succeeding without logging

kommodevaran

2snakeswoman wrote: »

I think I need to do more menu planning. I'm a mood eater, and I love to try new recipes, some of which have very little nutrition information, not even the serving size. So entering them is a major pain in the behind, but I've gotten so sick of same ol' same ol'. But maybe same ol' will reduce my appetite. I was at the doctor office today and lost 3 pounds in the last 2 months. Since I need to lose around 40 pounds to be at the upper limits of a healthy weight, that just won't do. At least my blood pressure was good. I won't get my chemistry results until next week.

When you enter ingredients in the recipe builder, it calculates the nutrients for you. YOU decide the serving size - how many calories have you allotted for (for instance) dinner? If the total has 1200 calories, and you want to eat 400 calories, serve yourself 1/3 of it.

Boring food helps lots of people eat less, but for others (like me) that's a recipe for disaster, I know I will rebel.

Calorie counting has the potential to be quite accurate and create predictable weight loss, but it's nothing magical about it. It is a method of controlling calorie intake, but it also builds awareness and gives you a brake pedal. For me, seeing those numbers, made me trust that I had had enough food. Maybe some kind of visual/spatial clue is more helpful for you. You could try 21 day fix (google container sizes and meal plans), portion pots (cheap), precise portions (expensive), smaller dinner plates, the plate model etc. It's about quantity and quality. More nutrients will make you more full for fewer calories. Better food choices bridges the gap between "need" and "want".

heatherheyns

Can some people lose weight without logging? Sure. And if it is working for you, go for it. I don't weigh everything I should, and my logging isn't as tight as it could be, but for now I'm losing at a rate I am happy with. When that changes , as I get closer to my goal and my deficit becomes smaller, I'm sure I'll need to fix those things. So if you're losing without logging, great. Keep at it. If you're not losing though, it's worth sucking it up and doing. It just comes down to whether or not what you're doing is working.

CoffeeNCardio

Mavrick_RN wrote: »

Logging is only a method of having unlimited freedom to choose to eat ANY food you want.

Pre-packaged, pre-measured food is the simplest. Scan it, eat it, you're done. Same thing, day after day after day after day etc....

Pizza, chocolate cake, fried chicken, beer, ANYTHING is available to you. IF you honestly and accurately log your intake and stay at your planned calorie deficit, you will still lose weight. For the rest of your life. Without having to exercise if you don't want to.

I get on an eating jag where I will eat pretty much the same thing for weeks. I have 2 sausage McMuffins for breakfast, a Michelina's frozen dinner and a cup of nonfat yogurt for lunch, another Michelina's frozen dinner and an apple for dinner on my 12 hour work days. Pre-packaged, pre-measured, done.

On my days off I can have anything I want. Right now I'm really into guacamole and marshmallows (not necessarily together). I looked it up and regular sized marshmallows are 25 calories each, 4 for 100 cal. I roast 'em over my firepit in the evening and consider it a real treat.

I have one bonus meal a week where I have hamburger, French fries, BBQ ribs, pizza, chicken chimichanga or some other tasty treat and done. I log it just for consistency sake but don't really worry about limiting calories for that one meal.

Doing this for the last three months and lost 30 pounds.

I love how you said "not necessarily together" like it hasn't occured to you to mix guac and marshmallows but that you're keeping your options open:-)