Anyone here not count calories at all?

peachfigs

If so, do you still reach your goals? What do you focus on if youre not counting calories?

neanderthin

I don't count anymore, and it's more because I know approx how many calories I'm consuming at any given time. Right now I'm trying to add muscle so I'm eating more than normal and I just check the mirror to make adjustments going forward and do the same when I lose weight.

jbruced

I don't count calories, but I am mindful of what and how much I eat.

trainguy917

I counted for several months, but don't anymore. Partly it's because I just eat healthfully and have a good idea of how much food is enough now. It's also partly because I work out like a fiend and burn so many calories it's hard to eat them all back.

neandermagnon

I don't count calories if I want to maintain, because I seem to naturally eat my TDEE calories if I follow my body's hunger and full signals.

However for bulking and cutting I track calories, because otherwise I'd eat my TDEE calories and fail at either.

Lauren8239

I stopped counting, logging my food and logging exercise. I found I was obsessing over the numbers and it drove me to under eat. It worked for me and I feel so much better. I just listen to my body, I eat when I'm hungry and I don't overdo the exercise any more. I trust my body to know what's best. So far....success!

NakedLunchTime

I don't count calories, but I am mindful of what and how much I eat.

This is me too. Also I eat a lot of the same things throughout the week days so I have come to know the calories in what i am eating.

AnabolicKyle

i dont, but iam trying to gain weight; so its not a big deal. I always make a conscious effort (ballpark guess) to realize what iam eating though (macros/Calories).

edit

still track weight and waist measurements often.

Athena53

I've got an idea of the relative counts of things, and I always read labels before buying something new. I ignore per-portion stats other than using them to calculate how many calories are in the whole pack and then figuring out how much of it I'm likely to eat at one sitting.

Between 5:2 fasting (where I'm pretty much into a habit for what I eat on fast days) and portion control and lots of exercise, I'm losing slowly but surely without logging calories.

kopmom

I do not count BUT to keep a general idea I eat most of the same meal's all the time, boring but I would rather do that then log everything.

peachfigs

I stopped counting, logging my food and logging exercise. I found I was obsessing over the numbers and it drove me to under eat. It worked for me and I feel so much better. I just listen to my body, I eat when I'm hungry and I don't overdo the exercise any more. I trust my body to know what's best. So far....success!

This is the approach I'm considering, too.

BigGuy47

I no longer count. My tracking tolerance is about 6 months. When I first started I tracked for 6 months, then stopped tracking for six months. My weight loss continued on the same pace despite not tracking. Making healthy choices and portion control have become a habit. I think it's good to stop once in awhile to see if you can maintain healthy habits without the aid of tracking everything.

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CoraGregoryCPA

I didn't for the past 2 weeks.. just kind of went on a 2 week "vacation" and I gained a good amount of weight that I had worked the past 2.5 months to lose.. so it doesn't work good for me not to count. I'm getting back on track at some point this weekend... I'm still working out of course-I love working out. But it's the calorie counting that works for me to lose weight.

NanaWubbie

Are you kidding? Is this a trick question?

Velum_cado

I lost 80 lbs before I started counting calories. I've recently stopped because I just get hung up on numbers rather than eating healthily. I'm still losing weight, so I think I'll just keep up what I'm doing and forget calorie counting for now.

skcardiog

Does not count calories but rather time spent lifting, rowing or biking.

Weekends equate to 2 - 3 hours a day keeping busy, so I m not too concerned about calories.

JENNY7634

I do now but hope to stop by summer.....i think its great to do for a while to teach yourself the appropriate amounts of food. It is very time consuming for me but Ive learned so much about my eating habits. Weeks I gain i go back through my diary and make notes of what I did wrong.

KenosFeoh

Right now I'm not. I got burned out because I counted calories for months and kept losing/gaining the same 3-4 pounds.

lcoll12

I find it neccessary for me. Seeing the numbers makes a difference. Although, my greatest success is tracking my excercise, both cardio and wieght training.

lithezebra

I stopped counting them last year, and started again about a week ago, for no particular reason. I eat a lot of the same foods, in the same amounts, repeatedly, so it isn't necessary to count. I was wondering if maybe I was eating more because I wasn't logging, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

damienmyers69

due to ill health and lack of mobility, I do keep an eye on my calories but just as a guide.

For me being diabetic, I use the charts for sugar, sodium and cholesterol.

For instance, I can have under 1000cal and not loose weight, yet some days I can go on a binge of ready salted crisps and actually loose a pound next morning, though not something I would recommend doing lol.

But for me staying stable, maybe loose a few extra pounds if I can, and keeping tight control of my sugar levels is my main goal, and this site and android app are helping me loads since I started few days ago;)

missigus

When I was new at this I counted every day, but after a while sporadically. I get frustrated with logging daily. I try to log thru the week and if life gets really busy I don't worry about it for the day. I have regular calorie counts down pretty good now after doing this for over a year. However, I have recently decided to try and get even healthier and have begun eating "cleaner". Since I am changing things up, I am back to trying to count daily for a while until I learn what's- what.

lil_pulp

I'm not counting, but I am logging what I eat. I try to focus on my body's cues--eat when hungry, stop when satisfied. And I try to really enjoy everything I eat.

No more eating just because I have calories (or WW points) left, and definitely no eating X, Y, or Z just because I think I "should."

When I have a week where I feel good about my choices (i.e., a week in which I've really listened to my body), I tend to lose weight. So it's about at the same pace, or better, than when I was counting calories or WW points, but I feel so much healthier (emotionally) and am getting to know and love myself and my body through this process. (Pardon the cheese.)

Sunshine2plus2

In 2005 I lost 138pds and maintained it for 5 years had a baby, gained and decided to try this. Anyways in that time I never counted not one calorie, not one carb, not sugar, nothing. Just ate what I thought was right and the weight came off. 100 of those pds were lost in 1 year!

erbimages

I think as long as you already know how many "calories" things are and where you should be around is fine if you know your body and goals. I personally dont mind calories as much as getting a lot of protien in since Im building muscle and cutting bodyfat. 1- 1 1/2 grams per body pound for me.

highervibes

I do count and log, simply to know what my calories ARE, but I absolutely never get up to my recommended calories eating tons of food so I guess I do count to make sure I'm eating enough but I don't really have to because I'm eating primal/low carb

vmekash

I guess I count calories, but admittedly, I don't think of it as counting so much as tracking. Counting, to me, seems obsessive. Tracking just keeps me from derailing.:ohwell:

dubgnyc513

Don't count at all. My body can feel when I'm eating the right foods and moving my body enough that the weight leaves. Also I feel more clear headed and cleaner when eating more natural and good foods, i.e veggies!

WBB55

Dear Peach,
I say this out of true concern for you. If you have a digestive/absorbtion problem with your GI, I think it's even more important that you very accurately track what you eat to make sure you're getting enough of the nutrients you need to be healthy. Please see a dietician/doctor to help determine what foods you should be eating and in what quantity. I"m sure you're tired of everyone telling you what to eat and what not to eat and just want to be normal, like everyone else. But until you get your GI functional, you're always going to have issues. Treat your medical condition before trying to lose weight, okay sweetie?

terilou87

i have my calories on but i pay more attention to protein and keeping carbs low it is working so far.