Lost 80 lbs and never counted calories!
Domineer
Posts: 239 Member
I see a lot of people on this site talk about counting calories. Honestly, I've managed to lose a good chunk of weight and drop 2 or 3 shirt sizes and I never counted calories or weighed my food. I portion according to judging by the eye. I feel like counting calories is complicated and to be honest is not a natural way to eat and live. I can see the mathematical ideology behind it and it does work for a good amount of people. However, if you are one of those people who rather judge it by eye, use common sense. Don't eat until you are full. Eat half a plate serving and drink water or tea. Fill up on veggies with minimal dressing, fruits, and a healthy balance of protein and smart low carb choices. Exercising at least three times a week along with walking and other physical activities will drop the weight.
Any questions on how I've done this, feel free to inbox me.
Any questions on how I've done this, feel free to inbox me.
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Replies
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I have no doubt it can work. Not everyone counts calories and manages to lose weight. Essentially, you've cut your calories by not eating so much (although this statement is obvious).
The issues for me
-you could undereat and then end up scratching your head as to why things aren't going as planned (or you end up suffering malnutrition)
-you could eat too little protein resulting in LBM loss
-you could still be eating too much thinking that "healthy food = weight loss"
That said, I am semi-transferring over to not counting but ensuring I eat a lot of meat/dairy as I have a vague feel for how much meat equates to my 150g of protein a day whilst hovering around the 2500 kcal mark.
For me that equates to:
-2 main meals containing a small portion of carbs (1 palmful), a reasonable portion of veg (1-2 palmfuls) and two servings of meat eg 2-3 drumsticks or 2-3 palmfuls.
-50g of oats with honey in the morning
-couple of slices of cheddar cheese
-an extra palmful of meat
-100g of natural yoghurt.
I have found this to equate to about 140g of protein and about 2000kcals so throw in a bar of chocolate and a packet of crisps. :-D
But it's only through using MFP that I've got a feel for what's what.0 -
What DarrenSurrey said....
I can maintain and bulk without counting calories (bulking requires the extra "effort" of making sure I eat high carb snacks to bump my calories above maintenance... maintaining requires that I'm careful not to accidentally do this) but cutting without counting calories is very hit and miss with me... sometimes it works, e.g. if I cut out different high carb foods like bread, pasta etc and fill up on protein and fibrous veggies... but I can end up lacking in energy and having problems due to eating too few carbs, and plus, I like bread and pasta and don't want to cut them out. And at other times i can end up eating at maintenance because i tend to feel hungry until I hit maintenance calories. So calorie counting for cutting is the best strategy for me, because then I can be sure that I'm definitely eating the right amount and not accidentally undereating or overeating, and also it enables me to enjoy all the foods I want to eat and still be in a deficit. IMO that's the biggest advantage with it for me.0 -
I have no doubt it can work. Not everyone counts calories and manages to lose weight. Essentially, you've cut your calories by not eating so much (although this statement is obvious).
The issues for me
-you could undereat and then end up scratching your head as to why things aren't going as planned (or you end up suffering malnutrition)
-you could eat too little protein resulting in LBM loss
-you could still be eating too much thinking that "healthy food = weight loss"
That said, I am semi-transferring over to not counting but ensuring I eat a lot of meat/dairy as I have a vague feel for how much meat equates to my 150g of protein a day whilst hovering around the 2500 kcal mark.
For me that equates to:
-2 main meals containing a small portion of carbs (1 palmful), a reasonable portion of veg (1-2 palmfuls) and two servings of meat eg 2-3 drumsticks or 2-3 palmfuls.
-50g of oats with honey in the morning
-couple of slices of cheddar cheese
-an extra palmful of meat
-100g of natural yoghurt.
I have found this to equate to about 140g of protein and about 2000kcals so throw in a bar of chocolate and a packet of crisps. :-D
But it's only through using MFP that I've got a feel for what's what.
