Has anyone tried NOT counting calories? Please help!

bonnykate

I tend to obsess over the calories I eat when I'm counting, and then I feel guilty when I overeat and so then I tend to eat more to console myself . . . ::sigh::, a classic emotional eater. So I'm thinking this time around, I'm going to concentrate on eating small portions and making good choices, but not actually counting my calories. I'm still planning to exercise four times a week, so I think I'll be good . . . but I want some other people's opinions. Have you ever tried not counting? How did it work for you? Do you have any tips for success? Thank you!

Jlditt

I tried not counting for 25 years, and I have to say that it didn't work out. When my son started to point at my belly and saying "boy what a big belly you have" I kind of took that as a sign that I need to get moving in losing. Losing weight that is. I find that the only way to really control my intake is by counting the calories, and making sure they are right. After 1 month of being with counting my calories I've lost almost 20 lbs. Does counting calories work, you bet it does. Everyone where I work has noticed the weightloss. My wife comments on how happy I seem. This couldn't have been possible with out this program called my fitness pal. I am more encouraged than ever to be more physically active as well.
So count your calories. Beat your inner voice back. Control your desire to eat those extra calories that will put on the extra lbs. If you fail, consider the bigger picture of how many calories in the week previous that you conquered. but most of all tell yourself that if you really desire to lose the weight, you will need to count every calorie. And lastly don't cheat,it will only make it seem like counting calories doesn't work.

Jolouis.

jewely82

Counting calories has helped me out tremendously. However, everyone is different. If counting calories is going to send you off the deep end don't do it. I'm sure you can lose weight without counting. Like you said: eat well and exercise and you should see results.

I lost weight in the past without counting calories. I just cut out bad foods and started exercising. The plan on this site is meant to helps us to hold ourselves accountable. There is nothing forcing you to use all the tools available on this site in your weight loss goals. Using all the tools is just a way to help you more.

Good luck with losing weigh this time around. Just stick with it until you find something that works for you.

Hopefully someone else can directly say they have just kept track of exercise on this site and seen some results.

ryank

I found counting calories means you know the calorie content in everything, so you can make informed choices about what you eat. It might not necessarily be the best strategy for you to record everything, but you're still using the knowledge you now have.

Man_loosing_weight

Counting calories can be tedious but how do you keep track on what you are eating. :sad: If you measure you can manage. It is all in the choices you make. You got only two choices, either you right or you happy. So to be able to happy you need to loose weight and that will include counting something either calories or you calories burned due to exercise. :happy: You might as well not get onto the scale as this will put you in the same mood if you pick up weight. My advice is to make the right decisions to make you happy.:flowerforyou:

BrenNew

I tend to obsess over the calories I eat when I'm counting, and then I feel guilty when I overeat and so then I tend to eat more to console myself . . . ::sigh::, a classic emotional eater. So I'm thinking this time around, I'm going to concentrate on eating small portions and making good choices, but not actually counting my calories. I'm still planning to exercise four times a week, so I think I'll be good . . . but I want some other people's opinions. Have you ever tried not counting? How did it work for you? Do you have any tips for success? Thank you!

My Dr. once had me writing my foods down in order to try to figure out why I wasn't losing. It didn't work, because without seeing my "numbers" in front of me, there was really no way to tell WHY I wasn't losing, other than say if I'd eating a huge icecream for supper!
I think just eating smaller portions won't help you much, because you won't know EXACTLY how much you're eating. You'll just THINK that it can't be much, just because you're eating smaller amounts. But, what I learned REALLY fast when I first came to MFP is what a REAL eye opener it is, "seeing" just how fast my numbers totalled up with every mouthful I ate! :noway:
Once I saw that, and started "working with my numbers" through moderation, making better food choices, and getting in some exercise to "up my numbers", the weight started coming off! :happy:

CodyAnne

I've tried... and failed. I've been at a stalemate after losing about 10 pounds. I also am an emotional eater; what I try to do, is portion what I like to eat when I "need" to eat: popcorn and ice cream (not together, of course!)

I buy a few of the 50 cent Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. Still 220 calories... but it's not a tub of ice cream that I'm going to go through in a night (I'm sure we've all been there... myself more than I can count...) Since it is already portioned, I can plan to treat myself (or simply just treat myself and go a little overboard a time or two without feeling bad. I also keep lots of fruit in the house, and buy light butter popcorn (about a hundred calories for a BIG bag, you don't have to buy the minis!!) and I REALLY enjoy the blueberry special K bars (90 calories!) when I need a little snack.

Personally, I don't have the discipline myself to not count calories. Since starting MFP I haven't started exercising much other than walking every now and then, and like I said I'm not a success story YET - but I will be!! If you think you can do it, go for it! Just don't stress if you've gone over on your calories, just pick yourself up and try again tomorrow!

