Journey to Stop Counting Calories

RufflesMcGee
RufflesMcGee Posts: 7 Member
edited April 2018 in Food and Nutrition
DAY 1: Hi I'm Kelly. Im 26, 5'5", and currently 247 lbs. I've been on MFP on and off for a couple of years but only stuck to it recently (a little over a month). I'm down 12 lbs which is fantastic. Im writing this today to stop calorie counting. Which I know that's ONE of the main components of MFP but the numbers are just getting to me. I may not log my food for a couple of weeks and I wanted to see how the results would end up after these "calorie free" weeks. I realized now it's not about what calories you eat it's actually what you eat(healthy foods) helps you lose the weight. It's taken me over 10 years to now get that through my thick skull. Anyone want to come along with the journey with me?

[Post edited by MFP mod]

Replies

  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    @RufflesMcGee Wishing you all the best on your weight loss journey.

    Your statement is only partly true. WHAT you eat, contributes to overall good health, but HOW MUCH you eat still matters for weight loss.

    If you eat junk in tiny portions you'll lose weight, and if you eat excessive quantities of "healthy" foods you'll gain weight.

    You might also wish to consider the effects of exercise. If you consume more food than you need, this can be balanced by increasing your activity level in order to still lose weight.

    More food without increasing exercise = weight gain.
    More exercise without increasing food = weight loss
  • gophermatt
    gophermatt Posts: 129 Member
    Presumably, you weren’t logging on your way up, I know I wasn’t. Seems like a good way to risk regaining. If you stall or hit a plateau, what’s your plan for working through it if you don’t have reliable data?

    I wish you well, eat the right portions of the food you’re eating to maintain the deficit.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    johnnylakis wrote: »
    I got some bad news for ya. Not only do you have to count calories but you also have to weigh everything. Ideal weight range is 137.5 - 151 lbs. So the good news is that one year from now, if you take my advise, you will hit your ideal weight

    How did people lose weight before counting calories and weighing became popular? People still lose weight by not weighing and counting. There is a thread just recently started here where many people have lost a lot of weight that don't own a scale.

    My son has lost 25lbs. He doesn't count calories nor does he weigh food. He did it by cutting back and getting more active. He doesn't go back for seconds...doesn't eat as many high calories snacks...

    I still look at calories and log but I seldom weigh food unless it is a new food or it is calorie dense. Like the OP...I am working my way to portion control. I just know that I can not count and weigh for the rest of my life. So it is time for me to start working on controlling my weight by other means.

    I think that you've probably read the statistics about how many people lose weight and regain it. Of course there are some who are successful who don't track. It is one thing to lose 25 or 30 lbs. and then be at a normal weight. The difference in what the person was eating when overweight is not as drastic as someone who needs to lose 100 lbs. (like the OP). I lost weight in the past a few times (probably about 10-15 lbs.) but I wasn't obese then. It was vanity weight. When I first started on MFP last July I had 100 lbs. to lose. I wasn't planning on actually following MFP. I was just going to log what I ate--I didn't believe in CICO, and ate a healthy diet, but I wasn't losing. After just one week of logging my food intake at the time, it was obvious to me that I was eating probably 3000 calories per day which was why I gained 60-70 lbs. in 6 years. (My TDEE at my goal weight will be about 1600, so I was eating double what I should have been). Once I had that realization it was very easy for me to cut back. I didn't need the extra calories--in fact it was making me sick with digestive problems (that diminished once I started eating 1500 calories less. The problems disappeared completely once I'd lost 20 lbs.).

    I'm not an expert, and this is just my opinion. I think that once I crossed the threshhold from overweight to obese, with 100 lbs. above a normal weight, I had lost all sense of being able to determine intuitively what was the right amount of food or portions. That was not the case when I was 15 lbs. or 30 lbs. overweight.

    The OP can try guessing and estimating, but I know for me, counting calories helped and helps me stay on track. I have to do it with my brain.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    johnnylakis wrote: »
    I got some bad news for ya. Not only do you have to count calories but you also have to weigh everything. Ideal weight range is 137.5 - 151 lbs. So the good news is that one year from now, if you take my advise, you will hit your ideal weight

    How did people lose weight before counting calories and weighing became popular? People still lose weight by not weighing and counting. There is a thread just recently started here where many people have lost a lot of weight that don't own a scale.

    My son has lost 25lbs. He doesn't count calories nor does he weigh food. He did it by cutting back and getting more active. He doesn't go back for seconds...doesn't eat as many high calories snacks...

    I still look at calories and log but I seldom weigh food unless it is a new food or it is calorie dense. Like the OP...I am working my way to portion control. I just know that I can not count and weigh for the rest of my life. So it is time for me to start working on controlling my weight by other means.

    You're putting words in the OP's mouth. OP says nothing about portion control. OP says, "I realized now it's not about what calories you eat it's actually what you eat(healthy foods) helps you lose the weight." You can eat "healthy foods," however you define that, in appropriate portions, or you can eat them in portions that are too large, and gain weight.
  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
    If you are getting too obsessive about the numbers then by all means try and be calorie and portion aware without logging.
    Every time I've stopped logging I've gained a little back so it's not for me. Be careful too, I stopped logging to take a break and still fighting to get my logging consistency back many months on and as a result haven't really lost anything in the last 4 months.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Good luck with that. If you don't count the calories you won't know if you are eating more then you should....but of course you're welcome to try it but you'd have to regularly weigh in. If you don't lose weight you will know the score.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    edited April 2018
    If you figured out your portion sizes, then go for it! Calorie counting is a good tool, but not necessary to be in a caloric deficit.