You bring up some valid points. I believe that counting calories can work for some things, but to base it on everything you eat is stressful and unrealistic. Eating less (even when eating healthy) is something I've found to work while not counting calories. Eating right so you can stay full is what really counts. Thinking about your next meal shortly after eating your current meal is a set up for failure. I retrained my brain to think of food as a way to bring nutrients to my body for normal functioning, rather than to indulge for past time and taste purposes. With that mentality, I was able to break my lowest recorded weight in my adulthood of 268 lbs in Nov. 2011 to 246 lbs this year. Took me 2.5 years to get back on track and break that barrier. The key to maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle is to experiment, and that may include gain (unfortunately). But sometimes it takes a gain to lose. Oh the irony....0 -
Wait? Joined in December and lost 80 lbs but your ticker says 31? April Fools?
Counting calories helps teach people what healthy portion sizes are. A lot of times folks have a tough time losing weight until they get a scale and discover just how much they've been over estimating. You don't count calories and have lost weight? Good for you. Most people need to go through the learning experience though.0 -
What DarrenSurrey said....
I can maintain and bulk without counting calories (bulking requires the extra "effort" of making sure I eat high carb snacks to bump my calories above maintenance... maintaining requires that I'm careful not to accidentally do this) but cutting without counting calories is very hit and miss with me... sometimes it works, e.g. if I cut out different high carb foods like bread, pasta etc and fill up on protein and fibrous veggies... but I can end up lacking in energy and having problems due to eating too few carbs, and plus, I like bread and pasta and don't want to cut them out. And at other times i can end up eating at maintenance because i tend to feel hungry until I hit maintenance calories. So calorie counting for cutting is the best strategy for me, because then I can be sure that I'm definitely eating the right amount and not accidentally undereating or overeating, and also it enables me to enjoy all the foods I want to eat and still be in a deficit. IMO that's the biggest advantage with it for me.
I love bread and pasta myself. However, I reach a new beginning by not buying bread at all! I eat wheat pasta about once every 6 weeks. My body has responded well to it. I only eat bread if I go to Subway, and I do that a couple times on the weekends, but it balances out b/c I work out all weekend. Keeping bread and pasta out of your house helps you to eliminate the cravings (or atleast for me it does). I haven't tackled the maintaining stage or the bulking up stage yet but I will deal with that when I cross that road. To become good at no calorie counting while losing weight, it will take some failures. No one will do it perfectly the first time.0 -
Wait? Joined in December and lost 80 lbs but your ticker says 31? April Fools?
Counting calories helps teach people what healthy portion sizes are. A lot of times folks have a tough time losing weight until they get a scale and discover just how much they've been over estimating. You don't count calories and have lost weight? Good for you. Most people need to go through the learning experience though.
I started my weight loss journey in April 2011. I was 325. I started my diet again on October 26, 2013 and I weighed in at 295. However, I didn't join MFP until early December, which I weighed in at 277. So the ticker reads right, according to when I joined MFP. Lol, no April Fools here.
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With 50 pounds down and another 14 to go, I've tried to be less anal about counting the calories over the past fortnight or so. The result is 2 pounds on after 7/8 months of consistent weight loss.
I guess I really do have two choices:
1. Count Calories
or
2. Gain Weight0 -
I agree with you to an extent. I think a lot of it has to do with how much you weigh and how much you have to lose. If you're really overweight and have a ton to lose, making small changes, such as eating an apple instead of a chocolate bar, will have a massive impact initially, and there is no need to necessarily count calories as your lifestyle and food choices have changed.
However, when you begin to shed the weight, your calorie requirements will reduce (unless you burn a shed load of calories each day) so it's much more important to monitor intake to prevent regain or stall.
