No more calorie counting?

TayTayDrenDren
TayTayDrenDren Posts: 65 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone here had any success in body recomposition without counting calories/macros? If so, could i have more info on how to do it? Thanks!

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    There are many people who don't track in the "maintaining weight" forum with success. I am bulking/cutting and not tracking at the moment, it works for me, but it may not work for everyone. However it I think in the end it will depend on your calorie/macro awareness, hunger signals, etc. But it is definitely possible.

    Have you been tracking before? I think if you have an idea of the cals you eat and macro breakdowns it will make it easier. Also keeping food pretty similar day to day helps.. but in the end, recomp does not require super strict macro/cal adherence, as long as you get decent amount of protein in particular, nutrients for health, and monitor your weight over time and make adjustments when needed, you should be good to go.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I'm not recomp'ing, but I am indeed maintaining my weight, and I am not counting calories. I am monitoring my intake, though:

    I plan my meals and aim to stick to plan.
    I have "extras" occasionally.
    My meals are made up from simple single food ingredients and I cook a lot from scratch.
    I eat pretty similarly from day to day and portion out before I start eating.
    I weigh some foods and count others.
    I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. Any level between "hungry" and "stuffed" after a meal is acceptable.
    I move every day.
    I weigh myself every day and take action whenever I see any creep. Action means sticking more rigidly to meal plan.
  • TayTayDrenDren
    TayTayDrenDren Posts: 65 Member
    edited April 2017
    Ok so basically its just using common sense when eating. The reason why i wanted to stop counting is because ive been doing it since last October and ive gotten obsessed with it to the point where i have an unhealthy relationship with food. I feel like i cant have certain foods anymore and it ultimately leads me to outright binging when im stressed. Im 5' 10", 20 years old, 116 lbs and about 20-21% BF and i dont want that level to go any higher and its driving me nuts! My goal is to gain about 10-15lbs of muscle over time so that i can be happy and healthy again but this counting obsession has to stop.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Yea try it out and see how it goes. You definitely want to develop a healthy relationship with food which I think will help your binging.

    I try not to see food as "good vs bad" rather I use other labels to describe food that helps me hit my goals like high/low fibre, high protein, high/low in vitamins, high in fat, calorie dense, high carb, etc. And I plan my day around more nutrient dense, higher protein foods but I still have room for less nutrient dense foods like chocolate, cookies, ice cream etc. Check out flexible dieting or IIFYM to help you see the bigger food picture, it definitely helped me.

    So if I have this straight, you are trying to get a handle on your eating before starting to gain/bulk or are you trying to bulk right now? Keep in mind, if you are bulking, even if you are doing everything right will still gain some fat along with muscle however you can minimize this with a smaller surplus.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I don't count calories, haven't in many many years.

    Your stats are really thin. I'm hoping you are trying to gain muscle?
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,340 Member
    Some people can. Some people can't. Some people can after sufficient time eating at proper calorie levels. The only way to find out is to test it out. However, you issues with food will likely not be solved by stopping calorie counting, especially if there are foods you think you can't eat because of calorie counting. The wonderful thing about calorie counting for me, is I can eat anything, I just have to fit it into my calories overall either daily or weekly. When I stopped calorie counting, my weight went up. I know others who had done so successfully. For me it might simply be decades of eating way too much that have messed up any chance of losing or maintaining without counting, but I am 50 so I have 30 years on you. See how it works, but watch both weight and measurements.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    TayTayDrenDren wrote: »
    Ok so basically its just using common sense when eating. The reason why i wanted to stop counting is because ive been doing it since last October and ive gotten obsessed with it to the point where i have an unhealthy relationship with food. I feel like i cant have certain foods anymore and it ultimately leads me to outright binging when im stressed. Im 5' 10", 20 years old, 116 lbs and about 20-21% BF and i dont want that level to go any higher and its driving me nuts! My goal is to gain about 10-15lbs of muscle over time so that i can be happy and healthy again but this counting obsession has to stop.

