Anyone not counting calories and still get fit?
Replies
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I go over my calories limit on days I'm not exercising and it's impossible for me to exercise everyday, and I know that having calorie deficits is the only way to lose weight.
However, I don't want to eliminate the good stuff just for the sake of reducing calories (avocado for example).
Should I stop caring that much about calories and just focus on eating healthy? Is it possible to get fit and at least look lean with that? Any thoughts, critics, experience, stories are welcome
It is about the calories.
However, your daily goal is 1250 cals.
What's your height and weight and activity level? How much weight do you need to lose?
I want to lose 10 lbs. 160cm 116 lbs. Exercise 4-5 times a week, 1-1.5 hrs.
It's been so slow and I don't know how long it will take me to reach my goal ....
This website = http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
gives you 1630 calories per day based on your weight/height/activity for your TDEE - 15% cut.
You only have 10 lbs you want to lose. It's going to be very slow...as it should be. Your goal should be to eat as much as possible while trying to lose weight...and when you shift to maintenance there won't be a huge "jump" in weight as you'll be upping to your maintenance calories (about 700 more cals from your 1250 you are eating now).0 -
I log everything, and generally I use a food scale. But for low calorie foods I estimate. 100grams of cucumbers is ALOT of cucumbers and only about 15 calories. 2 cups of spinach is a lot of spinach for 15 calories. So if I estimate I'm having 1 cup spinach w/ 50 grams cucumbers (about 15 calories) its not likely that I would have twice as much as I thought, but even if I did that's only 15 calories. I do weigh the cheese, dressing, fruits, other veggies, meat, etc. (May log berries, grapes cherry tomatoes, etc. by the each.) Bananas can be 80 calories to 125 depending on the size. Apples, I typically have the small ones and when I core them and weigh & eat the slices its about 70 calories. When I eat from the apple there is probably more waste, but I still log the 70.
If your dilemma is that you're just sick & tired of logging - then take a break if that's what you need. If you are within 10 pounds of your goal weight, then you're likely at a healthy BMI now. Just be reasonable in your choices, have an idea of what foods are worth, eat mindfully and aim for your maintenance range. In a few weeks reassess, do you still think you need to lose that last few pounds and are you ready to get back to steady logging?
If you don't have enough calories to eat per day, and you're within 10 pounds of your goal weight, then go for a sedentary setup on MFP (based on you mentioned you don't exercise much - if your day job is not sedentary then choose lightly active) and put a goal of .5 pounds per week as that will only be a deficit of 250. BUT if that is your deficit then weighing everything will be crucial as a small deficit will be destroyed by logging inaccuracy. And make it a personal goal to get in 90 minutes of exercise a week. In time increase that as you can.0 -
Yes, like everyone said, it's calories, although just focusing on nutrient dense foods might cause you to eat lower calories without thinking about it. I personally wouldn't stop counting, but you don't have that much to lose and know what your experience is. You might be someone who wants to focus more on recomposition at this point.
However, to the specific problem of not being able to exercise every day and going over your calories, it's an easier fix.
(1) Your calories are probably too low. You might have your goal at 2 or 1.5 lb/week, and that's really too aggressive for the total you want to lose. You probably want to be closer to maintenance and not risk losing any muscle, vs. fat.
(2) It might work better for you to focus on a weekly goal instead of a daily one, and then you can have the extra calories from exercise spread out throughout the week.
You can do this simply by estimating the amount you exercise in a week, dividing by 7, and then adding that to your daily calories and not logging the calorie count for your workouts subsequently (put in one calorie).
