I hate counting Calories- any other methods?

SideSteel

Yes there are other legitimate methods for losing weight. Calorie counting is great for some people and not great for others.

To be clear, a calorie deficit is non negotiable. Whether or not you choose to count those calories is an entirely different topic.

I have some thoughts on this -- will reply a bit later.

Jacwhite22

Hello guys

I have tried counting calories for ages, but I hated it. It makes me constantly think of food.

Have you tried any other methods of losing weight?

JSF. Good luck

LivingtheLeanDream

My success came from calorie counting - it helped me be aware of portion sizes and knowing how much I was eating.
Now I've been tracking my calories for 2 yrs I currently no longer log and that is working for me, (2 months into not logging and maintaining and even losing at times) I log the odd day to make sure I'm still doing things right, check how much protein/fibre I'm getting etc :-D

If you want to lose weight badly enough you do whatever it takes.

earlnabby

Try weight watchers, but that will probably just make you skinny, not healthy. Unless you do it correctly which weight watchers doesn't necessarily promote as far as I can tell. But MFP is free. WW is not.

Weight Watchers is still a calorie counting program. They just assign points based on the number of calories in food.

To answer the OP's original question: no, there is no effective weight loss program that does not involve counting calories by some means or another.

drosebud

You could try 5:2 in the way people not on a calorie counting site do it perhaps? i.e. only counting calories on the two fasting days and "eating normally" on the other five days a week. Maybe that would reduce the feeling of daily food obsession?

My friend has lost weight this way, over a year. I do a "fast" day every now and again when I feel like it, but primarily calorie count, as it's working well for me.

There is a 5:2 forum on here somewhere, if you do a search.

Rays_Wife

How is this a "Success Story"? Quit cluttering it up with nonsense!!! You dont like calorie counting go somewhere else. Simple

amusedmonkey

A workaround that may help you:
Create meals you like, fit them into a fixed calorie goal, say 400 calories per meal. Do the same for snacks, say a 100 calorie per snack.

From there you can mix and match everyday from these predetermined meals and get the calories right whiteout actually counting them. Drawback is that you would still have to count and create new meals if you happen to eat something you don't usually do. It's not flexible but it may help you keep counting to the minimum.

keefmac

I've lost over a stone by limiting alcohol, eating 3 meals a day and 2 snacks (apples).

I just eat a bit less per portion than before and have a steady weight loss over 3 months.

Snacking and beer were my 2 main problems..

MegE_N

Constantly thinking of food helps me, personally. Once I found my stride, found foods that kept me full, I'd be on this website several times a day just staring at my plan for the day and being proud of how good I'll do if I can just stick to that plan.

Docbanana2002

Sometimes when I need a break from calorie tracking, I simply track meal calories or count portions. Meal tracking for a 1500 calorie diet might involve allowing yourself 400 calories for breakfast, 400 for lunch, 400 for dinner, plus 3 100 calorie snacks. Or whatever pattern you wish to use. Instead of logging or tallying for the whole day, just construct a reasonably nutritious meal that fits the meal guidelines and then eat! No writing down or counting, beyond just tallying that meal before you eat it. If you stay on track per meal, it should all add up correctly. I follow this method on vacation or other situations when my daily schedule is busy and I want to stay reasonably on track without actually tracking. The downside is that you can be way off on protein if you have a tendency to choose all carbs for your 400 calories (or vice versa) or consistently skip a food group like veggies.

I count portions of food groups most days, which helps me control the nutritional balance more. For example I might eat 2 portions of fruit, x number of carbs, x of proteins (figure out your number of servings per day based on your macros and total calorie intake.). A serving equals 100 calories, give or take 20. Non starchy veggies are unlimited, with a minimum of 4 25 calorie servings. I don't binge eat veggies so making them unlimited has never been a problem! It is basically like following a meal plan, but the plan consists of general categories of food instead of specific foods. I keep track of it on a spreadsheet but you could also use a paper tracker, basically deleting/crossing out the category once it is eaten for the day. For example, if I ate a 100ish calorie bowl of cereal with a cup of skim milk and a banana for breakfast, I would cross a serving of dairy, grain, and fruit off my list. I learned this method from Nutrisystem and have lost most of my weight this way. I also use myfitnesspal to track some days too. It is more work to track here and I can get a bit obsessive about getting perfect numbers on all my nutrients. But I do like the richer set of data I get about protein, vitamins, etc. So I am mostly following this "portion count" method for my weight loss but doing detailed tracking on occasion to spot check my plan (esp if I make changes to it) to make sure the number/types of portions are adding up to my desired macros/calories/vitamins in a typical week.

sculli123

This is a calorie counting website...

