I hate counting Calories- any other methods?

Monna2

Thank you
This is exactly why I posted this topic. I needed inspiration.

Not sure when mfp became specifically a calorie counting site.
You could try low carbing, 5:2 to get you around daily cal counts. The meal plans thing sounds like a good short cut too. Cal counting is something mfp gives you a nice free easy to use tool to do. But mfp also provides help advice and inspiration as well as a way of logging weight and measurements.
Cal counting is tried and tested but if it doesnt suit you by all means experiment - you may well end up realising cal counting is the only way. Or you could find something else works for you.

Monna2

I really appreciate all the sincere comments. I was really inspired.
Thank you all.

allanakern

No. There's no other way.

I agree that I don't like obsessing over what I'm eating and counting, but its the only way.

fitwithin

You might try Beyond Diet. I did it for the 14 day accelerated plan and you just follow what they tell you to eat and you lose weight. They have a website too, but it was not user friendly and I ended up still logging into the MFP. I eventually got tired of the same foods and started eating what I want and logging on MFP. You can't beat this site for the support and accountability to help you lose weight. They take the guesswork out of counting calories and tell you how many calories and nutrition facts there are in what you eat. It works so give it a try. Best of luck.

SideSteel

No. There's no other way.

I agree that I don't like obsessing over what I'm eating and counting, but its the only way.

It may be the only way you have been able to succeed at but that does not mean that it's the only way for everyone.

LoraF83

Your story sounds a lot like mine. It took me 6 months to realize what I was doing wasn't working. I didn't know what to eat and was guessing at my nutrition. I found this amazing nutrition program that has completely changed my body. It's so easy and so wonderful. I have more energy. It worked so fast. In 30 days I had a completely different person. I lost 20 pounds and I've kept it off. After 2 babies in the last 4 years I tried working out and exercising and counting my calories on myfitnesspal but it was just too much work. I'm not talking about a magic diet pill or anything. It's an all natural nutrition program. So you are giving your body the right nutrients. It doesn't have to be this hard and you can see results. Email me at sns628@gmail if you are interested in finding out more and I can help you!
Sarah

Gosh and I wonder how much you'll charge for this help?

EATINGTOLIVE77

Recently I have read the book "Eat What you Love Love What you Eat" Michelle May, M.D. and I am enjoying a new way to live and enjoying the same meals with my family again. This book has you think of food as fuel and not as a reward. I have been at the same weight for the past month and now I just experienced a one pound lost. Keep in mind that I still log every day and exercise so that I burn 500 to 2000 calories a day. Remember this is healthy journey, not a quick fix. Good luck to you and what every works for you.

acpgee

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.

If you hate counting calories and can tolerate occasional extreme deprivation better than low level constant deprivation, 5:2 intermittent fasting might be for you. You build in your calorie deficit by eating very low (500 cals) on two non consecutive days during the week. It means only counting two days out of the week, when you are going to feel pretty obsessed with food anyway due to physical hunger. Works well for people who can tolerate discomfort knowing that they can eat normally the next day.

StrongHealthyPowerful

I initially lost 55lbs by limiting my carb intake to just a portion (or two at most) a day and upping my lean proteins, veggie, and fruit intake, and pretty much eliminating sweets. I also cut out most dairy. No calorie counting was involved. By carb I mean bread products and starchy vegetables. Some people include fruit and leafy veggies in with their carbs and I did not. When I hit a plateau I would spend three days eating only lean proteins and veggies (no fruit, dairy, sugar, oils, etc) and that usually got me right back on track. During those cleanses I would not limit how much I could eat, just what I could eat. During that whole time I also drank very little alcohol.

I kept it off for about three years but over the last year some started creeping back on (10-15lbs) so I got on here. I’m dating a chef so I’ve found that calorie counting is a better fit for my life these days. I don’t mind it so much and I’ve taken off the weight I put on over the winter (and then some)!

I think it’s all about finding something that works for you and your life. It’s true that most weightloss plans are counting calories in one way or another, but many are not nearly so structured or exact. Do what works for you.  Good luck!

JennaD075

You could try the "No S" Diet. I like to count calories but if I didn't I think I would give this one a whorl. It seems OK to me if you won't count calories and I know some people that have had a lot of success on it. I just like to have my snacks and count calories so I'm not going to do it.

toolzz

IF, or 5:2 or 16:8 or whatever version you follow isn't a magic solution for weight loss - you still need to be cognizant of how many calories you require to lose and how many are in the foods you are eating.

sorry - just had to get that out there....carry on

BlueBombers

This is a calorie counting website...

QFT

murphy612

I saw this infomercial for 21 day fix (ok stop laughing) most of it I ignored but in her food plan she has these little different sized and colored containers used to track your food. Like the small blue one for fats, bigger green one for protein, etc. You just fill them up and when you're done eating them all you're done. It's really just portion control, which is what calorie counting is but this might be easier for you. I'm sure you can replicate what she's doing without buying the whole weird program. Just a suggestion.

Weighing and counting calories works very well, but the only thing that really works is what you can stick to.

You could always switch to a Plant based whole foods diet, they promote NOT counting calories and just focus on good nutrition with lots of veggies :-)

SideSteel

So there are a number of things you can do but ultimately it's going to boil down to your ability to form food related habits that allow you to keep calories managed. It's still calories in vs calories out regardless of whether those calories are tracked.

