Does anyone NOT count calories? How do you figure out how much of something to eat?

OneTwentyThree

Hi, I've been counting calories for about 2 years now, sometimes I skip adding some food here and there but I mostly plan out all my food every day on MFP.

I find it annoying to weigh food and to always have to refer to my phone in order to check how much of something I need, or to edit the quantity.

If theres anyone on this forum who stopped counting calories, can you tell me what is your method of knowing how much food to eat. I am always eating different things and sometimes I get take out lunch such as salads so memorizing portions isnt efficient. Any advice on this?

Thanks

middlehaitch

I don't log very often anymore. I counted my calories for about 18 months, 6 years ago, while I lost weight then during the first six month or so of maintenance.

For the past few years I have relied on portion sizes apropriate for me, knowing the approximate calories in most food I eat, and feeling sated.

I log for a few weeks here and there during the year to re establish portion sizes, and to alter my NEAT if life has changed.

If you are confident with portions and weigh yourself frequently enough to monitor your intake it is doable when you are losing, just not as precise.

Cheers, h.

Michael190lbs

I can eye it out pretty good now I mainly just track Macros at this point but I do weigh myself every morning

kommodevaran

I've lost about 50 pounds and have been in maintenance for 17 months. I stopped counting calories last summer. Logging and weighing got boring, and redundant, because by using MFP for 18 months I had already learnt how to eat - what kinds of foods works for me, what proper portions looks like, what hungry and full feels like. I had also started a spreadsheet meal plan/food log; the original purpose was to eat myself out of the fridge before a vacation, but I continued to use it, as it was easier and quicker to plan meals there than in the food diary and I could see several days at one glance. I created color coded "slots" for fruits, vegetables and nuts. Experimenting with number of meals, I could see a structure starting to form - I noticed I liked breakfast to be either this or that, same with lunch, plus a couple of additional options; dinner is just meat/fish+starch+vegetables or soup/casserole; evening meal is when I prefer to calm down with nuts and/or cheese. I eat quite similar from day to day. After I started weekly dinner themes, I rotate through all my dinners so that I get en even better rythm and balance.

I still weigh calorie dense and uncountable foods like milk, sandwich spread, rice, pasta, peanut butter, nuts. For planning purposes, I also weigh vegetables that I chop, and things like frozen peas and yogurt. Foods that come prepackaged, either from the factory (portioned items) or from nature (apples, pork chops, potatoes) - I'll just pick one (or some) that looks the right size. I don't eat lots of "convenience" foods; most is made from scratch - ordinary foods, nothing fancy, but tasty and easy. This is a plan I want to stick to.

I know that if I stick to this plan, I will maintain my weight - or, actually, slowly lose, but I'll have "treats" now and then, and the size and frequency of those push my weight upwards. I weigh every day, and when I approach the top of my set range, I cut back on the treats. That makes my weight go back down again. It's fascinating to be able to regulate my weight without counting calories. Sometimes all those years of struggling with food and being overweight or afraid of gaining weight, feels like a just bad dream. (No, not really I've worked hard for this.)

Panda_brat

I dot not log and weight, but I eyeball things, and keep a mental tally of approximately how many calories I eat and burn off. If the scale ever starts going up instead of normal fluctuation, I can start logging again, pr make other adjustments.

kimbelle_vie

By listening to your body (eat when truly hungry and stop when you feel satisfied not so full to you can barely move) and portion control

DearestWinter

When I last hit maintenance I continued logging for a few months and then just ate what I wanted. This wasn't a binge since I had acclimated to eating less for months.

Then the only thing I watched was the scale. I had picked a three pound weight range above my ideal weight and if I stepped on the scale and weighed over that range (even by a pound) then I would just eat less for a week (one less cookie, always leaving food on the plate, etc.) until I dropped back into my range. If I didn't drop back within a week then I had to go back to logging for a bit.

Of course maintenance eventually failed when I didn't bother stepping on the scale for a year.

