I stopped counting!
peanutbutterrunna
Posts: 106
I have made the decision to stop counting all my calories. I found that I was forming unhealthy habits and was being controlled by numbers. I have no idea how many calories I ate today, or how many I'll eat tomorrow. I'm going to continue like this for a few weeks before I weight in...hopefully I find that I can maintain like this :]
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Replies
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I just started doing this too. I need a mental break from numbers. Good luck to you! It's been a few days and I already feel so much better0
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add me to the list.. it's important to log faithfully until you get your system in place. if you're active, there's no need to worry about the numbers. i'll continue to check in daily to keep my streak alive:) good luck~0
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I don't count.
I did in the past during previous weight loss attempts. They all failed because I drove myself crazy trying to figure out numbers and net goals and blah. Now look at the labels when I grocery shopping, and watch portion sizes, but I can't do the counting thing anymore. I just stick with fresh produce, cooked meals, and portion control.0 -
I have been thinking about this for a while myself. Mind you I am only two months into getting started so I still have a long road to go but I am already driving myself cray. I feel like I have been depriving myself. I am not saying I am ready to go back to eating all sorts of fried foods or junk foods. I guess my question is should time stop counting this early in the game?0
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I'm thinking about doing this too!! Hopefully it will yield positive results!0
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If you come to a point where you find yourself obsessing and are beginning to feel you have developed unhealthy habits, then yes, it is important to take a few steps back and reevaluate.
May as well do a refeed period for awhile.0 -
I have been thinking about this for a while myself. Mind you I am only two months into getting started so I still have a long road to go but I am already driving myself cray. I feel like I have been depriving myself. I am not saying I am ready to go back to eating all sorts of fried foods or junk foods. I guess my question is should time stop counting this early in the game?
I would assume not counting could only work for people who have reached goal & have well established routines (ie: exercise). I see that you have achieved some weight loss & would hate for you to backslide (which I find hard not doing even when counting). My opinion - Too early for you to stop counting
If you're anything like me, it would be back to old habits! If counting has worked, keep at it!
I've been logging (almost) daily for 1 1/2 years. It's a pain sometimes, but it works. Even when I have a bad day, I log. Keeps it real. When I wasn't logging (in my previous life prior to MFP), it got me fat. And somehow, I don't mind looking @ numbers. It's just what I have to do or I'm terrified I'll go back to who I was before
Best wishes reaching your goal 0 -
Awesome!
I look forward to a day when eating becomes more natural and less regimented.I have been thinking about this for a while myself. Mind you I am only two months into getting started so I still have a long road to go but I am already driving myself cray. I feel like I have been depriving myself. I am not saying I am ready to go back to eating all sorts of fried foods or junk foods. I guess my question is should time stop counting this early in the game?
I'm not even close to my goals, but I did stop counting for several months right after I started; I had a ton of personal problems taking up my mental space, and I couldn't count on top of that.
I don't recommend it if you're early on, honestly. I was lucky in that I didn't gain any weight. I even continued to lose, but very slowly. Logging keeps me (more) consistently at a deficit, while I suspect that when I wasn't logging I was only occasionally at a deficit.0 -
That was part of the reason I started 4:3 that way I don't count like I was. I was obsessed...... every calorie hard to be under an amount or I'd just not eat it.
Now I just dont care. And I'm happier for it. 3 days a week I eat nothing..... suits me. Then I just dont worry the other 4 days. I eat what I want to eat. Simple.
And I still lose weight.0 -
It took me 5 months to lose 30lbs on MFP a few years ago. It took 2 years for half that weight to creep back on after a stopped counting.
It was only down to me not making wise choices with meals, and letting the exercise regime diminish.
If you can keep on top of eating and exercising well, there's no need at all to count.
Likewise, I obsessed a little over the numbers and needed to get past that. Right now I want to shift a few lbs but I'm counting at maintenance level. Just to keep myself in check while I get back on track.
During this time I am not worrying about going over. For example this weekend I stayed with family and ate meals in excess of 1000cals but my weight has not shifted at all.0 -
Counting is a pain in the butt and just makes me more obsessed with food when I do it. My workaround has been to plan all my meals in advance so I don't need to count anything during the week. I've developed a system for myself, which I call "modular meals" - every part of my meals (protein, vegetable, etc.) has 2-3 possible choices of food item which are equal in calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc. so I can just mix and match and It'll still be the same numbers. Let me demonstrate by showing my meals:
My breakfast contains one 70-gram serving of fruit, half a cup of cottage cheese, and 1 meat. That fruit could be papaya or cantaloupe, which are equivalent, and the meat could be one egg, or two turkey breakfast sausage links, or three strips of center-cut bacon, all of which are also equal. A 12-oz cup of coffee with a tablespoon of regular creamer and a packet of Splenda completes breakfast.
