Random question!

CountryCutie87
CountryCutie87 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Random question cause I cannot be the only one under this mindset. Has anyone lost weight without counting calories? My plan for losing weight is to exercise daily for an hour a day, minimum. And to watch what I eat in terms of making healthier choices, but not to the point of counting calories and forcing myself to stick to an under 1200 calorie limit. To me, that is just not realistic for me and is not a sustainable way of living in the long term. Is this doable or am I simply fooling myself?

Replies

  • nvpixie
    nvpixie Posts: 483 Member
    I'm finding out the hard way it doesn't work for me, but I'm sure it does for some people.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Some people can succeed without counting calories. For others, well, that's why we're here. And even if you are counting, it's not under 1200 calories, that's what you should be aiming for minimum, if not your goal (mine is 1850).
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    My mom's group had a for-fun weight loss challenge that started Jan 1st and went for 8 weeks. I was the only one who counted calories (goal of 1500 + some exercise eaten back) and I lost 8.2% for a win. All the participants lost some weight but 2nd place was at 6% and the majority, who simply added daily activity and went for healthier choices in food without counting anything, lost 4%. So it can be done but the results might not be what you'd like.
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    edited March 2016
    Can people lose weight without counting calories sure. I dont personally know how but its been done. Having no clue of the calorie content of their food whatsoever?

    How does one know how much they are eating vs how much they are burning if they dont calculate or track. Just wing it and hope for a loss on the scale?
    MFP will give you 1200 cals as a baseline, many people lose eating more than that and not many people sustain on it. And you should not eat under 1200 calories- where did you get that number. If you are exercising you are supposed to eat back some of those. But how would you know if you dont track.

    What is the most off-putting thing about logging food, to you? You think it wont work? Have you attempted weight loss in the past?
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    edited March 2016
    CountryCutie87 wrote: »
    Random question cause I cannot be the only one under this mindset. Has anyone lost weight without counting calories? My plan for losing weight is to exercise daily for an hour a day, minimum. And to watch what I eat in terms of making healthier choices, but not to the point of counting calories and forcing myself to stick to an under 1200 calorie limit. To me, that is just not realistic for me and is not a sustainable way of living in the long term. Is this doable or am I simply fooling myself?

    Why do you think you have to stick to such a low calorie goal? Don't try to lose way too fast. What does MFP give you when you set weight loss to 1 lb per week? Unless you are very short and almost at your goal, then if will almost definitely be over 1200 per day.

    You can probably lose without counting, but it will probably take you a while to learn how much you can eat and still lose, and since you aren't counting, you'll still have to constantly readjust based on how the previous week or month went.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    You don't have to eat under 1200 calories to lose weight. Plenty of people here have lost weight eating way over 1200 calories.

    As far as losing weight without calorie counting, I think at first and if you have a lot to lose it MIGHT be doable but it will probably take you a while figuring out how much you can eat and still lose weight.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    At 5'2" 220lbs, yes. I didn't have to count calories per say. I understood the concept of a deficit and that worked for quite a while. Honestly I was probably eating 3000 cal or more a day at my heaviest so just eating half a box of mac and cheese vs the whole box (Yes I used to do this in one sitting) was a deficit.

    However, as I get closer to my goal weight (I'm currently 158lbs) I have had to tighten up and use a food scale. I still don't do 1200cals. I stick more around 1300-1400 sometimes 1500 and I'm losing just fine.
  • CountryCutie87
    CountryCutie87 Posts: 16 Member
    That's good to hear Sanfromny! I am about the same as when you started. I am at 5'1 and weight 225 pounds. I understand that I need to eat less in order to lose, but just don't want to have to limit myself to a number. In the long term, it is not sustainable for me to do so. I've tried many times and failed miserably because I wouldn't let myself eat something if I was out of my calories for the day. I think i would do better in the long run just by watching what I eat, making healthier alternatives, and exercising.
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
    CountryCutie87 wrote: »
    I wouldn't let myself eat something if I was out of my calories for the day.

    You know what helps with this though? ; planning.
    Logging my food was such an eye opener for me - even before I began to eat at deficit- just to be able to see how much I was really eating.
    I wish you all the luck OP!
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    Whether you "limit yourself to a number" or not, weight loss is going to rely on you eating fewer calories than you burn. Counting makes it easier to track this, obviously, but it's certainly possible to eat less than your total daily energy expenditure without tracking.

    For me, I like to know the numbers because it turns weight loss/maintenance from a sort of murky guesswork rooting in vague concepts of "healthy food" and hopefulness and "lifestyle" into what is essentially simple arithmetic. It's so nice and easy to follow the numbers and lose or maintain pretty much as those numbers predict without getting frustrated because I think I'm doing everything right and it isn't working.