Great job so far!0 -
I don't find counting very stressful unless I screw up and leave myself short at the end of the day, that's only happened a couple times. I actually turn it into a kind of game, what can I eat to make myself feel good at this many calories? How do I fit everything I want in?0
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You bring up some valid points. I believe that counting calories can work for some things, but to base it on everything you eat is stressful and unrealistic. Eating less (even when eating healthy) is something I've found to work while not counting calories. Eating right so you can stay full is what really counts. Thinking about your next meal shortly after eating your current meal is a set up for failure. I retrained my brain to think of food as a way to bring nutrients to my body for normal functioning, rather than to indulge for past time and taste purposes. With that mentality, I was able to break my lowest recorded weight in my adulthood of 268 lbs in Nov. 2011 to 246 lbs this year. Took me 2.5 years to get back on track and break that barrier. The key to maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle is to experiment, and that may include gain (unfortunately). But sometimes it takes a gain to lose. Oh the irony....
In part I agree.
I don't find it stressful nor unrealistic. I've been logging for 2 years. I don't think about my next meal until it's time to eat. I've found by planning the night before (a mere 10 minutes of my 1440 minutes), I can ignore thinking about food until it's time to eat.
I do look at food as fuel, hence I often eat bland, boring food (plain natural yoghurt for instance; oatcakes is another - and let me warn you, it's much less satisfying than it sounds!) and will eat carbs if I'm going to train (again, food is fuel).
The key thing I've learnt is that hunger is just a feeling (yes, yes, hormones) that can be ignored providing I know I've not undereaten. (Undereating is something I want to avoid these days which means hunger cannot be used as a gauge just like you shouldn't wait until you're thirsty, perhaps?)
You're right about experimenting and possibly gaining but it's part of the learning process as you suggest. At least I feel confident about walking into a restaurant and making the right choices (not undereating, not overeating) and never feeling guilty about eating a 1000 calorie meal (because that's under half my daily requirement).
All this talk of food with an hour to go before lunch, though... :laugh:
PS Interesting topic. Been thinking a lot about making the move over the last 6 months.0 -
I agree with you to an extent. I think a lot of it has to do with how much you weigh and how much you have to lose. If you're really overweight and have a ton to lose, making small changes, such as eating an apple instead of a chocolate bar, will have a massive impact initially, and there is no need to necessarily count calories as your lifestyle and food choices have changed.
However, when you begin to shed the weight, your calorie requirements will reduce (unless you burn a shed load of calories each day) so it's much more important to monitor intake to prevent regain or stall.
Great job so far!
When I was 325, simply changing from fried foods to baked helped me shed 55 lbs in 7 months. I worked out consistently but weight dropped due to my body responding to the healthy choices I made. I agree with you on that. I still log my intake on my cell phone and even duplicate some days of the weeks where I've lost a good amount of weight. It has been working and I'm not bored with it. The key for me is to do this naturally, without thinking about it. Breaking old habits are hard to do but with me being on this journey for 3 years, i'm undoing all my bad habits and feel confident that with more time, I will be able to do it by second nature soon. Thank you for your feedback0 -
OP posts on a board for people that use a calorie counting app, boasting about never having counted calories.
-insert popcorn.gif-
A lot of people use the app to keep track of their macronutrient ratios, too, btw.0 -
OP posts on a board for people that use a calorie counting app, boasting about never having counted calories.
-insert popcorn.gif-
A lot of people use the app to keep track of their macronutrient ratios, too, btw.
Not boasting, just trying to get acquainted with people that lost without calorie counting. I am sure I am not the only one to do it this way. I was a person that never thought I could do it alone. I did it alone. I attempted to use a nutritionist and even with her advice and journal logs for how I should do it, I wasn't feeling it. I simply took control of my life by making common sense choices on how much food I should be eating, when I should be eating, and how much I should be moving my body to produce a change. I'm pretty sure people did it this way long before calorie counting apps existed.0 -
OP posts on a board for people that use a calorie counting app, boasting about never having counted calories.
-insert popcorn.gif-
A lot of people use the app to keep track of their macronutrient ratios, too, btw.
Me too. I want to see where this goes.0 -
OP posts on a board for people that use a calorie counting app, boasting about never having counted calories.
-insert popcorn.gif-
A lot of people use the app to keep track of their macronutrient ratios, too, btw.