    But just to let you know, I (intentionally) gained weight eating according to an autoimmune paleo diet. Low carb too. So you can gain weight eating "healthy". Calories do matter!
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    johnnylakis wrote: »
    I got some bad news for ya. Not only do you have to count calories but you also have to weigh everything. Ideal weight range is 137.5 - 151 lbs. So the good news is that one year from now, if you take my advise, you will hit your ideal weight

    How did people lose weight before counting calories and weighing became popular? People still lose weight by not weighing and counting. There is a thread just recently started here where many people have lost a lot of weight that don't own a scale.

    My son has lost 25lbs. He doesn't count calories nor does he weigh food. He did it by cutting back and getting more active. He doesn't go back for seconds...doesn't eat as many high calories snacks...

    I still look at calories and log but I seldom weigh food unless it is a new food or it is calorie dense. Like the OP...I am working my way to portion control. I just know that I can not count and weigh for the rest of my life. So it is time for me to start working on controlling my weight by other means.

    You're putting words in the OP's mouth. OP says nothing about portion control. OP says, "I realized now it's not about what calories you eat it's actually what you eat(healthy foods) helps you lose the weight." You can eat "healthy foods," however you define that, in appropriate portions, or you can eat them in portions that are too large, and gain weight.

    I didn't put words in the OP's mouth...I was speaking of my son and my own goals. I don't have a habit of speaking for anyone else. I also never said that anyone else should approach it in this manner.

    I was actually responding to the poster that said...

    I got some bad news for ya. Not only do you have to count calories but you also have to weigh everything.

    This just isn't true for everyone...some people do lose weight and maintain that weight without ever having counted or weighing. The OP might try losing weight without counting or weighing...maybe it will work...maybe it won't. I have no idea if it will or won't.

    You put words in my mouth that was never written.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    lucerorojo wrote: »
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    johnnylakis wrote: »
    I got some bad news for ya. Not only do you have to count calories but you also have to weigh everything. Ideal weight range is 137.5 - 151 lbs. So the good news is that one year from now, if you take my advise, you will hit your ideal weight

    How did people lose weight before counting calories and weighing became popular? People still lose weight by not weighing and counting. There is a thread just recently started here where many people have lost a lot of weight that don't own a scale.

    My son has lost 25lbs. He doesn't count calories nor does he weigh food. He did it by cutting back and getting more active. He doesn't go back for seconds...doesn't eat as many high calories snacks...

    I still look at calories and log but I seldom weigh food unless it is a new food or it is calorie dense. Like the OP...I am working my way to portion control. I just know that I can not count and weigh for the rest of my life. So it is time for me to start working on controlling my weight by other means.

    I think that you've probably read the statistics about how many people lose weight and regain it. Of course there are some who are successful who don't track. It is one thing to lose 25 or 30 lbs. and then be at a normal weight. The difference in what the person was eating when overweight is not as drastic as someone who needs to lose 100 lbs. (like the OP). I lost weight in the past a few times (probably about 10-15 lbs.) but I wasn't obese then. It was vanity weight. When I first started on MFP last July I had 100 lbs. to lose. I wasn't planning on actually following MFP. I was just going to log what I ate--I didn't believe in CICO, and ate a healthy diet, but I wasn't losing. After just one week of logging my food intake at the time, it was obvious to me that I was eating probably 3000 calories per day which was why I gained 60-70 lbs. in 6 years. (My TDEE at my goal weight will be about 1600, so I was eating double what I should have been). Once I had that realization it was very easy for me to cut back. I didn't need the extra calories--in fact it was making me sick with digestive problems (that diminished once I started eating 1500 calories less. The problems disappeared completely once I'd lost 20 lbs.).

    I'm not an expert, and this is just my opinion. I think that once I crossed the threshhold from overweight to obese, with 100 lbs. above a normal weight, I had lost all sense of being able to determine intuitively what was the right amount of food or portions. That was not the case when I was 15 lbs. or 30 lbs. overweight.

    The OP can try guessing and estimating, but I know for me, counting calories helped and helps me stay on track. I have to do it with my brain.

    I agree that not counting and weighing is not for all people...I am a firm believer that people have to find their own way of what works for them.

    Yes...I have read statistics...most people gain their weight back regardless how they lost and what diet they were while losing it.

    Here is a thread though that proves my point...not counting...not weighing will work for some.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10659241/who-has-lost-a-lot-of-weight-without-using-a-food-scale/p1

    Will it work for the OP...IDK. If she tries it and it doesn't then she can always go back to counting and weighing.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    ^^ I read that thread.
    In the end I think it comes down to how perceptive and honest a person is with themselves about what they are eating. I think it is much harder to successfully discern how much you are eating without weighing, counting, measuring, tracking, etc. when you have sustained habits that put you into the obesity category. (Of course there are exceptions).

    Somebody posted a video on MFP of a british actress who was overweight and she was talking about her food, and she was so out of reality when it came to how many calories where in her food. A person like this could "eat healthy" and eat too much, and gain and not lose.

    When you have less to lose you can also depend on exercise to burn up a lot of calories (which is mostly how I maintained my weight for 35 years of my life--I didn't count or anything) but a lot of obese people can't exercise that much without causing other problems.

    People lie on their MFP diaries, some people are inconsistent. So if you don't do it properly it doesn't work either. But others who are doing it in their heads or cutting out food groups to create a deficit, it can work, but again, they need to be honest with themselves and also factor in maintenance.

    I wish the OP the best of luck. From my own experience, I think she is going in the wrong direction, but I'm not her. If it works for her not to track anymore, more power to her.
  • Secretnotes
    Secretnotes Posts: 46 Member
    You have to find what works for you. I hope you can find a way to make your plan work.

    For me, I either count the calories on MFP, or I count the pounds going up on the scale. I can't avoid numbers.

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