succeeding without logging

While I agree that I find the logging annoying, it does help. I find it easier to log on my phone than the computer. However, i did realize about how many calories were in the amount of food I eat after weighing it enough times, so I don't feel it necessary to weigh all the time when I have a good idea of what I'm eating without doing that. That said, it does take quite a few times of weighing until I can eyeball it. Obviously not as accurate, but close enough for me.

Logging is only a method of having unlimited freedom to choose to eat ANY food you want.

Pre-packaged, pre-measured food is the simplest. Scan it, eat it, you're done. Same thing, day after day after day after day etc....

Pizza, chocolate cake, fried chicken, beer, ANYTHING is available to you. IF you honestly and accurately log your intake and stay at your planned calorie deficit, you will still lose weight. For the rest of your life. Without having to exercise if you don't want to.

I get on an eating jag where I will eat pretty much the same thing for weeks. I have 2 sausage McMuffins for breakfast, a Michelina's frozen dinner and a cup of nonfat yogurt for lunch, another Michelina's frozen dinner and an apple for dinner on my 12 hour work days. Pre-packaged, pre-measured, done.

On my days off I can have anything I want. Right now I'm really into guacamole and marshmallows (not necessarily together). I looked it up and regular sized marshmallows are 25 calories each, 4 for 100 cal. I roast 'em over my firepit in the evening and consider it a real treat.

I have one bonus meal a week where I have hamburger, French fries, BBQ ribs, pizza, chicken chimichanga or some other tasty treat and done. I log it just for consistency sake but don't really worry about limiting calories for that one meal.

Doing this for the last three months and lost 30 pounds.

2snakeswoman wrote: »

So what else is there? Is anybody succeeding at weight loss without all the accounting?

Another way is to eat the same sets of foods over and over. For example, measure out a bunch of same portions of rice, bread, mac and cheese, chicken, etc. On any day you can have any combination of the same amounts of carbs, protein, veggies, etc. Weigh yourself periodically and adjust the portions. You will dial in the right portions after a couple weeks. After that, all you have to do is weigh the foods, put them in containers, eat. No accounting.

Yup changing eating habits id the way to go. But to do that you have to know what you ate before and who to change it, so you're not gonna like the next bit - that means logging, eventually your learn to eat more healthily and its not so much a chore. Also if you eat the same rounds of food / meals / snacks and save meals it gets easier. Things that are worthwhile are usually gained with effort, weight isn't just going to go away on its own, you have to make an effort, but it does get easier as you get more used to it - I hardly notice now.

I joined here purely to read and join in the forums at times. I do not log anything. I just don't have the inclination especially since I AM losing weight by being mindful of what I put in my mouth. If I was struggling, I would be logging and counting calories. Out of interest though, I have weighed my yoghurt and muesli so I know what a serving looks like.

However, when I reach my goal weight, I may well revisit that approach and start logging as I have done the diet thing before, got very near my goal then put it all back on and more. I am so determined that this is the last I am going to do the hard yards of losing weight. My health is more important than that now.

SW 102.2 kg (225 lbs)
CW 82.3 kg (181 lbs)
GW 70 kg (154 lbs)

Ive lost weight without the need to log my food, sometimes i think you eat more because you see you have the calories available....i too am struggling and agree its a pain finding all the info for one meal. im thinking about leaving fitness pal and just logging my progress on my phone or on my calendar . hard enough losing weight without the added chore of logging everything... as for ppl saying dont log, stay fat. ignore. It is harsh and unhelpful advice. I wonder if fitness pal gives SOME...not all an unhealthy obsession with food. no one thing works for everyone so dont beat yourself up about it. You will succeed you just need to find the right way for you. Good luck

I lost my first 16kg not counting calories and not following any specific method.

I decreased my reliance on convenience foods.

I increased my intake of protein and vegetables. I had to eat that before I indulged.

I ate a lot of bread, pasta and rice previously. Like a real lot. I cut that right back. Balanced it out with above. The plate was 1/4 protein, 1/4 carb, 1/2 veg.

I stopped grazing. Snacks were fruit. Kept apples in my bag. I preferred to eat at home (economics) but when I ate out I leant on protein and veg as the bulk with a smidge of anything else. The joy in eating out was more so due the fact I didn't have to cook!

I had no hang ups about sugars etc but I definitely indulged too frequently and just for the sake of it. Half of it I didn't really like, I was mindlessly eating. So I became more discerning about what I'd indulge in. Plus they don't give satiety. So I began to ask myself did I want the food because I was hungry or just needed a taste? Hunger meant more protein and veg (which had to be delicious because suffering meant lack of adherence), taste meant eat a small amount.

