Lose without tracking?

lavendy17

Has anyone had success losing weight sustainably without tracking?

I am curious. Tracking makes me a bit to obsessed with food and makes me manipulate the numbers a lot. Just wondering if anyone has ever succeeded in a different way...

LessHeavyVeggie

:huh:

I'm sure many people have lost weight without tracking, but as MFP is primarily a tracking app I doubt many of those people are here...

Pre-warning for the avalanche of people telling you to track, and weigh everything (whom I would agree with)...

I don't want to sound mean, but... yeah.

jallforme3

I do the same thing! I can track calories and keep with it---but in the end, I lie, manipulate the numbers, over eat, under eat, etc. I find in general, for me, tracking makes me quit early on. I have been trying for months. Last month, I gave up. Still use the forum and love read everything...just not using the food journal. None the less, I have lost and have stayed more dedicated this past month, NOT tracking, JUST listening to my body!

If I'm hungry, I have something small. Still hungry? Eat more. Not hungry? Don't eat. I think this is more maintainable, and life-long for me. I'm excited to see where this summer takes me. Good Luck!!

yopeeps025

Yes my coworker told me that if I eat a serving of meat and serving or two of veggies six times a day that my calorie intake will be below maintenance and in a way she is correct. Then again my BMR is 2500 calories. I can get that to increase as I lose weight also.

Unknown

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DanaDark

I am sure people can. Definitely.

But at the same time... I am certain most gained their weight via not tracking.

goldfinger88

I lost all my weight without tracking. Actually, I tracked for perhaps a month early on. But it made me anxious and I too obsessed over it and it's really not a good habit to get into. Do we want to track all our lives? I don't. I'm now a slim 120 lbs and maintaining. Down from 164 and 147 when I joined MFP. I did it without tracking and highly recommend it.

Velum_cado

I have. I lost 80 lbs before joining MFP and I wasn't tracking then. I decided to start doing it just out of curiosity after joining, and I did for about 9 months or so I think. I continued to lose weight at the same rate I had been, but I was getting really obsessed with the numbers and not eating healthfully. It's like each day was a competition to come in lower than the day before. I have a past with disordered eating, so I stopped tracking and started focusing on just eating sensibly, which I've done ever since. I'm much happier and have continued to lose weight.

For me, it was obvious what was wrong with my diet, so I didn't particularly need to know how many calories I was consuming. As I'm starting to slow my weight loss down and focusing more on maintaining, I find my time tracking calories was helpful in that I'm fairly good at estimating calorie content now. But no, obviously it's not something you need to do to lose weight. All you need to do that is burn more than you're eating, and like I said, for some of us it's obvious why we weren't doing that.

mrs_jorgenson

I lost about 50+ lbs several years ago and maintained for years without tracking. I basically did something similar to IF (kinda, I mean I would eat about 2.5 meals a day and wouldn't eat in the morning until I was really hungry). I did this before I even knew what IF was. I found it to be a manageable way to lose for myself personally. I have heard other women say that it did not work for them, and that IF can even mess with their hormones, so I'm sure this method is controversial. But it really does boil down to eat when your hungry, and don't get seconds if you can help it. I am currently tracking because I am lifting heavy now, and am trying to figure out what eating my macros correctly is like, but as soon as I can, I'm flying solo. I just want to enjoy food more and not have to be concerned with measuring cups and a screen every time.
Another great read is "French women don't get fat". The title is kinda ehhh but the book itself is good, really just hammering in the "eat when your hungry" philosophy. For it to work, you do have to change your relationship with food, and weight loss will be slower, but in the end more maintainable. Good luck to you!

ponycyndi

I did lose the majority of my weight without tracking, and I don't recommend it. I thought dieting meant you starved yourself, and didn't eat any"bad"foods. So I was hungry all day, every day for 3 months, then maintained, then starved myself for 3 more months.

Now I eat anything I want, within my calorie goal. I'm not hungry all day anymore.

LadyTalulah

I have days when I don't track.. But that's mainly because I've been so obsessive about it in the past that I know how many calories is in basically EVERYTHING I eat! So although I'm not technically writing it all down, I can give you an estimate in under a minute haha
But I think you can lose without tracking, as long as you prepare healthy natural foods with lots of veggies and you're able to control portion size, it's doable.

stephe1987

I lost 21 lbs last year without tracking. I cut out soda in January and did Zumba between February and April. I weighed as much as I do now at this time last year. But I didn't track or exercise so I ended up gaining part of it back and when I started logging last month I was up 7 pounds from where I was! I am going to try to stay on track this year because I'd like to reach my goal by this time next year instead of gaining part of the weight back.

YesIAm17

I lost my first 100+ lbs, years ago, without tracking. Then I gained back 40+ of it.

Yes you can do it. Is it the right or best way? Probably not. I think of it like trying to build a house without measuring everything accurately. I don't think I'd want to live in a house built that way, doesn't sound stable at all.

Measure twice, cut once.

You CAN choose to do it, and to do it consistently and honestly. It IS a choice, unless one has a mental illness and it really is beyond their control. Professional help would be in order to deal with that (I'm not suggesting that is the case with you, just noting that would be the only exception).

ETA: I plan to be tracking food and exercise for the rest of my life, and looking forward to every minute of it

missiontofitness

You can do it, but it may be difficult. Since you don't know the exact calories in/out, it may cause some slow progress, or backpedaling.

If you're finding yourself getting obsessed with the numbers and are manipulating them, it may be beneficial to speak to someone about it. Tracking shouldn't make you feel as if you need to lie. If you aren't comfortable with logging on here either (and having people see your numbers), you can always use a journal so that you can keep it private, or keep your diary private as well.

