What do you do when you don't want to calorie count?

becomingfitme
becomingfitme Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
Ever have a day when you didn't want to count the calories?? I just felt that way this morning but here I am....I know if I didn't then I would have been completely off the bandwagon....what do you do to make you calorie count when you don't want to?
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Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Why don't you want to?
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    I go to bed and cry myself to sleep
  • mojohowitz
    mojohowitz Posts: 900 Member
    I gain weight.
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.

    speak for yourself! :laugh:
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I just don't calorie count for that day. I write down what I ate and enter it all in the evening for record keeping. Or I just quick add my personal estimation of how many calories I might have had. I actually did that today. A day off once in a while won't break your diet.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I don't count. I eat from memory. What I know to be a roughly X calorie day.

    I eat a small set of breakfasts generally. So I choose one from that.

    I eat from a slightly larger set of lunches. So I choose one from that.

    And then I choose wisely for dinner. Maybe eyeball a few things in the database and then go from there.

    So for me, pick one of my standard "go to breakfasts", one of my standard "go to lunches", my "go to snacks" and then a dinner that roughly takes care of the remainder of the calories, or just a protein the size of a deck of cards, and some vegetables and call it good.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    I just dont log that day. But I also understand that if I dont lose that week I know why. This last month was like that. Didnt lose because I was inconsistent with logging.
  • mandapanda5111
    mandapanda5111 Posts: 12 Member
    I do it anyway. Not doing things because I don't feel like it is what got me overweight in the first place. I plan my breakfast and lunch for the week ahead of time so the only meal I have to actually record during the week is dinner.
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.

    speak for yourself! :laugh:

    So in your 3 years here and 93 pound weight loss you still haven't gotten the hang of this? I find that hard to believe...
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.

    I do this as well, which I think is an excellent thing to practice once in a while! I went on a vacation for a week, and of course this makes tracking near impossible. I just used my intuitive eating skills. Eat when hungry, stop when satisfied. Water only.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.

    speak for yourself! :laugh:

    So in your 3 years here and 93 pound weight loss you still haven't gotten the hang of this? I find that hard to believe...

    I consistently under-eyeball portions these days. Which for a one-off day is no biggie but if I were to do it consistently would be not so great. I may have registered 3 years ago but I only really started using MFP in 2013. Some of us just don't estimate well. Kudos to you for not being one of us, I guess.
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.

    speak for yourself! :laugh:

    So in your 3 years here and 93 pound weight loss you still haven't gotten the hang of this? I find that hard to believe...

    I consistently under-eyeball portions these days. Which for a one-off day is no biggie but if I were to do it consistently would be not so great. I may have registered 3 years ago but I only really started using MFP in 2013. Some of us just don't estimate well. Kudos to you for not being one of us, I guess.

    No, I said I don't have to depend on the app SO MUCH....and I only eyeball portions SOMETIMES meaning once a month or so :laugh: Trust me I still need to weigh and measure. But once in awhile its doable like you said. I'm definitely not doing that on a regular basis, too nerve wracking!!! lol
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I count anyway
  • Orfygirl
    Orfygirl Posts: 274 Member
    I don't count my calories. I found that counting calories drove me crazy. I DO use my food scale though. I make sure that I don't eat more than a serving size at meals. Some people say that it still is a form of calorie counting and I agree to some extent. The thing is that where this is all a lifestyle change, I needed to find some way that I could manage my portions without driving me crazy. Using the food scale only is what works for me.
  • JazzFischer1989
    JazzFischer1989 Posts: 531 Member
    Sometimes I just don't do it and eat as I normally would. No big deal. Not counting doesn't necessarily give you a free pass to go crazy with the food you eat that day.
  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    I gain weight.
    This happens.

    Love the Bob Ross ticker, by the way!
  • ronrstaats
    ronrstaats Posts: 294 Member
    w3sPrXxs.jpg
  • Tanie98
    Tanie98 Posts: 675 Member
    if i was okay with gaining the weight back
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If I don't want to count, I don't count. Sometimes I just don't feel like it and I say, "The hell with it" for a while.

    But I never stop counting because I want to overeat! I don't skip logging to "cheat" on the diet without a record.. Not logging doesn't mean I'm eating cheeseburgers, French fries, ribs, fried chicken, blizzards, Oreos and cake, lol.

    I'm still eating the same amounts of the same stuff. I'm just not logging it.

    :)
  • angela233Z
    angela233Z Posts: 312 Member
    i just put in a very rough estimate with the quick add calories.
  • Kealihc
    Kealihc Posts: 39
    A couple months ago I got so burnt out with constantly counting calories! I decided that I was just gonna go out on my own and try to put all I learned into practice...I gained roughly ten pounds back! Now, I'm back cause I realize that this is the only way to keep my accountable, and that knowledge is why I stay diligent counting calories! Obviously everyone is different, and I hope to not have to constantly log for the rest of my life!
  • jenversuslife
    jenversuslife Posts: 57 Member
    Eat what I want and just whack it in my tracker. I'm not 'counting my calories' that way because I'm not making choices based on my macro/what kcal I have remaining - but I just like to fill my tracker so when I do have weight changes I know why and can see the link. I think it's also sometimes good to see the nutritional value of foods that I eat less often for future reference.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    What do you do when you don't want to take a shower or brush your teeth? Hopefully you do it any way, if not you deal with the consequence that you may have bad breath or stink until you decide to do it.

    Why don't you want to do it? Make it part of your daily routine
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    Once in awhile when I feel the need to "take a break" I'll just do portion control , only eat when hungry and stop eating when full. I'm good at keeping track of calories in my head anyway so I always have a loose tally going on. Once you really get good at counting it becomes second nature and you don't have to depend on an app so much. No biggie.

    speak for yourself! :laugh:


    So in your 3 years here and 93 pound weight loss you still haven't gotten the hang of this? I find that hard to believe...

    I haven't
  • love2lift_85
    love2lift_85 Posts: 356 Member
    I gain weight.
    This.
  • lillyrose2020
    lillyrose2020 Posts: 178 Member
    The honest answer for me is that as soon as I don't count calories, I GAIN WEIGHT
    Even after calorie counting for such a long time, I can't seem to maintain my weight without counting everything. Annoyingly, it has not taught me any concept of how many calories are in things and I'll end up eating far too much. I have a tendancy to underestimate everything!
    Maybe after a couple of years I'll start to remember calorie content and not need to log everything, maybe one day!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Some people need to be diligent about logging or they gain, others can find that middle ground where they can eat sensibly.

    At the weekends I no longer log, I just need those few days off a week, however I still am conscious of what I eat and know that I never exceed 2000-2200 calories on those days - which is fine as my TDEE is an average 2200-2400.

    And yes, after time you will indeed know the calorie count of almost everything you eat, I've been here two years and instinctively know the calorie count of all the things I like to eat.

    You have to find what works for you and whats keeps you being successful :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    well since I prelog for the week it typcially doesn't matter if I don't feel like it or not...it's already done.

    But if I get that feeling on a weekend I haven't prelogged I do it anyway...I mean really does it take that much time? that much effort?
  • Maryam2014mfp
    Maryam2014mfp Posts: 174
    I have felt that way but I know from experience I will mess myself up if I don't, so I log anyways. I am prioritizing my health and well being, so, for me it's worth the extra effort, even if I don't "want" to. Take care :)

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