PS - My husband has been doing REALLY well by making sure he eats something every two hours. In just over a month he's lost 2 inches around his waist and over ten pounds - and he doesn't even count his calories >.< Good luck!

arewethereyet

there is an MFP member who lost a substantial amount of weight by just eating the portion size on the box/container/package. She said it was an eye opener that she didnt need 3 boxes of mac and cheese to feed her family of 4. So it can be done.

I think it depends on the person. For me, without counting, my body tells me to eat just about the maint. cals for the day. I did a 2 week experiment and stopped counting (I was having nightmares about numbers and oz and grams:laugh: ) I found even with the best of intentions, I did not stay below my maint cals for the day, and therefore I stayed the same.

:flowerforyou:

benw

Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't mean to sound hard. What would concern me more is using food as a source of comfort.. For this to work you need to see food for what it is. Good food should be fuel for the body, bad food turns to fat. Counting calories helps re-train us to eat better foods and better portions. You can make it work keep trying.

Last week I was on vacation and did not count. I did ok after months of using MFP I knew when I was making good choices and when I wasen't.

BrenNew

I've tried... and failed. I've been at a stalemate after losing about 10 pounds. I also am an emotional eater; what I try to do, is portion what I like to eat when I "need" to eat: popcorn and ice cream (not together, of course!)

I buy a few of the 50 cent Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. Still 220 calories... but it's not a tub of ice cream that I'm going to go through in a night (I'm sure we've all been there... myself more than I can count...) Since it is already portioned, I can plan to treat myself (or simply just treat myself and go a little overboard a time or two without feeling bad. I also keep lots of fruit in the house, and buy light butter popcorn (about a hundred calories for a BIG bag, you don't have to buy the minis!!) and I REALLY enjoy the blueberry special K bars (90 calories!) when I need a little snack.

Personally, I don't have the discipline myself to not count calories. Since starting MFP I haven't started exercising much other than walking every now and then, and like I said I'm not a success story YET - but I will be!! If you think you can do it, go for it! Just don't stress if you've gone over on your calories, just pick yourself up and try again tomorrow!

PS - My husband has been doing REALLY well by making sure he eats something every two hours. In just over a month he's lost 2 inches around his waist and over ten pounds - and he doesn't even count his calories >.< Good luck!

Besides walking CodyAnne, have you ever thought of dancing for exercise? I walk too, and also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria")
It's free, (unlike a gym!) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also recently aquired the Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
Also, I'm a real icecream lover too! Have you ever tried Edy's slow churned, no sugar added cookie dough? I CAN'T tell the difference from the "real thing", it's THAT good!

arewethereyet

Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't mean to sound hard. What would concern me more is using food as a source of comfort.. For this to work you need to see food for what it is. Good food should be fuel for the body, bad food turns to fat. Counting calories helps re-train us to eat better foods and better portions. You can make it work keep trying.

Last week I was on vacation and did not count. I did ok after months of using MFP I knew when I was making good choices and when I wasen't.

This is so true. I have had 3 real vacations since starting this change and not gained a pound on any. I had a cheeseburger.......just no fries or may. I had a corndog, but could only eat 3 bites.

My thought process is different, but it took a lot of time. Counting and SEEING on paper what I as eating is what helped me comfort myself with a walk to the corner or a nice glass of homemade limeade, sans the sugar:drinker:

arewethereyet

I've tried... and failed. I've been at a stalemate after losing about 10 pounds. I also am an emotional eater; what I try to do, is portion what I like to eat when I "need" to eat: popcorn and ice cream (not together, of course!)

I buy a few of the 50 cent Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. Still 220 calories... but it's not a tub of ice cream that I'm going to go through in a night (I'm sure we've all been there... myself more than I can count...) Since it is already portioned, I can plan to treat myself (or simply just treat myself and go a little overboard a time or two without feeling bad. I also keep lots of fruit in the house, and buy light butter popcorn (about a hundred calories for a BIG bag, you don't have to buy the minis!!) and I REALLY enjoy the blueberry special K bars (90 calories!) when I need a little snack.

Personally, I don't have the discipline myself to not count calories. Since starting MFP I haven't started exercising much other than walking every now and then, and like I said I'm not a success story YET - but I will be!! If you think you can do it, go for it! Just don't stress if you've gone over on your calories, just pick yourself up and try again tomorrow!

PS - My husband has been doing REALLY well by making sure he eats something every two hours. In just over a month he's lost 2 inches around his waist and over ten pounds - and he doesn't even count his calories >.< Good luck!

Besides walking CodyAnne, have you ever thought of dancing for exercise? I walk too, and also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria")
It's free, (unlike a gym!) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also recently aquired the Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
Also, I'm a real icecream lover too! Have you ever tried Edy's slow churned, no sugar added cookie dough? I CAN'T tell the difference from the "real thing", it's THAT good!

