Hello ladies,
I've been couting calories since middle of March and it has been very effective. However, over the last few days, I haven't been counting. I've been very careful with my eating, but I haven't written down a thing. I guess I feel like maybe I could try to make this more of a lifestyle? I kind of feel like I eat similar things every day...with some varation, so is it necessary to count? Am I setting myself up for ultimate disaster? I want to be less obsessed w/ food. Is this the answer or the begining of the end!

Only you can tell. I have been doing it for about the same amount of time as you and i know i can not be trusted not to count. I stoped for 2 weeks and gained a few lbs. If you feel you can do it why not try. One week cant hurt anything

Lucky, LLV recently posted a similar question in the Maintainers forum that you might want to check out.

Question for all maintainers

It seems like a lot of us who lost our weight by counting calories never stop, even after we reach goal. But only you know what's going to work for YOU, so maybe experiment for a while? So long as you're weighing yourself regularly (a minimum of once a week), you'll find out the answer to your question.

Be sure to let us know how it goes for you!

Lucky - I stopped counting my calories about 2 months before I lost all the final weight. I honestly got tired of logging online and doing it. I mentally do the math in my head to the best of my ability and keep a day's tally ongoing. It's worked for me, but I do know that many people can slip up on this.....so do a test run, see how you do and decide from there!

Thanks so much! I think it'll be ok to keep a mental idea of what's going on. Then, during TOM, I will have to write things down. I'll keep ya'll posted on how it goes! Thank again for the advice.

Maybe don't log (or count calories) until the end of the day and see if you're still on track. Or, for several days, just jot down the foods. Then, sit down and retroactively see how you did those days. If you did well, try it for a week. If that goes well, maybe try a pop quiz on yourself every now and again. Find a way that you don't control to figure when to quiz yourself. Say, when Mom's daily email arrives before your first 3FC notice or whatever. Then, you won't be inclined to cheat and only check days on which you think you did well.