Counting calories vs. NOT counting calories

Several years ago, I lost weight following the Weight Watchers "Core Plan" which involves no counting of calories. I lost 50 lbs in 6 months (I had gained a bunch of weight with pregnancy and two ankle surgeries). I maintained that loss for 4 years until moving and a whole bunch of life stress led me to regain 10-15 lbs.

Basically, the "core" plan emphasizes veggies, fruits, and lean meats. You aim to eat foods that are not calorie dense but are nutritionally dense. Lots of vegetables, lean meats, most fruits. You have whole grains but only about 1 serving a day (a serving of oatmeal for breakfast or a serving of a whole grain cereal, etc...).

I tried to stick with really healthy vegetables most of the time: carrots, zucchini, broccoli, other squashes, etc... it is still part of my lifestyle.

The idea is to eat only when you are just beginning to feel hungry and only until you feel satisfied (not full). You stop eating when you stop feeling hungry.

(Hopefully this makes sense)

I incorporate this idea into my current diet but also count calories.

I would like to hear from people who DON'T count calories and have had significant weight loss. What is your strategy and where did you start? I am for being mindful of the quality foods (eating unprocessed foods) and staying well hydrated. I find when I count calories that I hoard calories for "just in case" that I fall short many days of my minimum calorie goal.

Also I'm tired of having my mind so wrapped up in the calorie count that I miss much of what's going on around me. If you can help with your comment I'd like to hear from you.

I totally agree with you. I think calorie counting is a great tool to get started, if you're like me and have NO IDEA how many calories different kinds of foods contain. I counted calories for the first 15 pounds of my weight loss and then lost the last 5 or so with just healthy eating and exercise, no calorie counting. I know that's not a significant weight loss but I think something much more significant COULD be done without calorie counting. If you're eating clean like you mentioned, and exercising, I feel like it's almost impossible not to be a healthy weight. Clean foods generally are low in calories anyway.

i love this post as i feel myself wanting to stop counting also. I'd rather just eat healthy and eliminate foods i know are not good for me. I have lost weight many times in the past doing this and also never weighing myself.

I'm starting to find that:

1. Counting calories isn't working all that great for me and keeps me focused on food too much for my liking

2. The calorie is a calorie isn't working for me either. I am not that guy on the forum who lost all his weight eating pumpkin poptarts every day. i don't have that metabolism.

your making it too complicated, just count calories for each day and thats it, it hardly takes any time, however i went from 14 stone of flab to 11 stone (see pic) without counting a dam thing, i just ate a shed load of protein, decent amount of fruits and veggies and think i was low carb, but ive saved so much money by counting calories you dont need to buy loaaaaaaads of food

My experience: About 12 years ago I was probably 200 pounds or more (didn't have a scale at the start), and got down to 175 by thoroughly revamping how I cooked and what my family ate. The changes I made:

--I never cooked red meat at home, although I would eat it in a restaurant 1-2 a year.

--I only made a chicken dish once or twice a week--the rest of the time I cooked vegetarian. Used lots of Boca and Morningstar Farms products.

--I stopped cooking in butter, and switched to olive oil.

--I never had seconds. If I was very hungry, I'd make my initial serving a little bigger. But no seconds, ever.

--I don't remember the rule for sweet treats, but I cut them way down.

--I also took the stairs, walked at lunchtime at work, brought my lunch most of the time, did exercise DVDs. Eventually, I started running, but for several years it was seasonal--I would train all winter for a May half-marathon, then stop running again until late fall/early winter to train for the next.

This got me to 175 pounds by being strict, once I started slacking off a little (more treats, less activity) I put 5-10 pounds on, staying mostly in the 180-185 range for about 10 years. Then I had a combination of things hit, got stressed out, and gained back up to 200.

So two years ago in January, I took a hard look at myself. Changing my eating habits without counting calories had worked last time...for a while. But I'd backslid a lot--over those ten years I'd reintroduced a lot of foods I'd cut, although I was still sticking to the "no red meat at home" rule. That had worked largely because we'd been broke, and most of the red meat I'd purchased was cheap and fatty. I like meat. Now, well, we could afford the leaner, more expensive cuts.

I found a calorie-counting site (that time I used MyPlate at Livestrong.com, which works very similarly to this one--two years ago I judged that MyPlate had the larger food database, now MFP seems to so I came here instead), and tracked my way to 165 pounds. I found that by paying attention to calories in and calories out, I could eat anything I liked and still lose weight--I joked to my friends that I was on the Beef n' Booze Diet. I kept the weight off, apart from seasonal gains of 5 pounds or so that sent me back to tracking until I lost them again.

Now I'm back to lose more weight--I'd like to go to 150-155. Started at 170 this time (usual post-holiday gain), have lost about 7 pounds.

To sum up, not counting calories worked for me--for a while. Counting calories, in my opinion, worked better and required fewer changes. Once I count for several months, I have a good sense of portion control. I also switched to running year-round, even in the summer, which helps maintain my weight. If I gain a few pounds, I know that tracking for a month or so will get them back off and remind me again about portions.

TL;DR version: Done 'em both, with some success. Prefer counting.