I'm wondering if I should stop worrying about tracking my food intake. I know that all of the experts say that this is the #1 thing that people who sucessfully lose and keep it off do. But it seems that when I track, it somehow makes me feel hungrier. So many days I woudl enter my lunch into teh PC, see how many cal I had "left" , and then feel a strong urge to hit the pantry for something to eat. I feel like ity makes me more food obsessive.

Thoughts???

I've done it both ways. I always run into problems if I don't. I get right back on track as soon as I start keeping a diary. Also, I love to see the progress I've made as the days go by. It is very motivating for me, at least. If I don't keep track, I sneak in little bites and samples of all sorts of things.

Not keeping track of my diet and exercise is how I gain...

In a word, NO.

When I don't track, it tends to be a one way ticket on the "just a bite" train, which takes me clear out of maintenance land and into the dreaded "RED ZONE".

What Mandalinn said. Not tracking makes me underestimate what I eat.

ONe thing that does help is for me to plan out what I eat throughout the day before I eat it. That way I don't think "oh I have 800 cals left, I can have a cookie". I know that my afternoon snack is 70 cals and my post workout shake is 190 cals and that leaves me 400 cals for dinner ... etc.

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I stopped keeping track the first time I lost weight, and I think that is part of the reason I've got to fight it back again.

I find it easier to stay on track when I'm logging. It's too easy to lie to myself when I try to do it in my head.

Tracking does nothing for me except make me obsessed!
I do better trying to keep food and eating off my mind as much as possible.

All I can say is track! I lost 45 pounds and kept it off for five years (Size 4! That seems impossible now...) before my first son was born by tracking my food and weighing EVERY DAY. I just kept a chart on my bathroom wall for my weight (added a dot everyday) and a small notebook in my purse for my food intake. At the end of the day, I tallied up and made sure that, at least as a weekly average, I stayed at my target calorie level for maintenance -- oh, and I strength trained at least twice a week and did cardio at least four times a week. If my weight went up by more than three pounds, I just decreased my calories for a couple of weeks and presto -- almost painless to get back down.

Then, with my first pregnancy, I gave up the tracking. Three babies later, here I am trying to lose 35 pounds (Ten pounds higher as a goal than my pre-baby weight as that weight was actually out of the 'safe zone' for body fat % for someone my height.). Again, I am tracking calories, weighing everyday, strength training 3X a week and doing cardio 6 days a week. I keep a five day average weight on my computer to make sure I do not lose too much too quickly, but to make sure I do keep losing (I like the five day average thing. It protects me from freaking on those days when I am a pound up.). I am, as of today 15 pounds down from my start weight after seven weeks.

To avoid that feeling of always thinking about food and gaming how many calories I have left, I divide my day into smaller pieces. I ONLY eat: breakfast (320 cals), snack (150 cals), lunch (350 cals), snack (220 cals) and dinner (450 cals) and evening snack of All Bran buds (70 cals-- gotta get the fiber!). I may deviate a little bit per meal in the calorie count (Totalling between 1200 and 1800 on any given day), but I do it on a per meal basis (I have a top end number I will not cross for each meal to make sure I do not go over 1800 any day...), and if i do go over in a meal, I get back on track for the next meal, and I never eat more or less number of meals than those stated (Eating six times a day means I never feel hungry for very long!). When I do it this way, I know when I can eat, how much I can eat and so I don't have to think about it. Eating becomes just something I do, not something I think about and crave. This works great for me. I really have not felt deprived. Oh, and if I want a glass of red wine or something in the evening, I plan in advance and take my meals down by 30 cals or so a piece to fit it in. Or if it is a spontaneous thing, I make it up the next day with decreased meals, a dropped snack, etc. The key is knowing in advance how much I can eat -- not eating through the day until I "run out of room" in my calorie count and then feeling like I am starving!

You could plan your calorie intake ahead. Like plan out your meals instead of tracking AFTER you eat, track before! So you can space out your calories evenly throughout your day.

Tracking is KEY. It is accountability. Without it, I would fail. Even now, in maintenance, I track mentally. If my weight starts to go up, I pull out the software and log every bite.

I gained 286 pounds without tracking, and lost 90 through keeping close tabs on my intake. Tracking works for me.

I do much better when I track my calories. When I'm not tracking, it's too easy to lie to myself about how many calories are in the foods that I'm eating.

Frankly, I also find that if I'm not tracking, eating becomes an exercise in guilt. Should I eat this? Am I really hungry? Am I full now? I have to question everything I put in my mouth. When I track, I don't have to think so hard about what I eat. I figure out what I'm going to eat for the day and that's what I eat. If my lunch ends up being low in calories and I want to eat something else, I eat something else. I don't have to spend a lot of time analyzing whether I'm really hungry or not, because I know that so long as my food for the day is at my target calorie level, I'm not going to gain weight.

I'm familiar with the intuitive eating concept and all the tricks they suggest to get yourself to eat less (use a small plate, drink a beverage before you eat, eat a few nuts before your meal, etc.) I know that works for some people, but it all just seems like so much angst to me. I'd rather measure out my dinner in a calorie appropriate portion and eat it all without spending the whole meal trying to convince myself I should eat less of it.

To be honest, I have to track. When I do not track, I tend to forget what I ate!!

Seriously, it will be at around 5pm and I will think that I only ate about 1,200 cals, then.. Hours later, I would remember that I actually had a snack, or even a meal I forgot about.

I especially forget how many cups of coffee I had if I do not write it down.

I think my brain tries to trick me into eating more by forgetting what I ate. But haha!!... I am one step ahead of you, my lovely brain!!