I like the process to have more meaning than just losing weight. So, what motivated me was getting a better balance of nutrition, modelling behaviours for my kids, teaching them to enjoy cooking, never wanting to lose again so it had to be sustainable past goal weight even if it meant taking longer.

I looked at various methods. None of them particularly appealed to me but what I did see in common between most of them was smaller portions of whole home prepared foods and a daily structure which I recognised was what my mum had done and I'd lost sight of. Re-engaging with that solved a whole lot of mindlessness I was doing prior. Bad habits crept in with marriage and babies. I'd lost my way.

I too see a problem with myself calorie counting. I use it but I have to be careful. It can be a slippery slope for me too. I don't see it as my sustainable. When I lose my way, and it happens cos "life" , it's the structure I lean on first, not where my calories are. I've learned my lesson in that regard and I recognise this is a personal thing.

I think some people have a good structure but they overeat. Calorie counting solves that. Reigns it in. My problem was lack of structure, I'd even go as far as saying a lack of common sense, I needed to adult myself the hell up. So structure solved a lot of my problem. When I log now, my interest is fibre. It tells me my structure is good (for me). I know that sounds odd but hey it's tailored to my way of thinking.

ETA: I also walked 1/2hr at least per day. Cos the government said it'd keep my heart happy.

EETTAA:)...if I had a celebration coming up or the like, I'd not indulge during the week and then I'd have whatever I wanted at the function. Lean on protein n veg first, then cheesecake!

I just recently stopped logging. I decided to do it as a challenge. I had been doing it for 11 months without fail, not weighing everything all the time, but I did do that in the beginning.
My entire journey has been focused around learning to control hunger and understand the difference between hunger and boredom and cravings and learning to eat only when hungry and only until satisfied. But I will never allow myself to "go hungry". Some days I'm not as hungry so I eat less, some days I'm more hungry, so I eat more. I'm at a point where I believe I know the difference between real hunger and the other feelings that can make us want to eat. So I stopped logging and I've had great success with it. I still participate in group chats and I log my supplements as a way to not fully disconnect from it.
I think it's a matter of your ability to identify when you've had enough food and when you're possibly eating too much too often.

I know I don't have to log to lose for a while, since well, I am fat. I log every day and sometimes day in advance though knowing as I get closer to my target I will have to monitor closer so might as well start now.

Not counting and paying attention allowed me to get huge, counting and paying attention has allowed me to start shedding those pounds. Bottom line is, I hate everything about logging, weighing, counting same as you, but I hate being fat more than that.

Once I started weighing everything out and entering it and being completely honest with myself I was dropping .5 lbs a week and have been for past 14 weeks. Just sayin

I don't log. I've lost 50 lbs in 8 months, and am now smack in the middle of normal bmi (and down to the weight I was at 16 years old, fwiw). I do eat low carb, high fat, as it helps regulate my appetite so I don't overeat. Obviously I was in a calorie deficit, but logging isn't necessarily necessary to create that deficit. The way I look at it, I'm 35 years old - I don't want to have to spend the next 40+ years weighing and measuring and logging every damn thing I eat. Sticking with predominantly low carb foods allows me to skip the logging. People managed to maintain healthy weights long before we ever knew what a calorie was, much less had access to huge databases of calories counts and programs to do all the math for us. So clearly logging isn't necessary (there isn't anything magical about it - all you need to do is create a deficit, how you accomplish that is up to you). I like the freedom of knowing that I can manage my weight even if my computer crashes or a site is down for maintenance or if I don't have Internet access for some reason. Why make your health dependent on technology?

That said, I fully understand how calorie counting and weighing and measuring helps some people. But if you aren't one of them, maybe look into alternatives!

Keeping a food journal without counting calories might be something you want to try. Either just write down in a notebook what you're eating or take a picture of each meal. Look at what you ate and make decisions based on that.
It's not going to be as accurate as counting your calories, but maybe you'll just notice when you're overeating.
Or, maybe a diet plan as others mentioned?

I think this is the easiest (and cheapest!) way for me to do it, but other people do successfully drop pounds without counting calories.

I see MFP as a tool to get started on weight loss. I am @ a point now that I don't need to log but will continue to do so for a while yet. I tend to stick to the same food groups & portions to maintain my current weight. I feel I am educated enough now to be able to make good food choices & keep the weight off for good...