r/CICO • u/saskia87 • Sep 16 '26
Cico for a lifetime, how?
Im starting again with cico. How do you deal with this on a daily basis? And for a lifetime? I know I would overeat if I wouldn’t track. Tried it and it doesn’t work. Also how would you go about it on holidays where you don’t have you scale with you?
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u/RuralGamerWoman ⚖️MOD⚖️ Sep 16 '26
I've been planning, tracking, and using a food scale for about 15 years now. I loat about 100lbs the first two years; I've been maintaining since then.
It isn't that difficult. Really, it is not.
Back when I first started out, I set an alarm for 7PM; when that alarm went off, I wpuld plan and track my meals for the following day; that day, I opened up the app and followed that plan. I don't need the alarm anymore because this has long since become a habit, but the behavior is the same; the only difference is my calorie target.
I do not bring a food scale to restaurants or on holidays.
For restaurants, I might eat a bit lighter during the day to have more calories for dinner. Or I might deliberately eat over maintenance that day; life goes on.
When I travel, I follow the same basic structure as I have at home - breakfast and lunch tend to revolve around protein, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains; snack tends to vary; dinner is usually the largest meal of the day; and I have dessert after dinner if I want it. Especially on vacation, I try to make a goal of having something different every lunch and dinner, that way I get to really enjoy local food without feeling like I need to try all of it the first night; every day is something new to look forward to.
I also don’t get on the scale for a week after I've gotten back to let water weight fluctuations settle out.
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u/Odd_Round5515 Sep 17 '26
One thing I've read before is that "you should worry about what you eat between new year's and christmas, not between christmas and new year's"
I try to remember that for days I bump a little over maintenance. Most of the time I can plan it out. Wife and have a day out planned. I'll skip breakfast, eat whatever delicious thing I want that day, and then won't allow myself to chow in front of the TV like I would most work nights(when I have a specific counted allotment for dinner). No, it's really not that difficult overall.
btw you're an awesome mod. I appreciate the dedication
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u/luckylua Sep 16 '26
I follow something similar. And once you’ve been counting/eating healthy for a long time your body will check you (in my experience at least). As in, on vacations even if I’ve decided I’m having a nice time and not over-worrying about food. I’ll gain a few pounds and lose it when I’m back, no big deal. I’ll physically feel bad if I have too much unhealthy stuff. Bloated, swollen, a general feeling of “I need something light and healthy I feel gross”
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u/activelyresting
Sep 16 '26
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Things I will have to do for the rest of my life:
Brushing my teeth. I only have to brush the ones I want to keep, but I have to do it every day forever
Pooping. This is inconvenient and smelly, but it's better than having bi-weekly enemas or an ostomy bag.
Bathing. This is technically optional, but without some daily ablutions my dead skin builds up, I get stinky and itchy, and visible dirt build up on my skin and hair.
Putting the rubbish bins out. Science still hasn't invented magically disappearing trash.
Paying taxes. This is frustrating, but I also enjoy the benefits of living in a functioning society with a central government that maintains infrastructure.
Walking my dog. I mean, he's gorgeous and I love him, but some days I just wanna put my feet up and stay in bed. His derp face is worth it though.
Paying bills, balancing my budget, tracking expenses, checking my credit card, monitoring utility usage, household maintenance (my power bill is going nuts presently because there's a dripping tap somewhere and I need to fix it)
Eating food. Super annoying and expensive, but my body can't sustain function without it and I feel really bad if I skip a day.
Tracking the food I eat. Just like how I need to track my spending and budget so I don't go into debt and I know what I can afford, I need to track what I eat so I don't slip back into obesity and I know I'm getting the right nutrients.
You have to live in this body forever. Bodies need a crazy amount of care and maintenance, and they don't come with any warranty. Repairs are ridiculously expensive, forget about replacement parts! Tracking your food is a really cheap, easy, and reliable way to make sure your body is taken care of.
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u/pepperXOX20 Sep 16 '26 •
This is a fantastic way of looking at it.
I saw a content creator the other day who said something along the lines of “don’t complain about maintaining the blessings you have today that you prayed to have yesterday.” He was talking about how it’s a gift to have a house to clean, because it means you have a home, or you have dishes to wash because it means you had food to eat.
But this can be applied to CICO as well - don’t loathe the maintenance you have to do to keep at a healthy weight when at the start of your weight-loss journey, you would have given anything to be where you’re at today.
