NO MORE CALORIE COUNTING
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sweetangelkitten
Posts: 116 Member
Yep, that's right! I'm done counting calories and tracking everything I eat! I'm eating wholesome foods and eating when I am hungry. Doing what feels natural! Anyone else here with me on this?
74
Replies
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Nope. Wishing you the best.64
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Not me. I gained a lot of weight eating wholesome foods and eating when I was hungry.
There are others who are basically doing what you are doing so you are not alone.
Whatever your goals are I wish you the best of luck.54 -
Eating wholesome food when I was hungry led to a 70 pound weight gain over the years. Counting calories allowed me to lose that weight and maintain the loss. Wishing you a better outcome with your eating plan.37
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sweetangelkitten wrote: »Not me. I gained a lot of weight eating wholesome foods and eating when I was hungry.
There are others who are basically doing what you are doing so you are not alone.
Whatever your goals are I wish you the best of luck.
Thank you! I can't seem to find anyone on here who isn't counting calories sadly...
Well it is a calorie counting site so I don't think they post very often but I have seen people say (in posts) that they are doing or plan to do intuitive eating like you intend. Some may or may not choose to eat whatever you consider wholesome.
I do suggest you stay diligent on however you measure your weight. I see nothing wrong with an experiment like this and I hope you will be fine but, if not, know when to pull the plug.60 -
Good luck! But nope. I count calories and will until the nurses at the old folks home pry my mfp calorie counter from my ancient arthritic fingers. I can’t eat intuitively worth a kitten.57
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sweetangelkitten wrote: »spinnerdell wrote: »Eating wholesome food when I was hungry led to a 70 pound weight gain over the years. Counting calories allowed me to lose that weight and maintain the loss. Wishing you a better outcome with your eating plan.
Why does this lead so many people to weight gain? We weren't counting calories a couple hundred years ago or even a hundred years ago... Seems unnatural to be measuring and counting, we should eat when we are hungry >,<
We were more active back then. Depending on what you call wholesome it can include some very calorie dense items that are easy to overdo. Nuts are a good example.33 -
I don't count calories or track anymore, however I used to (mostly to gain though) now that I have good calorie awareness I just use the scale to track my progress. Sometimes I do check in with certain items or track protein only to make sure I am hitting my goals especially when I am deep in a cut. However I wouldn't say I eat completely wholesome and I can't go by my hunger since I would likely undereat, so I eat on a schedule.
You will find many people continue to calorie count to maintain and keep their portions in check. You are on a calorie counting website afterall!
Good luck!24 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »
Funny enough, I threw the scale away XD This is the only health forum that I know of that is steadily active >,< I've decided I can't weigh myself anymore and should leave my body alone let it do it's thing. Our bodies know what they need and guide us 
That is why I said to use whatever means you plan to use. Some people go by how their clothes fit. If they get snug or you find yourself buying bigger sizes you might reconsider your plan. My point is to keep an eye on things. I still don't know how I managed to keep buying bigger clothes without stopping to think I was doing something wrong. Don't be me... please.17 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »
Funny enough, I threw the scale away XD This is the only health forum that I know of that is steadily active >,< I've decided I can't weigh myself anymore and should leave my body alone let it do it's thing. Our bodies know what they need and guide us
Mine led me to be underweight at one point so not always a good guide!
Unfortunately no I'm sorry I don't know of any other forums, I am only a part of this and another focused on bodybuilding.10 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »
If I buy larger clothes then I am working to try to accept that and see where my natural body is
Ok. Sounds like you have it all worked out in your head then.
I am unaware of any forums that cater to your philosophy. When you think about it they may not have anything to discuss if they are all just listening to their bodies.
36 -
I think most of us are here because we saw where our body naturally ended up and it wasn't where we wanted to be!
Calorie counting has been a godsend for me, but I know it's not a good fit for everyone.
Best of luck OP, I hope you find the balance you're looking for.47 -
I think most of us are here because we saw where our body naturally ended up and it wasn't where we wanted to be!
Calorie counting has been a godsend for me, but I know it's not a good fit for everyone.
Best of luck OP, I hope you find the balance you're looking for.
My natural body was going to die before much longer if I had not taken action.38 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »spinnerdell wrote: »Eating wholesome food when I was hungry led to a 70 pound weight gain over the years. Counting calories allowed me to lose that weight and maintain the loss. Wishing you a better outcome with your eating plan.