LOL so much this^

Other than that, just eat the "bro foods" - chicken and rice.

liekewheeless

This may sound backwards but counting on this site actually lets me think LESS of food.

Any other "diet" I've ever followed made me scrutinize everything I ate so I wouldn't eat anything "bad". Made me horribly obsessed with all the things I couldn't have.

Counting calories I can eat what I want within my goal. As soon as I log it I don't have to think about it anymore.

jeffpettis

The only thing absolutely required for fat loss is a calorie deficit. Having said that, if your goal is fat loss there's not really any way out of counting calories to ensure you are in said deficit.

On the other hand there are a ton of diets out there, and a lot of them work. But the one thing they all have in common, if they actually work, is a calorie deficit. Some of them will tell you they work without counting calories but if weight is lost calories were counted some how to create the required deficit.

Whether you are counting calories, points, or macros, to be successful at fat loss, you will have to count something so why not take the middle man out and just count the calories?

Raynne413

Well, it really wasn't easier than calorie counting (kinda more difficult really) but when I was recovering from an eating disorder, I saw a nutritionist. She moved me from counting calories to something similar to the diabetic exchange, where I was encouraged to eat a certain amount of Starches, Fats, Protein, Dairy, and Fruits and Veggies a day. It made it a little more complicated for me, though, because if I'm having 2% Fruit Greek yogurt, I then got into trying to decide if I counted it as a Dairy, or as a Protein and a Starch, or a Protein, Dairy, Starch, and Fruit. Now, it is just easier for me to know that it is 140 calories.

julgwill

I am doing the eat to live lifestyle change. No counting calories, and the weight is coming off effortlessly (I do exercise as well). Not only that, but I am SOOO healthy. I have IBS and have had no stomach problems since I started, and I also have clearer skin and no food cravings. It is awesome. I love eating this way.

MizTerry

Try naming them.

Go buy them all matching overalls and call them your minions.

icrushit

Low carb is a good way, but with most of the better plans you'll still be counting something; most of the worst ones you'll simply be eating meal for meal what someone else tells you, which is not sustainable, imo.

If you don't want to count anything, but want a decent blueprint for weight loss, I posted the below in another thread recently, and you may find it of benefit. If any of my friends or family asked me what they should do to lose weight, this is almost exactly what I would tell them:

My suggestion would be nothing overly special, namely eat more real food (ie less processed food), cut out/ cut back the added sugar (including alcohol, at least during weight loss), and only eat starches, grains and bread in moderate amounts.

Try that for a while, weigh yourself at least once a week (first thing in morning, pre-food, post-bathroom), if losing, carry on, if not cut back more on the added sugar, starches, grains and bread until you are. Exercise and get at least a 30 min walk every day if you can. When you lose what you wish to lose, add back in the things you cut out, little by little, until you're holding your weight.

If you feel hungry AND your intake is reasonable, swap some of the carbs in your diet for fat/ protein, as these will fill you, and help you stick to the plan.

I know this is probably extremely simplistic, but it would be the advice I would have given to my past self, with the benefit of hindsight and what I know now

13suzie

it's math. the question is really why does the math make you hungry?

maybe you are not eating full enough meals so that the tracking of insignificant calories and your hunger get paired as though one is responsible for the other?

when i opted to go from eating 5 meals around 250 calories to three solid meals around 400 with smallish snacks, i felt much better despite the number being the same. you have to know the numbers to know where you stand.

i tried intuitive eating for a week (no logging) and found that my natural tendency was to eat to maintain. it didn't put me in a debt necessary for weight loss. i think you have to really question why heightened mindful awareness of calories is making you hungry? is it really the knowledge or is it how you are portioning your meals?

phizzylizzy

Constantly thinking of food helps me, personally. Once I found my stride, found foods that kept me full, I'd be on this website several times a day just staring at my plan for the day and being proud of how good I'll do if I can just stick to that plan.

HA! Hahahaha. Thanks for this.

Serah87

I don't understand why you are here, if you don't want to count.

I plan my meals the night before, maybe 10 mins. of my time.

I weigh/measure my food every day.

I lose weight.

The end. :bigsmile:

So when you hit a "plateau" how will figure what is wrong?? Just wondering......