Dinner can be 4 oz of chicken tenderloin or a fish fillet (usually tilapia; it's inexpensive), and this week I'm adding lean pork tenderloin to the menu. All of those are equivalent. Dinner also includes leafy green salads of various kinds with 6 grape tomatoes and 2 tbsp of a lite dressing of my choice. The dressings in my collection range from 40 to 60 calories per serving, all under 3 carbs, so they are fairly interchangeable as well.
Snack is a negligible-calorie vegetable (a few spears of cucumber or zucchini, or two medium stalks of celery) with a tablespoon of lite ranch-type dressings for dip.
So because all my meals are modular like that, I never have to count. The only time I count anything anymore is when adding a new food option to my menu, which isn't often. Also no meal planning and analysis = no need to think about food almost ever. That's helped me break the cycle of a food-centric life more than anything I've ever tried.0 -
I also started doing this. I still count but I don't impose a hard limit. If I want something, I will eat it, even if it's just a couple bites. I try to enjoy very healthy food in moderation and avoid going far over maintenance for the day or eating without hunger. If I'm not peckish I will have a deficit and the numbers will even out over the week. I expect with all of the exercise I do that I will maintain while providing enough fuel for the workouts.
I found that dieting made me obsess about numbers instead of health. It didn't matter if I jogged an hour that day and ate 80% of calories from healthy food. If I went over maintenance I saw it as a failure and disregarded all of the good stuff. And because I felt like I failed already, that next calorie laden snack was easier to eat. And I was hungry from those last few days at a deficit. Eventually these habits turned into binges. And then the cycle started the next day - deprive - hunger - binge. The feeling of restriction that comes with a diet is really a problem. I hated it more than anything in the weight loss process. I would rather drag around 100 pound boulders all day than deprive myself of some oatmeal or a healthy treat.
By throwing away the scale and enjoying food when I really want it, I find that I am maintaining my weight. I am being cautious to avoid gaining but I don't beat myself up for going over calories. And that's the most important thing over the long term. Who would obsessively count their calories for years on end? Eventually 99% of the public will get tired of this lifestyle if it's not built on solid habits that support themselves. Eating healthy, simple food makes it far easier to stay at a healthy weight naturally then the average American diet. Who ever binges on apples or carrots ?0 -
I stopped counting calories and see better results now than when I was logging consistently. I started weight training and basically eat to fuel my body. After a few weeks of this, I decided to log what I had been eating each day to see how many calories, protein, etc. I was getting. Turns out I was eating around 1600-1800 calories a day and losing weight.0
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I would like to add you all as friends as I can`t stand counting. I haven`t lost any weight counting calories despite doing it the right way and counting every thing that went into my mouth. My TDEE is 2700 per day. I do not eat more than that! I hate numbers. I now use the EMTWL way. Hoping that will take the fat off eventually. Maintenance is the goal and who can count calories for the rest of their life?
Please add me!!:happy:0 -
I stopped counting calories as well. I pretty much already know how many is in what I'm eating anyways, so I spare myself the torture. If you eat healthy on a regular basis and keep portions in control I don't see why you should count to maintain. I'm still pretty active as well and have maintained my 30 lbs lost for a month now.0
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I stopped a week ago just to see how I felt and it was a really nice break. Some days I ate more, some days I probably ate the "right" amount but it was such a nice break from thinking about it all the time. I think of food so much less now. That being said, I'm sort of logging today just to get a general idea on my carb & protein levels. While I don't miss logging, I do miss the information!0
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Once I hit maintenance I stopped counting too for the most part. I'm so incredibly active that the only time I ever log is if I'm worried I'm not eating enough. My PT told me today he was surprised I've managed to avoid losing more weight so I guess all according to plan 8)0
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I quit too. After 4-5 months of not losing anything, I started skipping breakfast. I'm losing again.0
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WORD. I also stopped counting. I'm nowhere near my fitness goal, but eating mindfully and making sure I'm active and exercising every day seems like a healthier way for me to live.
Good luck!!0 -
I have made the decision to stop counting all my calories. I found that I was forming unhealthy habits and was being controlled by numbers. I have no idea how many calories I ate today, or how many I'll eat tomorrow. I'm going to continue like this for a few weeks before I weight in...hopefully I find that I can maintain like this :]
yep!! Me too. I'm more in maintenance mode. I use my clothes and the scale and how full I feel at the end of the day to gauge my progress.0 -
I think each individual has to find what works best for them. Any activity that becomes obsessive is unhealthy so if the counting became unhealthy for you, you should absolutely take a break from it. Only you can know if that break is temporary or permanent. For me, if I stop counting I give myself permission to over-indulge and then I gain. I don't obsess over the numbers, just keep track.0
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I have been thinking about this for a while myself. Mind you I am only two months into getting started so I still have a long road to go but I am already driving myself cray. I feel like I have been depriving myself. I am not saying I am ready to go back to eating all sorts of fried foods or junk foods. I guess my question is should time stop counting this early in the game?
