MFP Vs Non calorie counting healthy lifestyle
gabrielleelliott90
Posts: 854 Member
Hi all, just wondering why you chose MFP over just a healthy lifestyle (not counting calories, eating as much as you want of health foods, eating only when hungry etc). For me, it's because it isn't sustainable as I will be good for a few days even a week, and then just eat all the junk. I will feel deprived even if I have a treat each day. Because of calorie counting I still find I have the mentality to think If I'm eating too much, but at the same time found it freeing not to think about cals. However I choose mfp because it's worked well in the past (profile is of my lowest weight 129lb or a bit heavier) and I can choose what I want to eat without feeling guilty if I eat a few bad things. I actually enjoy logging my food sometimes.
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Because I've tried just "watching what I ate" and even if I didn't binge on treats (which I just incorporate into my calorie allowance now) I was still eating too much. My servings were too big15
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I lost my first 30 something pounds eating less and logging in a notebook but not counting calories. I only started logging calories with MFP when I got stuck and needed to be more exact in order to see where to cut down.2
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Because I've been following a "healthy diet" made up almost entirely of whole foods and eating only when hungry for just over six years now. And in that time, I gained 15 pounds.14
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I chose both...
I lost a good chunk of weight before MFP by changing my dietary habits. These weren't overnight, flip on a switch changes...these changes were basically an evolution in healthier eating...finding things I could and should cut back on and adding things in that I wasn't getting enough of (fruits and veg, quality complex carbohydrates, etc)
I didn't start using MFP until I decided I wanted to start working out. To that point, I mostly focused on moving a little more...mostly some walking with some basic calisthenics a few days per week...nothing to strenuous. As a former competitive athlete I understood that I would need to fuel my fitness for proper recovery, performance, and fitness development so I joined MFP to help ensure that I was getting adequate nutrition on that front while not going overboard and stalling my weight loss.4 -
Because eating healthy and following my appetite got me to 210 pounds.
Calorie counting got me to 116.
I'm going to stick with what works for me.
Their is a fallacy regarding the "wisdom" of our bodies regarding hunger signals. They are so easy to subvert, misinterpret, and permanently ruin through years of overeating. Add to that the fact that people these days confuse hedonic urges with hunger? Well, now you know why 70% of the country is either overweight or obese.
I'm not saying that everyone needs to count calories. For a lot of people it's not an optimal solution. What I am saying is that the idea that eating a certain way and intuitive eating alone aren't always the answer either. There needs to be a lot of ground work done in order for an intuitive approach to work. There are a lot of people justifying their morbid obesity practicing intuitive eating, for example.17 -
Intuitive eating keeps my wife at ~135 lbs and got me to ~330 lbs. Guess which one of us uses this site, weighs food, counts calories and figures out exercise burns?9
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If I could follow my appetite and not gain weight, I wouldn't need MFP.6
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I'm so fat inside. I need to track.6
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because it makes sense.1
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I really just have no concept of a healthy portion size or what people normally eat. I can restrict heavily, but that goes too far in the opposite direction and is unsustainable. With MFP I am learning how a healthy person - a healthy me - actually eats!5
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Brill answers, keep them coming
Helps newbies find motivation for MFP I'm sure 3 -
My problem with "just eating healthy" is that I'm a big fat liar about portion size and how much I eat if I don't log.
When I log honestly, I'm honest with myself about how much I eat-- and so logging IS part of my healthy lifestyle.7 -
Calories make people fat, not the "unhealthy" foods. Moderation is key.7
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I gained back half the weight I lost eating healthy,thats why I came here to mfp.6
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I've done both. Last time I lost 80+lbs without counting anything. I swiched how/what I ate and started moving more. It worked. This time however I was stuck gaining and losing the same 5lb until I started counting. This works now.
Should note that the 30lb I gained back resulted from switching to a more sedentary job with an added commute and moving in with my chef boyfriend. I did not make changes to accomodate how my life changed to stay on track.3 -
Weighed food and logged for a year, lost 70 pounds. Started "intuitive" eating, gained 70 pounds. Weighing and logging down 70 pounds again. Dont be me. Find what works and stick with it.8
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Nikki10129 wrote: »Because I've tried just "watching what I ate" and even if I didn't binge on treats (which I just incorporate into my calorie allowance now) I was still eating too much. My servings were too big
Ditto!0 -
Every time I stop logging, I gain back all the weight. This time around I will log everything.3
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I ate 1,040 calories worth of almonds and sunflower seeds while driving earlier tonight....