Or, to address both (1) and (2), check out the TDEE method, which basically cuts calories from your maintenance (including your average exercise and activity). There are lots of TDEE calculators (here's one that has a few different methods: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/) that you can find to estimate your maintenance (it's an estimate, of course), and then you can cut 10% from those. That will almost certainly give you a much higher calorie goal where you should still be losing weight, although you might have to adjust it a little.0 -
Also want to add, if you are currently maintaining, you could always throw the scale out and use other ways to assess your goals. If being lean and fit is your goal, there are exercise programs (For example: lifting weights) to help get you there. Rather than just focusing on a goal weight, you would be checking your measurements, taking pictures, and checking the mirror.0
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me personally if i only eat fruit & veggies i dont count the calories because i already know the ones i eat have little in them
If you have a banana and an apple a day that's 200 calories you aren't counting. Doesn't matter if they "have little in them" they add up.
Fruit Calories Chart
Fruit and Serving Size Calories
Apple,1 raw apple with skin 81
Apricots, 3 medium 51
Avocado, 5oz or 145g 250
Banana, 1 medium 105
Blackberries, ½ cup (C) 37
Blueberries, ½ C 40
Sweet cherries, 10 49
Dried dates, 10 228
Dried figs, 10 477
Grapefruit, pink/red, ½ medium 39
Grapes, 1 C 58
Guava, 1 medium 46
Honeydew, 1 C, cubed 60
Kiwi, 1 medium 46
Mango, 1 medium 135
Nectarine, 1 medium 67
etc etc...
______________
Sure if anyone was eatting all that fruit it would add up quick... but most people maybe eat an apple or two... it is easy to figure 160 calories without logging it...^^0 -
In answer to the OP original question :
NO - you will NOT get fit unless you exercise.
At a calorific deficit (whether achieved by counting / guessing / whatever) - you will LOSE weight.
Weight Loss is NOT EQUAL to getting fit.
Exercise helps to increase the calorific deficit so you can in turn, eat more for the same net loss ..... but the additional benefits of exercise are increased fitness / strength / building of lean body mass. It is exercise alone that gets you fit.0 -
In answer to the OP original question :
NO - you will NOT get fit unless you exercise.
At a calorific deficit (whether achieved by counting / guessing / whatever) - you will LOSE weight.
Weight Loss is NOT EQUAL to getting fit.
Exercise helps to increase the calorific deficit so you can in turn, eat more for the same net loss ..... but the additional benefits of exercise are increased fitness / strength / building of lean body mass. It is exercise alone that gets you fit.
Thanks for distinguishing the two. I did mix them up ... My goal is to get fit while losing weight. Exercise is not a concern, but i'm such a foody person0 -
I don't log anymore and have been maintaining both my weight and my fitness for over a year now. I did log when I was losing my initial weight as I had no clue what I needed in RE to calories and didn't know much about proper nutrition or what my body really needed either. I took those six months of logging and used them not only to lose weight, but to actually learn something about nutrition and how my body works and what my body needs at various activity levels and intensity of activity.
This has served me well in maintenance for a year now as I haven't had to log anything. I'm currently in a very small cut to try to get down to around 12-15% BF and am losing slowly without logging as well; I've lost about 3 Lbs in the past 6 weeks or so which is right on par with my goal of about 0.5 Lbs per week as a general trend.
Knowledge is power and calorie counting was an outstanding tool that I used to gain a high degree of knowledge about nutrition and how to properly fuel my body.0 -
I log everything, and generally I use a food scale. But for low calorie foods I estimate. 100grams of cucumbers is ALOT of cucumbers and only about 15 calories. 2 cups of spinach is a lot of spinach for 15 calories. So if I estimate I'm having 1 cup spinach w/ 50 grams cucumbers (about 15 calories) its not likely that I would have twice as much as I thought, but even if I did that's only 15 calories. I do weigh the cheese, dressing, fruits, other veggies, meat, etc. (May log berries, grapes cherry tomatoes, etc. by the each.) Bananas can be 80 calories to 125 depending on the size. Apples, I typically have the small ones and when I core them and weigh & eat the slices its about 70 calories. When I eat from the apple there is probably more waste, but I still log the 70.
