I just came back from a two-week overseas vacation. I decided not to track calories because I had no idea what was in food and I wanted to try different things, like a bite of this or that that my family was eating. I ate way too many sweets, but I also noticed that because I was not "tracking to eat" (usually I serve myself a portion then add it into the tracker and finish it), I was focusing on my hunger (that's not to say I wasn't eating too much, because I was. I ended up gaining about 2 lbs over the two weeks, which is a LOT less than before surgery, when I might gain 10 lbs on a two week overseas vacation.

I found that I enjoyed focusing on my hunger cues, and I am thinking about not counting calories, but I have read so much about how tracking calories is the best predictor of success in weight loss and maintenance. I am wondering if I can focus on eating healthier foods and honoring my hunger, can I continue to lose weight and then maintain?

What have other people found?

Haven't had surgery yet, but have been a "counter " for decades. I have found that following dietician reccomendation of eating 4 oz of meat, 1/2 c carb and 1/2 c veggies pre surgery. You can have as much salad as you want and fruits count as carbs. I lost 12 lbs in a few months.

I don't plan on ever stopping tracking. It takes a few seconds and for me, personally, it's worth it. I know that after my sleeve surgery in 2016 I lost 120 lbs in about 7 months, then when I slowed and eventually stopped tracking I put almost all of it back on. I had the revision to bypass last November and I'm down about 90 lbs so far, still tracking everything, weighing what I can as well (including myself every morning). If it works, why stop?

I don't plan on ever stopping tracking. It takes a few seconds and for me, personally, it's worth it. I know that after my sleeve surgery in 2016 I lost 120 lbs in about 7 months, then when I slowed and eventually stopped tracking I put almost all of it back on. I had the revision to bypass last November and I'm down about 90 lbs so far, still tracking everything, weighing what I can as well (including myself every morning). If it works, why stop?

I agree. I know it is too easy to get complacent if I don't track. A day off and then works for me, but I plan to track for life.

Now*

I wasn’t counting calories then my dietitian did and explained I wasn’t eating enough. I’m still not a stickler but she’s right, eating up to 2k does make me loose. I do track faithfully every thing I eat so I’m honest with myself.

I've been tracking everything I eat in MyFitnessPal for over two years -- since about 5 months before my surgery. For me, this was key in changing my eating habits, both before and after surgery. I don't think it's counting calories, per se, that works, but the fact that it forces me to confront my food choices and get the most bang for the buck, calorie-wise. Constantly budgeting my calories has helped me to shift my food choices to low-calorie but satisfying foods. That's especially important now that I'm almost two years post-op and I can eat pretty decent portions (compared to the first several months post-op when I could only eat tiny quantities). If I weren't choosing low-calorie foods, I think I could easily get enough calories to start gaining the weight back.

A lot of people swear by "intuitive eating," and if that works for you, great, but I don't see it working for me. I think my intuition had to be pretty out of whack to get me to 341 pounds. I think it's possible that I've changed my eating habits enough at this point that I could stop tracking and be ok, but I don't want to put that to the test. I eat mostly the same things over and over, so if I stick to that, even without tracking, I would probably stay within the same calorie range.

I do have a hard time when traveling or eating at restaurants because it's difficult to guesstimate when someone else is preparing the food, but I very rarely eat at restaurants, so I try not to stress too much over the occasional meal that's not 100% accurate. I've also relaxed a little on weighing and measuring some things because I've gotten a good sense of portion sizes (e.g., half a small avocado is about 50 grams on average; 6 slices of thin-sliced turkey lunchmeat is about 75 grams), and some things are low enough in calories that it's not worth the trouble (e.g., I don't measure salad greens or cucumbers or tomatoes).

I like Dr. Weiner's approach of "a pound of cure" (which involves eating at least a pound of vegetables every day) because focusing on eating a lot of vegetables helps me to fill up on foods that are nutritious but low in calories. Every week, I meal prep daily veggie trays (carrots, celery, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and peppers), and that's my main snack for the day. I also add cauliflower rice to a lot of meals to make them more filling without adding a lot of calories.