That's why I use MFP, because previously that would have been a pretty typical snack. It was just two of those little gas station tube bags. By most accounts 'healthy'. Certainly not a snack though.9 -
MFP has been a fantastic tool in teaching people proper portion sizes and what those pesky serving sizes on packaging actually mean. After a while weighing and logging things I could quite easily stop using it and probably be fine but knowing exactly what I'm putting into my body and the changes that come from it are really priceless. Plus the community here is generally great and it's nice to help people along on this journey because it definitely isn't easy2
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It's not as if watching your calories and eating healthy are mutually exclusive. In fact, they don't even really intersect. Eating healthy won't do anything to help you shed excess pounds if you're eating too much, and you'll lose weight on a steady diet of cheeseburgers as long as you're in a calorie deficit. Eating healthy, and counting calories, are two different things you do for entirely different reasons.4
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gabrielleelliott90 wrote: »Hi all, just wondering why you chose MFP over just a healthy lifestyle (not counting calories, eating as much as you want of health foods, eating only when hungry etc).
I've been using CI<CO since the very first time I "dieted" when I was about 17 years old ... 30 years ago. It made sense then ... it makes sense now. It worked then ... it works now.
Back then, I tracked using pen and paper and with as much information as I could locate in books in libraries and in my mother's medical texts.
Now I use MFP.
MFP is easier.
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I have lost weight before, by counting calories and exercising, and by just sticking to meals and walking. When I had to lose weight again, I went back to that calorie counting site - but something had happened. I realised that all the "guidelines" (eat this, not that) contributed to "failure". Finding MFP, where the main focus is calorie counting, paradoxically, became the start of a healthy lifestyle for me. Eating whatever I want, and not going "on" and "off" track - how liberating! The forums here are great. I have learnt so much. Finally lost my excess weight (50 pounds) and kept them off for over 2 years.2
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I am actually incorporating both. My meal times are when I'm hungry. I try to eat midfully and try to stop as my hunger subsides. this mindful eating after it's logged (food logged) pretty much coincides with the calories I'm suppose to eat. Mfp is helpful for sure2
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Honestly, I spent the first 30 + years of my life eating healthy and exercising regularly. And it pretty much worked. However, as I approached my late thirties, even though nothing else had really changed in my habits, I noticed that I'd started putting on a little extra weight over the years.
I'd never attempted to lose weight before because I'd never really needed to, in good part because of my already healthy lifestyle. I've never technically been overweight, but I was heading toward the upper level of the normal weight range. And since I have no intention of letting myself go as long as I have the power to do something about it, I stopped that upward progression by joining MFP and monitoring my intake. I'm still exercising and eating the same way I was before, but logging keeps me mindful of how much I'm eating and helps me track trends over time. It also helps me track my fiber and protein.
It's not magic, but it sure worked like magic for my purposes, and got me back down to where I wanted to be. I've been maintaining at goal now for almost 6 years. As far as I'm concerned, why not MFP?1 -
Sometimes I want to eat without being hungry and calorie counting works great for moments like this
Takes me less than 10 minutes a day
It's little bit like a money budgeting. Some people don't need to count at all and their income is very high, expenditure much lower. Some do great with general awareness. Others like to know where the money are going do better with planning for their future
Sometimes I buy things I need. But sometimes I would buy a dress, near the end of the month, just because I want it! Same with food, sometimes I love a treat and it's great to know that I can afford it.
It doesn't mean I would drink coke zero as it's no calories, just as it doesn't mean I will buy dress just because it's cheap.
It doesn't mean I will buy dress when I need shoes, just as it doesn't mean I will buy cake when I need proteins and other nutrition. My needs for have to be met
But I am likely not to splash out on dress with cost of 2000 euro, as I am not likely to spend 2000 calories on piece of cake. Simply as I can get more enjoyment out of my money if I spend 2000 on few days away for example, or if I have few very tasty but satisfying meals.
It suits me6 -
I find that I can maintain my weight for long periods of time without counting calories but it is difficult to lose weight without counting calories. MFP just provides an easy way to do that.1
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By the way, I still eat when I am hungry, I still eat mostly whole food, I still don't stuff myself even if the calories are there to be spend, counting calories doesn't exclude healthy eating. At all2
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Weighed food and logged for a year, lost 70 pounds. Started "intuitive" eating, gained 70 pounds. Weighing and logging down 70 pounds again. Dont be me. Find what works and stick with it.
I love the answer intuitive eating have to everything. If you can't manage to be slim by intuitive eating, you just aren't slim!
some people get so judgmental to calorie counting but many long term maintainers do either count, or did count and have great calorie awareness.
when I regained weight I stopped counting for year and half, and gained about 30 pounds. To gain this, all you need to do is eat an extra banana and walk 20 minutes less a day. That's all! People complain that calorie counting led them to go crazy when they are off diet but never happened to me. I still ate healthy mostly, just my life was crazy busy and I had no time or thought for exercise and I stopped counting.
I agree - if you find something that works for you stick with it. Ignore what others say, if it suits you and you find it manageable to do - do it2
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