I won’t track calories anymore

syeda2007

I’v been counting calories for a few years now, and I’v barely lost weight. However when I was not tracking calories and did not have a goal I was not watching what I was eating. So this time I will not count calories but I will watch what I eat and I have a goal.
I have been religiously tracking, and tracking sugars on and off. I would get upset if a restaurant or takeaway did not have nutrition info and would worry myself about this, then just give in and just all out binge and sometimes purge after. So I will let go of all restrictions and eat a mixture of foods which are good, I am quite good now with portion size and estimating, you need some limit, but calorie counting is just so oversimplified when something could be low in calorie but will mess with your hormones and gut bacteria, something could be higher in calories and can be beneficial for you and more filling.
We’ve got to eat whole fruit and veg, in raw state so the vitamins are still there. We have to eat whole grains, the odd salty snack won’t hurt. Also sugar is needed not always a bad thing after meal, cos the serotonin helps with digestion, it’s about science. But try it out for yourself- the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.
Hopefully I can find something more better to do, to fill in that time. Anyway just posted to help out people who this isn’t working for. I don’t think this app will be of anymore use lol. Good luck!

PAV8888

Errr ok.

Next time you may want to try less restriction / smaller deficit. That way you will have less of a propensity to restrict and binge.

Not sure where tracking my 160g of sugar two days ago stopped me from applying chocolate bonded sugar to my serotonin, but, as with many things in life, what suits each of us as individuals (and at different times in our lives) is not always the same

WinoGelato

Whether you count them or not, weight loss comes from a calorie deficit, period. Plenty of people are successful at weight loss and weight management without religiously counting/logging, but plenty more people gain weight or fail to lose all the while perplexed because they are “eating healthy”. Best of luck to you.

NovusDies

I have lost an incredulous amount of weight using this app to create a calorie deficit but I gather that counting calories may cause problems for some people. I hope you find your easiest path forward.

threewins

I can understand that. You are tired of tracking calories. Yes, it can be a nuisance. Will you be weighing yourself to detect unexpected weight gain?

Nanaluvs2sweat

Calorie counting is a must for me. I would be guessing all kinds of wrong if I just did it by sight. I don’t see how that will work for you unless you are doing a lot of exercise and burning off the extra calories. For me, I want to eat healthy and avoid sugar and junk. Good luck!

syeda2007

At the moment I weigh myself everyday, but I want it to be weekly and not a big deal. I am hoping there will not be unexpected weight gain as I will be doing all the other things like eating healthily and exercising and I’m pretty good with estimating calories

threewins wrote: »

I can understand that. You are tired of tracking calories. Yes, it can be a nuisance. Will you be weighing yourself to detect unexpected weight gain?

MikePTY

I hope it works for you. Calorie counting is not the only way to lose weight. A calorie *deficit* is the only way to lose weight. So if you find it easier to get yourself in a deficit by eating foods you deem "good" rather than tracking and counting, then maybe it would work for you.

But there's no other way to lose weight besides eating less calories than you burn. Gut bacteria and whatnot does not have any impact on it. So if your new way of eating does not successfully control your calories, the I worry you will be back here upset again.

jenncornelsen

I have yet to read a study that supports your view on sugar, any chance u have the source? Just curious I enjoy info. And I get it with the being tired of calorie counting. For me it's the only thing that works and I've tried everything. Good luck!

Nony_Mouse

It sounds to me like you're blaming the tool (calorie counting), rather than how you used it (your food choices, placing unnecessary restrictions on yourself, etc).

But as others have said, if you can find another way to be at a consistent calorie deficit over time, resulting in weight loss, that's fine. No one says you have to count calories to lose weight, you just have to eat fewer calories than you burn.

syeda2007

stefgreen72 wrote: »

Calorie counting is a must for me. I would be guessing all kinds of wrong if I just did it by sight. I don’t see how that will work for you unless you are doing a lot of exercise and burning off the extra calories. For me, I want to eat healthy and avoid sugar and junk. Good

A lot of people think that, I will allow myself to recover a little as I suffer a bit from ED, and this is one of the treatment which is not to calorie count, me not tracking is not a free pass to eat what I want, it will just be more mindful eating. Also I know a lot of the calories for majority of foods, because I have been doing this for years. I read labels on everything I eat, I also weigh food, so have a rough idea how many g/ml something is.

