Lose without tracking?

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  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    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
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    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
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    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
    DucklingtoSwan Posts: 169 Member
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    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
    Kr1ptonite Posts: 789 Member
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    All my weight loss was done without tracking. I only started tracing when iv been trying to put on muscle.
  • vickiem74
    vickiem74 Posts: 49 Member
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    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
    aprilflower18232 Posts: 205 Member
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    I don't track either....I find it hard to do with homemade food so I just stopped.,,,,check out the ticker....
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    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
    bebeXchyM Posts: 32 Member
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    Yea
    IF
  • nappsmcgee
    nappsmcgee Posts: 33 Member
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    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.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    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: 48,550 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    I don't track anymore, but I still weigh my portions.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    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
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    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!

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