Losing Weight Without Counting Calories

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  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Fitness is not just about counting calories, right?
    I would say that optimal fitness is achieved through a well thought out combination of exercise and diet. The specific protocol would depend on the unique goals of the individual.

    I get the idea of not counting. I've counted long enough that I can maintain for months without counting a single calorie. What I don't get is the idea of "intuitive eating" with regards to fitness goals. How does intuitive eating work when trying to hit specific macro targets? If I'm under on my protein intake for the day will my body crave protein? Will it crave fat if I'm under on my fat goals for the day?
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    well, if you don't have money , you don't have money. but food....is always available.
  • Pjames95
    Pjames95 Posts: 20 Member
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    I've lost plenty before on low carb without calorie counting at all, though I kept my portions sensible. I couldn't maintain it though, so this time I'm giving calorie counting a go as I don't have to give up bread, which I'm quite partial too.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Fitness is not just about counting calories, right?
    I would say that optimal fitness is achieved through a well thought out combination of exercise and diet. The specific protocol would depend on the unique goals of the individual.

    I get the idea of not counting. I've counted long enough that I can maintain for months without counting a single calorie. What I don't get is the idea of "intuitive eating" with regards to fitness goals. How does intuitive eating work when trying to hit specific macro targets? If I'm under on my protein intake for the day will my body crave protein? Will it crave fat if I'm under on my fat goals for the day?
    Probably not, but if I know that the typical size chicken breasts I buy weigh about X grams and have about Y and Z protein and fat, I can probably get by without a scale at some point. I had no real clue about any of that until I starred counting, but that doesn't mean I'll have to count forever.

    Now, if you're trying to hit some hyper-accurate goal, you'll probably need to weigh. For me, since I'm not a bodybuilder or fitness model, I just need to be in the ballpark.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Fitness is not just about counting calories, right?
    I would say that optimal fitness is achieved through a well thought out combination of exercise and diet. The specific protocol would depend on the unique goals of the individual.

    I get the idea of not counting. I've counted long enough that I can maintain for months without counting a single calorie. What I don't get is the idea of "intuitive eating" with regards to fitness goals. How does intuitive eating work when trying to hit specific macro targets? If I'm under on my protein intake for the day will my body crave protein? Will it crave fat if I'm under on my fat goals for the day?
    I think my body does crave missing macros/nutrients over time, but probably not daily.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
    Are you suggesting that getting full on ice cream has the same implications as getting full on tomatoes or chicken breast? If not, then you've oversimplified.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
    Are you suggesting that getting full on ice cream has the same implications as getting full on tomatoes or chicken breast? If not, then you've oversimplified.

    getting full on ice cream and nothing else will make most people feel not so great. If you know how to listen to your body you would realize that. I have maintained my weigh loss for 12 years. I feel pretty confident about my methods
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
    Are you suggesting that getting full on ice cream has the same implications as getting full on tomatoes or chicken breast? If not, then you've oversimplified.

    getting full on ice cream and nothing else will make most people feel not so great. If you know how to listen to your body you would realize that. I have maintained my weigh loss for 12 years. I feel pretty confident about my methods
    I'm not suggesting that your methods don't work for you.

    I could go pull the Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate out of the freezer right now and eat four cups of it -- 1280 calories -- without any problem at all and while feeling just fine. Well, physically, anyway. I'd be pretty stuffed if I ate close to a pound of chicken breast to get the same 1280 calories.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
    Are you suggesting that getting full on ice cream has the same implications as getting full on tomatoes or chicken breast? If not, then you've oversimplified.

    getting full on ice cream and nothing else will make most people feel not so great. If you know how to listen to your body you would realize that. I have maintained my weigh loss for 12 years. I feel pretty confident about my methods
    I'm not suggesting that your methods don't work for you.

    I could go pull the Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate out of the freezer right now and eat four cups of it -- 1280 calories -- without any problem at all and while feeling just fine. Well, physically, anyway. I'd be pretty stuffed if I ate close to a pound of chicken breast to get the same 1280 calories.