Either or, I hope you are able to reach your goals healthfully!

hill8570

Used to do that for decades - I never tracked. Gained weight during the winter and lost it during the summer simply due to my increased activity levels. Except I never quite lost as much as I gained...after 15 years I ended up 50+ over fightin' weight.

I think hard-core tracking is great for when you're first starting out -- it can help you figure out how much you should be eating, what really constitutes a reasonable "serving", and letting you decide if there are some foods that just aren't worth the calories (for me, I've cut out a lot of foods that were just "structure" for stuff I like -- most breads, most rice, most noodles...flavorless stuff that just added calories without tickling my taste buds). Once I hit maintenance, I don't expect I'll be tracking, but I'll have a much better idea of what I should be eating.

Iwishyouwell

I don't track, weight food, or log.

Check the ticker.

I use to calorie count years ago. Hated having that kind of relationship with food. It was good to become generally aware of the caloric value of food, but ultimately I'm just not a calorie counter.

I use to lose weight concentrating on keeping my overall diet lower carb. But I've lost the last 100 or so pounds through a combination of intuitive eating and intermittent fasting. Best relationship with food I've ever had.

stephreed11

Some people definitely can, unfortunately I'm not one of them. I love food too much - if I don't track & try to stay within a certain calorie range I could seriously just snack all day. I do get what you're saying about becoming obsessed though. I took about a year off of tracking thinking I would just "intuitively eat". Didn't work for me & now I'm back with more lbs to lose than when I left. I'm just going to have to accept that I'm one of those people that really need this tool to get & stay healthy!

Aaron_K123

Has anyone had success losing weight sustainably without tracking?

I am curious. Tracking makes me a bit to obsessed with food and makes me manipulate the numbers a lot. Just wondering if anyone has ever succeeded in a different way...

I used to not track. Maybe I had success back then, I'm not sure...I wasn't tracking.

Kegha

I was tracking for a long time and I cannot deny the benefits of doing so, it is a great tool to learn portion size and make the right choices. This being said it became tedious and it would make me too dependant of this tool. I have learned since to eyeball the portions and doing great. Without the tracking I would still fill my plate too much.

Jkn921

If I don't track the exact calories using MFP I created my own food diary just to see the trends but tracking is one thing that has kept me accountable to weight loss.

MN4US

I lost 20kg. First ten was without tracking.. Second ten was using MFP to track.

I've been maintaining for over 2 years now by 'tracking' only my weight on the scales. Basic biofeedback, weight goes up, eat a bit less. That's all.

I've recently started trying to lose more weight and am finding that being so close to my goal, tracking is really the only way I can ensure I'm losing as the margin of error is so small. A few hundred calories over and my weight loss will stall. It's not fun for me, but I plan to go back to intuitively eating when I reach my new goal and want to maintain, helps keep my sanity.

eldamiano

Has anyone had success losing weight sustainably without tracking?

I am curious. Tracking makes me a bit to obsessed with food and makes me manipulate the numbers a lot. Just wondering if anyone has ever succeeded in a different way...

But isnt stuffing your face and getting overweight/obese where the real obsession with food is? Tracking is just taking extra care to not go to that obsession....

martinel2099

It is possible to lose weight without tracking, but you will make yourself vulnerable to miscounting and overestimation of calories. Most of us are here because we want to lose weight, if we were already good at losing weight without recording then we wouldn't be here in the first place.

On another note, even when I do hit my ideal weight I still plan to use fitness pal to record my meals because I will be working to gain muscle and don't want to over it and gain more fat than I have to.

lavendy17

I just want to thank everyone for their wonderful insights. I have a lot to think about.

I did lose a lot of weight on WW points plus and once I stopped tracking there I did maintain a long time by sticking to my routines but somewhere in time I started to go in limbo where I track a little, lose a little, then loosen up, gain what I lost. Never too high of numbers, like 3 lbs or so. But now I have my eyes set on a new low goal, 12 lbs away, and being very small as it is, I know tracking is probably smart. I just wish I could learn to eat naturally.

DucklingtoSwan

I know it is different for everyone, but quite frankly the only times I have ever been successful with weight loss have been when I tracked. I too tend to get a little obsessive but right now I'm just trying to kind of use that tendency to work in my favor. I find it almost second nature now and it's not really an inconvenience in my life or any of my family or friends' lives. I still eat "real" food, and I go out and indulge sometimes, I just go in a little more informed. Learning portion control has been a huge eye-opener. Will I track into maintenance? Maybe. Waiting until I get there first

Kr1ptonite

All my weight loss was done without tracking. I only started tracing when iv been trying to put on muscle.

vickiem74

I honestly cannot lose weight without tracking. i find that I underestimate what I am eating...and usually by a lot. I also do not manipulate my numbers. Not being honest on my log only hurts me!

aprilflower18232

I don't track either....I find it hard to do with homemade food so I just stopped.,,,,check out the ticker....

lavendy17

Manipulating the numbers is more like- if I cut 10 calories from the bread I buy and then skip this snack or have a very light salad then I can keep more calories for this or that.... just an example- just playing number crunching and shifting things and making food decisions based on calculations and just getting lost in all that. Not really about lying to the tracker.

bebeXchyM

Yea
IF

nappsmcgee

I stopped tracking because like others have mentioned before, it can make you obsessive and it's hard to do with homemade food. I've been able to lose weight just fine without doing it. What I do is just make smart choices and exercise. Pretty easy.