    Learning portion sizes and which foods are calorie-dense and therefore might have to be limited is important and people do lose/maintain with those concepts/without counting, but I find it so much easier and less frustrating just to KNOW what I'm doing instead of guessing. I've been maintaining for a couple years now and I still count - not every single bite like I did when I was losing, but a rough estimation - just because it's an easy way to keep tabs on myself and know I'm eating enough to fuel my workouts and not more than I need. No nasty scale surprises when I take a couple minutes to think "hmm, I ate this and this and this today, so I should still have room in my day for a bowl of ice cream," or "geez, you've been out to dinner for the past three nights and over your maintenance, maybe you'd better dial it back a little for the rest of the week."
  • xKoalaBearx
    xKoalaBearx Posts: 181 Member
    edited March 2016
    Whether you count calories or don't count calories, your body doesn't care. For each of us, there is a number of calories that if we eat more than that we will gain weight, if we eat less than that, we will lose weight.

    Logging allows people to know how much they are eating... that's all. So if you can eyeball your food, you'll do just fine. If you're a bad estimator (like me), you'll need to do some form of measurement, logging and limiting yourself to a number.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I don't count anymore but when I did it helped me understand how much I was overeating. I have switched to better foods and smaller portions and was doing well. The problem with using exercise or activity to lose or maintain is if you stop you will gain weight. I also think 1200 calories is way too low for anybody, Hell I can burn that on a long run.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    It all comes down to the person, but yes, it is possible. I lost weight without tracking calories. I'd do it every once in awhile for a week or so, and then realized I was really good at estimating and cutting without it, so I stopped. You could give it a try. If you create a deficit without logging, great! If it doesn't work, start logging. Simple as that.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Counting calories does not equal eating less than 1200 calories. Why do you think that? Of course you can lose weight without counting calories, but what brought you to MFP? Logging in food diary can be a learning tool, it was for me. Now I eat normal foods in normal amounts and keep a normal weight. That's the only normal things about me, though, thank god :D
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    edited March 2016
    CountryCutie87 wrote: »
    I understand that I need to eat less in order to lose, but just don't want to have to limit myself to a number. In the long term, it is not sustainable for me to do so. I've tried many times and failed miserably because I wouldn't let myself eat something if I was out of my calories for the day. I think i would do better in the long run just by watching what I eat, making healthier alternatives, and exercising.

    But, letting yourself just eat whatever you want isn't working for you either. If I were you, I'd try to track and eat at a reasonable goal (say, 1700 - 1800 or so per day) for a month. After a month of counting everything, you'd at least have a real concrete idea of the calories in the foods you eat regularly. Even if you allow yourself to go over your calories now and then, you'd at least be aware of what you're eating and where your weaknesses are. Once you get a good baseline of what you're eating and how much that is, you should be able to transition to not counting every single thing, just maybe check in with tracking a few times per month if you're stalling on progress.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Of course you can lose without counting, but your loss will be a lot more sporadic. You may also be inclined to go through periods of high restriction for faster results.

    The consistency of accurate calorie counting appeals to many people, especially on a calorie counting site like MFP. It gives one a calorie guide line, instead of taking a stab in the dark, and a predictable loss.

    I have just ran your numbers, using an average age of 30, and this is what I came up with for you to lose 1lbs a week. To lose 1.5 lbs a week you would take 250 off the number.
    You probably put in a loss of 2lbs a week, that is a little too aggressive for most people.

    1630 cals sedentary
    1940 cals exercising 1-3 x week
    2251 cals exercising 3-5 x week
    2561 cals exercising 6-7 x week.

    These are TDEE estimates from fitnessfrog.com.
    MFP uses a calorie counting method called NEAT, so your numbers will be lower, and you enter and eat back your exercise (instead of it being included like in the numbers above).

    You may find it useful to count and accurately measure your food with a digital scale, liquid measuring cups and spoons, for a short while, to get an idea if how much to eat and portion sizes. Then keep returning if or when you start to slow down losing, just to re-establish your parameters. A hybrid method.

    Cheers, h.
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
    I've always been able to lose with little effort until I was on some meds that messed all that up. I think I'm back to normal now but I enjoy logging.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    The diet industry has made it seem like calorie counting is SO HARD. But it really isn't, and you don't need to eat less than 1200 calories to lose weight, in fact you shouldn't, that's just super unhealthy.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    This never worked for me. I find it just as easy to go over my calorie limit in "healthy choices" as I do with "unhealthy choices." In fact, I gained most of my weight cooking my meals at home, the majority of my meals being things that most people would probably consider "health foods."

    I suppose it could work if your definition of "healthy foods" just happened to put you in a calorie deficit. But if you fail miserable when you won't eat something that is outside of your calorie limit, what happens when you tell yourself you aren't going to ever eat anything that isn't a "healthy choice"?