ReaderGirl3

I'm approaching my 3 year maintenance anniversary (April), and up until a few months ago I'd have said not counting was working well for me. I was a pretty big advocate of intuitive eating (especially for maintenance). However while it worked in the short term, the further away I got from my initial weight loss phase, the easier its been to lose focus and let more and more things slip in. This morning I finally admitted that not counting calories just doesn't work for me, for the long term. Back to counting/tracking as of today, and working on losing the maintenance creep I've gained. Not tracking may work for some, and it worked for me short term, but I now know it doesn't work for me for the long term.

auddii

DancingDarl wrote: »

When i was my lightest 55kg i never calorie counted. I just reduced amount of everything i ate which was a healthy home cooked meal with plenty of vegetables. I never ate processed foods..so there ya go. I am going back to that way now and it works.
I want to be at the stage where i never need mfp again and im getting really close now.

I think that's something a lot of people on MFP strive for.

galgenstrick

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

OneTwentyThree

Thanks for the responses.
I am really bad at intuitive eating. I often dont actually feel hunger signs, and if I undereat (even by a little) I end up eventually being really fatigued and 'blah'. But at same time If I eat too much the scale goes up. This is why I am stuck counting calories and cant seem to figure out how to do it without mfp.

Im trying to figure out how to know what is a good portion. Maybe using measuring cups, spoons would be a better option, and just making sure I dont go over a certain amount ? For example grains maybe should be limited to not more than 1 cup, something like that.

I dont want using a food scale and mfp to be a lifelong method for me.

J72FIT

Here is a descent article covering this topic...

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide

ReaderGirl3

galgenstrick wrote: »

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

I counted for over two years, stopped counting and fast forward a few months- here I am again, with weight creep going on. I envy those who can stop counting/tracking and maintain long term, but I'm curious to see how many can actually do that?

OneTwentyThree

J72FIT wrote: »

Here is a descent article covering this topic...

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide

Thats very helpful thanks.

OneTwentyThree

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

I counted for over two years, stopped counting and fast forward a few months- here I am, with weight creep going on. I envy those who can stop counting/tracking and maintain long term, but I'm curious to see how many can actually do that?

I think when you stop counting you need to still be mindful of what you are eating and the portions. I think the reason some gain weight is because they start being more lenient with types of food and portions.
From personal experience when I stop counting, I still eat healthy but I am completely lost on whats the right portion for me. So i think the key to stop counting calories is to learn portion control.. Which i am terrible at

TeaBea

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

I counted for over two years, stopped counting and fast forward a few months- here I am again, with weight creep going on. I envy those who can stop counting/tracking and maintain long term, but I'm curious to see how many can actually do that?

This^

I've been "eye-balling" for 50+ years. I also thought I could get away from logging (after 2+ years) .....nope.

OP - some people are going to be able to manage this feat. Others will never manage it (raises hand).

If you really want to stop counting then look for a different method. Example: the "No S" diet. No seconds, no sweets, no snacks, except on days that begin with S (Saturday, Sunday, special days). Intermittent fasting could be an option (eating window, or strict 500 or 600 calorie days here and there) to keep things in check.

Make sure you keep moving. Always. Don't quit exercise after the weight is gone. This will give you some wiggle room.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

If you find it cumbersome to count, why not take a couple of weeks as a trial period and see how things go? I would guess there are a number of people on MFP who don't count and are still successful. I am not one of them unfortunately

kommodevaran

I would also vote for the No S Diet - it was one of my inspirations and I use some of the principles, eating meals (but four instead of three) and reserving snacks and sweets for Special days. Mostly I think if my diet was more "junky", I'd have to track.

You always have Rosemary Conley's portion pots for colorful portion control without shelling out money to BB.
"Precise portion" plates etc following the "plate model".
Some of these look nice but I prefer to either eyeball or weigh.

IMO "intuitive eating" has become the holy grail. I'm ambivalent, to be honest. Lots of people can't eat properly without being mindful/aware. These terms are a little fuzzy, and are both opposites and the same. The trick, I think, is to learn what your body really needs, not just how much you can stuff into your stomach. I started with the hunger scale, and bloggers like Isabel Foxen Duke has taught me a lot.

OneTwentyThree

kommodevaran wrote: »

I would also vote for the No S Diet - it was one of my inspirations and I use some of the principles, eating meals (but four instead of three) and reserving snacks and sweets for Special days. Mostly I think if my diet was more "junky", I'd have to track.