Nony_Mouse

The fact you have an ED is kind of important information here.

snickerscharlie

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

The fact you have an ED is kind of important information here.

Yes, this.

syeda2007

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

It sounds to me like you're blaming the tool (calorie counting), rather than how you used it (your food choices, placing unnecessary restrictions on yourself, etc).

But as others have said, if you can find another way to be at a consistent calorie deficit over time, resulting in weight loss, that's fine. No one says you have to count calories to lose weight, you just have to eat fewer calories than

I’v never severely cut calories, and hardly restricted. So I used the tool properly, but it’s not working for me at the moment will try alternative way as I mentioned

NovusDies

If you have an ED you should really be allowing your treatment team guide how you proceed.

Take care.

paperpudding

try it out for yourself- the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

If you find calorie counting isn't the method for you and you have an alternative method that works, good luck to you.

But not sure why any of us should try it out for ourselves when calorie counting is working perfectly well for us.

As for good old fashioned methods - they are all a variation on creating a calorie deficit.
Or at least those which work are.

Machka9

syeda2007 wrote: »

the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

Old fashioned?

Are the methods of 36 years ago "old fashioned"?

Because ... even back then when lists of foods and calories were a bit hard to come by ... I still counted calories to some degree. I knew that a calorie deficit was the way to lose weight and it was helpful to know how many calories the food I ate had.

PAV8888

One of the benefits of growing older (in addition to the obvious one--which is that doing so beats the alternative) is that you've seen a number of situations where what used to work for someone no longer works very well. And you've also seen people who change how they do things, and then go on to flourish in their new ways!

Calorie counting obviously no longer works well for you. Anything that puts you, or me, or anyone else, in a bad head-space obviously no longer works well for us and there exist NO REASON for us to be banging our head in frustration trying to make it work!

There is nothing wrong with moving on and trying something else!

Millions of people succeed in their goals without either accurate, or, to be frank, without even rough calorie counting. Heck, once you take out mental interference and overrides (and control a bit for sedentary lifestyles and the easy availability of super-palatable food) *most* peoples' bodies are perfectly capable of signaling to them when they've had enough, or not enough food. No counting, no restriction, no rules necessary.

When all the "control methods" we implement stop being a security blanket and start being a noose around our neck, one that is negatively affecting the quality of our lives, it is time to let them go and move on.

It is that time for you.

Take care of yourself and consider whether a calorie counting web-site's forums truly are the best place for you to hang out when calorie counting is no longer contributing positively to your well being.

magnusthenerd

syeda2007 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

syeda2007 wrote: »

the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

Old fashioned?

Are the methods of 36 years ago "old fashioned"?

Because ... even back then when lists of foods and calories were a bit hard to come by ... I still counted calories to some degree. I knew that a calorie deficit was the way to lose weight and it was helpful to know how many calories the food I ate had.

Duh I know you need to be in a deficit to lose weight

But I’m saying is someone can be in a deficit without counting, but I get some people don’t have the skill for that and need to count every minuscule calories down

You're saying it takes more skill not to count, but you've failed with counting?

WinoGelato

syeda2007 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

syeda2007 wrote: »

the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

Old fashioned?

Are the methods of 36 years ago "old fashioned"?

Because ... even back then when lists of foods and calories were a bit hard to come by ... I still counted calories to some degree. I knew that a calorie deficit was the way to lose weight and it was helpful to know how many calories the food I ate had.

