Who lost weight without counting cals??

sanda4930

Ugh been counting cals for a while and now I find it stressful. It’s mentally draining for me. For example if I mess up one day, I would freak up and try to fix it next day by starving. I just dnt want to count cals anymore. I only want to lose 7kg. So not a lot of weight.
I heard IF is good cause it puts u in a defecit but I’ve never tried this. I’m a female so I’m kinda scared to start IF cause people say IF mess up ur hormones.

Tic78

Problem is all ways to lose weight rely on one thing, calorie deficit. That’s why calorie counting is key. IF or any other way will only work for you to lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit. If you don’t want to count calories as it causes you stress then you will just need to try your best to guess your intake to ensure a deficit.

xxzenabxx

What do you find hard about calorie counting? Why do you have to starve yourself to count calories? Just because you go over your calories for one day doesn’t mean you have to mess up the other days. Also maybe your deficit is too aggressive?

TeaBea

sanda4930 wrote: »

Ugh been counting cals for a while and now I find it stressful. It’s mentally draining for me. For example if I mess up one day, I would freak up and try to fix it next day by starving. I just dnt want to count cals anymore. I only want to lose 7kg. So not a lot of weight.
I heard IF is good cause it puts u in a defecit but I’ve never tried this. I’m a female so I’m kinda scared to start IF cause people say IF mess up ur hormones.

First of all you have to learn not to freak out. You didn't "break" anything.

Progress............not perfection.

You are trying to find a way to be healthier, not a way to be perfect. Eating less (on average) it's as simple as that.

IF is an eating window and nothing more. If you can consistently restrict your calories by skipping breakfast, or by not eating after dinner then you've achieved something. You've learned something about your eating habits. Don't try for the most extreme eating window right off the bat. See if 16:8 works for you.

Don't read too much into "named" diets. People who sell diet books have to fill the pages with something. Often that something is unfounded and unproven.

kimny72

The understanding of calories is a modern concept, and plenty of people have lost weight without counting calories. But most people on mfp are counting calories, so that's often the focus here.

Calories determine weight loss, but there are all sorts of strategies to reduce calories without counting them.

Unfortunately none of them worked for me, which is why I'm here.

IF doesn't guarantee a calorie deficit, but limiting the time per day you have to eat can make it more likely.

Perhaps you can figure out where you waste calories and eliminate them. Then figure out which foods fill you up on less calories and focus on them. Your logging history can help you with that.

I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas, it's certainly possible!

musicfan68

I lost about 50 lbs about 10 years ago without calorie counting. I started just walking every other day. Granted, I walk on crutches, so I exert a lot more effort walking than non-disabled people do, so I"m sure that helped me burn a lot more calories than normal, but I did. Most people can't do that though, I don't think.

NovusDies

There are countless diets out there and I am sure a large number if not most of them have a success record. They may all require a calorie deficit to work but the means to get there can vary greatly. All of them have a large failure rate too and that includes all calorie counting systems.

The takeaway is that there is no perfect system and different people will respond better or worse to certain things.

I am concerned about your strict rule adherence approach that may carry over to other systems. Eating is basic to life and life can be very messy at times. I am not sure what kind of life a person has that can lose weight without ever eating off plan for months or years but I certainly do not have it.

amusedmonkey

What if you mess up with whatever non-calorie counting approach you choose and overcompensate? Looking for an alternative method is not the solution when the source of the problem is elsewhere. Why not work on not freaking out? Easier said than done, but very rewarding once you learn to take it easy.

pierinifitness

I lost a lot of weight over 25 years ago without counting calories and kept it off for over 20 years without counting. But, a couple years ago, I dropped my guard and gained weight not counting calories.

I think the reason I was able to do it was because I was training “beastly” and had huge calories requirements.

Now, after reclaiming my fit glory and 35 lbs. lighter, I count calories and I did in my recent 6 months journey dropping the lard. I’m committed to counting heretofore forward.

Wishing you the best.

jdhcm2006

Give yourself some room to breathe. Give yourself permission to mess up. Don’t wallow in that mess up, figure out why it happened and make a plan to help mitigate it so it doesn’t have to happen again.

I’ve succeeded at calorie counting. Once I stopped, the weight came back, not all of it bc I continued to exercise, but enough bc here I am again. And that’s okay. I know where I went wrong and I’m fixing the issue.

Now I know I prefer to eat lighter during the day, bc that means I can eat heavier at night when I get cravings, that helps me stay in my calorie allowance.