If your dilemma is that you're just sick & tired of logging - then take a break if that's what you need. If you are within 10 pounds of your goal weight, then you're likely at a healthy BMI now. Just be reasonable in your choices, have an idea of what foods are worth, eat mindfully and aim for your maintenance range. In a few weeks reassess, do you still think you need to lose that last few pounds and are you ready to get back to steady logging?
If you don't have enough calories to eat per day, and you're within 10 pounds of your goal weight, then go for a sedentary setup on MFP (based on you mentioned you don't exercise much - if your day job is not sedentary then choose lightly active) and put a goal of .5 pounds per week as that will only be a deficit of 250. BUT if that is your deficit then weighing everything will be crucial as a small deficit will be destroyed by logging inaccuracy. And make it a personal goal to get in 90 minutes of exercise a week. In time increase that as you can.
I saw a great point, logging EVERYTHING can be fun and frustrating at the same time. Estimating vegetables can help a bit 0 -
me personally if i only eat fruit & veggies i dont count the calories because i already know the ones i eat have little in them
If you have a banana and an apple a day that's 200 calories you aren't counting. Doesn't matter if they "have little in them" they add up.
Fruit Calories Chart
Fruit and Serving Size Calories
Apple,1 raw apple with skin 81
Apricots, 3 medium 51
Avocado, 5oz or 145g 250
Banana, 1 medium 105
Blackberries, ½ cup (C) 37
Blueberries, ½ C 40
Sweet cherries, 10 49
Dried dates, 10 228
Dried figs, 10 477
Grapefruit, pink/red, ½ medium 39
Grapes, 1 C 58
Guava, 1 medium 46
Honeydew, 1 C, cubed 60
Kiwi, 1 medium 46
Mango, 1 medium 135
Nectarine, 1 medium 67
etc etc...
______________
Sure if anyone was eatting all that fruit it would add up quick... but most people maybe eat an apple or two... it is easy to figure 160 calories without logging it...^^
If a short woman with only a few pounds to lose didn't count those and only had a 300 calorie deficit she'd basically wipe the deficit out with a piece of fruit and 4 cups of vegetables. Then she would wonder why she isn't losing.0 -
Yes, like everyone said, it's calories, although just focusing on nutrient dense foods might cause you to eat lower calories without thinking about it. I personally wouldn't stop counting, but you don't have that much to lose and know what your experience is. You might be someone who wants to focus more on recomposition at this point.
However, to the specific problem of not being able to exercise every day and going over your calories, it's an easier fix.
(1) Your calories are probably too low. You might have your goal at 2 or 1.5 lb/week, and that's really too aggressive for the total you want to lose. You probably want to be closer to maintenance and not risk losing any muscle, vs. fat.
(2) It might work better for you to focus on a weekly goal instead of a daily one, and then you can have the extra calories from exercise spread out throughout the week.
You can do this simply by estimating the amount you exercise in a week, dividing by 7, and then adding that to your daily calories and not logging the calorie count for your workouts subsequently (put in one calorie).
Or, to address both (1) and (2), check out the TDEE method, which basically cuts calories from your maintenance (including your average exercise and activity). There are lots of TDEE calculators (here's one that has a few different methods: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/) that you can find to estimate your maintenance (it's an estimate, of course), and then you can cut 10% from those. That will almost certainly give you a much higher calorie goal where you should still be losing weight, although you might have to adjust it a little.
The reason why I set 1250 calories is because I was expecting exorcises everyday and eating back all calories. I didn't mind going over calories limit at the beginning but it's been bothering me0 -
I don't log anymore and have been maintaining both my weight and my fitness for over a year now. I did log when I was losing my initial weight as I had no clue what I needed in RE to calories and didn't know much about proper nutrition or what my body really needed either. I took those six months of logging and used them not only to lose weight, but to actually learn something about nutrition and how my body works and what my body needs at various activity levels and intensity of activity.
