Not Counting Calories

When I was first losing weight I didn't track. It seemed to work but it was a slow pace. I would lose 20-25 lbs a year. Since keeping track of my calories, I lose on a regular basis. Maytbe if you dont look at it as the rest of your life, but right now that will help. I believe its about a lifestyle change though more than dieting, atleast for me.

I don't track calories strictly, but I have a decent awareness of the caloric and nutritional content of foods and I weigh myself frequently. It doesn't hurt to record everything you eat for a couple of months to educate yourself if you haven't done this before. You can only move beyond tracking (and some people benefit from tracking every day, dropping tracking need not be a goal) once you've internalized the information.

Absolutely agreed. I do track my calories just because I like to log on here everyday for the support and great people etc. I've been tracking since the beginning of this year and I would say that I already know what I can eat in a day to keep losing at a slow and steady pace so if I do decide to stop tracking, I'm confident that I've learnt a lot and enough to keep being successful with losing weight.

I realize that this is a site for people to track their food and exercise.

But I'm curious.... Is there anyone on here trying to lose weight and NOT tracking calories? Just trying to eat better? And having success with it?

I still have a bit to lose... But I don't want to be tracking calories for the rest of my life....

FWIW, I've been tracking calories since February and just stopped tracking this past weekend.... I was thinking of trying it out for a week or two... I am exercising as well... Which makes me wonder a little how I'll know that my protein intake is sufficient for my strength training...

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=113288021&highlight=wavelength

For a beginner it is hard not to count without losing weight. I didn't count for my first month of weight loss and still lost the same amount I was when not counting vs counting. Once you know your body well and you can eat and be satisfied it doesn't really seem that difficult. Even now I don't track everything (I'm on a recomp and moving into a bulking phase) And I find it really easy to just track half the day and make educated guesses about how much I can have for the rest of the day with out over eating. Hope that helps. The thread I posted show with a lot of experience you can have a consistent fat loss and that it is possible.

I realize that this is a site for people to track their food and exercise.

But I'm curious.... Is there anyone on here trying to lose weight and NOT tracking calories? Just trying to eat better? And having success with it?

I still have a bit to lose... But I don't want to be tracking calories for the rest of my life....

FWIW, I've been tracking calories since February and just stopped tracking this past weekend.... I was thinking of trying it out for a week or two... I am exercising as well... Which makes me wonder a little how I'll know that my protein intake is sufficient for my strength training...

The thing is that whether you keep track or not, you'd be aiming to achieve the same thing: weight loss through calorie deficit. It's just that without keeping a consistent and accurate log, you'd be operating a little more on instinct and luck. However, it is certainly doable with some practice I think.

I don't track calories strictly, but I have a decent awareness of the caloric and nutritional content of foods and I weigh myself frequently. It doesn't hurt to record everything you eat for a couple of months to educate yourself if you haven't done this before. You can only move beyond tracking (and some people benefit from tracking every day, dropping tracking need not be a goal) once you've internalized the information.

Absolutely agreed. I do track my calories just because I like to log on here everyday for the support and great people etc. I've been tracking since the beginning of this year and I would say that I already know what I can eat in a day to keep losing at a slow and steady pace so if I do decide to stop tracking, I'm confident that I've learnt a lot and enough to keep being successful with losing weight.

Tracking helps me enforce my intentions if I'm seriously trying to lose weight. After a few days, the mere thought of having to record a junk food snack is enough to make me refrain. I don't want to feel like I'm full of it. But if I'm really not into being strict, I don't track -- no reason to make myself feel bad. But I try to keep tabs on my weight; if I do eat badly, I usually don't have to do a lot to get back under control.

It is a little disheartening to think of tracking for the rest of forever, but I've come to terms with the fact that it is a must for me. Healthy eating isn't a natural instinct/habit that I developed in my childhood, so it's something I have to work at now. If you can develop new habits and you can do this without tracking, then more power to you. You can experiment and see what works. You can always start tracking again if not tracking doesn't work out. Honestly though, with all the tools we have available now, tracking isn't really that big a chore.

When I started out in October, I wasn't tracking calories. I was just watching WHAT I was eating, not necessarily how much. Once I hit my plateau in February, I started paying attention to calories. So far, it seems to be doing the trick. Good luck to you!

I spent my first month or 2 on MFP tracking my calories and it gave me GREAT insight as to how I was eating. After doing it for a little while, I found that I could control without logging. I really didn't like logging and I often skipped days, but it did give me a better grasp on what has what calories. I now no longer log, have lost MORE weight than when I was logging, but still love using MFP every day. It may not work for everyone, but YES you CAN lose weight without tracking calories!

When I first started losing weight I didn't count calories. And I lost 25 lbs pretty fast. But as I kept going my weight loss was more like 2 pounds a month. I decided to start tracking again. For the first month I tracked I lost 5 lbs and I am on my way to beating that.

I stopped tracking the last time I was within a couple pounds of my goal weight. It's really common to lose more slowly when you get down to the last few pounds, so not tracking allowed me to stop stressing about eating perfectly and not losing....it also helps you shift into maintenance mode more naturally. I find listening to my hunger cues and sticking to a clean diet eliminates the need to track after a while.