Also if it helps, think about it as a weekly thing and not a daily thing. If you hit the nutrition tab, you can change it to show the weekly totals. That’s also helped me.

amusedmonkey

So if you feel very hungry and "mess up" eating before it's time to eat while doing IF, will you freak out and try to prolong your fasting window next day?

missysippy930

The ONLY way you lose weight is by eating less calories than your body burns. No matter which weight loss diet you choose, someone figured out the calories and determined what, and how much, food/drink, you consume for that diet. It’s really not rocket science. Pretty simple math. If you’re stressing out counting calories, perhaps you should find a weight loss diet that is more structured, telling you what, how much, and sometimes even when, you may eat.
Also, some of us choose calorie counting because we can eat all foods in moderation, focusing on correct portions. Choosing foods ourselves. Not much of a transition once we reach maintenance.
It’s really not easy any way you decide, but finding what works best for each of us, may make it more manageable.

apullum

Going over your calories on one day is called "life." It happens. It will have absolutely no bearing on your weight loss long term unless you frequently go over your calories. If you find that you are routinely "starving yourself" because you believe that you ate too much, I would encourage making an appointment with a mental health professional. That is very concerning behavior.

jakea1963

Last year I lost 20 lbs in three months starting at a weight of 228 not counting a single calorie. Mind you I have a very good idea of the amt of calories I was eating. I counted carbs plain and simple. It worked for me. Didn’t starve myself a bit. I am sure I was at a deficit but just that I did not feel it. The scale kept going down so I didn’t care how many I was eating.

Maxxitt

You could try IF and let go of counting calories and see how you do. However, if you are not eating at a deficit, you won't lose fat, and once at goal weight, you won't maintain if you eat at a surplus. How will you know what that amount is?

I think that letting go of all-or-nothing thinking is probably a better strategy long term.

flexjess

I started Feb 18th of this year counting cals. I hate doing it, but it works. I also incorporated working out 3x a week, then increased 4-5x. In one month, I lost 7.1 pounds of fat, and gained 4 pounds of muscle. I do not cut out food groups, and allow a cheat day or two. This is what works for me.

kds10

I started IF end of March last year and to mid August I lost 25 lbs...I did not count calories but tried to eat healthy. I still ate fast food etc but in moderation.

kshama2001

sanda4930 wrote: »

Ugh been counting cals for a while and now I find it stressful. It’s mentally draining for me. For example if I mess up one day, I would freak up and try to fix it next day by starving. I just dnt want to count cals anymore. I only want to lose 7kg. So not a lot of weight.
I heard IF is good cause it puts u in a defecit but I’ve never tried this. I’m a female so I’m kinda scared to start IF cause people say IF mess up ur hormones.

Like I said on your other thread:

kshama2001 wrote: »

Do you have a link for IF messing up hormones so we can get some context and vet your source?

vanityy99

I’ve lost all my weight without counting calories!!!!!

SCoil123

I lost just over 80lb without counting calories and maintained it for 3yr before I started gaining it back. My lifestyle changed a lot and I gained back 30lb in a year. I found counting calories to be really helpful in figuring out how I’d gained some back and how to not to that again.

Remoth

It is definitely possible to change your way of eating and lose weight without counting calories, however I would definitely recommend it to people to count even for short periods every so often. Like for a week every month or two, just to keep portion sizes under control. determining proper portion sizes is key to not having to count calories all the time.

I'm currently 30 lbs down, am fully counting calories but I know it would have happened if all I did was cut out snacking between meals. That was my major issue leading me to the weight I am (457lbs 41 days ago, 428 today). Would just cutting out snacks get me to the ultimate goal I want to reach of under 250 lbs? Possibly, but I'm sure keeping track of what I eat in my meals as well will have a much higher chance of success than not, especially near the end.

Bopo_Amy

Intuitive eating is a great concept. I eat intuitively and then log.

zeejane03

Bopo_Amy wrote: »

Intuitive eating is a great concept. I eat intuitively and then log.

I ate 'intuitively' and ended up with 50lbs of excess weight It's a great concept, but realistically for those of us who have struggled with our weight-intuitively eating probably isn't going to be that helpful of a weight management strategy.

kshama2001

Bopo_Amy wrote: »

Intuitive eating is a great concept. I eat intuitively and then log.

Intuitive eating worked great for me when I had a limited selection of foods that other people were cooking for me, like when I lived in yoga retreat centers.

