Abandoned calorie counting for something else?

honeybee739
honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone completely quit counting calories and instead went low carb or clean eating where you supposedly dont have to track calories?

How did that work out for you?
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Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,704 Member
    I've been counting calories for the past 30+ years.

    Not in detail all the time, but I'm constantly adding it up in my head.

    Some years, when I exercised a lot, I counted to make sure I was eating enough ... a few years, I've needed to count to lose a bit ... and the rest of the time, I count to maintain. :)
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited January 2017
    I've done various IF protocols for my weight loss/maintenance (ADF, 5:2IF and now 16:8IF). But I've still had to count calories along with the IF :)
  • honeybee739
    honeybee739 Posts: 66 Member
    Thanks peeps!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    SideSteel wrote: »
    DietVanillaCoke wrote: »
    If you go low carb you still need to reduce calories to lose the weight XD. You can't just magically eat more than you burn to lose weight. It doesn't work that way. If you eat 4000calories of veges and sit down all day and only burn 1700.. You're gonna gain weight. Same if you eat low carb. You need a calorie deficit ALWAYS. Some people find it easier to go low carb. I found that I was fuller for longer but i still needed to count my calories.

    Correct however the original poster was asking about counting the calories.

    You absolutely have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, as you mentioned. But it doesn't necessarily mean you have to count calories in order to achieve that.

    Bingo.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    savithny wrote: »
    My relative was doing GREAT on Atkins. Boasting about how easy it was and he could eat everything he wanted.

    And then he got a Costco membership and started buying Costco-size buckets of nuts and other atkins-approved snacks.

    It turns out that calories matter, and it is absolutely possible to eat too many of them while low-carbing or Paleoing or any of those other "don't count calories just count carbs" plans.

    Read sidesteel's reply above.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I'm on an "intermediate" approach. I don't count calories, but I'm not eating low carb or "clean", either. I'm maintaining, but I have lost weight before, too, doing this:
    Eat meals and nothing between meals. Eat whatever I like, as long as I mainly eat real food.
    Now I'm also planning and logging my meals in a speadsheet, and weighing/counting what I eat/drink, and eating mostly home cooked meals, and weighing myself every day.
    It's easy, almost effortless, to stay within a healthy weight range.
  • lucyee
    lucyee Posts: 32 Member
    I very rarely count anymore. At this point I have a pretty good idea of when I'm eating at deficit, mantainance, excess, and can keep within a pretty healthy 5lb range doing this. I certainly don't eat "clean", but I do try to eat a pretty healthy, varied diet of "real food" - I.e. Vegetables, meat, wholegrain carbs, fruit, nuts + other things as and when I fancy them, in moderation. I occasionally weigh things I know to be calorie dense I.e. cheese to make sure I'm not accidentally eating 1000cal of it. Counting calories was great for me to get started, but ultimately I decided I didn't want to do it forever and a more intuitive approach has been working for me for about a year now since I stopped tracking.
  • suruda
    suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
    I was successful counting calories then got lazy. As weight crept back on, I tried other approaches (low carb, no counting).... no Bueno, no success for me! Now I'm back and it is working again. Duh...if it works, why try something else?
  • ActionAnnieJXN
    ActionAnnieJXN Posts: 116 Member
    Yes, I tried in desperation multiple times over the years to do an Atkins-type thing and just not even think about calories, but I could never endure the extreme carbohydrate deprivation for more than a few weeks. I mean, I felt like I had one foot in the grave and the other on maybe a pork rind, because, of course, bananas were verboten.

    So that never worked for me and when I inevitably gave up, the feasting commenced at a fevered pitch and I naturally wound up bigger than before. And thus the cycle of angst and desperation continued until I stopped it with the help of a very wise doctor and MFP.

    I don't mean to disparage Atkins, people do lose weight with that method and everyone has to find whatever works for them - I just wasn't tough enough to take it, haha. Anyway, I'm diabetic so I still count my carbs, but in a much more moderate way (under 120 g. daily), along with my calories. The plain fact is - I have never been able to make a significant improvement in my weight and my health without tracking my calories.

    It's taken me a long time to come to terms with consistent tracking, but I think I'm there now. I had to accept that it's simply right for my mind and my body to carefully monitor and record my intake. It may not be right for everyone, but it is for me, and a big part of maturity is accepting the reality of our situation and facing up to the real solution. This is the real solution for me. And actually, I have finally come to quite enjoy it. :smile:
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I only tracked for a few months many many years ago. I used that knowledge to establish portion control and new habits. Since then I have continually made it easier to sustain a way of eating that is non restrictive and maintain my weight with ease. I can also gain a few or lose a few to meet short term goals (needed to cut a few lbs to make a weight class) My diet is comprised primarily of whole unprocessed and minimally processed foods.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    I've had success following the 21 day fix meal plan and not counting calories. Of course, you're still counting servings...but I found it less stressful.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I lost my first 30 pounds by logging the food I ate and limiting portions and limiting what I will vaguely refer to as "treats", all without counting calories or weighing or actually measuring (my measurements were more like "1 spoonful".) I got stuck and then had to count calories to lose a bit more. It is my ultimate goal to get back to logging without calorie counting. I'm not quite there yet but I have faith that it can happen :)
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    I think that regardless of the way you choose to eat, counting calories provides the most accurate gauge of how much you are eating, and provides a little extra cushion of confidence that you are on target for your goals. I would very much like to be one of those fortunate ones who can eat intuitively, or can skip the counting and trust their estimation skills, but I lack that ability. I am a counter and probably always will be one.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    I tried IF alone, and only being loosely aware of calorie intake, but that was not enough for me. Apparently I really do need to track carefully, so I'm resigned to it now. MFP has made this much easier though. I continue to do IF, but combine that with counting calories, and I'm fairly successful at losing or maintaining that way.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    honeybee739 wrote: »
    Has anyone completely quit counting calories and instead went low carb or clean eating where you supposedly dont have to track calories?

