Not Counting....

wheels6030
wheels6030 Posts: 26 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So what I'm going to say, I realize does not work for everyone, but I'm having success NOT counting calories. I've done this weight loss thing many times before (believe me I know what a yo-yo is..) and the common factor to all of my failed attempts is an obsession with calories and numbers that culminates in a crash where I can't keep it up any longer and just go back to how I was eating before. I now know that this results from trying to fix my problem superficially. Just going through the scientific motions of losing weight was actually intensifying the root of my problem, insecurity about food. This time around I am rebuilding a good relationship with food that I believe can last me all my life...no longer a temporary fix.

What I'm learning to do is LISTEN to what my body is telling me. If I'm not hungry but want to munch, I eat a small snack like an apple and involve myself in a project that occupies my mind and distracts me. When I eat dinner I serve myself half as much as I usually serve myself, eat that slowly and thoughtfully, and THEN decide if I'm hungry and need more. I've also been limiting distractions like homework and TV while I eat so that I can appreciate my food and give it the attention that it deserves. I've also been drinking lots of water and tea to keep myself hydrated. I'm really happy with this method since I'm forming HABITS that I can take with my for the rest of my life. And this makes me extra happy since I'm now able to address the root of my problem, not the superficial result (my weight).

Five pounds down and not turning back!

This article was very helpful to me so I'll share it!
http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/7-ways-to-lose-weight-without-counting-calories-tracking-points-or-going-crazy/

Best of luck!

Replies

  • julianadelbosque
    julianadelbosque Posts: 84
    I love it! I've posted similar thoughts recently. I started back in June and have had success counting, but I'm to the point where it's stressing me out too much. I've created healthier eating and exercising habits than I've ever had in my life, and I'm happy with them. But putting in every calorie is too much for my emotions sometimes.

    I'm essentially at maintenance with hopes to tone, so I think I'm either going to just stop tracking now or get used to my maintenance calories and then stop. It's been a good project, but it's too much of my life and my thoughts at this point.
  • swhiteism
    swhiteism Posts: 71 Member
    I also stopped counting calories and have had continued success, and am now down 31 lbs in 3 months. It was great at first and I'm so glad I discovered the concept of a calorie deficit, but I became way to obsessed with tracking every last bit of food I consumed. It didn't feel healthy to me, and I am rearranging my lifestyle into something I'm not just doing until I reach my goal, but something I will do forever. I don't want to count calories forever, so I stopped. I now do more a mental estimate and try to stay around 1300 calories. If I'm over or under, I don't know and I don't care and it's lovely.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    It isn't food tracking that usually leads to failure, it's trying to be too restrictive either with calories or food types. I fully believe that not tracking is working for you since it sounds like what you've done is cut out random boredom snacking. However, it is totally possible to track your food without becoming obsessed or becoming discouraged and giving up if you do so sensibly.
  • gpizzy
    gpizzy Posts: 171
    Interesting take on things - way to go!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Counting calories lets me eat treats. If I didn't, I'd never eat any and eventually binge, or eat too many and go over... But whatever works for you I guess! I'm guessing that not counting must be harder once you are close to your goal weight though.
  • chad_phillips1123
    chad_phillips1123 Posts: 229 Member
    Sounds like you've got a good plan! Personally, counting helps me evaluate the food I eat. I'm very bad at judging how caloric/nutritious something is. Once I look it up and/or have it a few times I start to build better decisions as to whether it is worth it. But I've had a bad relationship with food most my life, so in trying to change lifestyles, I have to learn or relearn things, and that's where I feel counting should be (listening to one's body also being high on the list in changing lifestyles).
  • bvincentelp
    bvincentelp Posts: 36 Member
    Hope that works for you, wouldn't work for me. I track to make sure I get enough to eat and are hitting my macros for weight lifting. If I don't count then I tend to under-eat.
  • JL2513
    JL2513 Posts: 867 Member
    I've never tracked my calories and I've had great success so far :) Good to hear that from other people as well. When I first joined MFP, I was pretty amazed at the number of people who do count their calories. Too much work for me. I just get a sense or 'feel' for what I should be consuming. No measuring here!
  • julianadelbosque
    julianadelbosque Posts: 84
    It isn't food tracking that usually leads to failure, it's trying to be too restrictive either with calories or food types. I fully believe that not tracking is working for you since it sounds like what you've done is cut out random boredom snacking. However, it is totally possible to track your food without becoming obsessed or becoming discouraged and giving up if you do so sensibly.