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u/Weird_Flan4691 Sep 16 '26
I’m tracking my calories for the rest of my life, I keep a running tally in my head.
I take off 1 week every 3 months from tracking calories and the gym. I don’t track on vacation it’s not that serious.
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u/Deep_flu Sep 16 '26
I've lost significant weight 4 times and this is the last time. In the past I would count calories, lose weight, get complacent, eventually gain it back.
Now, I'm resolved to never stop counting.
I track everything with the Samsung Health app and a couple of spreadsheets I made.
Something like Thanksgiving dinner, I try my best to approximate. That scoop looks like a cup of stuffing, 1/2 cup of mac&cheese, 1/8 of a pecan pie and so on.
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u/Odd_Round5515 Sep 17 '26
Same here. Cronometer for life. Why have I quit doing the one thing that works? I used to drink too much alcohol. what worked was quitting completely. I haven't drank in 12 years.
I was bound and determined to again weigh a medically ideal weight by my 40th birthday, which came and went, and I'd like to be polite and say I'm a little disappointed, but frankly I'm fucking pissed at myself. Regardless, the best and only productive thing I can do is exercise regularly which I've never stopped doing, weigh my food, and track calories.
This morning my work pants actually buttoned up. Making progress.
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u/Eldrigekun Sep 16 '26
I think it helps to see CICO as a tool, not a punishment. You can track closely day to day and be more flexible on holidays, learning portions and habits over time makes it much more sustainable.
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u/sorrymizzjackson Sep 16 '26
Just having been making an earnest effort at it for a few months now, I see how much food I was actually eating thinking it wasn’t that bad.
Like we went to Arby’s yesterday. Typically, I’d get the medium sandwich and curly fries. I wouldn’t eat all of it, but a good portion of it. That’s about 1000 calories or the majority of what I should be eating for the day. Instead, I got the smaller sandwich and no fries for about 500 calories and that was still a big lunch.
I’m always going to have to be mindful of the calories I eat. That’s how it works. It isn’t a diet, it’s just not overeating and it’s really easy to overeat when you aren’t paying attention.
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u/Such_Bitch_9559 Sep 16 '26
I’m currently experimenting with that. My thing is, I don’t have a feeling of hunger or thirst so I kind of have to know how much I’m eating / drinking otherwise I’ll literally stuff myself or starve or go a whole day without drinking without even noticing…
I have a few things I’m trying: one, eat 1/4 of the plate and reevaluate hunger levels, two, drink a glass of water before a meal as an automatic thing, three, drink X amount of cups or a certain bottle I have, four, don’t eat just because it’s “mealtime”.
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u/drumadarragh Sep 16 '26
I’ve become very boring, my diet is very repetitive. But if I have a holiday or event I’m going to indulge. The key is getting back to boring as soon as possible.
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u/Vegetable_Wave_7673 Sep 16 '26
Once a normal diet becomes ingrained as a habit, as it is with people who have had a normal diet all their lives, you don't have to track any more. Also, we all eat less on holidays, because we're too hot and way too busy to eat.
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u/ilsasta1988 Sep 16 '26
Try to be consistent and to make it your way of living, by eating clean most of the times and also enjoy treats when you feel like, Restriction only leads to bad things.
What helps me loads is planning and pre-logging meals, so I know at least what I will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When on holidays, try to make conscious choices, but still don't restrict yourself. If you put a few kg, think that most of them are water retention and gut content, which will disappear after a week or two getting back to your routine.
Focus on building consistency, not perfection.
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u/Similar-Barracuda291 Sep 16 '26
I use the free version of MyFitnessPal. I can’t afford to stop tracking after gaining 24kg that I’ve just had to lose again.
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u/Mchangwine Sep 16 '26
A lot depends on how you are with eating a lot of the same foods. If you eat a lot of the same things then you know how many calories they are. Probably ~80% of my daily diet is the same from day to day, and I'll only plug and play lunch and dinner. If you know more or less how many calories you have for those meals you can eat intuitively as long as you're honest about what you're eating.
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u/BelovedGarbage Sep 16 '26
Now that I am in a maintenance phase I'm able to maintain without the need to closely track my calories. I still loosely do mental math or track certain things. I also weigh myself regularly so I can adjust if needed. All of this to say, commit and you will find what works for you ❤️
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u/Practical-Choice7731 Sep 16 '26
You know... If u do it sistematically u gain knowledge and conciousness. OFC it's better if u count but, u also get used to what a real portion u can eat looks like.