    You don't *have* to track calories no matter which 'diet' you choose to follow. ;)

    Bit if you mean that going low carb or clean eating (whatever that means to you) also means that you can therefore eat as much as you want and not gain weight, the answer is a big (fat!) no. :)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    A year and a half ago was the first time that I lost weight while actually counting calories. I had lost weight in the past (mainly following Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet) but I didn't count anything. In hindsight it was probably 1500 kcal and about 100-150g carbs. I find I can only restrict calories when carbs are limited. More carbs seems to drive me to eat more.

    Oops, I take it back. I lost a bit over 10lbs doing Weight Watchers point system about 12 years ago too. No real calorie counting - just points. It was helpful to learn serving sizes better but I was hungry almost all of the time. It was not easy and I was not happy. Not sustainable for me.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    About 20 years ago I lost weight (45lbs) on Atkins without counting calories. I did have to count carbs though.

    I lost 60lbs on juice fasts. Without counting calories. I could name a few others.

    The problem for ME was I needed to know how to maintain my losses. So counting calories gives me the information I need to balance that out.

  • nowNOTthenmylife
    nowNOTthenmylife Posts: 47 Member
    I've lost weight in the past not counting calories when I was doing a 21 day eating clean diet a d lost 12lbs in a month without exercising. At the time I was 170 lbs at 5'2. I drank nothing but water. Made sure to eat 12 to 16 oz of steamed low calories veggies from frozen package and eat them with a grilled leg and thighs chicken , three times a day or switch it up with a 16 oz salad bag and a can of sardines ( using the oil as dressing). Now I just eat everything in smaller portion. For example I would eat .5 cup of steamed rice with a medium avocado and a handful of steamed greenbeans.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    Bottom line is, weight loss=eating less calories than you are burning. No matter how you get there, or what it is called, or how it is measured, you are not eating more calories than you are burning if you are losing weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    honeybee739 wrote: »
    Has anyone completely quit counting calories and instead went low carb or clean eating where you supposedly dont have to track calories?

    How did that work out for you?

    I don't count calories. I eat very well and most people would say my diet is pretty "clean"...but keep in mind that you can still over consume calories eating "clean"...over the fall and through early winter I have put on about 10 Lbs eating pretty "clean" because I was injured and my activity level dropped and I didn't compensate with diet.

    You can also over eat doing low carb...the notion that you can eat "clean" or low carb and just eat as much as you want is a falacy.

    It all still comes down to calories whether you are actively counting them or not. All diets and diet programs work on that same principle.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    edited January 2017
    I go through stretches of not logging. If I'm cooking my meals from scratch with minimally processed ingredients, not having dessert regularly, limiting my alcohol, etc. I can maintain my weight easily. Basically, practicing good habits with food choice and portion control. I don't lose weight, though - I eat to satiety when I'm not counting calories, and when I'm in a deficit I'm always a little hungry and calorie counting is what keeps me focused.

    My dad has lost 50 lbs and maintained for a while without counting calories. He eats one to two meals a day, basically practicing IF. However, he's still carrying a little bit of extra weight, and I don't think he'll be able to lose more without being more structured in some way.
  • lucyee
    lucyee Posts: 32 Member
    chocolate_owl wrote: »
    I go through stretches of not logging. If I'm cooking my meals from scratch with minimally processed ingredients, not having dessert regularly, limiting my alcohol, etc. I can maintain my weight easily.

    I probably should have caveated my response above with something similar to this. I can only eat reasonably intuitively and lose weight if I drink very little, and avoid dessert almost entirely. These throw me off entirely. Mostly not a problem as I don't have much space in a deficit for these things (I know some do - personally, to feel full, I prefer to use my calories on other things). If I wanted to include these things on a regular basis and lose weight, I think I would have to go back to tracking :neutral: At maintenance they fit in fine :smile:
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    honeybee739 wrote: »
    Has anyone completely quit counting calories and instead went low carb or clean eating where you supposedly dont have to track calories?

    How did that work out for you?

    Calorie counting is still a good idea when "clean" eating or low carbing. Heck, I was at my highest weight "clean" eating!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited January 2017
    Low carb and not counting calories would help me lose weight......however, that's just the first step. Low carb is not something I would pick as a lifestyle change - so it wouldn't work (for me) for maintenance.

    There are behavioral change type diets where users should need less (or maybe no) calorie monitoring. One example is the No-S Diet. No snacks, no seconds, no sweets; except sometimes on days that begin with the letter "S" - Saturdays, Sundays and special days (birthdays, etc).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    honeybee739 wrote: »
    Has anyone completely quit counting calories and instead went low carb or clean eating where you supposedly dont have to track calories?

    How did that work out for you?

    I've lost weight many times without counting calories by upping exercise and changing what I eat. However, I've learned that when I have a desk job and a significant other who likes to eat higher calories meals it behooves me to count calories. Since I don't see any of that changing, I will stick with MFP.

    I find MFP much easier than South Beach. Lasted less than a week on that.
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