    In my opinion it depends a lot on your personality type/how your brain works. I was fine counting for a few months but I've gotten too caught up in it as I tend to do. The amount of time I spend thinking about it is unhealthy. This happens with other things in my life as well and I always have to step back eventually and try to get out of my head and it's a huge relief. So stopping for a while is in fact me being sensible about it so that it doesn't turn being healthy food-wise into something that's unhealthy psychologically.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    I admit I'm on MFP too much and I seriously obsess about the macros numbers and calorie numbers. This leads to more and more frequent binges. I think I need to relax and listen to my body like the OP says and just keep tracking to a minimal amount.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    It isn't food tracking that usually leads to failure, it's trying to be too restrictive either with calories or food types. I fully believe that not tracking is working for you since it sounds like what you've done is cut out random boredom snacking. However, it is totally possible to track your food without becoming obsessed or becoming discouraged and giving up if you do so sensibly.

    In my opinion it depends a lot on your personality type/how your brain works. I was fine counting for a few months but I've gotten too caught up in it as I tend to do. The amount of time I spend thinking about it is unhealthy. This happens with other things in my life as well and I always have to step back eventually and try to get out of my head and it's a huge relief. So stopping for a while is in fact me being sensible about it so that it doesn't turn being healthy food-wise into something that's unhealthy psychologically.

    I apologize, I mean being sensible about the foods you eat and calorie goals, as opposed to trying to stick to a 1200 calorie carb-free diet or whatnot. I did not mean to imply that is was wrong or not sensible to not track.
  • iechick
    iechick Posts: 352 Member
    Have you read the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch? I'm in maintenance now and no longer count calories/track anything. Instead I eat intuitively, listening to my body's cues, and then I also eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet, which makes it pretty easy to maintain :)
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I don't count calories, and I'm having success. I just eat smaller portions than I used to and less junk food than I used to, and I exercise a lot. I'm not willing to be obsessive about food, and I think I would become that way if I weighed everything and had to ask people at parties, restaurants, etc. for nutritional information. I don't want my life to be that way. I would count calories temporarily if I was having trouble losing weight and wanted to see what was happening, but it's not a habit that I want for the rest of my life.
  • pavingnewpaths
    pavingnewpaths Posts: 367 Member
    When I stop counting calories my mind set usually flutters into "Pft...I didn't eat THAT much today..I can have this chocolate cake if I want." so I don't think I could ever really stop counting calories. Plus I've started doing it involuntarily which I suppose is a good thing.

    But it's AWESOME that you can do that and that you've found something that works for you. Stick to it and congrats :smile:
  • wheels6030
    wheels6030 Posts: 26 Member
    Thanks for all of the wonderful replies! Glad to know that there are other people out there doing this too...and at the same time the people that are having success with counting congrats too! There's a different method for everyone! I'll have to look that book up!
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    Cool! I am trying to do the same thing and am maintaining weight. A book that really helped me is "how to have your cake and skinny jeans too" by Josie Spinardi. Can't recommend it highly enough.

    I had success with logging/counting and reached my goal weight, but then I found that what I really wanted, even more than being a specific weight, was to have a healthy, effortless relationship with food. That is my new goal I work toward daily.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Most of us got to be overweight listening to our body telling us when to eat and what to eat.
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
    It seems strange to me. I've logged almost everything I've eaten for almost two years, but I don't feel like I've been counting calories. I've been telling MFP what I eat and it has been counting calories for me. I use the information it gives me to help me make some decisions, but I'm not a slave to the numbers. They are just a journal of what I've done, not a master that commands my actions.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    It seems strange to me. I've logged almost everything I've eaten for almost two years, but I don't feel like I've been counting calories. I've been telling MFP what I eat and it has been counting calories for me. I use the information it gives me to help me make some decisions, but I'm not a slave to the numbers. They are just a journal of what I've done, not a master that commands my actions.

    yup.
  • wheels6030
    wheels6030 Posts: 26 Member
    Like before, I'm really not saying that there is anything wrong with counting...it's just wrong for me. Congratulations to everyone who is having success counting! I just have an obsessive-compulsive personality that makes counting a bad choice for me...

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