Question for those of you not counting calories really closely...??

When did you feel you ready to do that...and how do you go about it? I am looking at my "diet" not as a diet, but a lifestyle change. As such... learning new habits can take time. I did stop "detail counting" for about a week...just to see if I had learned enough to eat with in my caloric range with out... weighing, measuring and counting every single bite. [a time consuming task... see my other post]. I was a failure at it. I routinely consumed in the 2000 calorie range... maybe a little more. I would just eat ...and then at the end of the day... look at what I ate. 2000 puts me 250 over my high end calorie target and 500 over my low end. The result was I plateaued for 2-3 weeks after... I did not gain, but I did not lose either.  [Maybe when this is done... 2000 will be my maintenance intake?].

I am afraid that if I stop counting and watching everything like a hawk... I will regain all that I have lost. However... there has to be a point where you can not be so exact, and let loose a little. Just wondering ... I do not think that I can maintain this level of control forever... I would like to one day go out to eat and not have the first thought that enters my mind be... how many calories is this... and how many miles will I have to walk to work it off.

I think that you are being overly critical of yourself.  It is good to gather information.  Look at that time not as a failure but as a successful experiment.  You found out what you wanted to know after all!

Now you have to analyze the data.  What did lead you into the higher calorie range?  Too much of something that is calorie dense or just too much, wrong choices, what?  Was there something you were craving or eating that has a lower calories substitute that you can switch to?

Good data and no weight gain is a success! Congratulations!

Thank you for the congrats...

I realized that I still have not mastered eating out. I also learned that I have not mastered family functions either. I did manage to eat a Red Robin Cheesburger last week, with fries... and stay on target. I just ordered a plain burger w/ out mayonaise, and relish, and only ate one serving of fries. However, I had checked the website before I went out...so I had a good idea how many calories i was getting. The problem is the impromtu stuff... last minute... that I can not plan for. Additionally, I have been unsuccessful at getting my family to work with me on my weight loss... as such every family function has a tone of food that even in moderation... will put me way over. Since our family functions usually run several hours... it is hard. I have tried not eating before... and tried eating before... the results are the same. No matter how little I eat... I am over. it is just the type of foods that are served. Weekends... and cooking for my family are other triggers. It is really hard to stay on target... when you have three kids and a husband to cook for... and they are not always interested in eating what I eat. Just curious what others were doing... and how they made it work.

The first step I took was looking at things not so much on a daily basis but weekly when I had a function or an event planned.  I make the smartest choices I can, but go in figuring for that day I will be over.  That means other meals that day I'm a little more restrictive than I might otherwise be, excersize a little more, then after the fact I look at how much I actually end up over (dining out etc of course its really estimation).  I don't try to make it up in a day but average it out over the next week so I don't feel too deprived.  You don't need to feel like you can never splurge otherwise you'll eventually go back to old habits.   

The reason why I do not count calories to a T is because if I did (like I used to) I would go crazy and constantly think that I am over eating & then feel extremely guilty about eating (even if all I ate was a lot of vegetables!) 

Personally I find counting calories really closely to be some-what of a pain & also bring on unnecessary tension & unease about something that is essential to life. I eat relatively the same sized meals every day and have no gained/lost weight in a while (which is what I want) so I feel that I am doing the right thing in terms of eating & exercising. 

For some people though, watching & counting calories is a must! I believe the people who are not very educated in the "what is healthy & what isn't" department should continue to count calories until they figure out what foods work for them and what does! 

In terms of working out I believe the magic number of minutes to work out is between 60 - 90. Everyone says 30 minutes which is true only if you want to reap heart benefits, but if you want to lose weight, 60 - 90 minutes is the ideal amount of activity! Sadly, a lot of us do not have that kind of free time, but I am sure you have spurts of 30 minute free times every so often throughout the day! 

Diet & Exercise is a life-long commitment and the longer you do it the easier it gets but when you just start out it feels like such a chore & almost unbearable! Hang in there, as time goes on, your qualms will as well! 

For the family functions, don't starve yourself before you go, you will be more inclined to overeat when you get there.  also  unless the funtion ran to bedtime, don't try to not eat after, no point of starving yourself after, just because you had a little to much to eat.  Use your best jugement on foods, does aunt hilda put cream, loads of butter and american cheese  in her mashed potatoes? if she does put a very small amount on your plate, just so you can taste those yummy taters... then remind yourself about just how fatty they are.

If they don't put out a veggie platter bring your own, and hover over it.  Drink lots of water so you don't over eat, have some of aunt hilda's mashed tatoes and a bite of cheesecake, but put as much on your plate as you can eat, remember when you put the food on your plate that your eyes are bigger than you stomach.

I "save" calories for dinner with my son and husband (calories from earlier that same day) or I make grilled chicken and two sides, and have a grilled chicken salad, while my son and husband have the chicken rice and peas.

I hope this is helpful, I'm still counting, It keeps me on track and motivated.