NO MORE CALORIE COUNTING
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Also, the lifespan a couple hundred years ago was like 30-40 years. We can can expect to live much longer than that now, even being obese. We aren’t exactly the same natural beings as we were back then. I think modern living is more ideal, even if that means I have an abundance of food and need to count how much I consume.13
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Best of luck in finding what works best for you.
unfortunately for me, eating "healthy" without calorie counting is why i was obese most of my life. even after loosing 100lbs twice. I'm a victim of my own portion creep. even in maintenance this time around i should do check ins with the scale and diary every few weeks even if i don't do so daily.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 >,<
a couple of hundred years ago our access to food and what foods as well as our actiivty level was VASTLY different. you can't really compare the two.8 -
Back to the comment on not counting calories a couple hundred years ago, there weren't the amount of processed carbs then as now. Processed carbs boost insulin secretion, insulin secretion boosts weight gain.51
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Back to the comment on not counting calories a couple hundred years ago, there weren't the amount of processed carbs then as now. Processed carbs boost insulin secretion, insulin secretion boosts weight gain.
Jobs were also more physically demanding. Life in general was more physically active. Less automation, fewer machines to do things for us. Carbs are not the root of all evil.23 -
I think that's awesome! I don't trust myself enough to do that, but I would love to be able to do that!0
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Also, the lifespan a couple hundred years ago was like 30-40 years. We can can expect to live much longer than that now, even being obese. We aren’t exactly the same natural beings as we were back then. I think modern living is more ideal, even if that means I have an abundance of food and need to count how much I consume.
Average life expectancy was lower due to a high childhood death rate - chances of dying before 6 was 20%. Once you got past that, 60-80's was pretty typical beyond times of plagues and wars.11 -
It's not insulin, it's calories vs. movement.20
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Been there done that and thought the same way you did. Did not work and I gained the weight back. Good luck!9
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I do a bit of a blend. I count calories but I'm not too stringent with it. I weigh most things at home but not every morsel. For instance I just count 200 ml of milk once for the tea/coffee I have throughout the day. Is that perfectly accurate? Probably not. I don't care. Close enough. Also if I eat out or at a friend's I just guess. This helps me make sure I'm in the ball park. Within that, I try to be flexible and eat what I want--some days it's very nutrient dense, other times it's not. If I'm over by 300 calories one day, I find the next day I naturally tend to be a bit less hungry and it evens out. I try to approach it all with very little stress. An all or nothing approach got me into trouble in the past.2
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Of course you can lose weight without counting calories. If you want a chance at success however don't think it is easy. You can't just eat to your hearts content or you are wasting your time. You have to have a plan...I don't mean one off the internet that claims you can lose 10lbs a week and never count a single calorie. One that you have designed based on timing of when you like to eat, foods that you love and portion sizes designed that will help keep you in a deficit.
Meal prep has been my life line along with a recipe builder to give me some idea of how many calories there are in my dish. If I have correct portion sized meals prepped I stay on target...if I don't...I don't do well. I stock up each week on lean proteins(well...there is also the bacon), vegetables, fruits and other things that I enjoy. I have learned to keep a few frozen dinners in the freezer as backup for when I have nothing pre-prepped. They are not my favorite thing to eat but they have helped to keep me on track. I tend to do 2 meals a day(brunch and dinner) with a couple of snacks thrown in(usually fruit or additional veggies).
I weighed and measure for several years and it worked for me...until it didn't...I just couldn't do it. My life felt as if it hinged on a calorie and I...well it wasn't pretty.
It is however beneficial to of had that experience. I learned much from my time of weighing each little gram of food. I don't know what your goals are I couldn't figure it out from your OP...no matter...either way(lose,controlled gain,maintain) if you want to succeed you MUST have a plan. At least I think this is true for most people.
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@sweetangelkitten good for you girl!! I think it's a healthy thing; I believe that with the knowledge you have and the healthy reasonable mind you've got.... You can make good decisions so you won't gain weight. Or you need to, and you will make the decisions to gain weight! So.... Yes, I think it's a good thing!
Calorie counting can be obsessive as well... So you have to find your way in this.... What feels best for you
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sweetangelkitten wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »sweetangelkitten wrote: »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.
If I buy larger clothes then I am working to try to accept that and see where my natural body is
If it leads you to being overweight, then what it means is that you're ingesting more calories than your body needs. Nothing to do with your 'natural' body. We're actually (unfortunately) extremely well disposed to gain weight easily, because we evolved in times that fluctuated between food plenty, and food shortage. Our bodies had to take advantage of the times of plenty to balance out the times of shortage, or we'd be extinct.
