Am I the only one who doesn't count or measure?
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I've never weighed anything. I only measure very high calorie items like olive oil, butter, nuts.
I lost most (about 2/3) of my weight without even counting calories, and started counting here mainly because I became more interested in nutrition and wanted to play around with different macro levels.
Whatever works for you is great, and you obviously found your method so stick with it. You've done a great job.0 -
aprilflower18232 wrote: »reading the boards I sometimes feel as though I am the only one who does not count calories or measure my food. I mean I know about how many calories I eat daily but I have never really counted and I never measure or weigh my food. I am not criticizing those who do, we all have our own journeys but I just feel like I'm in the minority.
Do you want to lose weight? Are you losing weight?
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aprilflower18232 wrote: »reading the boards I sometimes feel as though I am the only one who does not count calories or measure my food. I mean I know about how many calories I eat daily but I have never really counted and I never measure or weigh my food. I am not criticizing those who do, we all have our own journeys but I just feel like I'm in the minority.
April I think most do not count in the real world but it seems to work for those who do.
As others have said what works for one is the best method. I eat out most all of the time so there is really no way plus this time around I evolved into a low carb high fat eating lifestyle to manage my pain. Thankfully picking out of fats do not gain like when I abused carbs like crazy. When I want to drop some weight I just do not eat after 5 PM unless it is like green tea and celery at this time of evening. I do eat at bedtime when just maintaining but it will just be fats and not carbs and protein.
I find young healthy people can eat about any way they want and get away with it but at 64 it does not work that way for me any longer. Major drop in pain, 40 years of IBS gone, better energy and sleep plus not as mean as a junk yard dog keeps me LCHF.
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aprilflower18232 wrote: »reading the boards I sometimes feel as though I am the only one who does not count calories or measure my food. I mean I know about how many calories I eat daily but I have never really counted and I never measure or weigh my food. I am not criticizing those who do, we all have our own journeys but I just feel like I'm in the minority.
well...you are on a calorie counting website.
I myself no longer keep a diary or count calories...but...you are in fact on a calorie counting website...so suffice it to say, most people are going to be counting...seems kind of like a no *kitten* sherlock moment to me.0 -
If you are losing / maintaining / gaining weight as per your objective then you've got it sorted and it really doesn't matter if you're a minority or not
If you were having issues it would be an easy, and obvious, solution
I'm a numbers geek ...I like the counting part0 -
I log my food and count calories but I don't measure anything and I've lost about 15lbs since March so if whatever you're doing is working for, keep doing it.0
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I weigh and measure everything. Always. I always have my phone with me so it is easy to do.0
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I have in the past, but am not currently. I am 5'6" and about 142, I am 40 & it would be really hard to lose much more weight & still feel like I wasn't starving myself. The highest I've ever gotten is about 150, I'm hear more for the message boards.0
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I didn't used to weigh most things and I lost 66lbs after my 2nd baby (all my baby weight and then some). I think I must've been good at guesstimating! I bought a digital food scale when I was pregnant with my third. It's actually just died so I need a new battery, but I do weigh pretty much everything now. I have to say with weighing everything I am losing weight at exactly the same rate after baby no.3 as I did after baby no.2 when I didn't weigh everything. I don't eat back exercise calories though so I guess I have a bigger margin for error!0
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I track what I eat but I pretty much eye ball the measurements. I own a scale and occasionally I do a reality check...only to find I'm not far off. I am conservative with calorie dense foods..I don't get too wrapped up about weighing spinach, however I use a measuring spoon for all salad dressing.
Week off over week my weight loss is nearly precisely the deficit that I am tracking. So I am tracking correctly.
Sometimes old timers on the board jump all over people for not weighing their food. I don't always think it is warranted.0 -
Well whatever you are doing is working for you! Your before and after picture is incredible!! Keep up the good work!!0
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I think the closer one gets to their goal/ideal weight, the more critical weighing and logging become since there's an increasingly dwindling margin for error.
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I do log my food because it helps me be responsible about how much of it I eat but I do not measure it. It is working just fine for me, and since you are obviously succeeding as well I say stick to doing what you are doing. I like this site for a lot more than the food diary. Getting to see the graf of my weight going down is probably #1 so don't let the meanies get you down. Some folks have trouble seeing past their own nose.0
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forgtmenot wrote: »This is a calorie counting site, so naturally most of us count calories...
Maybe I am wrong (I often am) but I see this site as much more than just a place to count calories. Counting calories is only one segment of MFP.
I have learned much about exercise and fitness. I already knew how to figure and count calories...I can log them on a piece of paper for the day. However...I was clueless about where to start on an exercise routine.
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aprilflower18232 wrote: »reading the boards I sometimes feel as though I am the only one who does not count calories or measure my food. I mean I know about how many calories I eat daily but I have never really counted and I never measure or weigh my food. I am not criticizing those who do, we all have our own journeys but I just feel like I'm in the minority.
You are where I hope to be...soon...able to eat intuitively and still lose or maintain. I do not want nor plan to count calories for the rest of my life.
