Hi everyone..
I'm at a point where I don't need to lose anymore, just tone - but I know that I must count calories indefinitely to stay at this weight. I'm just having a hard time... you would think it'd get easier with time, but I've been doing it so long, it's like a full-time job and getting very monotonous... I'm afraid to "let go" and just eat when I'm *hungry*, because I don't really remember what it's like to eat "normally" anymore. Everything must be calculated before it enters my mouth.. it gets so stressful sometimes - but if I didn't do it, I feel like I'd lose it and either binge or over-eat (even too much healthy food can put on weight) simply because NOT counting is so foreign to me. Sorry to ramble, I guess I just needed to vent...

Have you tried logging your foods in a journal? I use fitday, and I find it helpful because then I'm accountable even if I don't particularly feel like it. I know that calorie counting sucks, but for me it's better than the alternative. *sigh* Keep up the good work!

I have more than 3 years worth of food journals in a box in my closet. I could tell you what I ate on Nov 13, 2004, for example. Some people don't have to do that, but I do. I have journaled perfect food days, 5000 calorie days(!) and everything in between. Maybe you won't have to do that in the long run, and maybe you will.

The planning and journaling can be a pain sometimes, but it is just one more of the 'if,thens' in my life. If I want to get paid, I have to go to work. If I don't want my teeth to rot, then I have to brush, even when I've forgotten and I'm tired and I just want to sleep. If I want to do a race, then I have to train for it, even on a bad day. If I want to spend more time with my daughter, then I have to give up some time for myself. And if I want to keep the weight off, then I have to plan, and journal, and live with delayed gratification. All good trades, but trades indeed. And made enough times, they become such habits, that it is just another thing I do, without feeling too put out.

Anne

Dana .... Journaling, counting calories, weighing and measuring, exercising, thinking all the time about what your next move will be when it comes to weight loss/maintenance can be time consuming BUT for me and many like us, it's the only thing that will save us from going back to our old habits... I've made all of these habits part of my "lifestyle" and that's just the way it is... I kinda like it now though I make a game of it silly as that may sound ...