Is your goal weight loss, OP? The statement above suggests not, in which case I'm somewhat perplexed as to what your goal is? If it's just to eat wholesome foods and let what happens happen, I'm not sure why you need a website for that. Maybe a HAES (healthy at every size) community?
Hello and my goal is to grow into my natural size and accept myself I found this forum by googling "health forum" . I want to grow into the body I was designed to have and not worry about calories or my size
Unless you were grown in a lab, there is no body you were "designed to have." There is only the body that reflects the choices you make regarding nourishment and exercise.
Like others who have commented, I have found that my hunger cues don't always match my activity levels. Left to my own devices, I would eat a lot and move a lot. I love being active. On weekends and days off I am on the go, moving constantly. I have no problem staying within my calories because I burn a ton and my hunger cues line up with that. During the week, I am stuck at a desk, at a conference table, in my car. Even with deliberate movement, there is no way I can burn what I do on a weekend. Guess what? My body still wants all those calories. If I went off my "natural hunger cues," I would gain weight. A lot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't know if my body has a natural state of equilibrium, but since one side of the equation (output) is artificially restricted, I have to do the same for the other side (input) to maintain balance. Does that makes sense? I haven't had my coffee...34 -
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There absolutely were overweight people "a couple hundred years ago." You can stick the blame on the industrial revolution or food technology but the energy exchange is still the same and it was always possible to be overweight without too much difficulty.11
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I don't think this is the forum for you as it is a calorie counting forum. Good for you for doing it your way, but it's not the MFP way.17
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@sweetangelkitten Pro message board trick, you need a quote in brackets before the actual quote for it to...er...quote. I'm not sure if it just kept getting cut off or whatever but I figured it should be brought up.
Also, my natural body would be plus the over 100 lbs I Iost since my natural non counting calorie ways naturally loved over indulging in all the chocolate and all the cookies and all the bakery items and all the this reeeeeeally good crispy chicken bacon swiss sandwiches Carls Jr used to sell.7 -
sweetangelkitten wrote: »
Some people are designed to be more heavy than others and some are more on the lean side. We all have a natural shape that nature intends for us It makes sense, but it's not something we should worry about. Eating whole natural foods make us satisfied unlike processed foods. Everyone has a natural shape they are pre -dis positioned to.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. I got overweight when I lived out in the country and cooked everything from scratch. Prior to that, I lived off of convenience foods and stayed quite trim.23 -
I've been back and forth on this so many times, but it has never worked for me. Truthfully, I hate counting calories. It makes me feel like I am in "food jail" and I feel like, despite having great success years ago, counting calories has actually caused me to have a more unhealthy relationship with food. When I first started my journey, yes I was overweight. I needed to lose 65 lbs, and I clearly did not make good food choices. But I feel like my poor food choices were made mostly out of convenience, laziness, and ignorance.
I did not overeat a lot (just made poor choices of what I did eat) and I did NOT eat for comfort or entertainment. Once I began at this site, I DID successfully lose 50lbs and I made much better choices and found exercise routines I genuinely enjoyed. BUT, I also feel like it caused me to think about food 24/7...constantly thinking about food, when I could eat next, how many calories I could eat, and obsessing over what I could eat.
I feel like I now view eating as an event, entertainment, and comfort when I never did before. But it's a double-edged sword because without finding the site all those years ago, I would never have lost that 50 lbs. I've since gained it all back plus some (a lot) and have struggled to get it back off. I have been having difficulties sticking to the same plan that helped me lose weight before because I hate how counting calories make me feel....but whenever I try the "just eat healthily and only eat when I am hungry" I end up staying the same weight or gaining more. It is very frustrating because it seems like it should be a simple concept. But I think one of the reasons I cannot successfully do it is we naturally underestimate how much we're eating, and we overestimate how much we're moving.
Without keeping a close eye on what we're eating, throughout the day we think oh I can have this handful of nuts, or these two cookies....I've eaten well today, I deserve this Pepsi. I had a salad for lunch, so I can indulge on dinner a little....and without realizing it, we end up consuming way more than we think. I don't know what the answer is, but as my doctor pointed out, I hate the way I feel when counting calories, but not counting calories is not keeping me accountable for what I am eating, so I have to go with the lesser of two evils and do the option that helps me lose weight.5 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »sweetangelkitten wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »sweetangelkitten wrote: »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.
If I buy larger clothes then I am working to try to accept that and see where my natural body is
If it leads you to being overweight, then what it means is that you're ingesting more calories than your body needs. Nothing to do with your 'natural' body. We're actually (unfortunately) extremely well disposed to gain weight easily, because we evolved in times that fluctuated between food plenty, and food shortage. Our bodies had to take advantage of the times of plenty to balance out the times of shortage, or we'd be extinct.
