Maintaining a healthy diet without tracking

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  • megs_1985
    megs_1985 Posts: 199 Member
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    This is a good article about having or maintaining a calorie deficit without logging. Some people are zealous about logging but I'm not Type A like that so I am not 100%. http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-caloric-deficit-cheat-sheet/
  • starryphoenix
    starryphoenix Posts: 381 Member
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    I end up eating a lot of the same foods repeatedly, so when I don't feel like logging it usually isn't difficult for me to keep track. Over all it is a great skill to have, especially if you don't have access to the internet. I do, but sometimes I go to places like up in the mountains where it's harder to get internet.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    I have gotten really good at guessing weights of poultry and fish. What I don't know is whether they were grilled with a lot of oil or not. So when I eat out I guess the weight and then fudge it a bit higher than my guess. Desserts are hard. I probably undereat when I have a homemade dessert because I am scared to guess too low. I look it up and then pick one of the higher possible choices out of the database. For example, cherry pie comes in at 200 - 400 calories in the database. I would pick a high 300 or the 400 calorie entry even though I would get a small slice.
  • alondrakayy
    alondrakayy Posts: 304 Member
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    I think it's possible. I'm switching to intuitive eating (at least for a short time) after a 3 month cut and staying on maintenance cals for almost 2 months. Things I plan on doing:

    1. Drink water (more so to stay hydrated throughout the day and not confuse hunger for thirst)
    2. Continue to log into MFP site. Even though I'm not tracking, I still have goals (maintain) and it's important to stay focused and talking w others (even via internet) about your goals.
    3. Load on veggies/proteins for meals, keep snacks small
    4. Stop when full
    5. Keep moving (currently bodyweight training which is HARDDDDDD)
    6. Weigh in daily (I use the Happy Scale app) and make sure I am in fact maintaining (however this might not work for others that don't fully understand weight fluctuations).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    The only way I could manage to not gain while not tracking would be to make sure I don't eat anything fried or have any dessert... so it's really not happening, lol. But yeah, when I eat out, unless I'm craving something specific, I'll typically pick some grilled meat or fish with veggies and a potato, which comes around 600-700 calories most of the time (which I can fit easily as long as I stay active).

    I'm pretty good at estimating by now though, but even then, I typically still track in my head... if I lose track, it's that I'm mindlessly eating and probably eating too much.

    I've been eating out more or visiting friends more in the last year, so now a lot of my tracking is 'quick calories' (overestimating probably), but I still add things up in my head to know where I stand... and I always wait until I'm actually hungry to have breakfast (wish I could skip it, but it just doesn't work for me most of the time).

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