You always have Rosemary Conley's portion pots for colorful portion control without shelling out money to BB.
"Precise portion" plates etc following the "plate model".
Some of these look nice but I prefer to either eyeball or weigh.

IMO "intuitive eating" has become the holy grail. I'm ambivalent, to be honest. Lots of people can't eat properly without being mindful/aware. These terms are a little fuzzy, and are both opposites and the same. The trick, I think, is to learn what your body really needs, not just how much you can stuff into your stomach. I started with the hunger scale, and bloggers like Isabel Foxen Duke has taught me a lot.

Thats exactly what I was looking for. I seen the BB portions on tv before and have been trying to remember what it was called. I think this would be easier for me especially as life gets busier. I feel like my life (work,school) involves enough math already without the calorie calculations lol. Sick of counting but at same time my body is impossible to figure out what it needs 'intuitively'. Thanks im going to check out those portion plates also and the blogs you mentioned.

Diets such as 's diet' dont work for me because im generally a healthy eater my only problem is figuring out the right portion and exercising consistently. I have digestive issues so I dont really eat snacky foods, junk, anything with gluten or processed food (usually).

WinoGelato

auddii wrote: »

DancingDarl wrote: »

When i was my lightest 55kg i never calorie counted. I just reduced amount of everything i ate which was a healthy home cooked meal with plenty of vegetables. I never ate processed foods..so there ya go. I am going back to that way now and it works.
I want to be at the stage where i never need mfp again and im getting really close now.

I think that's something a lot of people on MFP strive for.

I know I'm looking forward to that day!

CrabNebula

I don't think intuitive eating would ever work for me. All I did most of my life was intuitively eat my way up to just under being supermorbidly obese.

I don't need MFP, but I do need to keep track and be mindful of what it is I am putting in my mouth at all times. It would be nice to just be able to eat whatever, not care and still lose or maintain weight, but that's just not reality.

JoRocka

the real answer?

you guess.

Usually if you've been calorie counting for a while you can guess pretty well what a serving size of something is- but you need to have a good base line for what a serving size is first.

but the short answer is- guessing.
if you're not physically counting- you're guessing.

DearestWinter

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

I counted for over two years, stopped counting and fast forward a few months- here I am again, with weight creep going on. I envy those who can stop counting/tracking and maintain long term, but I'm curious to see how many can actually do that?

I think counting calories gets a little tiresome when you're maintaining but getting on a scale every morning is an easy habit. My technique of weighing myself each morning and doing a quick check that I hadn't gained worked really well for the 5 years I was maintaining. Since I weighed daily I never got more than a pound or two above my range so losing it would happen in pretty short order.

I failed because I went on a 6 month trip and was never around the same scale (and sometimes around no scale) so I just stopped weighing in. Then I moved to a new place and didn't buy a scale for months. By that time I'd basically broken the habit of weighing and following maintenance techniques. I rationalized my weight gain (at that time about 10 lbs) as age related. And it all went downhill from there.

[Edited for grammar and brevity.]

ReaderGirl3

DearestWinter wrote: »

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

I counted for over two years, stopped counting and fast forward a few months- here I am again, with weight creep going on. I envy those who can stop counting/tracking and maintain long term, but I'm curious to see how many can actually do that?

I think counting calories gets a little tiresome when you're maintaining but getting on a scale every morning is an easy habit. My technique of weighing myself each morning and doing a quick check that I hadn't gained worked really well for the 5 years I was maintaining. Since I weighed daily I never got more than a pound or two above my range so losing it would happen in pretty short order.

I failed because I went on a 6 month trip and was never around the same scale (and sometimes around no scale) so I just stopped weighing in. Then I moved to a new place and didn't buy a scale for months. By that time I'd basically broken the habit of weighing and following maintenance techniques. I rationalized my weight gain (at that time about 10 lbs) as age related. And it all went downhill from there.

[Edited for grammar and brevity.]

Ha, yeah my scale went into the closet after Christmas It came back out this morning though and it will never, ever, ever be put away again lol. I now realize how much I need those checks and balances in place!