This has served me well in maintenance for a year now as I haven't had to log anything. I'm currently in a very small cut to try to get down to around 12-15% BF and am losing slowly without logging as well; I've lost about 3 Lbs in the past 6 weeks or so which is right on par with my goal of about 0.5 Lbs per week as a general trend.
Knowledge is power and calorie counting was an outstanding tool that I used to gain a high degree of knowledge about nutrition and how to properly fuel my body.
You sound very professional!0 -
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For short and sedentary, an apple counts. A couple of pieces of fruit can take you close to 200 cals, depending on the fruit.
If you're young and active, you can probably learn what is appropriate to eat in a day for you.
I know what 1250 looks like and can eye it. It's not a lot. I find I need to log my food though, just to keep me motivated and on track.
If you're asking whether or not eating healthy means you can eat what you want, the answer is no, not really. Calories do count. But you could try eating what you want and see what that does to the scale and your measurements. Do an experiment. Let us know how is works out, if you do.
When I get back to maintenance, I plan to try an experiment on myself. I'll allow to myself to eat whatever healthy unprocessed foods I want. I recently gained when I added chocolate chips and doritos to my otherwise very healthy diet. I lost it and binged on them. When I binge on cherries or fruit, it doesn't hurt my goals as much.0 -
**Disclaimer: MY EXPERIENCE** Neither do I. I've been counting ever since idon'tknowwhen and i'm just over it. Now I eat high quality meat and eggs, lots of organic vegetables and fruits, full fat cream (for coffee), greek yogurt and good oils. I supplement with natural whey protein and beef gelatin powder (for hair/skin/nails/joint support). I've lost 10+ inches in 6 weeks. I don't weigh myself anymore because i'm sick of being a slave to the scale as well. I went from an tight XL shirt to a Medium. From a 16 pant to a 12.
I weight train 3x a week (squats, deads, bench press, barbell back rows) heavy and compound movements, and run/walk 3.1 miles 3x a week.
I like visiting MFP for the forums.0 -
I'm actually in the middle of experimenting with this. This wasn't really intentional nor are the observations precise or accurate, so take it with a grain of salt. All numbers are approximate.
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7"
Sedentary
February 2012 - May 2012
Starting Weight: 205 lbs
Ending Weight: 195 lbs
Lost about 10 lbs in three months while counting calories. No exercise whatsoever.
May 2012 - August 2012
Ending Weight: 175 lbs
Lost about 20 lbs in three months while counting calories and attending the gym semi-regularly (on average: 1 hour cardio 4 days/week, weight lifting 1 day/week). Ending waist size was about 36".
August 2012 - March 2013
Ending Weight: 190 lbs
Gained about 15 lbs in seven months. No exercise, no counting calories, no gym membership, and deleted my MFP account.
March 14, 2013 - April 03, 2014
Ending Weight: 188 lbs
Lost about 2 lbs in thirteen months. Joined a gym but did not attend regularly (mostly cardio). Re-joined MFP in January and calorie counted for a few weeks before giving up.
April 03 - Today
Current Weight: 184 lbs
Lost about 4 lbs in six weeks. Did not calorie count nor attend the gym regularly (went like four times, mostly cardio). Gym membership ended yesterday. Eating until I'm content, reducing intake of junk food and replacing with healthier alternatives. Been trying to keep myself busy outside of the house so that I wouldn't eat out of boredom. Current waist size is about 35".
I'm terrible with portion sizes nor do I have much knowledge about proper nutrition. Since I no longer have a gym membership, I'm thinking of picking up an activity like hiking or jogging, plus some weight lifting. Or I could try sticking to the P90X DVD's that have been collecting dust since I purchased them... At least that would give me a schedule to follow.
In the end, it is a science. I'm certain that if I counted calories while following proper nutrition guidelines and exercise regularly, I would have seen better results. It's just not my priority. My theory: make lifestyle changes that you can keep, and do things that make you happy so that you're less prone to emotional binge eating.
