I don't wan't to sacrifice my normal eating habits, just try to eat less.

sophia_del

I do wan't to get my body into shape but don't wan't to sacrifice my life for it.Always having to count calories is exhausting. I guess I just try to wing it, but I do realize I need to watch what I eat and how much. I do have to make some changes otherwise I will only gain weight instead of losing it. Can anyone help me?

arditarose

Great job trying to make a change. What exactly do you need help with?

keziak1

I got burned out on logging calories (sorry, MFP) and went back to overeating which is a real shame because where might I be now? I am approaching food as if I'm counting. If you don't want to really change your eating habits try learning about portion sizes. There are many tricks for measuring appropriate portions without using scales and measuring cups.

Sabine_Stroehm

You can count, you can eyeball and count (which does work for some folks) or you can take a "change what you eat" kind of approach. Or you can just try to cut down. It seems that's much harder than it used to be with all the hyper palatable foods industry has created.

Whether or not you succeed is going to really depend on how much you want it. Only then will you stick to it.

Good luck!

ps: if you want to give eyeballing and counting a try there are a number of images you can bookmark that show you what a serving of nuts is, or a serving of meat etc.

999tigger

You are going to have to learn how to help yourself and make some choices. With those choices come consequences.

1. You wnat to get your body into shape, which at a guess means at a guess means losing weight by being at a calorific deficit. You can either track calories, wing it by guessing and exercising more. Getting into shape involves more than just losing weight so be prepared to do the relevant cardio and weight work if you wnat to get fit.
2. Counting calories is exhausting? The app makes it easy tbh and ten minutes a day. Not really sacrificing your life, but if you wnat to lose weight then take responsibility for what you consume. Working down a coal mine might be exhausting.
3. The majority of successful people on here count calories, becayse it gives them an idea how much they are consuming and helps them stay on track. You are denying yourself that valuable information and will never know from day to day whether you are over or under unless its extreme.
4. Eat less, portion control and take measurements like the scales and tape measure to see if its working, but its a very inaccurate method. Good luck.

seltzermint555

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

You can count, you can eyeball and count (which does work for some folks) or you can take a "change what you eat" kind of approach. Or you can just try to cut down. It seems that's much harder than it used to be with all the hyper palatable foods industry has created.

Whether or not you succeed is going to really depend on how much you want it. Only then will you stick to it.

Good luck!

ps: if you want to give eyeballing and counting a try there are a number of images you can bookmark that show you what a serving of nuts is, or a serving of meat etc.

I think this is good advice.

I don't wanna get too in depth with my own experiences here, OP, but I will tell you that "trying to eat less, and eat healthier" while also exercising quite a lot, I only lost about 40 lb in 4 1/2 YEARS and I was very serious about making changes and had a LOT of weight to lose.

Then I started logging every bite of food on MFP and have lost almost 100 lb in less than 2 years and reached a weight I hadn't seen since I was 13 yrs old and never thought I would again...I am now 38.

So it really can make a big difference knowing "exactly" how much you are eating!! It's so worth it. For the record I do not own a food scale and I only measure some ingredients, I just always aim to eyeball portions as suggested above and try to err on the high side.

Also I feel that without knowing "exactly" how many calories I'm eating, I tend to shortchange myself. This morning for example, I ate a bigger than usual, 400 calorie breakfast and it felt like a lot more food to me...two slices of French toast with sliced banana and a thin layer of hazelnut spread, plus 2 cups of coffee with almond milk. It was SO good and it fit my macros really well, too. I think in the days when I was just "trying to eat better" I would never have gone for that breakfast because it would seem too sweet, rich, and indulgent. So then I would have had shredded wheat or a Pop Tart with some juice and coffee w/ a ton of flavored non dairy creamer, and felt dissatisfied with it and probably consumed around the same calories.