JoRocka

DearestWinter wrote: »

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

Just count calories for a year. After that's over, you can eyeball almost anything.

I counted for over two years, stopped counting and fast forward a few months- here I am again, with weight creep going on. I envy those who can stop counting/tracking and maintain long term, but I'm curious to see how many can actually do that?

I think counting calories gets a little tiresome when you're maintaining but getting on a scale every morning is an easy habit. My technique of weighing myself each morning and doing a quick check that I hadn't gained worked really well for the 5 years I was maintaining. Since I weighed daily I never got more than a pound or two above my range so losing it would happen in pretty short order.

I failed because I went on a 6 month trip and was never around the same scale (and sometimes around no scale) so I just stopped weighing in. Then I moved to a new place and didn't buy a scale for months. By that time I'd basically broken the habit of weighing and following maintenance techniques. I rationalized my weight gain (at that time about 10 lbs) as age related. And it all went downhill from there.

[Edited for grammar and brevity.]

I've never really had a problem with it- it takes more time to check facebook then to track my food- I usually can do it sitting at my desk while my email loads.

Granted- I live alone- and I batch cook. what I eat varies only by week- not by day. If you ate out a lot and or had a lot of different left overs- I could imagine it being SLIGHTLY more difficult- but across the board daily track is a none issue for me- it's like brush my teeth or flossing- it's just something I do.

But I realize not everyone is like that. So- you definitely have to find what works for you.

fishshark

my issue was never over eating... i was thin/in shape my whole life and easily ate 3000 calories a day... what changed for was going from super active to very sedentary. counting calories/weighing helped me adjust my food intake from being an athlete to barley doing anything.

giantrobot_powerlifting

I'm in maintenance now with a side of surplus most of the time, but I've been spitballing calories before the internet. When I get around to cutting again (has a good laugh) then I'll need to track to get me my new maintenance level and then I will be back on autopilot once again.

jdhcm2006

JoRocka wrote: »

the real answer?

you guess.

Usually if you've been calorie counting for a while you can guess pretty well what a serving size of something is- but you need to have a good base line for what a serving size is first.

but the short answer is- guessing.
if you're not physically counting- you're guessing.

This. Also, you'll want to make sure you're weighing yourself pretty regularly so you can determine if your guess work is working well.

GaleHawkins

J72FIT wrote: »

Here is a descent article covering this topic...

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide

2x. Thanks for the link.

cwolfman13

I will hit my three year maintenance mark in two weeks and I don't log. I spent about nine months or so logging which gave me a pretty good idea of what most stuff should look like on my plate. I still do weigh a lot of things and use measuring cups and spoons, particularly for fats, but my eyeball is pretty good too.

I also eat very healthfully...I dislike the term, but most people would say my diet was pretty "clean" with a smattering of "junk" here and there. I find maintenance to be pretty easy eating a lot of whole foods...lean protein, lots of veg, some fruit, whole grains, and some healthy fats. Having done this for awhile, I can also keep a reasonably good tally in my head of about where I'm at calorie wise. I also don't eat out all that often...eating out a lot will rip through your calories pretty quickly.

I've also remained very active...actually, I'm more active because I have more energy with more calories. I ride on average about 60-80 miles per week depending on what's going on in my life and I lift 3x per week. Beyond that, outside I just try to keep generally active...we don't watch a lot of t.v. anymore in my house...we tend to go out for some recreational activity like a hike, or play in the park, or just go walk around the zoo for a few hours, etc.

I monitor my weight regularly as well...if I see things trending up, I take a step back to see what I'm doing differently...sometimes I've had snacking creep in, but more often than not, it's because something in life has gone a little crazy and I haven't been out on the bike as much, but haven't cut back on the food either...it's a pretty simple fix when you don't let it get out of control.

BinaryPulsar

After three years I just have a good eye for measuring, I can go by my hunger cues, and just make sure I eat a well balanced diet. I eat whole foods, not processed foods so that makes it easier. That's just how I eat. I cook and eat lots of veggies. Partly because of food intolerance causing me to need to know what's in my food to avoid reactions. Because of that I very actively use my food diary now (doctors orders).