I've done it for 2 years and have lost most of my weight. Most days I already know how much to eat and I eat healthy now (to where counting probably isn't all that necessary anymore), so I was wondering if any of you that counted calories to lose eventually stopped logging everything and just kept an eye on your portions and your weight, using the scale as your guide to maintain. And have been successful doing so.

I'm so used to weighing and measuring and counting everything that I'm a little reluctant to try and maintain my weight by using my head alone, but I'm ready to try now. Although I've really enjoyed keeping a food log, I don't want to have to do it for the rest of my life. So I'd like to hear from those who counted to lose and are now maintaining by just watching portions and keeping an eye on the scale. A friend of mine, who lost a considerable amount of weight, just uses her head when it comes to eating and weighs herself about twice a month. If she notices her weight creeping back up, she backs off the food for a while. If she notices herself dipping too far below her goal weight, she increases her food intake.

I'm just wondering if this is a realistic approach or if I should continue counting everything until the end of time.

I'm a calorie counter. Every time I've stopped counting when I reached my goal weight, I gained. After 2 years of this, I know I'm gonna be counting till I'm 100 years old. :/
(currently counting my way off the 12 lbs I need to get rid of)

I would think that after two years of counting calories, girl, you KNOW what to do and that eating healthy has become your way of life, so give it a shot for a month or two. See what happens. Only you know how much that calorie counting keeps you in line. I've only been doing it three months, so the counting and the FitDay are still a big crutch to me, but I would think after two years, I would be tempted to see if I could do it on my own too.

Thanks for the input

I think what I'll do is just try it for a while, not logging everything. If it turns out I need my fitday crutch back, that I can't do this on my own without putting weight back on, then at least I'll know. I have to at least try it. From what I hear, some people are successful doing it and some aren't. Someone told me, "It depends on how self-disciplined you are. If letting go of logging causes you to get careless, then you'll know you're not gonna be able to live without it."

So I guess I'll never know unless I try!

Linda -- I've been wondering the same thing -- will I do this forever. I've been trying to use calorie counting as a tool related to conscious awareness of what I'm eating. Most days during the week I know exactly where I am calorie-wise by the time dinner rolls around, without even "counting" per se.

I know I will continue to do this for a while longer -- but three years from now? I don't know.

I think I might want to give not logging food a try after a while (but not in the near future!) and see what happens. If I can remind aware of what i'm doing without it, great! If not, I'll have to go back to it. For me, being conscious of what I'm eating would probably be my biggest issue. That's been one of the biggest pluses of calorie counting -- awareness.

I guess you won't know until you try!

I took a break to maintain for a while and stopped logging every single morsel. I ended up gaining 10 or so pounds over several months. I'm back on track now and on my way to goal. The lesson I learned was that being a tad relaxed doesn't make pounds appear overnight. When I finally reach maintainence I expect to be able to loosen the reigns a bit but plan to continue weighing on a regular basis AND counting calories religiously at least one week out of the month just to make sure I'm not letting things get out of hand. If that doesn't work I'm prepared to log every bite, every day, for the rest of my life. It is a better fate than getting fat again!

A few months ago the topic came up in the Maintainers Forum - A question - and you might be interested in the responses. It really does come down to everyone's different and you gotta find out what works for you.

Congratulations, Linda!

I no longer log much or count very much. After almost 5 years, I KNOW what I should and shouldn't be eating, and the logging and counting is subconscious. But I do still measure certain foods, and I exercise a lot. I still measure salad dressings, peanut butter, cottage cheese, brown rice, oatmeal, any other cereal that I eat (rare), and I eyeball my meat portions carefully. The only things that I allow myself in unlimitted portions are green vegetables.

I used the scale and my clothing as my guidelines. I've put on more muscle over the last few months and am maintaining a few pounds heavier, but fitting into smaller clothes than I did at this scale weight last year.

Mel

I lost 45 lbs. 15 years ago and unfortunately gained it all back (and then some). I was not counting calories at that time (I did Nutrisystem). In those days there wasn't as much emphasis on long-term eating habits, so I went back to eating my regular foods - healthy foods, but in too large quantities.

Since you have been counting calories for so long, you may have "reprogrammed" yourself regarding serving portions, healthy food choices, exercise, etc.

I think it would be safe for you to experiment for say, two months, and keep a close eye on the scale to see if it's working. If I were to stop counting calories I think I'd have to be very careful about underestimating my calories. My main problem is 'stress' eating (having gone through a bout with cancer and our son having eye problems), so I would have to be extra vigilant during very stressful times if I were not counting calories.

I stopped counting calories about two years ago and promptly gained 10 lbs. but I think I was in denial (didn't weigh myself regularly) and hopefully I have the "mental" side of weight loss in better perspective now. I started counting calories again about a year ago and it's working for me.

I would also like to stop counting and measuring when I reach my goal, but that's a ways off yet!

Good luck - whatever you decide to do!

P.S. I like Mel's idea of measuring certain foods rather than logging all the calories - not so time consuming and it would help to keep portion sizes under control.

Oh yes, I'll definitely still measure certain foods, I'm strict with myself about portion control. Especially things like salad dressing and the like. I think weighing and measuring is going to be with me always. I'd just like to get to the point where I don't have to log every single thing. And lately I've been noticing that even after logging all of my foods, I'm still not eating the amount of calories I should be. I'm not losing anymore weight, either, lol. So I'm probably not eating enough to keep my metabolism in high enough gear. My body DOES NOT want to budge from this spot. I've been 139 for a few months now. Not 138, not 140, but 139. Every single time. Except I bumped up briefly to 141 last week, but I was on my period and carrying extra water. Once that was over, I dropped back down to my body's favorite little 139 spot.

Soooooo, I think I'm ready to settle a little bit. And although I'll still stick to measuring and weighing (I can't fathom the thought of giving up my digital scale!) I'm going to take a break from counting calories and see how it goes. I think I'm self-disciplined enough to do this now. And I'll of course keep an eye on my weight.

Like wyllenn said, I pretty much know where I am calorie-wise even when I'm not counting. As long as I measure my foods and eat specific portions (rather than mindlessly dumping on too much salad dressing or filling my bowl too full of cottage cheese) most days I can keep track of how many calories I've eaten in my head.

So I'm going to try this for a while and see if I can pull it off.

I know what you mean by how your body 'settles' at a given weight. Before I started this weight loss journey I was at exactly 204 lbs. from about the age of 35 to 49 (even though I was fit, healthy and had a resting pulse of 50!), then I started to gain weight fast after menopause . Two years ago I finally decided I had to do something or the sky was the limit weight-wise and my health was going downhill at a rapid clip.

Sometimes our metabolism gets into a "rut" and we have to try something different. Maybe by NOT counting calories you will succeed in losing those last few pounds. It sounds like you are very aware of what you eat and that's half the battle.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Yes and I'm hoping it's going to be enough