Why does this lead so many people to weight gain? We weren't counting calories a couple hundred years ago or even a hundred years ago... Seems unnatural to be measuring and counting, we should eat when we are hungry >,<
Perhaps I can give an example from my country, which has modernized very recently (last 30 years or so) and has seen an explosion in obesity. The typical diet is very high calorie, rice, beans, tropical fruits, plantains and yucca, sausage, high fat beef, and lots of things fried. But the population overwhelmingly worked active jobs. Farmers, construction, home help, etc. It kept them moving and burning a lot more calories. At the very least, everyone walked everywhere. Now many more people are sitting working in an office all day, getting to and from by car or bus, and eating the same diet. So a lot more people are getting obese because their calorie output is much lower.
Here's the thing about counting calories: your body does it, even if you do not. So some people do manage to lose weight or maintain eating intuitively, because the amount they eat happens to correspond with a good calorie goal. That is not always the case though. You can certainly eat too much while doing intuitive eating, but one area I haven't seen mentioned much yet is you can also easily eat too little. If you only eat until full on low calorie foods, you can easily not get the necessary energy your body needs. That's why it can lead a lot to extreme diets, where people undereat and lose quickly but then gain it all back, or develop health issues related to rapid weight loss.
One last thing: calorie counting does not always have to be synonymous with weighing and measuring every single thing you put in your body. Some people certainly do that, and it is the most precise way, but if that's too much it doesn't have to be done that way. I weigh certain things, but I also straight up guesstimate things that I didn't cook myself and don't know the ingredients or portion sizes. That has been effective to me, because some visibility and estimation of what I am eating and tying it to a calorie goal has kept me on track and helped me lose almost 30 pounds. So it doesn't have to always be so intense. I don't put a ton of work into calorie counting daily. It doesn't have to be stressful and all consuming.
I wish you luck on your journey, and hope you can find a good balance of eating enough without eating too much or too little.47 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »spinnerdell wrote: »Eating wholesome food when I was hungry led to a 70 pound weight gain over the years. Counting calories allowed me to lose that weight and maintain the loss. Wishing you a better outcome with your eating plan.
Why does this lead so many people to weight gain? We weren't counting calories a couple hundred years ago or even a hundred years ago... Seems unnatural to be measuring and counting, we should eat when we are hungry >,<
Different food environment, and you don't have to burn a ton of calories in working on the farm or doing household chores or to go anywhere. Plus, food is far more available.
Also, I don't think people ate when they were hungry only. I think mostly food was eaten at specific times, for at least recorded history.
At maintenance, if I am mindful and pay some attention to calories, and if I eat according to my preferred schedule (3 meals, sometimes 2, no snacking), and am reasonably active (I live in a city so walk a ton, and I do intentional exercise), I have no issues, although I think logging is interesting so sometimes do it for a while. But I can't kid myself -- if I am not mindful, even if I stick to foods I consider "wholesome," I can easily overeat, and if I start snacking and stop exercising, I'll definitely gain, and again this is in an environment where I naturally have to walk more than most Americans.
I don't think the majority of humans have hunger signals that say "stop eating" as soon as they hit maintenance calories, especially in the presence of easy, tasty food, since through most of human history food was scarce and being able to eat when it was available was an advantage. I think like many things we imposed such signals through reason and through culture (eating patterns).
Re food forums without calorie counting (or other things like macro counting, carb counting), try searching intuitive eating or see if that bright lines woman has a forum. There's likely places on reddit. There's also stuff like W30 forums (I assume they exist) or paleo. I know that doesn't work for me without more, but who knows, it does for some.13 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »I don't count calories or track anymore, however I used to (mostly to gain though) now that I have good calorie awareness I just use the scale to track my progress. Sometimes I do check in with certain items or track protein only to make sure I am hitting my goals especially when I am deep in a cut. However I wouldn't say I eat completely wholesome and I can't go by my hunger since I would likely undereat, so I eat on a schedule.
You will find many people continue to calorie count to maintain and keep their portions in check. You are on a calorie counting website afterall!
Good luck!
Do you know of any health forums that don't count calories? This is the most active health forum I could find
)
I really like xxfitness on reddit, it’s mainly fitness related but there is lots of good discussion on health and nutrition as well!3
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