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You dont need to calorie count
Replies
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Yeah, except some fabrics stretch as you do. I have a number of skirts that are effectively two sizes larger than the label states. (A couple are elastic, but in most cases, it's just the fabric.)8
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Me too! I've never encountered anyone who understood what I meant about that geometry thing! Lucky for me, I don't like rice Lol. I can however pretty accurately "feel" weight - so my guesses at how many grams are usually dead on.estherdragonbat wrote: »I'm pretty sure I will. For the simple reason that I have some spatial perception issues. Like, you know in geometry when they show you an unfolded box and ask you to determine which shape represents what it would look like if folded? I can't do it. I also can't eyeball a scoop of rice and tell you if it's one cup or two.
As for OP- eating intuitively - I would manage for some foods ( I know what a serving of potatoes feels like for instance), but would fail utterly overall ( I would eat twice as much meat, many times too many nuts, and if I let a bag of potato chips open, I'd eat the whole family size bag and could have more) - if intuition were my only guide.
OP: we are all unique. Do what works for you, you are in the best position to know what works and doesn't for you. And that is just fine. Nothing wrong with you, you are just your own distinctive self.
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The more I learn and experience the issues around weight management, the more absurd the idea of intuitive eating becomes.
Intuition is fleeting and highly dubious. Comparing weight management to financial management there are some who have a routine that is more prone to success, but they may not be aware of how their actions are contributing to this success.
There is nothing intuitive to gauging calorie burns from activity and nothing intuitive to gauging the calories a sandwich contains. I know I have $20 to spend on dinner and know what a sandwich costs because it is clearly marked. Prior to using MFP or similar service monitoring diet took significant time. Now tracking takes a matter of minutes and I look at this no differently than keeping a checkbook balanced.
I'm sure someone will disagree and use their n=1 story as evidence. I could even use my own. I was never overweight and always active...up to the point I wasn't.13 -
Don't we all know how to intuitively eat? It's just some of us (me included) choose to ignore that little voice in our heads and that overstuffed feeling in our guts. I intuitively know full well i don't need that whole bag of chips, dessert after dinner every night or that extra scoop of pasta/rice/mashed potato, but i choose to ignore the sensible side of my brain and follow the "I need something tasty even though I'm not hungry" or the "That tastes so good, I'm not going to stop at a normal/sensible portion" side..9
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I don't log or physically count calories...but I do weigh and measure most things and where I can't, I just do the best I can as I do have a general idea of what an appropriate serving of something is for me for most things.
Because I don't log, I have other "rules" in place and routines that help me keep things under control...so I wouldn't exactly call it "intuitive"...but yeah, for me, logging and counting calories ended up being really bad for me mentally so I stopped and started doing something that worked better for me and caused less mental anguish and obsessive behavior.6 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »I'm pretty sure I will. For the simple reason that I have some spatial perception issues. Like, you know in geometry when they show you an unfolded box and ask you to determine which shape represents what it would look like if folded? I can't do it. I also can't eyeball a scoop of rice and tell you if it's one cup or two.
Also, I have no doubt that when exposed to foods that I... moderate reluctantly (as in, yes, I can stop at 4 oz of potatoes, but oh if I had the calories, I'd love to have more), without the scale to keep me accountable, my modest portions are going to creep up.
OMG this is so me! Yes, I too will calorie count for the foreseeable future. I have no intuition when it comes to food, portion-wise or appetite-wise.2 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Don't we all know how to intuitively eat? It's just some of us (me included) choose to ignore that little voice in our heads and that overstuffed feeling in our guts. I intuitively know full well i don't need that whole bag of chips, dessert after dinner every night or that extra scoop of pasta/rice/mashed potato, but i choose to ignore the sensible side of my brain and follow the "I need something tasty even though I'm not hungry" or the "That tastes so good, I'm not going to stop at a normal/sensible portion" side..
@Christine_72, I respect your opinion here, but I don't know if I agree with you. I know what portions I eat now, and I know what portions I ate back when I was "Fat Jruzer." Certainly I know I shouldn't have been eating the "road burgers" and heaping bowls of ice cream that I ate back then, but I'm not sure if I could pick out a sensible amount of food to get to steady state.
