Women that don't live by calories- are you out there?

starrlette

I write my exercise and food intake down in a little journal in addition to logging it into mfp, you could always just try writing down what you eat and input the data when you get home, GL!

darrensurrey

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.

Ah, right. I guess those kinds of foods mean that a day or two without exercise won't affect things massively.

ObtainingBalance

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.

Yes, I know. BUT If you weigh every week or every month -- you would catch that weight gain BEFORE it becomes 10 lbs in one year.
When I'm done losing, I will just keep track of the scale - eat lighter if it goes up one week/month .

Calorie counting can distract you from life sometimes... it's sometimes a stress , I seem to want to measure everything.

It's just a personal preference. I dont stress about logging what I eat..and if I go over I go over, I don't stress about that either. My problem is the scale and I gain a lb and I'll be like "eh...its just a lb" and then that adds up over time. It will be different for everyone, but me personally I'd rather just hold myself accountable and log what I eat.

Understood! Everyone is different thanks for explaining it more. That seems to be working for you<3

natalie412

I have been maintaining for 3 months and have not stopped logging yet. If\When I do, I will pick a weight on the scale that if I go over (more than a few days in a row), I will start logging again.

I like to log. If I were to go on a trip though, I would stop logging! After logging for so long, we should have a good idea of how we should be eating..

bulbadoof

I lost my first 125 lbs or so without logging anything. Granted, I was morbidly obese; I don't really know how I'd fare without logging at a maintenance level. I think I'd want to, just for the peace of mind that one bad snack isn't gonna send me back to bingeland.

postrockandcats

I will always be at least somewhat calorie aware now. It won't rule me. It doesn't now!

AshleyNicolexo_

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.

Ah, right. I guess those kinds of foods mean that a day or two without exercise won't affect things massively.

right. your body naturally burns off whole foods.

nothingwithoutHim

I've heard Geneen Roth has a great book(s) on "intuitive eating" ie. listening to your body and giving it what it needs w/out calorie counting. *sigh* I wish I were there...maybe one day! "Eat More To Weigh Less" is helping me, one day at a time.

I read this blog a lot, and the lady who writes has been intuitively eating for (I think) 2 years with moderate success. Here's a link to the one year anniversary:

http://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2011/07/one-year-of-intuitive-eating-and-the-best-birthday-ever-experiment-results-are-in.html

planetshark

Since all calories are NOT created equal it's MORE important to ask yourself: "What do I need to eat to fuel my day/workout?" And then as the day goes on ask: "What am I lacking in terms of nutrients?" i.e. If you had oatmeal with fruit for breakfast and a glass of skim milk, then for meal #2 you need to amp up your protein and get some healthy fat and veggies ... By meal # 3, you should be asking what your body needs (based upon your 2 previous meals ... and so on) ... And EVERY meal or snack should include some protein, healthy carbs and a little healthy fat ...