Duh I know you need to be in a deficit to lose weight

But I’m saying is someone can be in a deficit without counting, but I get some people don’t have the skill for that and need to count every minuscule calories down

If you hired a carpenter to build you bookshelves, and he didn’t use a tape measure to check the dimensions of your space or a level to ensure that the finished product was straight - instead relying on eyeball estimates - leaving you with something that was “close enough” , would you think that made him more skillful than one who used tools in his bag as they are intended to use to ensure that the final product met your satisfaction?

amtyrell

Op you joined a calorie tracking app/website in December 2019. It is February 2020. Best case you have tried it for 3 months.
If you do have ED talk to your doctor
If not , intuitively eating has failed if you weigh more then you like so you need to create deficit. The easiest way and the way this site promotes is paying attention to calories in and calories out.

I suggest you also budget your money by paying no attention to your salary or expenses. This is the same plan you want for nutrition

PAV8888

Based on what's been said, the OP's treatment team is encouraging her to stop calorie counting and measuring.

And it seems that she is trying to comply. Achieving this will be a major step towards recovery for her.

Encouraging her to continue to count and measure is probably quite counterproductive for her needs.

tulips_and_tea

PAV8888 wrote: »

Based on what's been said, the OP's treatment team is encouraging her to stop calorie counting and measuring.

And it seems that she is trying to comply. Achieving this will be a major step towards recovery for her.

Encouraging her to continue to count and measure is probably quite counterproductive for her needs.

Exactly. Thank you for stating this so well.

I don't count calories or track macros. I keep track of my weight, my measurements, and my health (how I feel). If my weight creeps up a bit I eat less for a while.

AnnPT77

syeda2007 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

syeda2007 wrote: »

the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

Old fashioned?

Are the methods of 36 years ago "old fashioned"?

Because ... even back then when lists of foods and calories were a bit hard to come by ... I still counted calories to some degree. I knew that a calorie deficit was the way to lose weight and it was helpful to know how many calories the food I ate had.

Duh I know you need to be in a deficit to lose weight

But I’m saying is someone can be in a deficit without counting, but I get some people don’t have the skill for that and need to count every minuscule calories down

I understand that you've decided calorie counting is not the best strategy for you, and I support you in that. Self-insight is a really good thing!

I don't understand why that makes it seem OK to criticize, even insult, other people who find calorie counting easy, non-stressful, and effective.

I wish you much success with your chosen path, sincerely!

Chef_Barbell

PAV8888 wrote: »

Based on what's been said, the OP's treatment team is encouraging her to stop calorie counting and measuring.

And it seems that she is trying to comply. Achieving this will be a major step towards recovery for her.

Encouraging her to continue to count and measure is probably quite counterproductive for her needs.

Then OP should do just that without criticizing and insulting those who still count calories without the stress OP seems to have. 🤷🏼‍♀️

lemurcat2

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Based on what's been said, the OP's treatment team is encouraging her to stop calorie counting and measuring.

And it seems that she is trying to comply. Achieving this will be a major step towards recovery for her.

Encouraging her to continue to count and measure is probably quite counterproductive for her needs.

Then OP should do just that without criticizing and insulting those who still count calories without the stress OP seems to have. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Exactly this.

And I'd question whether her treatment team would think talking about weight loss on the MFP forums was a good idea. At the least it's something that she should raise with them.

MelanieCN77

"It's science" and then insert questionable claims is a hallmark argument of one who's come to an intuitive decision but also feels like they need to rationalise it to themselves and others. OP, you have no need to defend your choices and they will probably lead to an overall healthier you. There's never only one way to do anything, though, if there was then these forums would have nothing to discuss at all. You'd get a lot more friendly support if you accepted that.

HotFrieZ

We're on a calorie counting forum so obviously this is a tough place to post something like this, but I agree with you and would like to do the same. I'd like to lose maybe 5 lbs or so and counting just isn't helping me. I have a history of restricting then binging so I can't cut too low without binging. I also have a 9 month old daughter and don't want her to grow up thinking she has to count calories. My goal is to improve the quality of my eating and just watch portions. I've actually been successful with that I'm the past and felt less deprived. Good luck to you!

lemurcat2

HotFrieZ wrote: »

We're on a calorie counting forum so obviously this is a tough place to post something like this, but I agree with you and would like to do the same. I'd like to lose maybe 5 lbs or so and counting just isn't helping me. I have a history of restricting then binging so I can't cut too low without binging. I also have a 9 month old daughter and don't want her to grow up thinking she has to count calories. My goal is to improve the quality of my eating and just watch portions. I've actually been successful with that I'm the past and felt less deprived. Good luck to you!