Maybe it's my personality, but I just don't trust myself here. I'm a very quantitative person - intuition doesn't really work that well for me. Plus, as Mrs Jruzer says, I'm an "eater". To my mind, calorie counting is liberating. I concede that for others it might feel like a burden, and if they can somehow make their intuition work, more power to them.9 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Don't we all know how to intuitively eat? It's just some of us (me included) choose to ignore that little voice in our heads and that overstuffed feeling in our guts. I intuitively know full well i don't need that whole bag of chips, dessert after dinner every night or that extra scoop of pasta/rice/mashed potato, but i choose to ignore the sensible side of my brain and follow the "I need something tasty even though I'm not hungry" or the "That tastes so good, I'm not going to stop at a normal/sensible portion" side..
@Christine_72, I respect your opinion here, but I don't know if I agree with you. I know what portions I eat now, and I know what portions I ate back when I was "Fat Jruzer." Certainly I know I shouldn't have been eating the "road burgers" and heaping bowls of ice cream that I ate back then, but I'm not sure if I could pick out a sensible amount of food to get to steady state.
Maybe it's my personality, but I just don't trust myself here. I'm a very quantitative person - intuition doesn't really work that well for me. Plus, as Mrs Jruzer says, I'm an "eater". To my mind, calorie counting is liberating. I concede that for others it might feel like a burden, and if they can somehow make their intuition work, more power to them.
Oh don't get me wrong. I log/count and weigh everything, it keeps me honest. But i know the feeling of being full and eating for the sake of it, and a lot of the time i ignore that full signal in favour of eating more.
I'm full every night after dinner, but that doesn't stop me from having a stonking great bowl of dessert straight after. But because i prelog i don't have to stress that i don't have enough calories for it. If i listened to my stomach i would forgo the dessert, because i honestly do NOT need it, but again, i choose to ignore it and have it anyway!3 -
I think it's a mistake to give up on learning how to eat to maintain your weight without calorie counting or copious amounts of exercise for that matter. Things change, life always gets in the way in my experience and it's an invaluable tool to have. Even if your preference is calorie counting the more flexibility you have, the better your chances of long term success.12
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Speaking as a person who gets "copious amounts of exercise", I'd like to mention that I get said exercise to manage a medical condition, not my weight. The fact that my TDEE is higher due to said exercise is just a bonus.
Being active is an end unto itself for me, I think this is true for a lot of people who get into fitness. It becomes its own reward and it's really not about weight management. To imply that it has anything at all to do with being a primary focus for its pursuit really misses what most people into fitness are about.
As for logging/tracking? I can draw something accurately, but can't for the life of me measure portions. I will log for the time being.
If life happens, I'll adjust. I always do. That's one thing I've learned. I'm adaptable.6 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Don't we all know how to intuitively eat? It's just some of us (me included) choose to ignore that little voice in our heads and that overstuffed feeling in our guts. I intuitively know full well i don't need that whole bag of chips, dessert after dinner every night or that extra scoop of pasta/rice/mashed potato, but i choose to ignore the sensible side of my brain and follow the "I need something tasty even though I'm not hungry" or the "That tastes so good, I'm not going to stop at a normal/sensible portion" side..
I don't.
Sensible side of the brain relates more to mindful eating (which does work for me), not intuitive.
Intuitive suggests that if you follow hunger and fullness cues and are sensitive to how your body feels, that you will naturally eat the right things for you (will desire them and not overeat) even without using the sensible side (i.e., thinking about how caloric something is or what a sensible portion would be).
I know for me I can EASILY go over a reasonable number of calories for the day, by a lot even, without ever feeling overstuffed. Feeling overstuffed is more about volume or how much I eat at a time, not how much I eat in the day.8 -
I'm another for whom exercise -- or just being reasonably active in a day, which I think used to be normal just in living one's life and often can be for me too, since I rarely drive anywhere and walk more often than not -- is hugely important more for reasons beyond TDEE, like emotional issues, health.
I also find that I naturally tend to eat to calories (with some mindfulness, but less thought being necessary) when I am more active. Less because of TDEE, again, as because I find that when I'm fitness-focused I don't want to eat between meals, tend to crave more nutrient-dense, lower cal foods, things like that. Part of it is probably that I stop using food for emotional stuff, and part that I just naturally focus on what is healthful when I'm in that frame of mind.3 -
I don't count calories. I did for a little bit years ago and it was not for me. That doesn't mean I eat until I'm full. I pay attention to portion size and what I'm eating.
You do what works for you.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Don't we all know how to intuitively eat? It's just some of us (me included) choose to ignore that little voice in our heads and that overstuffed feeling in our guts. I intuitively know full well i don't need that whole bag of chips, dessert after dinner every night or that extra scoop of pasta/rice/mashed potato, but i choose to ignore the sensible side of my brain and follow the "I need something tasty even though I'm not hungry" or the "That tastes so good, I'm not going to stop at a normal/sensible portion" side..
