Anyone NOT track their calories?

[Healthy_life2 8,330]

7 hours ago, bodycando said:

Hi all, from what I read on this board it seems like everyone here tracks their food intake and calories. I haven't tracked calories since my first weeks post-surgery, but I do track exercise and my measurements, and eat very mindfully. The reason is that I have a history of disordered eating and am concerned that I can get too obsessive with tracking. My therapist is also not a fan of calorie tracking. In the distant past I've gotten very obsessive with tracking, but in the more recent past I feel more a weird combination of laziness and anxiety around it.

I'm 9 months out and have had great success post-surgery (100+ lbs down) but am wondering if I should rethink my no-tracking stance as I get into more challenging territory closer to my goal weight. Anyone else in the same boat?

Congratulations on 9 months out and 102 pounds lost. You may want to follow your therapist advice if they are concerned about your eating disorder.

To track or not to track? Great question.

It’s important to know yourself. What works for one person may not work for another. Choose what will make you successful long term. You are the only one who has to be happy with your weight loss.

Some can consistently lose weight without logging. They eat healthy and keep their calories low.

For others it’s hard to lose weight/maintain guessing calories and macros. Your restriction becomes less over time. Extra calories can slip back in.

Tracking can help with the bariatric basics. It’s a great tool to learn portions, stay in your weight loss calorie zone, and Protein goals. It helps change old behaviors and gives you some accountability. This does not mean you have to log lifelong.

To each their own.

[Sandra Nuelken 419]

I use MyFitnessPal to track Protein and it also counts calories. I was told a range to try to stay in, but the protein is the most important measurement. I just record to keep myself honest. It worked for me when I had the band and when it failed I quit tracking and then started gaining thinking I really wasn't eating that much. The bottom like is whatever works for you.

[seaforest 562]

I was never told to count calories but I do track them because I've been monitoring my Protein intake all along. I'm always trying to make sure I get within the guidelines of 60 to 80g. I prefer around 60. In that process, I am also aware of my calories because the fitbit app does the math. I also have a kitchen scale to help me. I expect I'm going to track for a very long time. It's when I don't and a bite of this or that creeps in that I get in trouble. I'm not done losing so I'm not sure what maintenance will be like but I don't want to undo all this good work. I will say that the team I work with has never suggested counting calories or told me what my calorie limit might be...I think it's more about nutrition.

[looly 361]

On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:59 PM, FluffyChix said:

And I am gonna just own it. I didn't magically end up at the Morbid Obesity Ball. I contributed to my own destruction through willful self-indulgent choices and emotional and uncontrolled pursuit of hedonistic food panacea.

So if I want a snowballs hope in hell of "magically" keeping this weight off, I better hold my toes to the fire and my actions accountable.

I think this post of FluffyChix's is the crux of the matter for me. It is all about knowing myself. Like her, I knew what sort of behaviour resulted in obesity, and like her, I need to be accountable for it.

For me, my Achilles heel was alcohol (2-3 glasses of red wine a night) and portions of healthy food that were just too large.

Now I've cut out the alcohol (apart from special occasions) and got the portion size right, I feel I'm in control. But I recognise that different people have to do different things to be in control.

[johnedwin 80]

i always count my calories...

[Sheribear68 3,201]

Okay so I’m an inconsistent tracker, but I use the tool as a way to check in on myself randomly, but not haphazardly. I do have a method to my madness

While I “get” the fact that tracking and logging everything can be tedious (and can tend to make one obsess about every bite) it’s also a great tool to know for sure that you’re where you need to be.
All of us are expert enough dieters to know most basics like the amount of Proteins, carbs, and fats in many common foods, but it really does help to see it all in writing when trying to evaluate where we are and if we’re currently on track.
I do what I call “cluster logging”.
I’ll go hard core for a few days to a couple of weeks, then go in cruise control and eat a lot of the same things over and over.
When I’m either tired of the rut or want to make a change, then I’ll change up what I’m doing and go back to logging everything.

Very soon I’m going to start transitioning between pure “weight loss” mode into “maintenance”.
Lol, I know that very soon I’m going to need to keep way better food logs and am prepared to spend the necessary time and effort to make this a success

[FluffyChix 17,418]

5 hours ago, Sheribear68 said:

Okay so I’m an inconsistent tracker, but I use the tool as a way to check in on myself randomly, but not haphazardly. I do have a method to my madness

While I “get” the fact that tracking and logging everything can be tedious (and can tend to make one obsess about every bite) it’s also a great tool to know for sure that you’re where you need to be.
All of us are expert enough dieters to know most basics like the amount of Proteins, carbs, and fats in many common foods, but it really does help to see it all in writing when trying to evaluate where we are and if we’re currently on track.
I do what I call “cluster logging”.
I’ll go hard core for a few days to a couple of weeks, then go in cruise control and eat a lot of the same things over and over.
When I’m either tired of the rut or want to make a change, then I’ll change up what I’m doing and go back to logging everything.

Very soon I’m going to start transitioning between pure “weight loss” mode into “maintenance”.
Lol, I know that very soon I’m going to need to keep way better food logs and am prepared to spend the necessary time and effort to make this a success

What's so funny about tracking and logging everything, is that people who don't do it, imbue the action as onerous and painstaking and grueling. In reality, because I've populated my frequent foods, favorites, personal foods, and recipes in MFP, it takes about 5 minutes per day to see what the game plan is for getting my Protein in. And it's a very reassuring and comforting feeling that actually frees me up from having to think of food all day.

If I know, for instance, that it's Tuesday, and that means I'm gonna try to do an 18:6, then I know:

1> Afternoon snack is gonna be a big ass smoothie with 30g of protein in it and some veg and Fiber. The end.

2> dinner will be flank steak tacos made with my psylli wraps with avocado and tomatoes.

3> Bedtime snack (if eaten) will be a sf popsicle.

For me, that's not boring, or grueling. It just simply "is". You know? And the payout is that I know and can predict how my body will react to those nutrients and values.

Edited September 17, 2019 by FluffyChix

[NYJenn 1,464]

My program tracks Protein and Water and carbs but never calories. It has worked for me but I can understand how it may not work for everyone

[Jay19 76]

I only track fluids and Protein. Which is what I was told to track. I only eat 3-4 times a day small meals. No snacking. And low carb. I’m only 1 month post op with a loss of 20 pounds. I agree I don’t want to start tracking calories it just becomes obsessive. I do watch what I eat and honestly from counting calories in the past I do have a ball park range of what I’m eating.

[sisternewt@yahoo.com 102]

I was never told to count calories, either, but to count Proteins, carbs, and sugars. I have to admit I’m horrible at it. No excuse. My fitness pal app on my phone is unbelievably easy.
And I also must admit that when I do track my foods, I’m much more accountable, don’t tend to eat junk and lose better.
Try the app. It’s really great