However, when faced with the array of foods available in American supermarkets that I am preparing myself, not so much.

jo_nz

Remoth wrote: »

It is definitely possible to change your way of eating and lose weight without counting calories, however I would definitely recommend it to people to count even for short periods every so often. Like for a week every month or two, just to keep portion sizes under control. determining proper portion sizes is key to not having to count calories all the time.

Like Remoth has said, I also find it useful to count calories from time to time, but I don't log/count all the time.
The counting keeps me aware of how many calories are in what I eat, and helps me keep my portions in check.
It's working for me, but I do keep in mind that if it stops working, the first thing I will do will be to log more accurately/regularly.

Dgil1975

I do understand that counting calories could be fatiguing to some, however I think it would be difficult to lose without doing so. Since going whole food plant based the common theme in the well known doctors of that community is that you absolutely do not need to count calories. I haven’t taken them at their word on this and tracking my calories allows me to see that I could easily go over my calories regularly while in a deficit if not weighing and tracking.

But I do agree with the OP, I would rather not have to do the data entry involved with tracking, I just don’t see any other way for success in my case.

spiriteagle99

To some extent it depends on why you are overweight. Looking at your logs helps you figure out where you are eating too much and where you can make changes. That done, you could make significant changes so you lose weight without needing to count calories. It's not easy, but it is possible.

For me, I gain weight when I eat out a lot. I'm okay once a week, but more than that and I gain weight. When I was working and eating at restaurants for lunch every day, it was very hard to control my weight. I gain weight when I eat dessert, especially big desserts, all the time. One cookie is fine, pie and ice cream not so much. I can lose weight through exercise, if I exercise a lot. Years ago I walked to and from work and walked during my lunch hour every day, then hiked on the weekend. I could eat whatever I wanted. Now when I'm travelling and get to hike or run every day, I can lose weight, as long as I'm not eating a lot of restaurant meals. At home I run 5-6 days a week, so I can eat desserts more often without gaining weight. That isn't possible for everyone. It took me years to figure out portion sizes. I was raised in a family where eating seconds or thirds was normal, even expected. I ate almost as much as my older brothers did. That had predictable results. It wasn't until I was living alone that I started learning to cut down the sheer volume of food I considered normal. I still eat more than most women my age and size, but I have it more or less under control. If I keep the above in mind and am pretty strict with myself, I can lose weight without actually counting calories. I just avoid desserts, alcohol, restaurant meals, and large portions, and exercise a lot. In the short term, that works for me.

That said, I've tried to maintain weight loss without logging and I don't usually manage all that well. For me, having the numbers in front of me keeps me a lot more aware of how much I'm eating. It's really easy to indulge a little here, and a little there, until I'm indulging every day. And the weight piles on. After decades of yoyo eating, losing and gaining the same 30-40 pounds over and over, I learned I do better logging my food and exercise. I've kept off the weight for over 5 years since I started on MFP.

amyf2000

OP: I am over counting calories. I did it for about five years. I am also at a healthy weight and only want to lose a few pounds. (I’ve never been overweight, which might make my situation different from others’.) Counting calories worked for me as it does for many people. I’m still searching for something else. I’m not gaining, but I’m not losing either. I’m currently experimenting with lowering carbs. It’s ok to not want to count calories, though you won’t hear a lot of validation for that on MFP. I’m happier not counting, weighing, measuring, and I’d rather be happy than a size 4, as much as I want to be a size 4.

30kgin2017

I am losing weight without counting calories. I am on a meal plan that dictates serving size of food. 170g of chicken is a serve of protein, cup of veggies, slices of. Bread (though we did get a lecture on making sure we cut the bread thin enough to get the given number of servingsetc. I don’t actually weigh mine though, I loook at the weight on the packet of meat and estimate. You need to be close on calorie dense food but things like zucchini or cauliflower not so much.

Mind you I have a fair bit of weight to lose so accuracy isn’t critical at this stage. I am about 1/3 of my way to goal, I suspect I wil have to weigh food when I get closer. I have done it before, bulk cooking is the way to go so you do the weighing and calculating all at once.

peggy_polenta

i lost 126 pounds in 11 months and have maintained it for over 9 years not counting calories. i cut out all white food. no sugar, no flour, no rice, potatoes or pasta or starchy or sugary veg. (like beats or carrots) i kept my carbs to 40 grams or less per day and spread those grams over 4 meals and i also ate fat and protein between meals. i lived off fat, protein and veg. i did not count one calorie, and i can guarantee you i was not in a deficit.

pierinifitness

I lost 17 lbs. in around 40 days during Lent 2019 when I took intermittent fasting for my first test drive. I didn't count calories.