anyone who has STOPPED counting, with success?

this was kinda inspired by reading through the 'remember the days..' topic about how the majority of us used to eat whatever we liked when we were younger and still somehow managed to maintain.

i used to be like that.. i'd probably average 3000 calories a day (more at the weekend) with no real exercise and i think my heighest weight ever was 135 at 5 foot 4, and that was when i pigged out more than ever for six weeks straight over a summer. i was a little chubby, but not huge. then i got an eating disorder, went down to below 100lb and now i'm at about 120, but still addicted to counting.

my question, really, is has anyone ever just thought 'RIGHT, i'm going to completely stop counting and eat whatever i want' and not ended up ballooning because of it? like almost maintained in the way that they used to?

i'm not expecting to maintain on like three chocolate muffins and milkshakes a day obviously, but i mean just with an unrestricted lifestyle in general. i'm still young and i want to enjoy being a teenager, without obsessing over calories/nutrition any longer. any experiences?

i maintain my weight without counting calories. it's just really about listening to your body and giving it what it needs, when it needs it. yes, i eat whatever i want, but just not all at once. i've learned to keep balance in my eating. had a carb filled breakfast? balance it out with a high protein lunch. ate too much today at a party? eat a little less tomorrow. at first, it's weird to not count.. but after a week or so, you'll feel amazing.

good luck :)

"my question, really, is has anyone ever just thought 'RIGHT, i'm going to completely stop counting and eat whatever i want"

I don't think anyone (well, the vast majority of people) can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. I cannot count calories to save my life, but I keep it in my vault what I've eaten and try to stay away from things that I think are bad, i.e. sugar & fried foods, and I see the scale dropping.

-sookiesig84

^love trueblood!!!

Anyway, I just got bored of counting calories and wasnt motivated to count anymore. But I still watched what I ate. I knew what choices were good for me and ones that werent. I never over ate anything. I maintained between139-142 for a whole yr. Im counting again just so I can keep track of my deficit and lose the last 10 lbs that I need to lose.

Original Post by crunchynut:

this was kinda inspired by reading through the 'remember the days..' topic about how the majority of us used to eat whatever we liked when we were younger and still somehow managed to maintain.

i used to be like that.. i'd probably average 3000 calories a day (more at the weekend) with no real exercise and i think my heighest weight ever was 135 at 5 foot 4, and that was when i pigged out more than ever for six weeks straight over a summer. i was a little chubby, but not huge. then i got an eating disorder, went down to below 100lb and now i'm at about 120, but still addicted to counting.

my question, really, is has anyone ever just thought 'RIGHT, i'm going to completely stop counting and eat whatever i want' and not ended up ballooning because of it? like almost maintained in the way that they used to?

i'm not expecting to maintain on like three chocolate muffins and milkshakes a day obviously, but i mean just with an unrestricted lifestyle in general. i'm still young and i want to enjoy being a teenager, without obsessing over calories/nutrition any longer. any experiences?

 This is almost creepy, but I'm 5'4", always maintained my weight around 130 lbs throughout my life by eating WHATEVER I wanted...then after getting married I gained and got up to about 143 and decided to start counting calories and lost weight.  I'm down to 123 give or take a pound or two and I JUST decided to stop counting calories (literally like last night while I was eating crawfish and deciding it would be too difficult to figure out the calories in the 3 lbs b/c i didn't know what they were cooked in).  So today is the first full day I am saying to myself...eat reasonable amounts of food, watch my weight (by weighing every couple days and eating more or less by what i weigh) and finally be free of the counting of calories...

So, I'm still going to come on this site to track my weight and to read forums and stuff, but I'm not going to count anymore...I already feel sooo free.  Not knowing what calories I still have to eat/don't have to eat-makes me not think about food constantly.  So hopefully it is possible, but I'm still so shocked to see a post that is SO similar to what I've been thinking about today and yesterday.

I am a sucessful and maintaing after weight loss for a year now.  I do not eat anywhere 3,000 calories, of especially junk food.  I relyed (sp - relied) heavily on the Food Pyramid guideliness in maintaining.  I am not saying I don't have a real life hiccup in maintaining, this is reality afterall, and in the real world people do make the mistake, learn and , move on.

Being a teenager and not a 40 yr old, you have NO  reason to be obsessed with calorie counting and eating obsessively healthy.  You are young and no doubt very active.   As you age, I would rely more heavily on the Food Pyramid guidelines so that you will not struggle after you've made it through the 20's.  Good luck and good health at you.

i stopped counting about a year ago and did pretty well with my body's hunger signals guiding me... for a couple of months. although i was successful at first, my old habits came back and haunted me and i began to binge eat most days. as of now, i am back to counting. i think those who are most successful with not counting are those with excellent self control and discipline. i am a sucker for food so it ended up not working too well for me!!!

