Warning: Long Post!
When I started this journey to better fitness about a year ago, I was very strict on calorie counting. I had to establish what my baseline truly was and make an adjustment from there. You really would be surprised how easily those calories add up from a hand full of almonds here and a snack there. I was tracking all meals, every day for quite sometime.
Once I determined what my daily caloric goal was going to be and was consistently hitting that number, the pounds fell off and quick. I also got much better at being able to look at food and guestimate the weight and calorie total of my meals. At that time though, I didn't leave it to chance and still strictly tracked all of it.
Fast forward to now, I have been able to maintain my goal weight for about 6 months now. That is a record for me. People often ask me if I still track and weigh everything after all of this time. The answer is yes and no. My philosophy has shifted a bit and now I try to control 2 meals out of my day. Breakfast and lunch, I weigh food and watch my macros. From there, I just make sure to leave enough room to account for dinner. My family cooks homemade meals every night of the week. We love to cook and eat balanced, healthy dinners. The issue with tracking complex, homecooked meals is it is very difficult and time consuming to get correct. I did it for many months and it was challenging! I am in such a better place with food now that I do not worry as much about that last meal of the day and focus on portion control.
Another key for me is consistent weigh-ins. I try to weigh in at least every other day. This allows me to see trends and make micro adjustments throughout the month. If I notice my weight climbing over the course of a week, I will adjust and cut calories a bit on the next week. It is a constant roller coaster but the hills are much shorter and controllable now.
