Tips to lose without counting

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Leana93412
Leana93412 Posts: 162
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay I seriously love these forums and will probably never leave..or stop stalking you all... I LOVE YOU MEANIES!!!! :smooched:

Now that I'm done disgusting you all... :bigsmile:

I'd always stick around here, but seriously, counting is making me seriously OCD-ish! And it's irritating the heck out of me. I'm more focussed on the number than my own hunger cues.

So I'd like some tips on how to lose weight (and maintain) without counting. Has anyone got any?

The only obvious one I can think of would be to eat whole food...because lets be honest, it's hard to eat 1000 calories of most vegetables...I'd automatically be in a deficit if I ate healthy most of the time.

Any other ideas?
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Replies

  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 791 Member
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    I've heard about people having success with the palm measurement thing. From the looks of it in comparison to the counting it could work well though I guess with low calorie vegetables and fruitsyou'd do like a double palm maybe?
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    You might have more luck not having to count with plant based than with other eating styles, but I know there are plants I can overeat easily: Beans, potatoes, rice, and all nuts and seeds come to mind. I'm sure I could overdo on fruit, too. I just haven't. Yet.

    I'm sure as I go along I'll find more.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    For me, the only way to lose weight without counting would be to stick to low calorie foods. And I'd never be able to maintain that.

    So, no help, I'm not sure how people do it. But to be frank, I don't think listening to your hunger cues when you've had weight problems is a good way of doing it either.
  • scarletrayne19
    scarletrayne19 Posts: 35 Member
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    For me, I'm doing the whole counting thing right now which is great for me (I almost make it a game), but I pay attention to learn what a "portion" of something is so that I can re-train my body and brain to learn to be fuller on less food. In high school I had no problem wolfing down an entire footlong sub by myself, or an entire Little Caesar's pizza but now I struggle to finish a 6" sub sometimes. That's what I think is the most important thing here and it's the purpose of using the calorie calculator: to learn what a portion of food is so we don't overdo it.

    I hope someday I can maintain without having to count every single calorie. That's why the healthiest people maintain their weight; to them this isn't a diet but a lifestyle change. Learning to not gorge ourselves on every meal is the key. I've been shocked lately by how much I ate in the past and how little comparatively I'm eating in recent days and still feel full.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    You could try just eyeballing food now that you've gotten some practice weighing and measuring. You can't lose without being in a deficit. How you achieve that deficit is up to you. 100% raw vegan, Paleo, Keto, fasting 2 days per week, only eating between noon and 4 pm every day, drinking only juice and protein shakes early in the day and eating 1 "meal" per day, etc.

    I was fat for so long, I've learned that I can't trust my hunger cues. I can maintain without counting calories by eyeballing food and watching the clock. If I think I'm hungry, I look at the clock and ask myself when the last time I ate was. If it wasn't long enough ago, I just ignore my brain telling me to eat. My brain lies to me about hunger.

    But to lose, I personally have to track as accurately as I can, because if I'm in too much of a deficit, my performance greatly suffers. And if I'm not in a deficit, I don't lose.
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    I've heard about people having success with the palm measurement thing. From the looks of it in comparison to the counting it could work well though I guess with low calorie vegetables and fruitsyou'd do like a double palm maybe?

    I've memorized hand portions and do plan on using it, but I also need some more...structure?... Just to make double sure I don't overdo it.
  • zenalasca
    zenalasca Posts: 563 Member
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    My tips are

    - Eat very healthily most of the time, but make sure you have nice seasonings (many of which are calorie free!!) for your meats/protein.
    - If you're busy and need quick meals, go for canned legumes that you can have with deli meat or leftover meat. Baked beans even, are actually pretty good!
    - Allow yourself ONE really good treat every day. Having had a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, even a 400 calorie snack won't make too much of a dent and you'll probably still have a deficit esp. if you walk a lot or exercise
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    drinking only juice and protein shakes early in the day and eating 1 "meal" per day, etc.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 791 Member
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    I've heard about people having success with the palm measurement thing. From the looks of it in comparison to the counting it could work well though I guess with low calorie vegetables and fruitsyou'd do like a double palm maybe?

    I've memorized hand portions and do plan on using it, but I also need some more...structure?... Just to make double sure I don't overdo it.

    Then I'm no help I'm still working on not eating that pint of chocolate ice cream in the freezer from before the number on the scale smacked me in the face.
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    drinking only juice and protein shakes early in the day and eating 1 "meal" per day, etc.

    This piques my interest for the losing part...
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
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    Get various sized Tupperware? I've seen basically that sold as a "fix" for people with portion control problems. Designate a size for a type of food and only eat what you can fit in the container.
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    I've heard about people having success with the palm measurement thing. From the looks of it in comparison to the counting it could work well though I guess with low calorie vegetables and fruitsyou'd do like a double palm maybe?

    I've memorized hand portions and do plan on using it, but I also need some more...structure?... Just to make double sure I don't overdo it.

    Then I'm no help I'm still working on not eating that pint of chocolate ice cream in the freezer from before the number on the scale smacked me in the face.

    Hahaha yeah me too. I've said now I'm not buying anything sweet...not so much as a granola bar..in bulk. Just single serve when I really want it. I think another key might be to keep one eye on the scale always. To catch anything before it gets too out of control.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    I've heard about people having success with the palm measurement thing. From the looks of it in comparison to the counting it could work well though I guess with low calorie vegetables and fruitsyou'd do like a double palm maybe?

    I've memorized hand portions and do plan on using it, but I also need some more...structure?... Just to make double sure I don't overdo it.

    Have you fallen into any sort of pattern? For example, I have fallen into the habit of three meals and and afternoon and nighttime snack. So I know now that I would need to continue something like that rather than just eating whenever the mood strikes.
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    Get various sized Tupperware? I've seen basically that sold as a "fix" for people with portion control problems. Designate a size for a type of food and only eat what you can fit in the container.

    I luckily don't have too much trouble with portions anymore after 2 years of counting. I just eat too often I think. I should cut out snacks and eat at set times.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    Portions and simple foods.

    It's pretty hard to overeat on oatmeal and chicken breast.
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
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    A meal plan might help, then. Pick what you're going to eat the next day, get it down either written or in a place like MFP's food diary, and stick to it. It can be hard since life likes to throw things at you, but seeing those entries there could be helpful in not just randomly grabbing something.
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    IMG_20140617_093704_zpstu5shv0g.jpg

    ^^ This is one of the things I plan to use.
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
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    The only way I'd be sure I get enough but not too much of what I need is to make portions, count for the first one, put in fridge or freezer the rest, and copy from the first batch. Boring perhaps but so is cooking for one. At least I'd get the right stuff that way.
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    I don't calories and lost 50 pounds. Life is good.

    I eat healthy 80% of the time and anything I want 20% of time.

    I also have a cheat meal once a week including dessert.

    Counting calories does not help to maintain permanent weight loss.
  • chelseytyann
    chelseytyann Posts: 2
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    The 21 Day Fix program uses containers instead of worry about counting. Then eventually you get used to "sizing" up your portions and you don't have to worry about counting: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/CHELSEYTHALL

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