Women that don't live by calories- are you out there?
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I'm a whole foods eater (nothing processed.. just food that comes from nature) and i HATE counting calories. I like to use MFP mainly to log in my workouts and some days i will log in what i eat but i never follow the "calories" that MFP tells me but anyway, by eating whole foods i dont believe in counting calories. I always seem to do better and lose weight when i dont count them and i've lost weight by eating like 3000 calories of whole foods before. Plus, i believe that its unhealthy to obsessed with counting calories. If you work out and eat healthy then you'll be fine.
Interesting. How much do you exercise a day on average? I know someone who does cycling competitions and eats absolutely anything he wants and is completely ripped!0 -
I'm a whole foods eater (nothing processed.. just food that comes from nature) and i HATE counting calories. I like to use MFP mainly to log in my workouts and some days i will log in what i eat but i never follow the "calories" that MFP tells me but anyway, by eating whole foods i dont believe in counting calories. I always seem to do better and lose weight when i dont count them and i've lost weight by eating like 3000 calories of whole foods before. Plus, i believe that its unhealthy to obsessed with counting calories. If you work out and eat healthy then you'll be fine.
Interesting. How much do you exercise a day on average? I know someone who does cycling competitions and eats absolutely anything he wants and is completely ripped!
i exercise maybe an hour a day 5 days a week.. usually i run on the treadmill for a half hour (i'm a slow runner so thats about 2 and half miles for me) and then i do a circuit training workout (Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred or Bob Harpers Bootcamp workouts) and I recently started lifting weights again (i was never really good at that lol)0 -
Sounds like a great idea. You sound like a disciplined woman who knows her body. You will be able to tell how you're doing. You've trained yourself. I hope I get to that point someday. Good luck and have a great time.0
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Another issue is that you said you still binge but know how to deal with it afterwards; if you don't log things, how will you know how much you binged with? As an aside, I'd speak to a therapist about why you need to binge. (I say this in a non-judgemental fashion.)
May I ask, out of curiosity, why is it important to know how much you binged by? I binge sometimes too, on crisps (potato chips). I don't need to see a therapist, because I know why I binge - it's a sensory thing, because of being on the autism spectrum. I have various strategies I've worked out, but still, I don't always use all my strategies, and so I binge occasionally, because the sensory crunching experience of crisps is amazing! Since I've been using MFP, I now know how much I binged by, but it has made no practical difference to my life whatsoever to have this knowledge. When I have eaten too much, the next day my body knows it and I naturally don't want to eat so much.
Something I wonder too - in the history of humankind, the counting of calories is a very new thing. For centuries before us, humans were eating and not counting calories. Were their eating habits a lot more unhealthy as a result?0 -
I go for long periods without logging, and only return to it if my weight creeps up a little, for example after a holiday, or Christmas period. My weight is actually pretty constant at around 10.5 stone (I am 5'8, so that's a healthy weight for me). I'd like to lose that last seven pounds of "vanity" weight, so am logging for the moment, but will stop next week when I go on vacation for a fortnight.0
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I'm a whole foods eater (nothing processed.. just food that comes from nature) and i HATE counting calories. I like to use MFP mainly to log in my workouts and some days i will log in what i eat but i never follow the "calories" that MFP tells me but anyway, by eating whole foods i dont believe in counting calories. I always seem to do better and lose weight when i dont count them and i've lost weight by eating like 3000 calories of whole foods before. Plus, i believe that its unhealthy to obsessed with counting calories. If you work out and eat healthy then you'll be fine.
Interesting. How much do you exercise a day on average? I know someone who does cycling competitions and eats absolutely anything he wants and is completely ripped!
i exercise maybe an hour a day 5 days a week.. usually i run on the treadmill for a half hour (i'm a slow runner so thats about 2 and half miles for me) and then i do a circuit training workout (Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred or Bob Harpers Bootcamp workouts) and I recently started lifting weights again (i was never really good at that lol)
Cool. As long as you keep that up, then all is well. What happens when you go without exercise for a week? Do you taper off the food intake?0 -
Another issue is that you said you still binge but know how to deal with it afterwards; if you don't log things, how will you know how much you binged with? As an aside, I'd speak to a therapist about why you need to binge. (I say this in a non-judgemental fashion.)