Additionally, you'll have some "rules" or some sort of a framework around your eating habits. Some of these things get labeled as "broscience" within the context of a tracking model but in the context of a non tracking model they can help people maintain satiety and reduce the likelihood of overeating. They are not one-size-fits-all rules that are universally true, however.

Some things I'd consider doing would be as follows:

- Eat 3 meals per day with minimal snacking in between.
- Allow yourself to experience hunger for about 30 minutes prior to eating and identify that hunger.
- Eat mixed meals (meals containing protein/carbs/fats) and I'd probably consume fibrous vegetables with each meal for satiety, 1-2 servings/meal. The interview I posted below goes into this in more detail.
- Eat mostly whole and minimally refined foods and limit the consumption of heavily refined and energy dense/nutrient sparse foods.
- Consider occasional or intermittent logging while implementing the above to use that as a check on energy intake. Conversely, if you are ALREADY logging I would keep to it, and gradually remove the logging and/or the food scale use.
- You may want to consider environmental effects on food intake, such as positioning energy dense/heavily refined "junk food" in less visible and less accessible locations in your home and making whole/nutrient dense foods more present in your environment. This will influence you to choose those nutrient dense/calorie sparse foods more frequently and the "junk" food less frequently and it will also cause you to think about those calorie dense/highly palatable foods less often.
- If you implement the above and still have issues with satiety you may want to consider whether or not your food (through preparation (cooking methods), seasonings, or food selection) is hyperpalatable and if so, you may want to tone it down a notch to see if this effectively causes you to eat less.
-Maintain proper hydration.
- Consider documenting (in a simple journal) hunger and why you are choosing to eat what you choose to eat.

This is not a complete list. This is also not something where all techniques are going to work for all people. This is simply a framework around which you can start to build food habits to help you adhere to an energy intake that may get results.

Finally, non tracking dieting methods have worked for people in varying capacities, but it's not the same as "just eating without logging". It's a trade off.

Logging only forces you to learn the habit of logging. If you can manage to stick to a reasonable calorie intake you make progress without necessarily having to implement the above (although some of the above can make it easier!). It is for this reason that people who log may look at the above list and think "what a bunch of nonsense". But the trade-off is that having some sort of a framework around your meal structure/frequency and eating habits MAY allow you to not have to log -- and if you're the type of person that just goes nuts having to log food this trade off can be worth it.


I like calorie counting as a method for many people short term and for some people long term. There are benefits to it even if it's not done for long periods of time. All of my clients START by tracking.

But suggesting that everyone must track is ridiculous.


Some additional resources:

Good post by Steve Troutman on this very topic:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Body-Improvements-LLC/206180602737670

Mindless Eating (book)

Georgie Fear interviewed by Armi Legge:
http://evidencemag.com/weight-loss-habits/

mizroxy13

I hated it too until I realized it helps me in countless ways I didn't imagine. If you don't feel ready to count calories, at least start with measuring your portion sizes. That will help give you an idea of what portions look like and naturally cut down the calories (unless you're eating three servings of the portion!).

I was once a hater though and now I don't even notice it.

girlviernes

I think if you tend to eat pretty healthy selections - e.g., less processed, more whole, you can follow the food plate model and do well. I would recommend tracking and measuring every once in a while to check in on your calories though. I actually found my food plate meals earlier in the day were a bit light on kcals (averaging 300-400), which was probably making it harder to eat as planned at night. and I needed to add in snacks and a little fat. However, if you want to be more flexible with your food choices (e.g., eating out, having desserts more regularly), you will do much better if you track since those things add up so quickly).

martinel2099

It's not the only way no, but no matter what diet or method you choose you will only lose calories if you eat at a calorie surplus. I calorie count so that I can still have all of my favorite foods and eat them in moderation.

I personally calorie count not to obsess about food but so that I can take my mind off of it once in a while and have a positive relationship with food.

SueInAz

I get that some might not logging, but really, to be successful at losing weight, and maintaining that loss, we need to be cognizant of what we're eating. It's obvious that we're here because just eating the way we want to eat naturally doesn't work for us; it does for some people, believe it or not. I hate those people.

Whether we're counting WW points, grams of net carbs, calories, portion sizes, cookies out of the bag, whatever, we need to be counting something to ensure that we're not eating too much, right? By saying "I hate counting calories" what you're really saying is that you don't like having to keep track. I get that but if eating whatever you wanted didn't work for you before, it won't work for you now, either. You'll need to find something that you can track which will help you to make sure you are eating few enough calories to lose weight.

That's not saying you can't lose weight without tracking, because you certainly can. By eating less calories than you burn. But not tracking makes it more difficult and less likely to succeed because you're just guessing. You could certainly lose weight by eating only salad with veggies and no dressing, oils or butter, and a plain chicken breast for every meal. You'd be assured that you're only getting about 1000 calories per day without counting but you're certainly going to get sick of eating that way after a very short period of time. And then you'll start obsessing about the things you can't eat. IMHO, it's better to count calories and be able to eat what you want as long as it fits in your calorie goals and macros for the day. If I want a piece of chocolate, I have the piece of the chocolate and I log it when I do.

pusheen12

Just eat clean; or go vegetarian; or cut out all crap and eat half of the rest; run many miles a day or something similar and eat whatever you want. Eat half of everything including crap.

I bet these things would work.

After logging for long enough you'll just know portion control etc.

Only you can know what will work best for you in the end. Counting calories really works IMO.

MikeyM1982

Informative video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_4_ulozA0&list=UUxUqBcX8-LoJzQokJIIST_Q