Do I still have to count calories if I eat healthy foods (Fruits, vegetables and protein)

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KingDolph340
KingDolph340 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I really need to know cause I'm confused, I looked it up online and there are so many different answers on how to lose weight, some people say all u need is a calorie deficit, some say a calorie deficit is only short term and others say stop counting calories and eat healthy/exercise. I'm going to go with the "eat healthy " way but do I still have to count my calorie from healthy natural foods? I'm confused af
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  • KingDolph340
    KingDolph340 Posts: 3 Member
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    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I eat pretty healthy...I put on 10 Lbs pretty much every winter due to a reduction in activity...calories still matter. There are many healthy foods that are also calorie dense. Also, there's more to "healthy" than just eating veg and fruit and protein. Dietary fat is essential to a proper diet. There are also things like beans and lentils and whole food starches that are very good for you, but also calorie dense.

    ETA: I don't calorie count or log and haven't in years...but I did with my initial weight loss. It was very educational.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    Yup, I lost previously eating ice cream, pizza, chocolate .. whatever I wanted but I made it fit into my day - not just mindlessly eating it.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Eating healthy gives is a great way to ensure that your body gets all the nutrients it needs and often plays a role in satiety, but weight loss happens when you eat at a deficit. Counting calories is usually the best way to ensure that you are eating at a deficit. All those weight-loss plans, healthy and unhealthy, come down to that at their core.

    I eat healthy on-balance, but I don't feel guilty about a couple of indulgences, and so long as I eat at a deficit, the weight comes off.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    35 lbs and counting!
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Only if you want to lose weight.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    60+ lbs.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    <waves hand in the air> ME!

    I eat a lot of frozen meals and protein bars because I like them and don't have much time to cook. I supplement my micros with vitamins and have basically reduced my labs from OMG put the woman on meds now to almost normal 30 lbs later (the extra weight was unhealthy, not the diet). I've calculated a calorie limit that's a little less than my CO and continue to lose as expected. I can do this forever now that it's a habit.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    Honestly, feel free to look at my diary. While it is "more clean" (whatever the hell that means) than I ate before I started tracking, it is not clean by anyone's standards. But it is less than I used to eat and I've lost over 70 lbs since Sept.

    Others have done better and (and this is the important part) maintained their weight for years with this kind of eating. I hope to be one of them in a few years.

    Eating healthy is not enough if you don't eat less calories than your burn. But if you can accomplish that without having to count, then good for you. I can't but that does not mean you can't.

    Besdies. I hate most veggies.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    You can gain weight by eating healthy.

    You don't HAVE to count calories, but it's the best way to know you're in a deficit and will lose weight.
  • MikeGettingSmaller
    MikeGettingSmaller Posts: 10 Member
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    The best things I have done to help me are: #1 bought a digital food scale that 0's out for the kitchen that I can weigh everything going into my mouth easily. #2 learned how to scan the food items from the myFitnesspal app. #3 learned how to find restaurant menus on the myFitnessPal app.
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
    edited February 2017
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    If you eat healthy foods and eat above maintenance calories, you'll get fatter.

    If you're already comfortably losing weight without counting calories, you don't "have" to do anything (until you stop meeting your goals).

    But if you want to *guarantee* weight loss, controlling calorie balance is THE direct way to control weight loss. It's the direct path.
  • noluckducky15
    noluckducky15 Posts: 54 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    I lost almost 80 lbs, working on losing more at the moment. I've never made any foods "off-limits", so its made it long-term sustainable to keep the weight off. I started losing weight in 2012!
  • Reaverie
    Reaverie Posts: 405 Member
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    You don't have to count if your diet is 100% vegetables.. I doubt you could eat enough to go over a deficit. YES you need to count calories! It's good practice if you aren't use to eating healthy. And many ppl think they are eating healthy but don't consider oils or volume (nuts add up Fast). Until you have trained yourself to eyeball portions and memorize calories in a tsp, tbls, quarter cup... etc.. of the foods you intend to keep on hand, you need to be careful.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,003 Member
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    KingDolph340 wrote: »
    Has anybody lost weight just counting but eating whatever they felt like eating?

    Yes. I have lost 70 pounds. I think I eat healthy, but I do have treats regularly and eat out regularly too both in sit down or digest food restaurants. All you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit. How you create that deficit is up to you.

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