Thanks for reminding me to dance!! I bet that is why my waist isnt as thin!! WOOT...dancing today!!

ilike2moveit

I didn't count calories-just did portion control and exercise and I lost 30 pounds. But, I found MFP while I was trying to learn how many calories per day I needed to consume to lose those last 10-15 pounds that weren't budging. Counting calories really made me aware of how many calories I was consuming and why I wasn't losing the rest of the weight. I use to consider my morning coffee a freebie, when it actually is 240 calories after adding sugar and creamer. I haven't stopped drinking it but now I know how to budget my calories around it. :drinker: Good luck to you.

Poison5119

I can get away without logging calories for a very short time - like say, a week, but overall, I need to see not only my calorie numbers, but also I need to see the way they're divvied up.

Without MFP, I can't see if I've gotten all the fiber I need in the day to keep me feeling full, I can't see if I've gone over my fat allottment, I can't see if I've gotten enough protein. I just can't keep track of all that in my head - believe me, I've got enough to keep track of in any given day!! MFP provides the tools I need that do all that work FOR me.

BrenNew

Besides walking CodyAnne, have you ever thought of dancing for exercise? I walk too, and also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria")
It's free, (unlike a gym!) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also recently aquired the Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
Also, I'm a real icecream lover too! Have you ever tried Edy's slow churned, no sugar added cookie dough? I CAN'T tell the difference from the "real thing", it's THAT good!
[/quote]

Thanks for reminding me to dance!! I bet that is why my waist isnt as thin!! WOOT...dancing today!!
[/quote]


Glad I could help Jeannie! Another thing I do off and on is use my hula hoop. It's probably all in my head, but, I THINK that helps with my waist. (Course, having big boobs and hips makes my waist look small anyway! :laugh: )

FireMonkey

I think it's important to count calories at the beginning, plus weigh/measure your food, until you get a better eye for "normal" portions. I found that I had hugely misjudged portion sizes, something that is pushed on us by restaurants and advertising. Once you feel comfortable with portion sizes you may be able to go without counting, but until then I would count calories.

arewethereyet

Besides walking CodyAnne, have you ever thought of dancing for exercise? I walk too, and also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria")
It's free, (unlike a gym!) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also recently aquired the Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
Also, I'm a real icecream lover too! Have you ever tried Edy's slow churned, no sugar added cookie dough? I CAN'T tell the difference from the "real thing", it's THAT good!

Thanks for reminding me to dance!! I bet that is why my waist isnt as thin!! WOOT...dancing today!!
[/quote]


Glad I could help Jeannie! Another thing I do off and on is use my hula hoop. It's probably all in my head, but, I THINK that helps with my waist. (Course, having big boobs and hips makes my waist look small anyway! :laugh: )
[/quote]

Well if it will give me big boobs, I am all for it!:laugh:

I have a jump rope...........hula hoop is a great idea to shake things up. Walmart here I come!

BrenNew

Well if it will give me big boobs, I am all for it!:laugh:

I have a jump rope...........hula hoop is a great idea to shake things up. Walmart here I come!
[/quote]



Gee Jeannie, I hate to tell you, but if you didn't have big boobs to begin with, it'd be pretty darned impossible to "grow em" now! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

CodyAnne

I've tried... and failed. I've been at a stalemate after losing about 10 pounds. I also am an emotional eater; what I try to do, is portion what I like to eat when I "need" to eat: popcorn and ice cream (not together, of course!)

I buy a few of the 50 cent Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. Still 220 calories... but it's not a tub of ice cream that I'm going to go through in a night (I'm sure we've all been there... myself more than I can count...) Since it is already portioned, I can plan to treat myself (or simply just treat myself and go a little overboard a time or two without feeling bad. I also keep lots of fruit in the house, and buy light butter popcorn (about a hundred calories for a BIG bag, you don't have to buy the minis!!) and I REALLY enjoy the blueberry special K bars (90 calories!) when I need a little snack.

Personally, I don't have the discipline myself to not count calories. Since starting MFP I haven't started exercising much other than walking every now and then, and like I said I'm not a success story YET - but I will be!! If you think you can do it, go for it! Just don't stress if you've gone over on your calories, just pick yourself up and try again tomorrow!

PS - My husband has been doing REALLY well by making sure he eats something every two hours. In just over a month he's lost 2 inches around his waist and over ten pounds - and he doesn't even count his calories >.< Good luck!

Besides walking CodyAnne, have you ever thought of dancing for exercise? I walk too, and also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria")
It's free, (unlike a gym!) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also recently aquired the Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
Also, I'm a real icecream lover too! Have you ever tried Edy's slow churned, no sugar added cookie dough? I CAN'T tell the difference from the "real thing", it's THAT good!

I WOULD try the Edy's, but I have to be realistic with myself - I have no self control when it comes to portioning out my sweets. That's why I buy the little 3.6oz cups... I can't eat the whole tub in 2 days!! My primary issue is motivation. My job requires me to be on my feet for 8 hours out of the day, running around and up and down stairs to stockrooms and selling you televisions and such, so when I'm home, I want to sit on my lazy tail and watch Law & Order My plan is to save up for a bicycle - I really enjoy biking, and I'm about halfway there to buying a new bike! Thanks for the encouragement