Non calorie counting approach

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Lately I have really been struggling with maintaing a healthy diet (weight watchers, calorie counting) and I am beginning to wonder if counting calories is where the problem lies. I find calorie counting (or counting points) to be tedious and I tend to be very lax when it comes to tracking. I just can't get myself to focus on tracking and counting so I eventually get so frustrated with the whole thing that I give up.

I am wondering if there is a non calorie/points counting approach out there that may work better for me. Ideally, it would be something that is not too restrictive and would be realistic enough to continue long term. I am open to all suggestions you may have about this kind of approach or about my problem with calorie counting in general.

Thank you!

Replies

  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Not really. I don't agree with the "listen to your body" style of eating. And you can still gain weight eating clean or even as a vegetarian.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    Not really. I don't agree with the "listen to your body" style of eating. And you can still gain weight eating clean or even as a vegetarian.

    Yep. If I listen to my body I'd never stop eating.

    My advice? Want it. Whatever your goal is, want it bad enough that you'll spend 5 minutes a day logging your food.
  • ElsaVonMarmalade
    ElsaVonMarmalade Posts: 154 Member
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    I totally understand where you are coming from. I have ALWAYS struggled with consistency when it comes to calories or points or whatever. It just seemed like a huge drag. Even just writing down my food, without looking up the calories or nutrients/macros, was too much.

    Then I decided that I wanted to track my food for 30 days so I could get a real picture of what I was eating - how much chocolate? how much bread? really, where's my average when it comes to calories?

    I did that, and that was a long 30 days. I promised myself that as soon as I was done I'd take a day or two off and just "listen to my body." But by the time the 30 days was up it was SO EASY to track my food - my "recent" and "frequent" lists were filled with stuff I ate all the time, and it was just no big deal at all to keep doing it. I never, never expected that.

    So before you give up on this method, or yourself, I urge you to commit to 30 days solid. You can do that. When you're done, see how you feel about counting. You might be surprised.