Not sure what OP is trying to say? This is a Calorie and Macro and exercise logging site. Nope, just do not know where this is going.
edit to add Exercise0 -
It took me 2 weeks to get the hang of counting calories and logging my food. It's EASY. Now it's second nature for me and I can do it in my sleep. WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT?
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*eyeroll* For your next trick, why don't you go over to BB and tell them how unnecessary strength training is?0
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I guess I really do have two choices:
1. Count Calories
or
2. Gain Weight
Im with you on this, MY own guestimations are way off and I put on weight if I am not accurately weighing and measuring my food.0 -
I don't use the site to count calories. I use it to track weight and progress, read success stories, gain motivation, and connect with others going down a similar path. More power to the calorie counters. Do what works for you.0
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Congratulations on your weight loss. I agree with everything you've said -- counting calories, especially long term, is not a natural way to eat and live. You've given common sense guidelines.
I don't intend to count calories forever, either. I've lost about 50 pounds in the last year and am slacking off now with logging since I've reached "normal." I understand what I need to do and a lot of it has to do with your guidelines.
However, I'm still a sweet-aholic and find it easy to fool myself. I eat for entertainment and to relieve stress, can graze through a box of donuts with no problem, and still want to grab high calorie fast food instead of making something better at home. Counting calories forces me to be aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. It's a reality check. I've lost the weight but mentally I still can slip into those habits.0 -
What DarrenSurrey said....
I can maintain and bulk without counting calories (bulking requires the extra "effort" of making sure I eat high carb snacks to bump my calories above maintenance... maintaining requires that I'm careful not to accidentally do this) but cutting without counting calories is very hit and miss with me... sometimes it works, e.g. if I cut out different high carb foods like bread, pasta etc and fill up on protein and fibrous veggies... but I can end up lacking in energy and having problems due to eating too few carbs, and plus, I like bread and pasta and don't want to cut them out. And at other times i can end up eating at maintenance because i tend to feel hungry until I hit maintenance calories. So calorie counting for cutting is the best strategy for me, because then I can be sure that I'm definitely eating the right amount and not accidentally undereating or overeating, and also it enables me to enjoy all the foods I want to eat and still be in a deficit. IMO that's the biggest advantage with it for me.
I love bread and pasta myself. However, I reach a new beginning by not buying bread at all! I eat wheat pasta about once every 6 weeks. My body has responded well to it. I only eat bread if I go to Subway, and I do that a couple times on the weekends, but it balances out b/c I work out all weekend. Keeping bread and pasta out of your house helps you to eliminate the cravings (or atleast for me it does). I haven't tackled the maintaining stage or the bulking up stage yet but I will deal with that when I cross that road. To become good at no calorie counting while losing weight, it will take some failures. No one will do it perfectly the first time.
