Lose without tracking?

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Replies

  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    I get much more anxious and pre-occupied if I don't log. That's when I think about food all the time trying to make sure I don't eat over and trying to get good nutrition.
    I joined MFP to log. I pre-plan and most days pre-log my food, know that I stay within my calories, know that my macros are ok.....and then forget about food. If I have to log all my life, that's ok with me, just like I am ok with brushing and flossing or taking a shower each day......it's part of my life.
    Btw: I cook all my own meals from scratch and only go out to eat on vacation or because of work.....and have never found logging to be a problem.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,021 Member
    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...
    For some just adding exercise helped them to lose weight. For others, cutting out soda. But essentially most people here GAINED weight because they didn't track their calories.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ngressman
    ngressman Posts: 229 Member
    Weight Watchers has a program where you don't track your food, and I was successful at that. You just eat fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. My youngest son is on a weight loss program and all they are having him to do for 3 months is track his veggies and make sure he gets at least 1 hour of exercise a day, and no more than 2 hours of screen time. He has lost 2 pounds this month. (He is still growing so 4 pounds is the monthly weight loss goal.) I think it's possible to lose weight without tracking, but this isn't the best app for it. Maybe try weight watchers online or look for other programs where you don't track food as much. I am sure the programs are out there.
  • ngressman
    ngressman Posts: 229 Member
    I don't track either....I find it hard to do with homemade food so I just stopped.,,,,check out the ticker....
    Just had to say congratulations. That is an amazing amount of weight loss.
  • scolloby
    scolloby Posts: 22 Member
    I lost over 42lb 8 years ago without tracking - I gained weight three years later when i didn't give a hoot about my self, how I looked or what happened to me. I also lost abround 22lb this time without tracking and found MFP by chance when looking for how caloric wine was. (by not tracking I mean I guesstimated how much I was consuming in a day - I didn't underestimate). What tracking has given me this time is a better way of making sure my main diet is balanced. It has also given me the chance of choosing 'how to spend' my surplus calories - shall I have a Babybel, or Cheese Curls or a satsuma? etc, etc, to make up the 1200 cals. So on the whole, for me it's good. If I remain emotionally okay then I shouldn't gain heavily again.
  • anviljenkins
    anviljenkins Posts: 562 Member
    I had success years ago tracking using an excel spreadsheet, I would look things up and save them for later use, but it made it difficult to add new things on the fly. MFP is just GREAT, I cannot say enough good things about it, one can easily look up darn near anything.

    Bill
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    I took a week off of tracking after 6 intense week of Alternate day fasting (which I lost just under 25 lbs). I told myself that I would take a week of in between starting up a phase 2 incorporating more exercise.

    During that week off I told myself I would accept a 3 lb weight gain becuase I normally wieghed in after a fast and I was weighing in this time in the evening and ate normally durin gthat day.


    and I lost 1.4 lbs without tracking in the week!


    I found myself eating what I wanted, but only ate when I was hungry. In looking back, I ate pizza, wings, subway and I just realized I didnt go overboard. Alternate day fasting taught me that we think we are hungry but many times it is just boredom or thirst. That week I decided to eat when I was hungry, eat what I like, but be sensible and dont fret over tracking it all.


    Thanks to ADF I have reshaped how I look at food and hunger.

    Now to phase 2 where I will incorporate alot of exercise.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    I don't track anymore, but I still weigh my portions.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    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'm sure lots of people do......the meal replacement shake folks, those following a very specific "diet," those cutting out a macro (low-carb) ......but for IIFYM folks......I would think a lot of us need tracking to a degree. I figure that I'll track pretty much forever, as I've never been able to maintain before.
  • aprilflower18232
    aprilflower18232 Posts: 205 Member
    I don't track either....I find it hard to do with homemade food so I just stopped.,,,,check out the ticker....
    Just had to say congratulations. That is an amazing amount of weight loss.


    Thank you!
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    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.

    No. This is Myfitnesspal, not MyCalorieCountingpal. People are here for different reasons. Not everyone calorie counts. Some track exercise, some just log their fluid intake, and still others are here solely for the boards, such as myself.
  • mzbek24
    mzbek24 Posts: 436 Member
    I lost 12kg in about half a year without logging on mfp. I pretty much just ate a diabetes type diet that was low gi
    (I don't have diabetes but I had PCOS) and that really helped me lose the weight.
    All I did was buy a couple of recipe books about low gi foods. And I always weighed my pasta portions and no other foods.
    I cut down takeaway to 1x per week, had smaller portions, switched pasta to wholegrain, rice to brown rice, and my potato varieties to lower gi. In the beginning I did little exercise, and then I joined up at a gym and I did cardio for half hour 3-4x a week, and strength training 1-2 times.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    I'm sure lots of people do......the meal replacement shake folks, those following a very specific "diet," those cutting out a macro (low-carb) ......but for IIFYM folks....

    Sure them, and just the scores of millions of human beings, across thousands of years, who lost weight before mankind knew what a calorie was.

    Or the people to this day who live in societies that don't have government mandated calorie labeling, or ready access to APPs and counting tools.

    I think it's important to note that all of these categories we stick people in, based off their specific dietary program, are relatively new, and relatively limited. Most human beings who have ever lost weight did so without labeled "diets", programs, or calorie counting.
  • Blackhawk2425
    Blackhawk2425 Posts: 5
    I go back and forth with counting calories but really would love to just drop it. I know it works but I just feel disconnected with my hunger cues and body.

    Are any of u interested in a group for those that don't track? Maybe there even is one but I couldn't find one.
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
    A forum for people who don't track sounds like a very interesting idea. I feel also disconnected from body cues when i count calories.

    This week I focused on:

    1. Eating satisfying foods
    2. Eating when hungry
    3. Not thinking I'm hungry when I'm just bored/ don't feel like starting a new task/ oh it's noon!
    4. Drinking water
    5. Using the scale for feedback

    So far so good. I have had consistent small weight losses, and I feel very satisfied physically from food and much calmer and less obsessed.
  • Blackhawk2425
    Blackhawk2425 Posts: 5
    Noacker sounds like you are doing awesome!!!

    I will open a group (if I can as a new member) later today/tonight and post the link here.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I lost and maintained (without cutting anything out of my diet or using meal replacement shakes...LOL) without tracking calories.
  • Blackhawk2425
    Blackhawk2425 Posts: 5
    Iwillendyou - that is impressive!!! Your avatar looks amazing

    Here is the link to the group - hope to see lots of u there

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/21632-losing-without-tracking-calories
  • TheIrish1981
    TheIrish1981 Posts: 35 Member
    I personally enjoy tracking. If I eat it....I put it down. Just the other night I was in the Taco Bell drive thru and before starting this journey I would usually get 7 or 8 taco's but I knew that if I ate it....i'd have to log it and EVERYONE WOULD SEE THE FAILURE.

    You know what I did? I ordered 1 Taco ( 170 calories )
  • Blackhawk2425
    Blackhawk2425 Posts: 5
    If u enjoy tracking that's great. I do well for the first four weeks or so but once I want to cook from scratch or eat out it annoys me. I am still aware of calories and do check the nutrition facts but the whole tracking process feels so unnatural to me. I just know I am not going to do it forever.

    Trying to focus on habits now and using the scale for feedback.

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