May I ask, out of curiosity, why is it important to know how much you binged by? I binge sometimes too, on crisps (potato chips). I don't need to see a therapist, because I know why I binge - it's a sensory thing, because of being on the autism spectrum. I have various strategies I've worked out, but still, I don't always use all my strategies, and so I binge occasionally, because the sensory crunching experience of crisps is amazing! Since I've been using MFP, I now know how much I binged by, but it has made no practical difference to my life whatsoever to have this knowledge. When I have eaten too much, the next day my body knows it and I naturally don't want to eat so much.
Something I wonder too - in the history of humankind, the counting of calories is a very new thing. For centuries before us, humans were eating and not counting calories. Were their eating habits a lot more unhealthy as a result?
It's a fair question. Most people don't have autism and there's usually another reason for the eating disorder; a good therapist can help them with this so they no longer binge eat. As for the amount, I've seen people post they binge with 5,000+ calories in a day (someone I know posted they ate 20,000! (I don't know if they later purged or not.)). There's a serious issue there that can be dealt with by seeking a therapist.
In answer to your second question, we've never had so much food. More people in the world are obese than starving apparently.0 -
At maintenance, I don't log. I have a pretty good idea of what I can eat, and I keep up my full exercise program. I weight weekly and as soon as I go over maintenance (I allow myself a three-pound spread), even by an ounce, I go back to counting and very quickly get back to my maintenance range. I've only gone over once since hitting goal (about 2 months ago), so it's working well for me. I think what's key is not to go crazy crazy with the food (keep those lifestyle changes) and continue to work out as much and as hard as ever -- even harder as I get stronger.0
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Im only 53% of the way to my goal...but stopping the counting is what has failed me in the past. So I will for the rest of my life log what I eat. Did you know that over eating by 100 calories a day can make you gain 10 lbs in a year? Obviously when I reach goal, I'll eat more because I wont be trying to lose weight anymore, but I'm still going to log it.
Overeating 100 calories over MAINTENANCE will make you gain the weight, you're eating 1200 a day, if you ate 1300 you would still lose :flowerforyou:0 -
dont know if anyone says the same thing didnt bother to read the other posts lol but im almost at myyy goal and i find that i get full really fast now anyways so im not even hungry so i dont over eat there...second all i eat is heathly food now and water so yeah i kinda just make a meal that i know is heathly i have only a few meals to pick from and just eat it or eat healthy snacks and im losing weight pretty fast still ..I guess if you know what your doing you already know the calories of the food so yeah i wouldnt bother tracking it only if your confident that you wont mess it up but if itsonly for a week or whatever that you cant track it dont worryabout it !
good luck 0 -
I go about weight loss a little differently than most. I don't log exercise or calories because it tends to spin me into a relapse of my ED. I also don't gauge my progress by pounds lost but rather by inches and clothing sizes. I've had quite a bit of success.0
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i stopped logging for a few weeks after hitting my goal and i have maintained my weight
i have started the logging back up again just because....i am thinking few more lbs that i might want to loose then i'll reevaluate where i am then 0 -
I am jealous if you can do that. I am not there yet! Right now I am at maintenance with my weight but practicing staying there. Unfortunately I have to log. Sometimes when I want to reach for that 2nd cupcake.....I log it and then realize I don't want to spend my "budget" on it...
I have to see it in black and white for me to stop. (I'm a recovering binge eater so it helps for me to log)
CAnnot wait until the day I can maintain without logging.
I may do what someone suggested. Taking the weekends off...But obviously not this weekend!0 -
It's a fair question. Most people don't have autism and there's usually another reason for the eating disorder; a good therapist can help them with this so they no longer binge eat. As for the amount, I've seen people post they binge with 5,000+ calories in a day (someone I know posted they ate 20,000! (I don't know if they later purged or not.)). There's a serious issue there that can be dealt with by seeking a therapist.
In answer to your second question, we've never had so much food. More people in the world are obese than starving apparently.
Ah, so people need to know how much they've binged by, because if it's over a certain amount they need to see a therapist? I don't think I'm capable of binging by 5,000 calories. I had a very big binge yesterday - I had 3,000 calories, and then I was literally incapable of eating any more and I fell asleep on the sofa!
That makes sense about the amounts of food. Thinking about it, the way that I've best been able to control my eating habits is to give myself a very strict spending budget each month. Healthy eating wasn't my initial goal in budgeting - I just wanted to live simply and below my means on the low income I have. But I've found that when I give myself a very low budget, I will only buy very nutritious, healthy food, to make the most of the money (for instance, if I have only £10 to spend on food for the week, I'm not going to spend £2 on a bag of Doritos, when the same £2 will get me a bag of onions, a bag of apples and a bag of carrots). But now I've become so good at budgeting that there is plenty left for crisps by the end of the month!0 -
There are millions of people in this world who are healthy and has never logged a thing. We really aren't a different kind of snowflake so I don't see why we should have to log our food for life. I see logging as a way to educate myself.