I don't see the point (for me) in practicing or using trial and error to lose weight without counting calories, because counting calories when you use MFP is not difficult at all, and I have that certainty that I'm neither undereating nor overeating, and I have the freedom of being able to eat all the foods I want, and knowing just how much I can eat of these foods without going over my calories for the day. I'm sure non-counting methods work for some people. And I can see how in the days before smartphones and apps like MFP calorie counting must have been a total pain in the rear end, I mean all that arithmetic... but the app does all the work. And non-counting works for me for bulking and maintenance so it's not like I'm going to be counting calories my whole life, but it's definitely the best method for me for cutting cycles.0 -
Isn't this site about counting calories? Seems the OP has missed the point. No matter what you need to eat at a deficit to lose weight. If you can do this without counting calories that's great for you (not sure why your on MFP though). For the rest of us who have problems eating at a deficit without counting calories we'll continue. It takes 10 minutes of my day to log everything and I seem to have lost a wee bit of weight doing it.0
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Just to give an advantage of calorie counting versus non-counting
calorie counting: hmm, I feel like eating some ice cream this evening... let's check my food diary... hmm, 200 cals under goal. *looks at ice cream tub* *works out how many grams of ice cream = 200 cals* *measures and eats ice cream* *logs ice cream in diary, meets calorie goal* *continues to lose weight at the desired rate*
non-calorie counting: hmm, I feel like eating some ice cream this evening... but I've eaten quite a lot of food today, and I don't feel that hungry, it's probably not a good idea to eat any ice cream right now. *ice cream stays in the freezer* *weight loss still happens but it's harder to sustain long term due to feeling deprived of ice cream and other yummy things*
this is why calorie counting > not calorie counting0 -
Just to give an advantage of calorie counting versus non-counting
calorie counting: hmm, I feel like eating some ice cream this evening... let's check my food diary... hmm, 200 cals under goal. *looks at ice cream tub* *works out how many grams of ice cream = 200 cals* *measures and eats ice cream* *logs ice cream in diary, meets calorie goal* *continues to lose weight at the desired rate*
non-calorie counting: hmm, I feel like eating some ice cream this evening... but I've eaten quite a lot of food today, and I don't feel that hungry, it's probably not a good idea to eat any ice cream right now. *ice cream stays in the freezer* *weight loss still happens but it's harder to sustain long term due to feeling deprived of ice cream and other yummy things*
this is why calorie counting > not calorie counting
Added to that: "Oh screw it, I'll eat it anyway." *eats* *guilt* *guilt* *guilt* *angry at self* *cry* *eat more* *angry* *cry* (for many people)0 -
While it's certainly not necessary for everyone to count their calories in order to lose weight, I personally found MFP a great tool to understand just exactly how much I eat. I have been only logging for 37 days, but each day I lurk in the forums, I learn new things about nutrition and staying healthy. My favorite discovery is that I can really eat everything I love, as long as it's portioned correctly.
I have never been overweight until 4 years ago, never had weight fluctuations, nothing. So the excess weight that slowly crept up over these last few years really caught me by surprise and I couldn't understand why my trousers didn't fit, considering I thought I hadn't changed my eating habits all that much. What I now found is that I was slightly overeating and spending less energy as the years went by.
I could have done like the OP said, used common sense and lose weight that way. Cutting portions is fairly easy BUT I imagine that losing weight in a healthy way AND maintaining it after we reach out goal is not. At least, not for me. I don't want to keep dropping weight without understanding exactly how my body works and what it needs to stay healthy. I also don't want to gain it all afterwards because I never bothered to learn more about the food I eat.
But most importantly, had not been for this app, I would probably still be too focused on the weight itself, instead of my body measurements. Now I'm not really worried about the scale these days, I'm just happy to see my body changing and becoming stronger each day.0 -
Congratulations on your weight loss. I agree with everything you've said -- counting calories, especially long term, is not a natural way to eat and live. You've given common sense guidelines.
I don't intend to count calories forever, either. I've lost about 50 pounds in the last year and am slacking off now with logging since I've reached "normal." I understand what I need to do and a lot of it has to do with your guidelines.
However, I'm still a sweet-aholic and find it easy to fool myself. I eat for entertainment and to relieve stress, can graze through a box of donuts with no problem, and still want to grab high calorie fast food instead of making something better at home. Counting calories forces me to be aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. It's a reality check. I've lost the weight but mentally I still can slip into those habits.
I'm glad you understood where I was coming from. Some people took my thread to as an outlet to bash others who rely on calorie counting to lose weight. That is not my intention. I should have been more clear in the first post. My apologies. Yes, calorie counting is good to get you started or back on track. However, weight loss is a lot like riding a bike. You start off with training wheels (calorie counting) to gain a balance and to keep from falling off. Once you move on to big boy/girl status, you learn what works for your body, thus naturally doing it without as much emphasis on counting calories. Some people have become so accustomed to it that it helps them to feel better. I can't knock them for that, and I encourage them to do what has brought them the most success. As said earlier, I'm trying to connect with people who've lost weight without calorie counting. IF THIS IS YOU, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY 0 -
I see a lot of people on this site talk about counting calories. Honestly, I've managed to lose a good chunk of weight and drop 2 or 3 shirt sizes and I never counted calories or weighed my food. I portion according to judging by the eye. I feel like counting calories is complicated and to be honest is not a natural way to eat and live. I can see the mathematical ideology behind it and it does work for a good amount of people. However, if you are one of those people who rather judge it by eye, use common sense. Don't eat until you are full. Eat half a plate serving and drink water or tea. Fill up on veggies with minimal dressing, fruits, and a healthy balance of protein and smart low carb choices. Exercising at least three times a week along with walking and other physical activities will drop the weight.