    I love my ice cream, I love my chocolate and I ate plenty of it in order to get to 330 lbs. I did not feel good at 330 lbs and I did not feel good eating that way. I believe in general a person who eats as much ice cream as you claim you can eat and feel fine on a regular basis is not going to feel so great. Doing it once in a while will not make you over weight. Doing it all the time will. Anyone claiming that they can live on a day to day basis eating heavy caloric food and feel good (as good as you feel when you learn to eat a healthy lifestyle) is an anomaly or NOT listening to their body. I eat chocolate every day and full fat cheese :) I do not eat a ton of it and I stop eating when I am full
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
    Are you suggesting that getting full on ice cream has the same implications as getting full on tomatoes or chicken breast? If not, then you've oversimplified.

    getting full on ice cream and nothing else will make most people feel not so great. If you know how to listen to your body you would realize that. I have maintained my weigh loss for 12 years. I feel pretty confident about my methods
    I'm not suggesting that your methods don't work for you.

    I could go pull the Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate out of the freezer right now and eat four cups of it -- 1280 calories -- without any problem at all and while feeling just fine. Well, physically, anyway. I'd be pretty stuffed if I ate close to a pound of chicken breast to get the same 1280 calories.

    I love my ice cream, I love my chocolate and I ate plenty of it in order to get to 330 lbs. I did not feel good at 330 lbs and I did not feel good eating that way. I believe in general a person who eats as much ice cream as you claim you can eat and feel fine on a regular basis is not going to feel so great. Doing it once in a while will not make you over weight. Doing it all the time will. Anyone claiming that they can live on a day to day basis eating heavy caloric food and feel good (as good as you feel when you learn to eat a healthy lifestyle) is an anomaly or NOT listening to their body. I eat chocolate every day and full fat cheese :) I do not eat a ton of it and I stop eating when I am full

    I also could not eat that much chicken or that much ice cream with out ignoring when I am full.

    OMG 4 cups!!! I would get sick! Not the case when I was living a day to day unhealthy life and morbidly obese. Years of learning to listen to my body and learning when to stop has opened my eyes. I had no clue how bad I felt before I learned how to listen to my body.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    simple learn to stop eating when your full instead of eating more because it tastes good.
    Listening yo your body takes practice but it will not lie to you if you pay attention.
    Are you suggesting that getting full on ice cream has the same implications as getting full on tomatoes or chicken breast? If not, then you've oversimplified.

    Ice cream is arguably my favorite food.

    Yet I can't get "full" off it. I have to eat an incredible amount, to the point of discomfort, before I even want to stop. It's amazing. That doesn't prove to be the case with any other food, save certain cookies and cake.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    I hear you I used to be the exact same way! My husband was shocked at the amount of ice cream I packed away. I am telling you when I was doing that (all the time) I was not paying attention. I did not even know what it felt like to be full.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I could go pull the Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate out of the freezer right now and eat four cups of it -- 1280 calories -- without any problem at all and while feeling just fine. Well, physically, anyway. I'd be pretty stuffed if I ate close to a pound of chicken breast to get the same 1280 calories.
    But do you believe that in time with a lot of practice you could learn to choose what your body is lacking and also sometimes eat the ice cream in small portions? I don't think our bodies ask for 4 cups of ice cream. I think our mouths do and we purposely ignore the other 'voices'.

    But I think with the extreme deficits you run, your body might be asking for a fat-laden, 1280 calorie, 10 minute infusion, too. Hard to say, because it's ice cream. :smile:
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I hear you I used to be the exact same way! My husband was shocked at the amount of ice cream I packed away. I am telling you when I was doing that (all the time) I was not paying attention. I did not even know what it felt like to be full.

    Right. I can eat intuitively with a good 98% of food, no problem. It's taken a long time but I've got excellent control with nearly every food out there. Pizza, fries, potato chips, pasta, bread, soda, candy, many other enjoyable foods that tend to be trouble spots for folks, I can take or leave them, and have gone months, even years at a time without even craving them. I have become the person who really can just have a couple chips. I can dive into a pizza that tastes like heaven and be good for another two years.

    I can't overeat on chicken breast (another favorite food). Or most any of my staple foods. I stop when satisfied no matter how good they taste.

    Yet damnit if ice cream, certain cookies and cakes, don't still completely override my well honed hunger cues. I can still throw down HARD with those items. Which is why I don't limit them in quantity when I do have them, I just control the days that I enjoy them.