I would assume not counting could only work for people who have reached goal & have well established routines (ie: exercise). I see that you have achieved some weight loss & would hate for you to backslide (which I find hard not doing even when counting). My opinion - Too early for you to stop counting If you're anything like me, it would be back to old habits! If counting has worked, keep at it!
I've been logging (almost) daily for 1 1/2 years. It's a pain sometimes, but it works. Even when I have a bad day, I log. Keeps it real. When I wasn't logging (in my previous life prior to MFP), it got me fat. And somehow, I don't mind looking @ numbers. It's just what I have to do or I'm terrified I'll go back to who I was before
Best wishes reaching your goal
I agree...I believe it would be too early for you to stop. You're doing great!0 -
i found that when I was counting I would focus on what I wanted to eat even when I wasn't hungry. Also, my bloodsugar was worse when I counted constantly. What has worked better for me is listening to my body. I eat when I am hungry. I rarely eat a true "breakfast" anymore. I eat an early lunch and an early dinner with a snack if I need it later. My sugars are more stable and although my weight loss has not necessarily been better I feel better overall.0
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I won't ever be able to do that. I view my eating as similar to how I budget my money. I can't just intuitively just not spend money, and find myself in trouble down the road. At some point, my cards will stop working and the ATM will stop dispensing cash, so at least with money, I can only go so far before I'm cut off.
Calories are not as forgiving. I ended up fat in the first place for that very reason. I have just accepted that I will always have to log my food if I want to never gain weight again.
I hope this works ok for you. I think most of us here will have a different experience.0 -
I have been thinking about doing this too! I'm always hungry when I count calories and I'm not even losing much. Last summer I lost 30lbs in 2 months and I wasn't counting, I just ate smaller portions, healthier food, less bread and a lot of water. I also worked out 30ins a day. I think I'll go back to this.0
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I would like to add you all as friends as I can`t stand counting. I haven`t lost any weight counting calories despite doing it the right way and counting every thing that went into my mouth. My TDEE is 2700 per day. I do not eat more than that! I hate numbers. I now use the EMTWL way. Hoping that will take the fat off eventually. Maintenance is the goal and who can count calories for the rest of their life?
Please add me!!:happy:
Just keep changing up your routine. Also, are you using a tape measure to track progress? If you are eating at or near TDEE, you could be losing fat but not losing weight.0 -
I only track my food intake during the workweek. I'm not obsessive with it. I can't ever get into the habit of doing it during the weekend, but it helps me mindfully eat during the week. I can eat without it registering that I'm doing it. Things work for some but not for others. I know that when I don't track during the week, then I can easily gain all the weight that I worked hard to get off back on.0
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I have logged for over 800 days and I do not know anyone that is working for. I also know that 73% of us will fail, and not even reach 5 years.
As one of my long time friends on here often says, see you at the funeral.0 -
I had to stop counting for a while too. I went to a registered dietician because I was counting calories, eating "right", and exercising but I was gaining weight not losing it and getting frustrated. She said that because of all the dieting I had done in the past I needed to stop eating to lose weight and start eating for nutrition (I was eating all the right foods but not in the amount I needed to stay nourished and I was obsessed) so she set me up on a 1700 calorie a day food plan (she said it can vary between 1650 and 1750 depending on what I eat) but all I have to do is look at the lists of the acceptable foods and eat , per day: 3 servings of protein, 5 servings of whole grains/starchy veggies (I am limited on this and get a little less because I am gluten free), 3-4 servings of veggies (I can have more if I want or am still hungry), 2-3 servings of fruit, 2-3 servings of dairy, and 2-3 servings of good fats.
I have been doing this since April and have struggled because I wasn't losing still, so I went to see an endocrinologist, turns out I'm early stage hypothyroid and I am insulin resistant, both of which can affect weight loss (I will say I had lost 3 lbs from the time I went for my first appt with the endocrinologist and last week when I went back for my follow up where she gave me my results, so about six weeks) I'm now on meds for my two issues and I am going to track for a few weeks just to make sure that I'm not getting lax in my weighing and measuring and also to see if there are any tweeks I need to do because I do need to eat a little more frequently than I usually do because of the meds (I'm still in the adjustment phase, I did 1/2 dose last week and am up to full dose starting today)0 -
Counting actually caused me to gain for a while. If my net was under my goal on a given day I would worry that I was going to mess up my "system" and eat until got to the net goal even if I wasn't the slightest bit hungry. I took a couple weeks off and when I came back I lowered my goal a bit. Now I try to stay under but if I'm still hungry after reaching it I eat and ignore the "in 5 weeks you will weigh..." warning at the end of the day.0
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