How to lose weight without counting calories?

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  • the_new_mark_2017
    the_new_mark_2017 Posts: 149 Member
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    Start really watching your foods now, paying attention to the portion size, what types of cooking methods are healthier than others, how much of something you can eat to stay under your calorie goal etc.
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited June 2016
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    Are you allowed to take food back to your dorm? Cutting the portion in half and putting the rest in a "to go" container reduces 1/2 the calories plus you get an extra meal for another time. I often will conciously choose 1/2 of what I think I want because my "eyes are bigger than my stomach" when I'm super hungry, out and about, and not able to weigh. If you slow down to enjoy it rather than wolfing it down quickly you will feel less stressed and more satisfied with the smaller portion as well. There is often a lot of rushing around to get to classes so students can get in the habit of eating quickly.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    count it, just be less accurate, dont way it, just guess at it. better than nothing.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    You can still count calories even if you aren't using your food scale for the cafeteria meals. You will be estimating more but this is a good test to see how good you've become at estimating portion sizes and choosing reasonable entries in the database. I would still take the food scale and keep it in your dorm room/apartment for meals where you eat there, ramen noodles, frozen pizza, etc. As others have suggested, many colleges contract through a provider like Sodexo or Aramark and those entries are in the database so it's just a matter of choosing one and estimating your portion size. Even if your campus doesn't use one of those, it's a reasonable bet that whoever is preparing the food uses similar techniques and ingredients for mass prepared dorm food.

    Also choosing the cafeterias further away is a great suggestion so you are walking more before your meals!
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited June 2016
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    There are charts that shows portion sizes. That can be a helpful resource when you are forced to "eyeball" portions. If you Google portion chart you will see quite a few. Ex:

    http://www.shape.com/blogs/healthy-portion-sizes-guest-blogger-kendra-peterson

    http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/your-guide-calories-and-portion-sizes
  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
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    capaul42 wrote: »
    Why can't you bring a scale with you? They're pretty cheap. I got mine for 20$ at Walmart.
    As for the no kitchen, does your college have nutrition info posted for their meals? Does your campus allow fridges or microwaves in the dorms? There's a lot you can do to minimize the amount you have to eat at the cafeterias. One of my friends used to bring her own salad dressing (she made herself as she had sever allergies) every time she ate out.

    Because your friends eating with you in the cafeteria would think you are very strange.

    There are many calorie counters on this site who have had great success. But calorie counting (weighing, measuring, logging, etc.) is pretty uncommon. Especially in the presence of others.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    capaul42 wrote: »
    Why can't you bring a scale with you? They're pretty cheap. I got mine for 20$ at Walmart.
    As for the no kitchen, does your college have nutrition info posted for their meals? Does your campus allow fridges or microwaves in the dorms? There's a lot you can do to minimize the amount you have to eat at the cafeterias. One of my friends used to bring her own salad dressing (she made herself as she had sever allergies) every time she ate out.

    Because your friends eating with you in the cafeteria would think you are very strange.

    There are many calorie counters on this site who have had great success. But calorie counting (weighing, measuring, logging, etc.) is pretty uncommon. Especially in the presence of others.

    If you read my other comment, I meant bringing a scale to school (her dorm), not the cafeteria.
  • beaglebrandon
    beaglebrandon Posts: 97 Member
    edited June 2016
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    Eat the same things. Then you don't have to 'count' calories. It's what I do, and I've lost 40 pounds in the past 4 months.

    I eat 350 calories for breakfast. I buy frozen breakfast sandwiches. I have that with tea every morning.

    For lunch, I eat a 450 calorie subway chicken sandwich. I make sure I get no mayo. I switch up the rolls and veggies a bit. I drink water.

    I have a 200 calorie snack before working out.

    At dinner, I eat something different, every day. A sandwich, soup, a frozen meal, salad, something around 400 calories. Then I have nuts to snack on for 200 more calories.

    I drink water with everything. So I'm around 1600 calories a day, including working out 60 minutes a day.

    So I don't weigh anything, but I keep to a simple diet of things I know the calorie count. I make sure I don't use any extra condiments.

    I'll cheat once a week. By cheating, I have maybe 1 slice of pizza and a few shots of whiskey. Always watching the calories so I don't go much over 2,000 in a single day.

    You need to find something you can eat. If you're only near fast food (like I am in the afternoons), you can eat ONE thing with water. A cheeseburger is fine to eat for lunch (without things like mayonnaise or bacon), as long as that's ALL you're eating and drinking water. No fries or chips or anything else. Sometimes the cheeseburger has less calories than the salad with the dressing.

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