Is your goal weight loss, OP? The statement above suggests not, in which case I'm somewhat perplexed as to what your goal is? If it's just to eat wholesome foods and let what happens happen, I'm not sure why you need a website for that. Maybe a HAES (healthy at every size) community?
Hello and my goal is to grow into my natural size and accept myself I found this forum by googling "health forum" . I want to grow into the body I was designed to have and not worry about calories or my size
Unless you were grown in a lab, there is no body you were "designed to have." There is only the body that reflects the choices you make regarding nourishment and exercise.
Like others who have commented, I have found that my hunger cues don't always match my activity levels. Left to my own devices, I would eat a lot and move a lot. I love being active. On weekends and days off I am on the go, moving constantly. I have no problem staying within my calories because I burn a ton and my hunger cues line up with that. During the week, I am stuck at a desk, at a conference table, in my car. Even with deliberate movement, there is no way I can burn what I do on a weekend. Guess what? My body still wants all those calories. If I went off my "natural hunger cues," I would gain weight. A lot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't know if my body has a natural state of equilibrium, but since one side of the equation (output) is artificially restricted, I have to do the same for the other side (input) to maintain balance. Does that makes sense? I haven't had my coffee...sweetangelkitten wrote: »
Some people are designed to be more heavy than others and some are more on the lean side. We all have a natural shape that nature intends for us It makes sense, but it's not something we should worry about. Eating whole natural foods make us satisfied unlike processed foods. Everyone has a natural shape they are pre -dis positioned to.
When I was young (as you appear to be) I was able to maintain a healthy weight and I never worried about what I ate.
As I got into my thirties and was less active that became a problem. Then I became active again in my forties but I was still eating like it was 1999. More food led to me being over weight for the first time in my life at age 43. The only way I was able to lose all that weight was to keep track of my food.
I truly hope you never have to find out how weight just piles on almost without noticing (or maybe, without caring) because of bad longterm habits.
Seems kind of odd to argue calorie counting on this site, but there are a lot of people here who don't keep track. To each their own.
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cmriverside wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »sweetangelkitten wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »sweetangelkitten wrote: »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.
If I buy larger clothes then I am working to try to accept that and see where my natural body is
If it leads you to being overweight, then what it means is that you're ingesting more calories than your body needs. Nothing to do with your 'natural' body. We're actually (unfortunately) extremely well disposed to gain weight easily, because we evolved in times that fluctuated between food plenty, and food shortage. Our bodies had to take advantage of the times of plenty to balance out the times of shortage, or we'd be extinct.
Is your goal weight loss, OP? The statement above suggests not, in which case I'm somewhat perplexed as to what your goal is? If it's just to eat wholesome foods and let what happens happen, I'm not sure why you need a website for that. Maybe a HAES (healthy at every size) community?
Hello and my goal is to grow into my natural size and accept myself I found this forum by googling "health forum" . I want to grow into the body I was designed to have and not worry about calories or my size
Unless you were grown in a lab, there is no body you were "designed to have." There is only the body that reflects the choices you make regarding nourishment and exercise.
Like others who have commented, I have found that my hunger cues don't always match my activity levels. Left to my own devices, I would eat a lot and move a lot. I love being active. On weekends and days off I am on the go, moving constantly. I have no problem staying within my calories because I burn a ton and my hunger cues line up with that. During the week, I am stuck at a desk, at a conference table, in my car. Even with deliberate movement, there is no way I can burn what I do on a weekend. Guess what? My body still wants all those calories. If I went off my "natural hunger cues," I would gain weight. A lot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't know if my body has a natural state of equilibrium, but since one side of the equation (output) is artificially restricted, I have to do the same for the other side (input) to maintain balance. Does that makes sense? I haven't had my coffee...sweetangelkitten wrote: »
Some people are designed to be more heavy than others and some are more on the lean side. We all have a natural shape that nature intends for us It makes sense, but it's not something we should worry about. Eating whole natural foods make us satisfied unlike processed foods. Everyone has a natural shape they are pre -dis positioned to.
When I was young (as you appear to be) I was able to maintain a healthy weight and I never worried about what I ate.
As I got into my thirties and was less active that became a problem. Then I became active again in my forties but I was still eating like it was 1999. More food led to me being over weight for the first time in my life at age 43. The only way I was able to lose all that weight was to keep track of my food.