Counting isn't for everyone, and it's totally okay not to count, especially if you have ED issues that counting triggers.

What I don't understand is the need -- by OP -- to suggest that counting is wrong for all or not as good as other methods. Most of us don't find that counting triggers eating super restrictively -- indeed, when I started counting it helped me see that I'd been eating TOO restrictively, and not enough cals, and so I ended up with a much healthier diet (because eating sufficient cals is healthier than not) and a more sustainable one too. (Whatever she was saying about sugar also made no sense, and it's not true that it's nutritionally better to eat only raw veg, as cooking can make some nutrients more accessible to us.)

I don't count at maintenance, but I find the idea that it's some terrible thing to do (not giving the message to your daughter) to be odd. I never balance my checkbook, but I don't consider that a bad thing to do, and I certainly do think budgeting skills are sensible ones to learn, and it's kind of the same thing. I would wholeheartedly agree that teaching your daughter that women need to fret over their weight or obsess about what they eat or that kind of thing would not be good, but assuming that's the situation for everyone counting is wrong. I keep a log of all my exercise and a training plan and so on, and check off completed workouts with comments, and yet no one claims that that kind of thing is obsessive and sends a bad message or is something that one should wean oneself off of or the like, and I really don't see the difference (I spend much more like messing around with that than I do logging when I am at Cron, and mostly what I care about when logging is seeing if I hit all my nutrients, since I think that is fun).

Anyway, I have lost in the past (although likely being more restrictive than necessary, as I lost quite fast) without counting cals, and I also have gained eating a very nutrition-conscious diet (since that's how I tend to eat anyway). What is important for me is mindfulness, and logging can be one way to achieve that.

My point is not that you should log (I think you are likely right to try something else, especially since you don't have much to lose anyway and it leads to problematic behavior for you), but that assuming logging is inherently problematic or will trigger ED type behavior in most is not accurate.

AnnPT77

lemurcat2 wrote: »

(snip)
What I don't understand is the need -- by OP -- to suggest that counting is wrong for all or not as good as other methods.
(snip)

I'm going to risk going a little meta here.

I'm assuming it's an instance of the phenomenon where a subset of people seem to need to feel that their personal choices are objectively the best, in some universal sense.

I've even encountered people who behaved this way about tastes in music, food, movies, reading matter, clothing styles: They considered a person inferior who didn't share their "good" tastes, and felt personally criticized and affronted when another person expressed disagreement (not in any abusive terms**) with their personal preferences. (** Such as by saying "I don't enjoy that" or "I prefer X".)

It seems like this sort of thing would be more likely to happen for beliefs closer to ones self-image core, which weight management and exercise choices may be.

I'm inclined to think - speculating - that this is a trait that may indicate a lack of self-confidence or ego-strength, but I'm not sure. I'm quite confident that when it shows up in communicating with others, it's likely to create nonessential social conflict, affect friendships unfavorably, and generally bring unnecessary negativity into one's life. That would be a sad thing, but not really a blameful one (not a character fault), in my world.

Just my opinion, though.

snowflake954

PAV8888 wrote: »

Based on what's been said, the OP's treatment team is encouraging her to stop calorie counting and measuring.

And it seems that she is trying to comply. Achieving this will be a major step towards recovery for her.

Encouraging her to continue to count and measure is probably quite counterproductive for her needs.

I agree with this 100%, but I don't understand why the OP created this thread. I could happily live without the news that she has decided, on her treatment teams orders, to quit calorie counting. It is not for everyone, OK, but it works for many of us and is not stressful. I'm happy that she is now an expert on calories. Good luck OP. What else is there to say?