Don't know if that's really applicable to you, but it's just my experience.0 -
For short and sedentary, an apple counts. A couple of pieces of fruit can take you close to 200 cals, depending on the fruit.
If you're young and active, you can probably learn what is appropriate to eat in a day for you.
I know what 1250 looks like and can eye it. It's not a lot. I find I need to log my food though, just to keep me motivated and on track.
If you're asking whether or not eating healthy means you can eat what you want, the answer is no, not really. Calories do count. But you could try eating what you want and see what that does to the scale and your measurements. Do an experiment. Let us know how is works out, if you do.
When I get back to maintenance, I plan to try an experiment on myself. I'll allow to myself to eat whatever healthy unprocessed foods I want. I recently gained when I added chocolate chips and doritos to my otherwise very healthy diet. I lost it and binged on them. When I binge on cherries or fruit, it doesn't hurt my goals as much.
You know how I feel !0 -
**Disclaimer: MY EXPERIENCE** Neither do I. I've been counting ever since idon'tknowwhen and i'm just over it. Now I eat high quality meat and eggs, lots of organic vegetables and fruits, full fat cream (for coffee), greek yogurt and good oils. I supplement with natural whey protein and beef gelatin powder (for hair/skin/nails/joint support). I've lost 10+ inches in 6 weeks. I don't weigh myself anymore because i'm sick of being a slave to the scale as well. I went from an tight XL shirt to a Medium. From a 16 pant to a 12.
I weight train 3x a week (squats, deads, bench press, barbell back rows) heavy and compound movements, and run/walk 3.1 miles 3x a week.
I like visiting MFP for the forums.
Sounds like what I'm doing right now. Maybe it's going to work maybe not. Again it takes time to experiment ..0 -
I'm actually in the middle of experimenting with this. This wasn't really intentional nor are the observations precise or accurate, so take it with a grain of salt. All numbers are approximate.
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7"
Sedentary
February 2012 - May 2012
Starting Weight: 205 lbs
Ending Weight: 195 lbs
Lost about 10 lbs in three months while counting calories. No exercise whatsoever.
May 2012 - August 2012
Ending Weight: 175 lbs
Lost about 20 lbs in three months while counting calories and attending the gym semi-regularly (on average: 1 hour cardio 4 days/week, weight lifting 1 day/week). Ending waist size was about 36".
August 2012 - March 2013
Ending Weight: 190 lbs
Gained about 15 lbs in seven months. No exercise, no counting calories, no gym membership, and deleted my MFP account.
March 14, 2013 - April 03, 2014
Ending Weight: 188 lbs
Lost about 2 lbs in thirteen months. Joined a gym but did not attend regularly (mostly cardio). Re-joined MFP in January and calorie counted for a few weeks before giving up.
April 03 - Today
Current Weight: 184 lbs
Lost about 4 lbs in six weeks. Did not calorie count nor attend the gym regularly (went like four times, mostly cardio). Gym membership ended yesterday. Eating until I'm content, reducing intake of junk food and replacing with healthier alternatives. Been trying to keep myself busy outside of the house so that I wouldn't eat out of boredom. Current waist size is about 35".
I'm terrible with portion sizes nor do I have much knowledge about proper nutrition. Since I no longer have a gym membership, I'm thinking of picking up an activity like hiking or jogging, plus some weight lifting. Or I could try sticking to the P90X DVD's that have been collecting dust since I purchased them... At least that would give me a schedule to follow.
In the end, it is a science. I'm certain that if I counted calories while following proper nutrition guidelines and exercise regularly, I would have seen better results. It's just not my priority. My theory: make lifestyle changes that you can keep, and do things that make you happy so that you're less prone to emotional binge eating.
Don't know if that's really applicable to you, but it's just my experience.
Thanks so much for sharing, I'm reading it over and over again and trying to absorb useful information.0
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