Calorie counting vs. Intuitive eating.

I know that many of us are here because intuitive eating does not work for us ( eating whatever you want when hungry and stopping when full ) and I agree , calorie counting is great and I lost weight easily , BUT do you guys really do it for the rest of your lives ? Checking out restaurants menus, thinking about calories etc? I am maintaining now and I literally spend 85% of my day thinking about calories / food. I get nervous when I cant find calories of a particular restaurant online and make a big deal out of it. I am thinking about switching to intuitive eating
What works for you guys ? Intuitive eating or calorie counting ?
«1345

Replies

  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Currently, I'm using a combination... I'm stilling tracking in a sense, but much more loosely than I used to when i was tracking macros down to the gram for nearly four years.

    I found that I was actually "undereating" when I was eating intuitively since I tend to be extra conservative.

    Now, I either ball park or count approximately 3,000 cals a day and 150g+ protein prioritizing mostly nutrient dense foods. If I feel like I overate, I'll just scale back slightly on the following day.

    This allows me to remain flexible with my foods, but also not obsesses over arbitrary numbers.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
    I'm planning to track for 6 months, which should be 5 months of loss and 1 of maintenance. I'm using this time to recalibrate my habits and become more aware of calories in my food. I hope to be able to stop tracking and maintain my loss, but we shall see. I haven't been overweight for a long time - I was at a healthy, happy weight before I had kids and then two pregnancies and five years of breastfeeding set my habits at a place that led to 20 lb of weight gain when I was no longer literally "eating for two". My goal is to get back to a place where my regular life and my happy weight are again in harmony and don't require constant vigilance.
  • whatthefreck555
    whatthefreck555 Posts: 3 Member
    I would love to be an intuitive eater. I have tried several times to lose weight through moderation. It doesn't work for me. I'll cheat a little here and there and the next thing I know I've gained 5 pounds. I've accepted that I'll never be at a point where I don't have to think about what I eat. That's my life. However, calorie counting does get easier as you go on. You'll learn to instinctively stay away from foods that are high in calories. With restaurants, just log the same entree from a similar restaurant. You'll learn to guess the calories based on size and ingredients.
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,665 Member
    I repeat meals and recipes frequently, so I'm hoping that when I hit maintenance, I'll recognize the proper portions of those foods. Then I'll only have to investigate new foods to be sure they'll fit my maintenance calories. I'll continue weighing in so that I'll catch it early if it's not working. Only time will tell. I'm cautiously optimistic. :)
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Calorie counting does not take that much effort/time for me. My maintenance plan: eat at a slight deficit during the week, when my routine is standard. And that will allow me to approximate on the weekends. And adjust as needed based on the scale weight.
    I know that many of us are here because intuitive eating does not work for us ( eating whatever you want when hungry and stopping when full ) and I agree , calorie counting is great and I lost weight easily , BUT do you guys really do it for the rest of your lives ? Checking out restaurants menus, thinking about calories etc? I am maintaining now and I literally spend 85% of my day thinking about calories / food. I get nervous when I cant find calories of a particular restaurant online and make a big deal out of it. I am thinking about switching to intuitive eating
    What works for you guys ? Intuitive eating or calorie counting ?

  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    It...depends...

    If you're able to track for x amount of time and get a decent handle on how many Calories, grams of each macro, and how many micros are in your basic diet - and keeping up with regular weigh-ins (whatever schedule fits your lifestyle) - then tracking forever probably won't be needed. Maybe just a day here, a day there, just to make sure you're still estimating well. If, on the other hand, you don't get a handle on amounts? Then you'll probably have some issues trying to intuitively eat and maintain/lose weight.
  • hookandy
    hookandy Posts: 278 Member
    Lost a few years ago, then stopped logging and crept up. Back on it again now with a long way to go. Happy I can lose the weight, but planning for the future and how to keep on track. Have a year to figure it out!
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    Actually I am the opposite. If I don't weight, measure and log my food I end up under-eating and losing too much weight. If I don't know what I'm eating, I'd rather not eat! Of course I've taken planned breaks as well like when on vacations and holidays. When I go out to eat I just make sure to order things that are simply, substitutions and eyeballing portion sizes. Like the poster above me said, after doing it for so many years it becomes second nature and very easy to eyeball portion sizes.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    There's no way I would be able to log calories from now on. I weigh myself weekly and as long as I'm within five pounds of my target weight I don't log food calories. That's not to say that I don't pay attention to calories and go completely off of intuition. I think more in terms of a calorie goal at each meal. At each meal all I have to know is whether the calories will be over or under what my goal for that meal is. Once the meal is over I can forget about it. When the next time to eat comes up the decision making process starts fresh.
  • genpopadopolous
    genpopadopolous Posts: 411 Member
    edited March 2017
    I do little "tests" occasionally- where I will eat what I feel like for a day or two and log after the fact.

    I still over eat every single time.

    I'm still in a losing mode- and I hope to one day get to a point that I don't have to log everything, but I'm not there, so I'm not there.

    I will say- I don't think about food that much. I mean, on hungry days its all I think about- but most days while I eat breakfast- I log lunch and dinner. Then I may have a snack during the day- so I'll log that if I do- but thats it. I don't think of it again.

    If I go out to eat and the calories aren't available, I guess and move on. I'm not going to do so much damage in one meal that I won't counteract in 2 days. It just isn't worth the stress.

    If this is how life will be forever for me- then I will not let it be something that hinders my happiness. It's a tool to help me live a better life, not a barrier from fulfillment. It requires flexibility.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Like others I'll experiment when I get to goal. I'd like to think I won't need to log but calorie creep could happen, particularly with starches. So I can certainly see myself weighing my rice and pasta, perhaps cheese too.

    That said, I maintained my weight pretty steady for a good 10 years, albeit overweight. So I can do it, it's making sure I have naturally down regulated my intake to my requirements. If I'm regularly exercising I think I'll be fine. If my depression bites me in the butt and I'm not as active I will have to be a lot more careful.

    Regardless, I don't stress about restaurant meals etc now, I know roughly how many calories are in most things and I naturally eat light the rest of the day. I take logging breaks for holidays, Christmas, birthday and so far there have been no disastrous consequences!