    Like you said before, it's overindulging in those things every day, or nearly every day, that is the problem.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    Yes i do believe your body can learn. I do not limit what I want to eat. I eat any food that I want. I did over simplify. Portion control and listening to your body. I think If I ate my teats before having my dinner I might not make the best choice Or if I waited way to long to eat :)
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278 Member
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    And it took years of learning and a slow weight loss journey to figure this out. Good luck to anyone trying to obtain balance
  • SnazzIT
    SnazzIT Posts: 215 Member
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    It's great that you have been able to achieve your goals this way, but I believe it's irresponsible to encourage others to engage in such unhealthy behaviors. IF is mostly fine for the short-term, but unhealthy in the long-term. Moreover, it's not conducive to supporting an active lifestyle and there is absolutely no empirical evidence to support its effectiveness compared to an equivalent calorie deficit spread out evenly throughout the day. 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. Again, I think it's great that you have found a way to achieve your goals, but I don't think you should be encouraging others to follow you down the very unhealthy path that you've chosen.

    I am an IFaster and its long term with me...I follow Fast:5 method eating only during a f hour window and so it works and I have been doing it since the last 6 months and have lost a pound a week even when not exercising. It hasn't been unhealthy but I have been logging in my food diary but only for the five hours I eat. I walk between 5-10 Kms a day and it my IFasting has never been an issue, actually it has given me more energy than I have ever had doing normal diets....I think you have to try it first before you can judge others...I used to be totally against any fasting until I did my research and tried it myself, now I believe it has saved my life, but I do agree that we who experience the joys of fasting cannot encourage others to do it without much research first.
  • SnazzIT
    SnazzIT Posts: 215 Member
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    It's great that you have been able to achieve your goals this way, but I believe it's irresponsible to encourage others to engage in such unhealthy behaviors. IF is mostly fine for the short-term, but unhealthy in the long-term. Moreover, it's not conducive to supporting an active lifestyle and there is absolutely no empirical evidence to support its effectiveness compared to an equivalent calorie deficit spread out evenly throughout the day. 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. Again, I think it's great that you have found a way to achieve your goals, but I don't think you should be encouraging others to follow you down the very unhealthy path that you've chosen.

    I am an IFaster and its long term with me...I follow Fast:5 method eating only during a f hour window and so it works and I have been doing it since the last 6 months and have lost a pound a week even when not exercising. It hasn't been unhealthy but I have been logging in my food diary but only for the five hours I eat. I walk between 5-10 Kms a day and it my IFasting has never been an issue, actually it has given me more energy than I have ever had doing normal diets....I think you have to try it first before you can judge others...I used to be totally against any fasting until I did my research and tried it myself, now I believe it has saved my life, but I do agree that we who experience the joys of fasting cannot encourage others to do it without much research first.

    sorry typo error, I meant "five hour window" within my day...
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    I could go pull the Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate out of the freezer right now and eat four cups of it -- 1280 calories -- without any problem at all and while feeling just fine. Well, physically, anyway. I'd be pretty stuffed if I ate close to a pound of chicken breast to get the same 1280 calories.
    But do you believe that in time with a lot of practice you could learn to choose what your body is lacking and also sometimes eat the ice cream in small portions? I don't think our bodies ask for 4 cups of ice cream. I think our mouths do and we purposely ignore the other 'voices'.

    But I think with the extreme deficits you run, your body might be asking for a fat-laden, 1280 calorie, 10 minute infusion, too. Hard to say, because it's ice cream. :smile:
    Absolutely I believe I can do that, otherwise all of this is just a waste of time and effort that will just see me gain everything back and more.

    I used to eat a gallon of ice cream a week just to try to keep from losing weight back when I played sports. My body definitely used to ask for it. It's conceivable it's only habit when I eat a lot now, but it definitely doesn't stuff me even when I eat a lot.

    I think part of it is just that I am gargantuan and will be even at a normal BMI. The next time you walk through a standard height doorway, look up. I have to duck to go through one. Four cups of ice cream just doesn't seem like much to me, but given that I don't burn calories the way I used to, I have to think about it as being a lot. Heck, being 100 pounds overweight didn't look like anywhere near that much.

    For the record, though, I eat some kind of ice cream almost every day.

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