  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 551 Member
    I know of people in my real life who've lost weight without counting calories. Calorie counting is just one of the ways it can be done. :)

    Along the way I somehow lost how to eat intuitively, and I'm regulating this with counting calories, logging/weighing food.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    I started out not counting, just getting up and walking more and lost 20 pounds. Then stopped losing and ended up finding this fine establishment. I got overweight because I was eating too much and not moving at all, so just moving more was enough to get started but not enough to continue successfully.

    It's been a year now and I don't always weigh everything anymore, like the milk in my coffee or if I add lettuce and tomato to a burger, but I still put it in my diary with an estimate, and still actually weigh the burger and bun, and things that tend to be very calorie dense. Maybe one day I will be able to eyeball it but at my height and age, in order to get to my ideal weight, I have to be accurate.

    What's doable for someone may not be for someone else, so if not counting and tracking works for you, that's awesome. I can hope it might work for me one day.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    When I was 18, I was 190 pounds which was my highest weight ever. I went from 190 to 119 just by cutting out soda and fast food while being more active. It took around a year and a half to lose the weight. I fluctuated between 111 and 130 for a few years and sporadically used MFP, Calorie King, and Spark People. I think MFP is the best of the bunch though and I came back here in June at 139 pounds and now I'm 110 pounds.

    What I love about counting calories and using a food scale is that the first time around when I lost weight I was restricting more than I needed to. Some days I was really hungry and some days I wasn't. There were many days where I could have eaten a lot more and I know that now thanks to MFP. Yes, I lost the weight, but it's so much better to know I don't have to eat nothing but grilled chicken and salad to get there. I like the mathematics of it all and I don't see it as a burden at all. I've learned so many things about my body from approaching weight loss this way.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    That is the basis of the Mediterranean Diet. However, if I don't count, I don't lose. I eat healthy, but counting gives me a framework. I actually enjoy it.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    CountryCutie87 wrote: »
    Random question cause I cannot be the only one under this mindset. Has anyone lost weight without counting calories? My plan for losing weight is to exercise daily for an hour a day, minimum. And to watch what I eat in terms of making healthier choices, but not to the point of counting calories and forcing myself to stick to an under 1200 calorie limit. To me, that is just not realistic for me and is not a sustainable way of living in the long term. Is this doable or am I simply fooling myself?

    I think you are fooling yourself. I've done that myself.
    I have lost weight in the past without counting calories. It was more difficult and not as consistant. I didn't feel as confident about eating a variety of foods. I always gained the weight back. Lots of frustration and negativity. I also had the idea I would exercise for an hour a day at least so would be okay not counting calories and would give up. That wasn't realistic or sustainable level of exercise for me. Starting with 30 minutes a day was something I could stick with long term.

    MFP doesn't give anyone less than 1200 calories for a goal. That is the minimum.
    If you set a reasonable goal of 1 lb a week and are active you will probably get a lot more calories for your goal. You are supposed to eat the calories you earn from exercise with MFP.
    Logging food really isn't that bad. I've found I kind of like it actually.
    I'd say give logging with MFP a try for at least a month before deciding you can't use it.
  • momo_t90
    momo_t90 Posts: 288 Member
    I would suggest setting a caloric limit so high you won't possible meet it. At the very least, you should weigh your food and know exactly how many calories you're eating and what nutrients you're getting. You don't have to set a caloric limit. Just know what you're eating. It will be a lot harder to lose weight without the caloric limit, but it's possible. I think it will ultimately be a process of trial and error for you if you don't count calories, and that just delays the weight loss.
  • luciroo
    luciroo Posts: 31 Member
    I think the problem is not the calorie counting per se, but the 1200 calories, which I do agree is not sustainable for the average person. At your current weight, you could eat at least 1800 and still lose. I am 51 years old, my 5'5", and my starting weight was 140. I am down to 135 after about 6 weeks, and my limit is set at 1700 - a few days I have eaten more, some days less, just depends on how hungry I am and what I eat and how much I have worked out (I don't eat back my calories though - I mostly weight lift, and can't find an accurate # for burn). Drives me crazy that on MFP it seems 1200 is the number of calories to eat. I would starve and wouldn't be able to sustain that. I think such a low calorie amount is what causes so many diets to fail. So why not try to keep track so you don't overeat?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Many, many people lose weight without counting a single calorie. For myself however, I'm hopeless at guesstimating ,, and without my food scale I would either maintain, possibly gain or lose at an excruciatingly slow pace.
    I want this weight loss thing over and done with ASAP, so that means weighing and logging every single calorie. It's not a pain in the butt for me, I quite enjoy it, and i like the structure,numbers and data right there in front of me. Plus I pre log my day every morning which takes but a few minutes.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    OP,

    One of my friends keeps his weight perfect without counting a single calorie. He's simply a very disciplined person. His method is simple. He eats sensibly, enjoys steaks, wines regularly, whatever he likes. He weighs himself daily and when he sees it up he just reduces the portions until the weight drops to the right number again. Simple.

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