Losing Weight Without Counting Calories

Iwishyouwell

Several people have asked how I lost over 100 lbs not counting a single calorie. I'll explain here. And if you're losing, or maintaining, without calorie counting please share your methods. Because, in my experience, there are people here who are searching for alternatives.

I don't like calorie counting. I'm glad I learned the basic tenants of it back as a teenager but it isn't something I ever wanted to do long term. That's not the kind of relationship I like having with food.

Obviously you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight. Calories counting just is not the only road to Rome. It took me many years of trial and error before I found a way that works perfectly for me. Here's what I'm doing:


- The base of my diet consists of foods that I enjoy, are nutritious, but almost never overeat on. I'd say 80% of my diet is made up of meat/seafood, vegetables, healthy fats, fruits, and moderate amount of diary. These foods keep me mentally and physically content, but I do not gorge on them.

- I allow myself every other food, as much as I want...when I have it. I have an enormous sweet tooth, which is the main culprit in my weight struggles through the years. I'm not a half a cup of ice cream or two Oreo cookies a day man. My definition of moderation is this: limit my interactions with foods that I tend to overeat, but when I do have them, enjoy them as much as I want. As. Much. As. I. Want. No guilt, no shame. I don't believe in moralizing food choices anymore, or adhere to concepts like "cheat" days.

- I learned the difference between hunger and cravings. Real hunger is when your body is ready for nourishment and can be satisfied with a variety of choices. A craving is for something specific. For example I learned that I am NEVER "hungry" for dessert foods. I crave cookies, ice cream, cakes etc, but when truly hungry my mind and body don't scream for those foods to satiate it. I follow hunger the majority of the time.

- Mealing timing means nothing to me. This ties into real hunger vs cravings.

- Last, but definitely not least, I practice intermittent fasting. This is where my deficit comes in. I started off at a high weight of 320lbs but started the IF last year at 286 lbs. Right now, during weight loss, I throw in fasting days as I see fit; some weeks I have none. But my maintenance however will be more structured down to a 5:2 or 6:1 plan. It's a lot easier for me to severely restrict once or twice a week than moderately restrict seven days a week. I actually enjoy my fasting days now. Fasting doesn't lead me into binging behavior or anything like that. I can't speak for those for whom it does. What IFing does do is allow my incredible freedom the majority of the week to not think about food in terms of anything but...food.

If you're looking for more info on IFing there are some MFP groups for intermittent fasters that deal with people doing all various kinds of IFing.

Losing this way has not produced linear results. I'll lose a lot one week, a little another week, none another week, and even gain some weeks. In the end it all evens out on a downward trend.

btc1987

I have a serious question about this topic. Why do you use MFP if this is your chosen method of weight loss and/or maintenance? I was under the impression that MFP is a self-described calorie tracking app.






EDIT: Edited for grammar.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I have a serious question about this topic. Why do you use MFP if this is your chosen method of weight loss and/or maintenance? I was under the impression that MFP is a self-described calorie tracking app.

This.

It's great you lost a bunch of weight and all, but why are you here, on a site that is specifically meant to assist in counting calories...if you don't like counting calories? :huh:

Iwishyouwell

I have a serious question about this topic. Why do you use MFP if this is your chosen method of weight loss and/or maintenance? I was under the impression that MFP is a self-described calorie tracking app.

I didn't find MFP through the app. I found it via the forums as I searched for a board to read, and discuss, weight loss related topics during my journey. I come for the forums and the community.

There are others who use MFP without using the calorie counting app. Some track just their fitness here, others there water, and still others are here for the community, like me. This isn't MyCalorieCountingPal.

pkw58

I have lost weight in the past without counting calories , but I haven't maintained without counting calories.

Iwishyouwell

I have lost weight in the past without counting calories , but I haven't maintained without counting calories.

I was a fat kid but finally lost almost all my excess fat when I was 18/19. I maintained for around 5 years without calorie counting. Mainly from a combination of low carbing off and on to help with the sweets cravings and eating more intuitively. Ultimately I crash landed back into sweets full on and ate my way back up the scale to my original weight, and well beyond. But the only maintenance success I've ever known involved intuitive eating, not calorie counting.

Looking back now, because I finally learned to follow hunger cues, I was doing some form of intermittent fasting and didn't realize it. I just didn't pay attention to how many hours I went without food and ate when I was ready. Sometimes that might mean not eating until the afternoon. Didn't really think too much about it back then.

As for the "as much as (you) want" in regards to sweets, the problems with that approach are endless ranging from weight gain to eating disorders to diabetes, CHD, etc.

So eating sweets without specific restrictions = diabetes, eating disorders, and CHD?