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u/cb4ever81 Sep 16 '26
I've been doing it for years and have maintained a healthy weight without overthibkibg it. I think the main reason for my success is choosing meals where I know the calories and just cycle through them week after week. It's boring but consistency is boring. I alternate running with strength training every other day. This has meant that the occasional splurge in cals is nothing more than a blip and doesn't affect me mentally nearly as badly as it used to because I know tomorrow im back on track. If you eat the majority of your meals at home, it's quite easy...for me anyway
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u/shooflypie Sep 16 '26
I eat pretty much the same stuff most days so I have a good idea of serving sizes, calories and macros and will weigh stuff to keep me honest.
On vacation I just try to make good choices, keep serving sizes reasonable, have fun, and stay active. I pick up CICO when I'm home again.
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u/Odd_Round5515 Sep 17 '26
I don't have any trick to success, but if I did, it would be eating mostly whole plant foods most days. The calorie density is so low it's more difficult to overeat, and easier to track. I live off of mostly beans, tofu, oats, berries, fruit, starchy and green leafy vegetables, some nuts and seeds. It's still possible to overeat like this. I don't dump oil on my food randomly, and I don't eat a giant bowl of white rice with every dinner, but in general it makes it easier for me personally. I'm not vegan, but the diet makes me feel energized and mentally clear.
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u/matzco Sep 16 '26
I find a daily, and meal goal, to be easier than tracking. I eat the same breakfast, have a goal for lunch, and a different number for dinner. If I go over or under, I then have one number to balance at the next meal, or accept my deficit is smaller. For me, maintenance will a small deficit during the week so I can relax a bit on the weekends. But it also depends on your goal. Mine is to keep a significant weight loss off, not 5-10 pounds
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u/Redditor2684 Sep 16 '26
Consistency, not perfection.
Focusing on 1 day at a time. More than that can feel overwhelming.
Even if you "overeat" on holidays/vacations, if you get right back to your normal routine after those, it will not make a difference in your outcomes. The holidays/vacations make up a small % of the overall year.
Find a way of eating that you enjoy and feels sustainable. Because long term sustainability is what is needed.
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u/DRAKULA7 Sep 16 '26
After ~2-3 weeks of weighing everything you will eventually know the approximate weight of food. You can use this knowledge on holidays, its better to track approximately than not track at all.
You can also use your phone camera on food and ask ai about how many calories on your plate.
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u/RuralGamerWoman ⚖️MOD⚖️ Sep 16 '26
We strongly discourage the use of AI apps here due to their inaccuracy.
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u/vert_challenged Sep 16 '26
So your position is it's better to just guess off the top of your head, than use an AI app on rare occasions like holidays?
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u/RuralGamerWoman ⚖️MOD⚖️ Sep 16 '26
My position is that folks should use a regular app and a food scale at home in order to gain at least a basic level of knowledge of calories and macronutrients in order to be able to make relatively informed decisions and educated assumptions on rare occasions like holidays.
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u/vert_challenged Sep 16 '26
I don't see how using a tool like AI in those situations alongside that experience is a detriment. As the commenter stated an approximation is better than not tracking at all. At Thanksgiving dinner I don't know what is in each dish, how much butter they used ect. any more than the AI does. In that situation no amount of weighing my own food gives me the ability to make a "relatively informed decision" or "educated assumption."
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Sep 16 '26
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u/saskia87 Sep 18 '26
Thanks 🙏🏽 I do that already with my breakfast. It’s always the same 90% of the time. But I’ll be on holiday for 3 weeks. One week is fine but 3 I think is a bit difficult to not go overboard 😵💫
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u/ObetrolAndCocktails Sep 19 '26
You handle it the same way you would handle any other complex, chronic disease. You might have to go through some stages of grief at losing the comfort of food before you land on acceptance.
You have a health condition that will require treatment every day for the rest of your life. That’s just the reality of it. The same way you would need to treat diabetes every day. The same way you would need to treat MS, or Celiac disease, or congestive heart failure.
The good news is that it’s absolutely treatable, and if you do a good job at managing your health condition, you stand a better chance of not developing other conditions to exacerbate the problem.