Any questions on how I've done this, feel free to inbox me.
I think this is great and you are far more talented (and disciplined) than I am!
I guess for most of us it boils down to examining the reasons why we are overweight in the first place. Personally I felt like I was doing nothing different. I was once that special snowflake we all love to hate, complaining about how the weight kept piling on and I was the victim here. It took accurately weighing and logging for me to educate myself.
A few things-
What "one portion" looks like, I was routinely filling my bowl with cereal. That would be about three servings. I had to recalibrate my sense of what one serving of cereal looked like in the bowl. Turns out it looked so pathetic I started eating more eggs!
Convenience calories still count. Hey you know those times there was just one cookie left in the box and even though you weren't dying for a cookie you thought 'why leave the whole box? I'll get rid of this and tidy up" Yeah that's still 140 calories or whatever it is. The logging gives me the discipline and rationalises why I won't just pop that cookie right into my mouth.
What 100g of pasta looks like and how many calories are in it vs the same for say... green peas or carrots or sweet potato. If I'm hungry I know I can go out and graze pretty much all day if I just stick to certain foods.
Plus logging your intake and almost rationing your calories makes you think about whether you're actually hungry rather than mindlessly chowing down on birthday cake just because your coworker turned 35, for example.
I know for a lot of folks this is intuitive but for me I'd really lost sight of a lot of things. Namely how frequently I was eating without realising it. How much I was eating and how much of that was just stuff I had underestimated the calories for.
Thats why I'm on here using this site- because for those of us without your skills it is necessary and it really works because it holds us accountable without running the risk of our subjectivity/ human fallibility coming into it.0 -
I'm sorry, but how exactly are you expecting to find people who've lost weight without counting calories in a calorie count app forum?As said earlier, I'm trying to connect with people who've lost weight without calorie counting. IF THIS IS YOU, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY
I'm not criticizing your method to lose weight, I just don't get the logic behind your post. It's like going to McDonnald's and ask if there are any people there not eating their food.0 -
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I'm sorry, but how exactly are you expecting to find people who've lost weight without counting calories in a calorie count app forum?As said earlier, I'm trying to connect with people who've lost weight without calorie counting. IF THIS IS YOU, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY
I'm not criticizing your method to lose weight, I just don't get the logic behind your post. It's like going to McDonnald's and ask if there are any people there not eating their food.
I came across MPF late last year. I was looking up motivation articles for losing weight and this was a top site for that. I hesitated to create a profile but I decided to b/c of the amount of people on here and what tools it gave us to lose weight. I've been tracking my food for two years, off of MFP on my own cell phone, backed up to my Gmail account. I document everything I eat. I document my weight. I document my inches lost and/or gained. Contrary to the popular belief here, not everyone uses all functionality the site offers. I guess I'm one of a kind then.0 -
I often don't 'count' calories per say. I eyeball & use guesstimates a lot for quite a few things. However, whilst I can fully understand the notion of moderation/portion control. It obviously wasn't working for me or I'd never have gained weight in the first place!
OP are you suggesting that by not 'counting calories' that you don't actually look at the calorie content on foods? Even 'healthy/low fat' items (most are labelled this but bs) can have a surprising number when you look. For a lot of people especially ones tracking when initially starting to lose weight, or those close to goal. Its sometimes ALL about the numbers.0
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