So that mean counting the calories in sweets means that I'll be able to avoid, or reverse, and of those maladies? Thanks, I had no idea the sheer act of counting calorie was a cure for diabetes.

Emmaa233

that sounds like a wise decision. Smaller portions, healthier snacks (you can ask your mom to buy more fruits and veggies and less junk food). Drink more water between meals to feel fuller longer. Exercise! A diet is basically math. You need to expend (use) more calories than you're taking in. Even if you eat very little and eat, say, 1500 calories a day, but you're just laying around the house and only using up 1200 calories a day, you're gaining 300 calories a day and you'll gain weight, not lose it. Just make sure you spend some time being active every day.

Iwishyouwell

I think you may have accidentally posted in the wrong thread Emma.

BigGuy47

This isn't MyCalorieCountingPal.

It's not MyIntemiitentFastingPal either. It's great that it works for you, but that doesn't mean it's intended for everybody.

For some low carb works.
For others a Paleo diet fits the bill.
IIFYM works for some.
Basic Calorie counting works for a lot of people here.

Why are you so intent on pushing IF over calorie counting ?

wibutterflymagic

If I didn't know better I would think that you are my trainer, lol.

This is exactly what he keeps saying. It's been hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of not counting and just eating really healthy without throwing in my sweets on an almost daily basis.(I also have a huge sweet tooth).

Thanks for sharing an alternative to calorie counting.

Serah87

Because not counting calories is what got me fat, now I count and will always count. JS :drinker:

WalkingAlong

I have lost weight in the past without counting calories , but I haven't maintained without counting calories.

Me too. And I've lost with counting calories. But I haven't maintained with counting calories, either. And I don't plan to count forever. I don't think it's a natural relationship to eating, for the long haul.

I'd like to try IF but I'm afraid it'll make me binge-y. I need to just give it a week and see how I do. I figure the steep drop-off in 5:2 threads here since last year means it didn't work out for many but I have a lot of discipline.

I'm surrounded in real life by people who maintain a healthy weight without calorie counting. I don't think it's that difficult, if you have a method and the discipline to stick to it.

DeguelloTex

This isn't MyCalorieCountingPal.

It's not MyIntemiitentFastingPal either. It's great that it works for you, but that doesn't mean it's intended for everybody.

For some low carb works.
For others a Paleo diet fits the bill.
IIFYM works for some.
Basic Calorie counting works for a lot of people here.

Why are you so intent on pushing IF over calorie counting ?

When did talking about something that worked for him become "pushing" it? Did he say it was intended for everybody? Wow.

logg1e

I don't get this at all. This is a calorie-counting website. That's not to say people may be interested in other ways of losing weight, but it seems a bit disrespectful and futile to bang that drum here, given that people are here because they have chosen calorie-counting.

rileyleigh

Sure, you may not be counting the calories you are eating, but you are still taking into account the calories you are eating. You say you are eating healthy foods, which is good. You also snack on "unhealthy" food, which is fine. And then, because you didn't count your calories and likely went over you calorie limit, you choose to go without food for a whole day, thus putting you in your calorie deficit.

Sure, if you want to eat a lot one day, just don't eat the next day. I suppose it works. Then again, counting calories isn't that hard, and it allows you to eat every day.

juggernaut1974

I lost my first 40-45 lbs or so without specifically calorie counting...but by simply being mindful of what and (more importantly) how much I was eating. That was before I found MFP. I wasn't counting specific calorie numbers, but just eating less than I had been.

After plateauing for a few months, I decided to join a gym and start exercising. I actually found MFP because I was looking for ways to log and track my exercise to help measure my progress in that arena. As an aside to that, I started logging my food too...and found I lost the remaining 15-20 lbs I wanted to.

So yes, it can be done. It's just much easier to control and probably more sustainable with specific calorie counting.

yopeeps025

If I didn't know better I would think that you are my trainer, lol.

This is exactly what he keeps saying. It's been hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of not counting and just eating really healthy without throwing in my sweets on an almost daily basis.(I also have a huge sweet tooth).

Thanks for sharing an alternative to calorie counting.

My co worker said the same about not needing to count calories. She was right if you do a version of the paleo diet.

knitapeace

Sincere question here, no snark: if you don't count calories, how do you determine how much/what to eat on your fasting days? Did you work it out through trial and error? From the perspective of one who's never done IF, I can understand following hunger cues on non-fasting days but I would think it would be harder on fasting days.

BigGuy47

I had no idea the sheer act of counting calorie was a cure for diabetes.

The benefit of counting for diabetics is tracking their carbs. While keeping track of your carbs doesn't magically cure diabetes, it does help with blood glucose control.