My life is a little too busy at times to be constantly logging, so I take breaks from it for weeks or months at a time.  I'm able to maintain, but I must admit that I still mentally calculate.  I'm sure it's not very accurate, but it gives me a rough estimate.  I have maintained, and perhaps even lost a bit...at least that's what someone told me today :).  I definitely don't eat whatever I want though.  If I did, I would surely gain.  I have chose to make this a way of life.  I log for a week or two every now and then just to make sure that I'm staying on track. 

Sometimes I think I eat more when I'm logging. 

Count.  paul

hey hey, glad to see that someone got something out of my remember the days post...

Its good for all of you that shared your stories and positive experiances with not counting.  I smell a hint inspiration/motivation.  Thanks.

well, after experience in counting throughout loosing, gaining and maintaining weight i roughly know what i can eat in a day to be healthy.  I followed my intake for a bit and watched what happened, i learnt to honour my hunger and then (after an eating disorder) i decided to stop the obssession, every thought that came i'd push out with all my mind, jump on the computer and distract myself, sing to songs, concentrate on homework or flute playing. I eat when i'm hungry and know iim not loosing weight because i check, and eventually i hope not to even need that re-assurance i need to trust myself and know despite calorie intake or weight i look and feel healthy and energetic, isnt that what makesus happy with ourselves? the ultimate goal?

Several times I have TRIED to stop counting and the weight zoomed up FAST. I now know that the last day of my calorie count will have to  be the day they pull the plug.

Unless I tightly control what I eat by recording EVERYTHING I eat, my weight will go up and up and UP. I have no built in "fullness sensor."

I've been recording my calories for 7 years now.

So since replying in the post about 3 weeks ago, I've stopped counting but have had trouble stopping the mental averaging of the amount I eat each day.  I just round about count everything, since I was so used to counting before, and it has worked pretty well.  I would say avg I've eaten about 1900 cal a day, which is a little lower than what i maintain on, and I'm about the same weight as I was three weeks ago (I always fluctuate a pound or two).  So though i'm not writing down everything I eat everyday I'm still sort of mentally adding it all.  It has DEFINITELY helped me stop thinking about food constantly, which is what I was trying to do.  I'm glad I did it, and the only negative side effect so far is eating a little less healthy (i don't SEE the amount of sodium/sugar/vitamins daily, so I don't regulate that as much, but I have a feeling I'll get better with this in time).

I don't count calories, although I pretty much know how much I can eat without counting. If I'm hungry at any point in the day, you can bet I'm going to eat. I can fix any misses with exercise.

I find it strange that in the last 2 months i have ate mcdonalds nearly every other day and done no exercise and when i weighed myself 4 days ago i had actually lost 2lbs and went from 113lbs to 111lbs.

Does anyone have an explanation as to how that is possable??

Easy enough to explain. As long as you're eating under your maintenance calories, you'll lose weight. Mcdonalds is obviously not the most healthy choices for your heart, BUT it's not going to inhibit your ability to lose weight at all.

If your maintenance calories is 2000, and you want to lose 1 pound a week, all you have to do is eat 1500 calories worth of Mc D's. People only get fat off fast food because they tend to eat too many calories. Fast food contains a lot of calories and people can easily eat too much.

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: 2 bowls of Raisen Bran Cereal, Banana, slice of whole grain bread

Snack: Whey shake /w half cup skim milk

Lunch: Foot long turkey sub

snack: 2 apples, raw broccoli,

Dinner: Angus mushroom melt from harveys, spinach

snack: Bowl of fruit

I have!

I used to have to record every little thing I ate on here and it would really mess with my head. For the past few months though I haven't recorded a thing. I have started recording again today because I noticed my weight dipping. Recording my activities and calories isn't a must in order for me to find healthier choices, but it's helpful for me to see my actual numbers when it comes to input (food) and output (activities) because I think sometimes I can go a little overboard with exercising.

I am brand new to maintenance so really got a lot out of people's comments here - thanks for sharing your experiences, successes and challenges!

To me the key is "obsession."  No one wants to be obsessed with anything, I would imagine.  I was surprised to read that some people stopped counting because they found their minds consumed with the activity - I always found counting to be freedom - I add it up and forget about it.  No pondering, no wondering, no guesswork.  I needed to count every bite for a long time because I had no idea what a healthy portion was, or how much food a day was a healthy amount.  Or what foods would give me the most bang for my calorie buck.  I was ignorant, and also good at lying to myself.

For the past few weeks, I tend to not count on work days because my food is pretty predictable so I know I am staying within my range.  On the weekends, I still count because I have learned how fast I can trick myself into over-eating, or under-eating (which sets up vulnerability for a binge).  My goal is that, over time, I will successfully train my mind and body to communicate honestly, so that I do not need to count. 

And, my attitude is, if I need to count in order to maintain my healthy lifestyle, that's a small price to pay.  Whether I am a teen or an oldster, if I have an eating disorder that is "treated" with a logging regimen - so be it.  I wouldn't want to tell anyone that they are wrong for needing to count.  Each of us ended up on CC because we couldn't "just do it".  We all need to figure out what cognitive, emotional and/or technological tools we need to maintain health - it will be different for many of us.