - I've got that down pat too - the proteins and the sides all pretty much add up to the same calories.

Snacks - same thing - I've got a bunch of snacks that all have very similar calorie counts - and they therefore are all interchangeable.

So all my calorie counting's been done eons ago. I just switch my meals around - ta da - *calorie counting* pre-done.

I think this is what you are speaking about and for me, it really works well. I am though a very repetitive eater and eat out very infrequently.

It sounds to me as if you vary a little more and eat out a bit more and that the process of actually measuring, counting and recording has been quite successful for you. Never a truer saying - don't fix what isn't broken. Sooo, I would proceed with caution. So if you do venture out, proceed cautiously.

I think you've got to consider banishing this thought. All we have is trial and error, when it comes to weight loss and maintenance. There are no guarantees. If you want to try something different, you have to be prepared for different results. It may work out just as well or better than what you are doing, or it might not. You can only experiment, and with any experiment, the results aren't guaranteed.

In theory, interchangeable meals shouldn't be a problem at all. After all, if the calorie counts really are similar, you are counting calories, just indirectly.

I follow an exchange plan, in order to count calories. I still consider it calorie counting, because calorie content does set the upper and lower limit of each exchange. One fat exchange for example will have between 35 and 45 calories. One bread exchange, between 60 and 80. By limiting the exchanges, I limit the calories.

So if I have breakfast every day that breaks down as 1 fruit exchange, 1 milk exchange, 2 protein exchange and 1 starch exchange That's going to be a breakfast that is 350 to 380 calories.

I can fill those exchanges any way I want to and it's still going to fall between 350 and 380 calories. So whether I "count" those calories or not, it's still going to fall between 350 and 380 calories.

It's the calories that count, not your math. If you really are exchanging similar food/calories you are counting calories, you're just not doing the math every day.


The biggest risk is that you begin exchanging foods that are less alike than you think. Some fruits are much higher in calories than others, so "one piece of fruit" may not be equal exchanges. If you make that "mistake" once or twice, it probably won't affect your weight loss/maintenance, but if you make the mistake a lot, it could.

There is no way to know without taking the risk (or deciding not to and deciding that you're going to count each calorie forever - and that's a legitimate choice too).

You've got to decide how much you want to try something new, and if you want it enough to take the risk (and it's a relatively small one. It's not like you're going to try it for six months and never weigh yourself during that time. Any small gain you could see from a failed experiment is going to be caught within a few weeks and a few pounds).

There's really no way to predict whether you'll find it as effective as what you've been doing. It certainly can be, but whether you'll find it easier or as effective, that's something only the experiment can prove.

I've thought about doing this -- maybe making a little chart with all my standard breakfasts and lunches and making it so I could mix and match them. Some breakfasts are 200, some are 300, so if I pick a higher breakfast I then would choose a lower lunch, if that makes sense.

My wild card is dinner. Because I cook for my family, I feel like I have less control over dinner, though I guess that's not really true. For example, we had pesto tortellini the other night. I kept mine reasonable by -- drumroll, please -- just having a cup of it and filling the rest of my plate with veggies.

I've decided I am going to keep counting as usual through the winter and take stock next spring. Winter is so much harder for me, not just because of the holidays but because I hate the cold weather and I stay inside too much. Also, I tend to cook more casseroles and hearty fare in the winter. Which I will moderate with the ol' veggies on half-the-plate trick, I suppose!

I agree with what kaplods said -- that if it doesn't work, you will see it on the scale in the form of a few pounds and can go back to what works -- which is not to say you can't try again, using what you've learned.