I don't.
Sensible side of the brain relates more to mindful eating (which does work for me), not intuitive.
Intuitive suggests that if you follow hunger and fullness cues and are sensitive to how your body feels, that you will naturally eat the right things for you (will desire them and not overeat) even without using the sensible side (i.e., thinking about how caloric something is or what a sensible portion would be).
I know for me I can EASILY go over a reasonable number of calories for the day, by a lot even, without ever feeling overstuffed. Feeling overstuffed is more about volume or how much I eat at a time, not how much I eat in the day.
Ahh ok, I think I'm mixing up mindful and intuitive eating.3 -
Oh I hear you. I could eat for days. Even if I'm FULL I can still just eat and eat.
I stopped logging calories anyway because I think I started to go crazy after 3 years. I gained weight but I'm happy and probably still cute.10 -
Not sure if I agree with the rest of our lives we will have to count calories.
Just like anything we have to learn what works for us and what does not.
Counting calories works for me, that is why I do it. I never eat until I am full anymore, it makes me feel awful and uncomfortable.
I don't think it is healthy, but before I start a new program I fast for 1 day. It puts the whole feeling hungry thing into perspective. And when I feel hungry after I have been eating all day, I think back to when I fasted and realize I am really not that hungry. (I usually start programs at the beginning of Lent, so it is not just fasting for weight loss reasons)0 -
If you take hormones into account this whole "eat until your full" is absolutely rubbish. It works for maybe 3 and half weeks out of the month for me but that 4 days in there my body is telling me I'm never full. Now when I get to my desired goal, I will maintain and just use the scale to determine where I'm at but "eat until I'm full" while trying to cut isn't going to work.5
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I know I'll be counting calories forever now... but as with people who need to take Meds, I view it as a necessary in my life. If I had any intuition about calories, I doubt I'd have gotten obese.7
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The experiment shows you that you need to keep logging and tracking at this point, that's all. Lesson learned.
I had a look at a few days in your food diary and think I can see some reasons why you are 'never full'. Some changes to consider:
Add vegetables to your diet e.g. carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower. Eat raw, or steam or microwave is the easiest.
You ate 'hot dog rolls' - these may be made of refined white flour with sugar added. Check ingredients and try replacing this with wholemeal bread or roll or sourdough without added sugar.
You don't need the flavoured and sugared coffee sachets. Plain coffee is good.
'Protein ice cream' is still ice cream. Try some chopped veg instead with a few (weighed) unsalted nuts.
Some of the items you are eating may not be recording the correct sugars. If you eat them regularly it is worth amending the details in MFP. e.g. 'Picknpay Fat Free Cranberry and Apple Yoghurt, 200 g' must have some sugars in it, but none are showing.
The pre made chicken noodle soup you ate is probably over salted and light on the chicken and veg. Try making your own chicken noodle soup. Add veg. Remove the fat and skin from the chicken first. You can use a pre-cooked BBQ chicken but if so do not eat the stuffing (if any) or the skin or any fat. Throw it away. Log the recipe components in MFP and the no. of serves and it will tell you how many cal/kj per serve.
The lamb chop (Aus) is great! I'm Australian! Lamb is fattier than chicken though. Be sure to cut off ALL the visible fat.
Check labels of the cereals you are eating for added sugar. Replace with lower sugar cereal.
You ate 1 egg on one day. Eggs are great unless you have a reason not to eat them. Try 2 eggs and cut some other stuff out.
Biltong can be salty, check label and see if there are less salty versions.
Also - foods like protein, veg and wholemeal breads tend to be more physically filling and the last 2 will assist with *ahem* regularity. Don't overeat bread though.
Consider seeing a qualified dietician (not a nutritionist), taking along a copy of your food diary for some personalised and professional advice.
Weigh and log everything, and keep weighing yourself regularly.5 -
I found mfp after slowly gaining 15-20 lbs over the course of 10 years. During that time I ate until I was full most of the time, mixed with short periods of trying to eat "light" and rarely stuffing myself on special occasions. You don't have to overeat much to gain 2 lbs a yr! After several years of logging, I know that I could eat a little bit more now than I do and feel physically comfortable, and would most likely do so if I stopped logging, and would gain that 15 lbs back
I'm trying to increase my activity level so my tdee would get up to where I would naturally eat, but until/if that ever happens I will be logging.2
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