    It's possible once you've been doing it for a while, but definitely not easy for everyone. Especially since many people (including me) are on this site because using "common sense" while eating got us here in the first place.

    If you're just counting calories there should be no reason why you'd feel the need to avoid certain foods.. that's kind of the idea behind monitoring calories rather than specific foods types. Even more so with your desire to gain weight rather than lose weight at the moment. Get into a lifting routine and eat food you like to eat at a slight surplus. The most effective way to make sure you're at a slight surplus is to monitor your calories... you could experiment without counting and see how it goes but it seems like you'd be handicapping your efforts by not looking at the most useful piece of information available to you.
  • TayTayDrenDren
    TayTayDrenDren Posts: 65 Member
    edited April 2017
    sardelsa wrote: »
    Yea try it out and see how it goes. You definitely want to develop a healthy relationship with food which I think will help your binging.

    I try not to see food as "good vs bad" rather I use other labels to describe food that helps me hit my goals like high/low fibre, high protein, high/low in vitamins, high in fat, calorie dense, high carb, etc. And I plan my day around more nutrient dense, higher protein foods but I still have room for less nutrient dense foods like chocolate, cookies, ice cream etc. Check out flexible dieting or IIFYM to help you see the bigger food picture, it definitely helped me.

    So if I have this straight, you are trying to get a handle on your eating before starting to gain/bulk or are you trying to bulk right now? Keep in mind, if you are bulking, even if you are doing everything right will still gain some fat along with muscle however you can minimize this with a smaller surplus.

    I started my fitness journey at the beginning of this year and was doing ok for the first few weeks but then my weight started spiking and my body was growing (my thighs more specifically) really fast and i knew i was gaining mostly fat so i lowered my calorie intake and ever since then ive been stuck. I want to start my gaining phase but im afraid my binging and restricted calorie intake made me lose too much muscle and gain too much fat to start bulking right now. Ive also tried reverse dieting but its a lot harder than it looks.

    Another thing thats kind of driving me nuts is having a diet really low in fat. Whenever i binge, i go straight for the cookies, chocolate, ice cream, and peanut butter. I know that dietary fat doesnt do much for muscle growth based on what ive read but that right there already restricts me so much that i feel its setting me up for a binge. I dont know what to believe anymore because theres different info everywhere you go.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited April 2017
    When you start working out, especially weight lifting, the muscles will retain water. This can make the body seem larger (or pumped), it can make the scale go crazy, and of course it can affect how you feel about your progress. My best advice would be just push through it. Being underweight, you definitely need to gain, otherwise if you are too scared of gaining fat you will spin your wheels and in a year be in the same place you are now.

    If you are weight lifting, getting enough calories, gaining at a decent rate (it may not be linear, sometimes the scale can jump up especially after an intense workout or higher sodium meals I would suggest tracking your weight using a trend app so it can weed through those fluctuations) then you are fine and will make progress. Keep in mind since you are underweight your body is trying to perhaps regulate itself and fat stores, I would let it and worry about the fat gains later.

    Also try not to get caught up in the little things.. you will read all kinds of stuff on the internet, in the end it is really quite simple (in theory at least, it will be up to you to stick with it and put into action): Eat, train, rest, recover, and repeat.

    I like a balance of macros and you don't have to go low fat to gain muscle, what I have seen recommended is in grams per lean body mass or body weight (in your case since you are fairly lean)
    Protein: 0.8 to 1g
    Fats: 0.35 to 0.6g
    Carbs: The rest

    All the macros have a place in a bulk...you need protein to provide the building blocks, fat for hormone and body function, and carbs help fuel and make the whole process more optimal. Again, it's all about balance.

    Don't restrict certain foods if it makes you binge. Try to incorporate it into your day in small amounts. I mean, I eat candy and ice cream pretty much everyday while I am bulking, I do eat fairly nutritious too but nothing wrong with these foods and they do not affect my progress or make me gain more fat.
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