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billieljaime wrote: »no youre not the only person, there will come a time you will need to do so though.
Why do you think so???
She has lost 174lbs!!!
You don't think she has it in her to either maintain or maybe lose another few pounds???
Personally...I don't think she needs to lose any more at all...she looks great at her current weight.
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if its working for you, great.
i dont think any of us CARE if people count or not, but when people come on and say ' i cant lose weight' or claim to be under their calories but obviously aren't weighing and are gaining or not losing... THEN we care. cause... well, its a calorie counting website, at heart. LOL0 -
You have to do what works for you.
I know that I had to start counting because a part of me couldn't accept that my eating was the problem. I was convinced that I had some terrible, undiagnosed disease that prevented me from losing weight. Whenever people told me I needed to count calories, weigh, and measure foods and such, I would counter that I didn't eat that much. The thing was, I didn't eat all that much quantity-wise, but I was still getting far more than I had assumed. I was also way off on portion sizes. I never would have dreamed that my steak was routinely 8oz rather than four. For me, I had to learn to weigh and measure so I could teach myself proportions. I had to learn to count so I could recognize what I was putting into my body.
Your pictures look great, and I'm glad it's working out for you. If you find yourself having trouble later on, you might want to revisit this train of thought. Good luck to you!0 -
forgtmenot wrote: »This is a calorie counting site, so naturally most of us count calories...
Maybe I am wrong (I often am) but I see this site as much more than just a place to count calories. Counting calories is only one segment of MFP.
I have learned much about exercise and fitness. I already knew how to figure and count calories...I can log them on a piece of paper for the day. However...I was clueless about where to start on an exercise routine.
The primary function of MFP is; 1) a calculator to estimate requisite calorie intake per given weight control goals; 2) a diary for which to track calories based on #1.
Yes...there is much more that can be learned, but those are the primary functions...that's what most people sign up for. Most people I know in the real world don't even use the forums, they just use the diary and calculator.0 -
Nop you are not alone, i dont count , i sort of guess how much i consume daily and go by that, it works perfect.0
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As I said...I am often wrong.
If you go by the name alone...My Fitness Pal...it sounds to me (again...I am probably wrong) but it would seem as if the primary function is...Fitness. For me...weight loss and fitness are not necessarily the same but can for some be one and the same.
I think what bothers me...in the past there have been some member make statements such as..."If you are not counting calories why are you using MFP?". While I do use it to track calories at least for now I just think that people use it as they choose...how it best benefits their...fitness.
Maybe I am just being a smarta.. this morning. I seem to be in a strange mood. Possibly I am having one of those opinionated moments...IDK.
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As I said...I am often wrong.
If you go by the name alone...My Fitness Pal...it sounds to me (again...I am probably wrong) but it would seem as if the primary function is...Fitness. For me...weight loss and fitness are not necessarily the same but can for some be one and the same.
I think what bothers me...in the past there have been some member make statements such as..."If you are not counting calories why are you using MFP?". While I do use it to track calories at least for now I just think that people use it as they choose...how it best benefits their...fitness.
Maybe I am just being a smarta.. this morning. I seem to be in a strange mood. Possibly I am having one of those opinionated moments...IDK.
what's the first thing you do when you sign up for MFP? Set up your profile right? and then per your information, MFP spits out that calorie goal for you...what's the point of that if the primary purpose of the application isn't to calculate a calorie goal and have people track that with their diary. I mean what's the point of having the database and being able to scan stuff for calories if the primary purpose of the app isn't to track calories?
I don't log or count either, but I used to...there's lots of people who don't or no longer do...but to answer the OPs question of why it seem so many people count calories here? Well...duh. The VAST MAJORITY of users want to get a calorie target and use the database to track calories in their diaries to hit those targets regardless of their weight control goals.
As a fitness tracker, MFP blows chunks...there are way better fitness trackers out there. You don't get a much better food tracker/diary or calorie database though.0 -
No. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Do what works for you. Reevaluate when you hit a roadblock0
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I never measure and rarely count. I don't care about losing exactly two pounds a week or one pound a week as long as I'm losing. And I can usually estimate and eyeball well enough to achieve that.0
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If there are 70m users and a fraction of those are active, then its unsurprising a small % will mean a significnat number dont weigh food or count. Its just less accurate bit it doesnt always have to mean less effective.0
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My thoughts are sooner or later you will hit a plateau..and that's ok. You will have this site to get you back on track..and by then you might need to count and measure to remain successful. You really look good! Good work!0
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I dont!0
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I'm not good at visually judging. Wish I was.0
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lemonsnowdrop wrote: »I didn't in the beginning, but when I got down to my last fifteen or so pounds, I really had to tighten up my measuring. Knowing "about how many calories" I ate per day wasn't enough. Now that I'm down to my goal weight, I don't weigh foods I've weighed a million times every time, but it's because an easy habit and ensures I'm not eating more than I think.
TLDR: being off by a few calories can make a difference and a food scale removes that chance.
This exactly - maintenance is much trickier than losing (at least in this way) and counting makes all the difference.0
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