When does the counting stop?

I have lost 21 pounds using this site since October, and have been maintaining since February. Woo-hoo!

Has anybody here been able to STOP counting calories and truly make this a "lifestyle"? What I mean is, does one ever get to the point where she is so used to eating in a certain way, that she doesn't have to spend so much time counting?

i hope everyone experiences this, i personally have just  phased  out most ( except snacks) counting from nearly a year after loisng weight. it takes time depending how compulsive you were.

I'm sort of to that point.  For the last 2 weeks or so, I've decided each day the foods that I'm going to have that day, then do a quick check to make sure I'm within my limit, and I have been.

I figure by the time I've done this another several months getting down to goal weight, that I will know what i can eat and how much without having to do any counting or measuring.

I haven't done that yet, but am hoping to faze it out like manewell!

i'm still in the losing phase but i never truely count cals and it seems to work out pretty nicely.

This isn't the first time I dieted. The first time was way back in the early 90s, when I lost about 40 or 50 lbs. After reaching my goal, I maintained a weight of 110 plus or minus 5 lbs for about 13 years, without ever counting calories.

That includes periods of stress (divorce, a long layoff, new job etc), periods of eating total crap and not exercising, and periods of illness. Everything life throws at you. I didn't even own a scale - I'd just go by how my clothes fit, and if they were fitting a bit tight, I'd intuitively watch what I was eating. Usually I could figure out why the weight was creeping up - for example, developing a habit of sharing premium ice cream with my DH at night. Or a habit of too many french fries. Or becoming slightly less active. Etc. Tweak one or two things, and my weight would go back down again. No counting necessary.

I knew my weight was within 110 because for 13 years at every annual OB/GYN and doctor visit, it has registered that weight on the doctor's scale.

It wasn't until last year, when I went on a med, that my weight suddenly and rapidly ballooned up to 125, and then I also decided to quit smoking, plus I finally hit my 40s, that I had to start counting again. First I tried cutting this or that, and also began exercising every day, which shed a few pounds, but the rest was verrryyy stubborn. So I started counting again, and bought a scale. But I certainly don't intend to count for the rest of my life!

I've been counting since January. But about two times a week I *don't* count. Those are the days we eat out. I recommend this strategy as a way to ease yourself into a lifestyle. The trick is not to use those days as all-out binge days. Just eat at maintenance level but try to do so intuitively, not by counting.

When I made the decision that I needed to lose weight I did not count calories. I simply made good decisions in my food choices and yes every once and a while enjoyed some of lifes guilty pleasures (Brownies for me). But then the following meal I was extra cautious as to what I was eating. I just make sure I get my daily servings of fruits and veggies while excercising. I have come to the point where working out isnt a chore its a part of my daily life. Now this has become my new lifestyle. Lets hope I can stick to it!