I truly hope you never have to find out how weight just piles on almost without noticing (or maybe, without caring) because of bad longterm habits.
Seems kind of odd to argue calorie counting on this site, but there are a lot of people here who don't keep track. To each their own.
Truthfully, I envy anyone who can achieve their weight goals without having to count calories. That will just never be me.
And, just as an aside (not that anyone's said this) I think it's admirable it seems the OP will be happy at any weight.0 -
I don't log my food any more, but I did learn valuable lessons from calorie counting for a while.
That doesn't mean I can do intuitive eating, well I could but I would get fat again! I practice mindful eating so ensure I'm eating to my needs rather than my wants. I also monitor my weight trend to back up that mindfulness.
I experimented many years ago with eating to hunger cues and intuition - very rapidly hit my highest ever weight with no sign of the rate of weight gain slowing down.
Enjoy your experiment OP but I would suggest you set limits, either a weight limit or maybe when you find you have to start shopping for larger clothes.8 -
I find the concept of mindful eating interesting, but I know myself. I NEED boundaries. For the past several months I’ve been following the DASH eating model counting serving sizes of specific food groups while logging calories to keep myself accountable. It’s given me a pretty good feel for what maintenance might look like when I am at my goal weight. But logging my food has become a habit. It’s just data. I suspect I’ll continue logging after reaching my goal weight too.
My personal goals are to be healthy. I am still 10 lbs away from a healthy BMI. I know for me to reach my goal, counting my calories has kept me accountable. I personally am not someone who weighs my food but uses mesurimg cups (gasp). I fully recognize that means my calorie log is less accurate than it could be. I am ok with that. When/if I hit a plateau that I can’t break through, I’ll reevaluate.5 -
I am here because without accountability, logging food and staying within calorie limit, I will gain...rapidly. I am not young and do not resolve to have a 'beach' body, but I want to be comfortable and confident in myself.
Now I also have health issues that can be controlled with diet, the MFP diary helps me with that a lot more than I imagined too.
I wish I could eat the way you propose but past history proves that I can't. I hope that you can.6 -
To the OP, I just glanced at your food log from when you were logging several days back. I only saw 1 or 2 days where you were even over 1000 calories. I was wondering if you're restricting that much intentionally or if you just naturally have a low appetite. If your appetite is naturally low, I would really encourage you to continue logging just to make sure you eat enough. You won't be able to get all the nutrients your body needs in just 800-900 calories a day. As a woman, you should try to reach 1200 calories as a daily minimum. If you're restricting that much on purpose, no wonder you're hungry and want to start eating intuitively! Please make sure you eat enough.
In any case, I like your idea, but that approach doesn't work for me personally. I have a huge appetite and like to log to make sure I'm not overdoing it.
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I don't log my food any more, but I did learn valuable lessons from calorie counting for a while.
That doesn't mean I can do intuitive eating, well I could but I would get fat again! I practice mindful eating so ensure I'm eating to my needs rather than my wants. I also monitor my weight trend to back up that mindfulness.
I experimented many years ago with eating to hunger cues and intuition - very rapidly hit my highest ever weight with no sign of the rate of weight gain slowing down.
Enjoy your experiment OP but I would suggest you set limits, either a weight limit or maybe when you find you have to start shopping for larger clothes.
This is me, too. After having lost the weight I needed to several years ago by tracking calories, I now have a maintenance weight range. If I see my weight consistently trending upwards over time, I go back to weighing and measuring again for a while in order to recalibrate my sense of portion before things can go off the rails.
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OP - Have you previously suffered from an eating disorder? I ask because some of your statements sound like they are an attempt to correct from having previously unhealthy feelings about your body and weight loss. If that is the case, I understand why you would want to make this adjustment and focus more on being accepting of yourself than your particular weight.
As I mentioned earlier though, and it's especially the case if you are recovering from an ED, is that you need you need to have at least some degree of monitoribg your intake to make sure you are getting enough energy and nutrients. If you "naturally" eat very little, that is still a cause for concern.21 -
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 >,<
Availability of so much relatively cheap, calorie dense and yummy food, rather than only what we grew, was in season and we could afford, has meant that many in the developed world have lost the signal for actual hunger and respond to peckish signals. This is what I believe has led to so much obesity. I know for sure, I cannot rely on eating wholesome food when hungry as a way of staying a healthy weight. I eat lots of fruit and veggies and cook most meals from scratch but I still put on 60lbs, most of which I have now lost by monitoring the calories I eat. One day I may have taught my self to eat appropriately but I suspect I will always have to return to periods of checking my intake.
Good Luck5 -
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...
Because it's a calorie counting site perhaps......7
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