Do you ever stop obsessing about what you are eating? I mean, will there ever be a point in this journey when I just instinctively know what to eat? Or will I be counting calories for the rest of my life?

It is so frustrating to think that I might always have to focus on every bite of food that I put into my mouth.

One does not need to count calories to lose or maintain weight. On the other hand you do have to restrict what you eat to lose weight or maintain your weight. This doesn't change, ever. Whether you count calories or follow certain rules is up to you. Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear.

The reason this doesn't change is because unlike other animals the vast majority of us humans don't have any built in biological mechanisms built in to defend against weight gain. From an evolutionary perspective there is only gain from being fat so our bodies are well adapted to store energy for when we need it.

The one thing I have found that makes maintaining weight easy is intermittent fasting. I successfully maintained my weight for about five months without counting any calories nor following any strict dietary rules by simply shortening the window of when I ate. If I ate a little more one day I would eat a little less the next.

Goodluck!

I hit the goal back in 2000, was 124 lb, with counting calories. I stopped counting the day I saw 124 on the scale and was eating more intuitive. While you are losing weight, wanted or not, you train yourself and educate yourself on acceptable food and portions, so the knowledge does stay with you. I didn’t count calories after that and didn’t gain any weight until 2009.

During 2009 -2010, life happened, and I was eating more and more of comfort food (emotional eating) and I knew, without counting calories, that I am overeating and have too many deserts and potato chips. I didn’t stop, but I knew I should have.

To answer your question, no, it doesn’t have to be your new life with calculator in one hand and food scale in another, but I think it depends on the person; we all need to find our way of managing our demons.

I have my average weekly weight recorded now to make sure if I will see increase I will take care of it right away , not gonna wait until it will be + 16 lb. If I will see 2 lb increase on average I will count the calories again for a week or two, but it definitely will not be every day each day , I just can’t live my life being a prisoner of calories calculation.

I weigh myself every day. I just eat carefully, being mindful of the necessity for portion control.

Yes, the control gets easier. I do it now without thinking about it much.

But if the number on that scale bumps up I refocus myself, and deal with it before it gets out of hand.

One thing that continues to bother me is the large, very large, number of people who achieve their weight-loss goal, and then regain all the lost weight.

I do not want to be one of those people.

I am not at goal yet but my suspicion is yes. It's NOT counting calories that got me here in the first place -- and not really caring. I care now and counting calories just goes along with that. IMHO.

I understand where you're coming from, I really do. Some days I struggle with this idea A LOT, that I will never not have to think about what goes in my mouth. Some of that is annoyance that I can't be "normal" like those who seem to naturally maintain their weight without having to count calories, track anything, worry about what they eat, or obsess about numbers and portion sizes and cooking methods.

Two things have helped me.

1. What JohnP said. My food intake needs to managed somehow or I will not lose weight and will not maintain my present weight - I will gain weight. Been there, done that, thank you very much. I'm not going back to that.

2. Because of #1, I've tried to develop a deep sense of gratitude for calorie counting. It is an amazing tool that makes it possible for me to something I love - eat! eat chocolate! eat pizza! eat sour cream! - and still lose or maintain.

Do I resent calorie counting at times? Yes. Do I love it? Not always. But would I trade it for being 200+ pounds again, tired and achy and fat and unhappy with looking at myself in the mirror? Not on your life. So calorie counting it is for me. If that's for life, so be it - I want this body to be for life, too, so it seems a reasonable trade-off (when I don't listen to my inner 2 year old, of course! ).

Thanks guys! I guess I was having a bit of a bad day. I just feel so obsessed and all-consumed by what I eat all the time, that it gets old. I just hope that I by the end of this (final) journey I'll have it under control and figured out. And, so true JenMusic - if it has to be forever, then I will do it gladly.

This is exactly why I calorie count. You can have my Lucky Charms when you can rip them from my cold dead fingers.

I'm curious what you guys mean by calorie counting...does that mean you're just counting them but not necessarily LIMITING them???? (Obviously you have to limit them when dieting...but is it different during maintenance?) Because i've ALWAYS counted calories...i always have a running total in my head, no matter what...but whether i am coming in at an appropriate number of calories is an entirely different matter!

I count calories whether I am trying to lose, maintain, or gain weight.

The point regarding pizza or cookies has to do with fitting those foods we like to eat into our total caloric goal for the day, whatever that might be.

I will always have to count at least some of the time.

I, uh, don't count. Since I'm a carb limiter, I just have certain foods I try to stay away from (mainly sugar-laden foods and grains). I don't count anything. I think it would drive me batty. I tried the WW points system once, and although it worked, I was totally sick of it by the time I stopped. I'm on this 'plan' for life. I know I've said that to myself before, but with pre-diabetes looming, it's the only sane thing for me to do.

I'm not at goal but I can tell you that it definitely gets easier as you get closer to goal! It really depends on how you are losing the weight though. I wanted to find a sustainable way for me to not feel deprived so I calorie counted in the beginning.

The last few months I'm more of an intuitive eater because I cook all my meals and know what portion sizes look like (I also exercise 7 times a week).

Even when I traveled overseas for a month not being able to cook a single meal. I only gained 3 lbs that was mostly water weight.

I think it definitely becomes easier but it really depends on the process in which you got your results! Previous weightloss attempts, I would starve myself or deprive myself of any joy in eating ...only to rebound and inhale everything in sight the minute I was at a satisfactory weight.

This time I know when to stop eating and I take the time to enjoy my food!

I'm no where near goal but I'm going to chime in anyway It's something I think about a lot.

I've lost weight in the past without doing any of the tricks out there: no calorie counting, carb counting, dietary restrictions, etc. I just ate less, avoided but didn't eliminate junky foods, and exercised more. In fact, for every previous weight loss attempt I've made, I've stopped counting calories after a few weeks, but kept right on losing.

I guess in those times I did instinctively know what to eat. Even now, I'm tracking my calories, but I don't plan them ahead. I eat what I eat and tally it up at the end. Sometimes it comes in high, but it's rarely a surprise, because I know I've eaten more, or had something more calorie dense than I normally would.

While I'm losing weight, I think about everything I eat, even if I'm instinctively making these good choices. So what worries me is not that I'll have to think about what I eat, but that I won't think about what I eat. I've done it before.

So this time I'm sticking to the calorie counting, not so much because I need it to lose weight, but it the hopes that it will keep me thinking about my choices in a way that leads to me losing weight. Am I making any sense? I guess I hope that someday I'll be able to give it up, but that day won't be anytime soon.

I've been at goal for 7 years. For me, and for most others I think, the answer is no - it is never 'not on your mind' when you had a weight issue in the past. It's for life. Sorry, I wish I had a better answer, that it just magically becomes simple at goal, but it's even harder IMO But it can be done. Whether or not you count calories, limit carbs, use exchange programs, it doesn't matter - you just can't "not think about it" again. Well, you can, but you will probably end up back at square 1.