I hope to be one that doesn't have to log in the future but there is so much for me to learn first. I think it's great that you are intuitive. I am striving to be like that someday too :-)0 -
Ah, so people need to know how much they've binged by, because if it's over a certain amount they need to see a therapist?
I don't think I'm capable of binging by 5,000 calories.
I had a very big binge yesterday - I had 3,000 calories, and then I was literally incapable of eating any more and I fell asleep on the sofa!
That makes sense about the amounts of food. Thinking about it, the way that I've best been able to control my eating habits is to give myself a very strict spending budget each month. Healthy eating wasn't my initial goal in budgeting - I just wanted to live simply and below my means on the low income I have. But I've found that when I give myself a very low budget, I will only buy very nutritious, healthy food, to make the most of the money (for instance, if I have only £10 to spend on food for the week, I'm not going to spend £2 on a bag of Doritos, when the same £2 will get me a bag of onions, a bag of apples and a bag of carrots). But now I've become so good at budgeting that there is plenty left for crisps by the end of the month!
Sorry, I meant the amount is irrelevant if it's a binge (you'll have to judge if you're having a binge or just enjoying a snack). Consider it like any other addiction. If it's something that someone feels is impacting their lives in some way, then it's an issue they ought to deal with. Of course, there are strategies out there eg for an alcoholic, not having wine in the house. However, it's not truly dealing with the underlying issues. (You mentioned autism and that's not within the realm of something I deal with so my comments do not apply to this.)
If your strategy works for you, then continue to do so. Everyone will have a different approach to their problems eg smokers have e-cigs, patches, hypnotism, EFT, acupuncture etc.
I know what you mean about crisps, though.
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I don't log calories. I find it entirely too stressful to log and worry about everything that goes into my mouth. I have lost 32 pounds so far. I don't think I am doing so bad without it.0
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i dont really log my food at all anymore unless its something new and im not sure of values, i do log exercise but thats mainly just to work out on average the cals i can eat a day, iv been maintaining now for about 6months and have gained back about 5lbs from UGW but i have had a holiday in between that time frame!0
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I started with MFP almost a year ago, just trying to lose a few lbs (like 5-7) and it worked! I thought I had things under control and stopped logging... and then this May saw a couple pics of myself in a bikini that while not awful, weren't how I envisioned myself. I stepped on the scale again and was a little shocked, I was up the highest I've ever weighed (about 125, I'm 5' 2" and very petite build so everything shows) So far (since May) I've worked off 7ish lbs of that again, with logging loosely - I log the first parts of my day and then sometimes splurge a bit at night, but I've been bumping up my workouts too (mostly insanity and running)
That said if you really stay in touch with what you need for food intake go ahead and stop logging. I would love to be able to, but right now I definitely need to log to remind myself not to go crazy.0 -
When I lost a lot of weight the first time around, I tried to do that and within a few years, I gained it all back. I have a feeling I'm one of those people that will always have to watch what I eat whether I log it or not, just the way my body is
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ME! i stopped counting a month ago and i never really looked back. it forces me to eat intuitively and not `because i have calories left over` and not `because i dont have calories left`.
if i want to eat and i know the hunger is not emotional/boredom, i eat. and 98% of the time i eat totally clean foods. i try to make sure i have protein/veggies with every meal and its just been really working for me. im not as stressed!!0 -
When I reached my goal weight (115.6 - technically not my GW since it was 115) I pretty much stopped logging my food. I haven't really logged in a few months and right now my current weight is 116. I say go for it! If you find yourself gaining, you can always come back to the log.0
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Honestly.. this is our ultimate goal! To lose the weight and then be able to maintain a healthy weight without sitting in front of MFP to see if it 'fits'. It sounds to me like you are ready to leave!!:drinker:
Very sensible.... I would totally agree!0 -
Cool topic to come across, especially since today is my first day of not logging calories burned. AND IT WAS AWESOME TO BIKE WITHOUT MY HRM ON! :laugh:
After six months of detailed record-keeping in my workout spreadsheet, I've figured out what my average calorie burn in 60-80 mins of biking and strength training is. My weight has also stayed around the same over the past 12 weeks, with a margin of between -2 and +2 lbs.
