Taking a break from counting, intuitive eating?

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jla2425
jla2425 Posts: 67 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Have you ever tried taking a break from counting and logging every detail and weighing out all your food? Now i am just trying because i was getting to thoughtful about my eating. I was always thinking of what im going to eat and stressing out. Now i just eat healthy and I only weigh out the meat and cheese. Other things i eat portion sizes but i do snack here and there. Im not logging but so far its been good and i eat more comfortably. Will see how i weigh in on monday. Has anyone else had better results eating intuitive vs counting?
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Replies

  • jla2425
    jla2425 Posts: 67 Member
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    Well i must say i hope i can still lose but glad for the replys all :)
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    I loathe tracking. Used it as a tool to reign things in, get a handle on portion control, be aware of serving sizes and calorically dense foods. There is a world beyond meticulous tracking, it's up to the individual to see if they can do so. Hopefully it works for you. Regardless of tracking or intuitive, eating should be as stress free as it can.

    This is much like me. I don't loathe tracking, I'd just rather not - especially when it can be (depending on the situation) inconvenient. I have a pretty good idea of how much of what I should be eating now, so I eat it and monitor my weight trend. I cut back a little when I think I'm gaining, but don't worry too much about it. I add in a little when I think I'm losing more than I want.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Other than alcohol I have the rest of my diet under control and no longer need to log so I stopped. It was driving everybody crazy at restaurants and such. If I want to have cocktails at night and wine with dinner I just need to run enough miles to compensate. The scale is my barometer on how I am doing now.
  • galapagospenguin
    galapagospenguin Posts: 2 Member
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    I found that after a year of tracking everything I ate, I had learned enough about portions, etc, and I had changed my relationship with food enough that I could stop tracking and maintain my new, lower weight. I was able to assess my activity level for the day and realistically recall what I had already eaten, and make a smart choice based on that. My weight fluctuated by a pound or two sometimes, but I didn't regain the lost weight until a very high-stress period in my life when I basically ended up making a conscious choice to stop being healthy and mindful.
    However, I find that I can't LOSE weight without tracking. I guess there's not enough wiggle room in my "losing" calorie allowance to cope with my brain's estimating capabilities.
    That said, you should definitely continue your experiment. It may work for you. Maybe you will find that you lose weight more slowly, but your mood is better and you are happier. Maybe it will fail and you will resume tracking. But try it for a few weeks, maybe a month. Either way you will learn something about yourself and your body.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
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    I have to track - I am not good at estimating or eyeballing and I can easily justify whatever it is I am eating by saying oh this is just a small piece/bite/portion/taste etc and then boom! - its all gone.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    I never weighed my food and logged for about month before giving up on it. I lost all my weight via intuitive eating. Some part of my mind might tell me to eat pizza for every meal but my intuition never did. I'm pretty smart. I know the difference. Been in maintenance for over a year now, still using intuitive eating.
  • LexiKazoo95
    LexiKazoo95 Posts: 83 Member
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    I feel I only log meals that I feel will be a ton of calories. Usually the bigger meals I measure out but the little small things like if i eat an apple or some broccoli not so much .. so far I lost 2.2lbs doing this since last Monday and weighing today.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    I find, for me, logging takes the stress out of eating. When I try to eat mindfully or intuitively I either eat way under or over my calorie needs. And I overanalyze every bite I put in my mouth until I just decide it's easier not to eat, or I block it out of my mind and binge. Knowing where I'm at with my calories lets me relax, balance my macros and know when it's OK to indulge without guilt or anxiety. I'm also really bad at judging portions, so the weighing and measuring relieves that stress too.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
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    I'm not great at intuitive eating. I'm also bad at eyeballing portions. I still take breaks from counting and logging on MFP though. I believe it is good for mental health to take a break every once in awhile. And that break could mean one day or one week, etc depending on your emotional/mental needs. When I do take a break, I just eyeball food and keep the general number in my head. I like logging because its not too disruptive to my life to quick put a bowl on the scale, and weigh out the portion. Then I can conciously choose "Yes, I have the calories to eat two portions" rather than accidently eat more than one and worry about it constantly.

    Good luck! Mental health is just as important as physical health. <3
  • betterwhenimdancin
    betterwhenimdancin Posts: 31 Member
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    I alternated between calorie counting and intuitive eating for 10 months and lost 40 lbs. After calorie counting for a while my appetite shrinks so I can switch to intuitive eating. When my weight loss stalls (because my appetite has slowly grown) I go back to calorie counting.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,984 Member
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    Most of the time, tracking neither bothers me nor stresses me, and it is the only thing in 40 years of trying that has enabled me to lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off more than a year (three-plus years, actually), so I haven't been tempted to try intuitive eating.

    But if tracking is causing you problems, trying some other approach and seeing if you can make it work seems reasonable. I hope it works out for you.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I don't weigh and log on holiday, but when I'm home I do it every day. I just log loosely, in a spreadsheet, as a natural part of my meal planning. It makes me more mindful. Not obsessive. In fact, it helps me not think too much about food. Thinking about what you eat is good, but thinking too much is not good. Do whatever make you think about food as much as you need, but not too much. If you can eat appropriately for your needs without logging, then don't log. If you need logging to eat appropriately, log.
  • GoldenEye_
    GoldenEye_ Posts: 330 Member
    edited May 2017
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    I tried intuïtive eating for the first month of my diet. Since I eat nearly the same thing everyday it was nice to get a feel for myself of what my body told me I needed and changed it up whenever I needed to. When I logged it for the first time yesterday it was nearly precisely the amount of calories mfp tells me to eat (1200 kcalories net) and high fat+protein, low on the carbs.

    I think it would get easier having a more varied diet and do this the more experienced you are.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I think its a good thing if you can do it. I have been logging for 2 years. Logging helps me stay within the range I want to eat in. I am pretty sure I can eat intuitively at this point but I think I would allow myself to over do it.
  • cangler
    cangler Posts: 104 Member
    edited May 2017
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    im too ocd, and actually enjoy being precise but if you're able to 'eye ball' it and maintain your weight/goals then great, whatever works for you. :) only time i don't really log everything is during the major holidays and let go a little bit... but that's like 2-3 days in the year.

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