counting calories after weight loss with no counting

tammylee57

I am one year into the "no S" diet. I have lost 40 lbs with that diet and running (a lot). I have actually lost a bit too much weight....and find I live in fear and uncertainty about how to gain a few back and then maintain using my current plan. The "no s" diet .... that i'm on..you don't actually track/count calories. You eat 3 X a day. Period. No snacks. No seconds. No sweets. Except on "s" (Saturday sunday special ) days. It has worked for me. I am very accustomed to NOT eating snacky type food...not eating sweets....etc. But I'm at 109 lbs. I'm 5' 5" and most people tell me I'm too thin. I can't "fathom" adding snacky foods to my day ..or sweets... but nor can I fathom eating any more meals. soooooooooooooooo....today I put in my goals to MFP ....and I got 1850 calories per day ... (that is not counting for exercise). I'm training for half a marathon...I have ran 45 miles in August so far... so I burn at least 2000 calories week by running..sometimes more. I am a nervous wreck that by adding snacks and sweets back into my diet that I will "fail" and gain all the weight back. But my brain tells me I've "got this"...and that the only sensible way to NOT overdo adding food is to track it and count calories. I went grocery shopping today and for the FIRST time in a year....actually bought "snacks". Almonds...skinny cow ice cream bars...extra fruit. Does it sound sensible to eat the 1850 calories per day to gain a little and then to maintain? Need advice from experienced calorie counters. I really don't count. I'm aware of what food is healthy and what is not... but I eat junk food...I eat sweets on weekends ...I eat really every food...but I only have been eating three times a day for a year. snacking is very "odd" to me now...tho I admit it sounds nice to not have to be afraid of being stranded hungry between meals ....advice?

tammylee57

I should add.... I'm really happy with what I eat. I'm used to it. I feel "safe" with that system. I don't binge on S days. I eat one sweet on Saturday, one on Sunday. I eat pizza...burgers...etc... but within reason. If I eat fast food ... I make sure the other meals are healthy. I don't "pig out". I eat until I'm full. I stop. I eat about every 5 hours. No eating in between. But I've lost too much weight. I'm 56 years "young" and love being thin again. But I think 109 is too thin.... i'd like to gai maybe 5 to 10 lbs? I could use advice about how the calorie counting makes this work.

OnlyOneVoice777

G'day Tammy, I'm no expert but i found myself dropping weight excessively once i started exercising & eating correctly too. In my research i found that if i divide my pie graph (of the amount of calories I need to consume each day) into three groups: proteins, fats & carbs i can regulate my weight by changing quantities of fats & carbs. I normally try & keep proteins the same. If i increase carbs & decrease fats i will gain weight; and vise versa to drop weight. If I still need to add more weight i can then decrease protein & add more carb & fats. Of course burning calories is one thing, but burning stubborn fat is what we aim for at the same time we don't want to lose muscle density or mass. I hope this helps a little bit

KatieHall77

Maintaining, ah yes this is a common problem, I also went a little below my goal, though I tried to maintain at a specific number. Maintaining is tricky. It can kind of be a math issue. Calories in, calories burned. I also feared gaining back just as you mentioned. What I wound up doing was just letting the lower number be the maintain number. It may slowly creep up or down, but I just keep an eye out and make minor adjustments. I do count calories though, which helps with the guesswork.

Since you are marathon training, I can't see that a light snack of almonds if you're hungry would be harmful, it sounds like you are burning calories a plenty.

If you would rather not snack at all, but you find yourself loosing too much, you could add a bit more calories to each meal.

Mostly it depends on working in whichever you feel more comfortable with. Sounds like you've built a routine that is a good match for you and it's pretty much working. You're doing a great job, good luck!

gregpack

When I first read this I thought the no S diet was just no S**T. Yours sounds overly restrictive.

Ask yourself "is this sustainable the rest of my life?" If not, then your stil dieting.

You run, you need calories. Your performance will likely improve if you fuel your body adequately. Listen to your body, stick to relatively healthy snacks and you should be able to increase consumption as your appetite determines.