I do intend to continue to log what I eat, however, because the nerd in me loves the numbers aspect of the food diary.
I honestly think you will do just fine because you sound like you have a sensible head on your shoulders. Enjoy your vacation. :flowerforyou: 0 -
I'm a whole foods eater (nothing processed.. just food that comes from nature) and i HATE counting calories. I like to use MFP mainly to log in my workouts and some days i will log in what i eat but i never follow the "calories" that MFP tells me but anyway, by eating whole foods i dont believe in counting calories. I always seem to do better and lose weight when i dont count them and i've lost weight by eating like 3000 calories of whole foods before. Plus, i believe that its unhealthy to obsessed with counting calories. If you work out and eat healthy then you'll be fine.
Interesting. How much do you exercise a day on average? I know someone who does cycling competitions and eats absolutely anything he wants and is completely ripped!
i exercise maybe an hour a day 5 days a week.. usually i run on the treadmill for a half hour (i'm a slow runner so thats about 2 and half miles for me) and then i do a circuit training workout (Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred or Bob Harpers Bootcamp workouts) and I recently started lifting weights again (i was never really good at that lol)
Cool. As long as you keep that up, then all is well. What happens when you go without exercise for a week? Do you taper off the food intake?
i hardly ever take a week off from exercise unless if I'm on vacation somewhere but even then I try to get some exercise in. Only because i feel so much better when i do exercise and I'm always afraid I'll lose muscle tone. Plus Running de-stresses me and clears my mind.
But when i DON'T exercise i still eat only whole foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, protein grains like quinoa, healthy fats, raw nuts, dried dates, salmon, etc). It's a lifestyle change so i never fall off the bandwagon, if i do it doesn't last long because then i feel like crap and then get back into eating healthy and working out. lol.
so even on days I'm not working out i don't eat any less or any more. just the same as a i always do.
I have a food and exercise blog if you're interested in some whole food ideas or what I eat: http://lovelivinghealthy.tumblr.com I try to update it as much as possible.0 -
I just record what i eat in the notes section here, i don't actually log the food i've eaten and work out the calories. I've been doing it like this for over 2 months now and have successfully been losing weight. I've lost well over a stone since taking a break. All I do is log my exercise and even that is an estimate of past experiences of my HRM readings. It's not about the numbers it's just basically making a note of what I do.
I've found i'm more relaxed, less obsessive and enjoying my food and exercise a lot more since I stopped logging and feel like it is more sustainable for me personally0 -
I dont count calories anymore and I can definetly recommend it. :bigsmile:0
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I went abroad last semester to Italy and gained 17 lbs (I've lost it all now). I rarely log calories/food, I use it more for the forum or keeping track of my weight loss. I realized that it wasn't the calories I was eating, it was the bad carbs - pizza, pasta, bread, wine (it was Italy after all) By keeping track of how many good carbs (veggies, fruit) and cutting out bad carbs, I lost those 17 in about a month. Point is, don't worry about keeping track with the exact number of calories you eat, as long as you are eating good foods and you know portion control you will be fine.0
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Don't look upon it as a monotony, but as the tool that will keep you at a healthy weight. Take it from someone who has has to watch her weight for over 30 years. When you stop logging at first you do generally keep a mental note, but then that mental note gets less and less accurate and before you know it you're slipping back into bad habits. My weight has been at its most stable since using tools such as MFP and let's face it MFP does make tracking so easy?0
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Wow, amazing responses. And in Jillian Micheals style I'll repeat that, amazing responses...lol
So glad that it's created a discussion and helping others too
I have read each response, whilst baking protein muffins in the kitchen! I would say as an overall people are voting yes to have time off logging, but I can understand why people would disagree.
Regarding binging, as that created more debate- a binge for me is half a large bar of chocolate, a big bowl of my boyfriends sugary cereal or some ice cream, it's not massive amounts but definitely more than I would like. I do it when I feel stressed from work which is something I'm focusing on, also I've been taking chromium to help with sugar levels- very sweet tooth. Another issue is sleep, I don't get enough.
I love the idea of not been ruled by counting, there was even a day I started writing down the weight of some avocado I was using for a face mask.....that's when you know you are obsessed!
Also the comment of not having to wear my HRM....heaven!!
I'll continue to log for the next 2 weeks before my holiday, and probably a week or 2 after with not been in my usual exercise/ food comfort zones for 7 days. Then I'll fly the Fitness Pal nest! I'll still log on and I love sharing my recipes
Thank you to everyone that has responded so far 0
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