I’v been counting calories for a few years now, and I’v barely lost weight. However when I was not tracking calories and did not have a goal I was not watching what I was eating. So this time I will not count calories but I will watch what I eat and I have a goal.
I have been religiously tracking, and tracking sugars on and off. I would get upset if a restaurant or takeaway did not have nutrition info and would worry myself about this, then just give in and just all out binge and sometimes purge after. So I will let go of all restrictions and eat a mixture of foods which are good, I am quite good now with portion size and estimating, you need some limit, but calorie counting is just so oversimplified when something could be low in calorie but will mess with your hormones and gut bacteria, something could be higher in calories and can be beneficial for you and more filling.
We’ve got to eat whole fruit and veg, in raw state so the vitamins are still there. We have to eat whole grains, the odd salty snack won’t hurt. Also sugar is needed not always a bad thing after meal, cos the serotonin helps with digestion, it’s about science. But try it out for yourself- the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.
Hopefully I can find something more better to do, to fill in that time. Anyway just posted to help out people who this isn’t working for. I don’t think this app will be of anymore use lol. Good luck!
Replies
Next time you may want to try less restriction / smaller deficit. That way you will have less of a propensity to restrict and binge.
Not sure where tracking my 160g of sugar two days ago stopped me from applying chocolate bonded sugar to my serotonin, but, as with many things in life, what suits each of us as individuals (and at different times in our lives) is not always the same
But there's no other way to lose weight besides eating less calories than you burn. Gut bacteria and whatnot does not have any impact on it. So if your new way of eating does not successfully control your calories, the I worry you will be back here upset again.
But as others have said, if you can find another way to be at a consistent calorie deficit over time, resulting in weight loss, that's fine. No one says you have to count calories to lose weight, you just have to eat fewer calories than you burn.
Yes, this.
Take care.
If you find calorie counting isn't the method for you and you have an alternative method that works, good luck to you.
But not sure why any of us should try it out for ourselves when calorie counting is working perfectly well for us.
As for good old fashioned methods - they are all a variation on creating a calorie deficit.
Or at least those which work are.
Old fashioned?
Are the methods of 36 years ago "old fashioned"?
Because ... even back then when lists of foods and calories were a bit hard to come by ... I still counted calories to some degree. I knew that a calorie deficit was the way to lose weight and it was helpful to know how many calories the food I ate had.
Calorie counting obviously no longer works well for you. Anything that puts you, or me, or anyone else, in a bad head-space obviously no longer works well for us and there exist NO REASON for us to be banging our head in frustration trying to make it work!
There is nothing wrong with moving on and trying something else!
Millions of people succeed in their goals without either accurate, or, to be frank, without even rough calorie counting. Heck, once you take out mental interference and overrides (and control a bit for sedentary lifestyles and the easy availability of super-palatable food) *most* peoples' bodies are perfectly capable of signaling to them when they've had enough, or not enough food. No counting, no restriction, no rules necessary.
When all the "control methods" we implement stop being a security blanket and start being a noose around our neck, one that is negatively affecting the quality of our lives, it is time to let them go and move on.
It is that time for you.
Take care of yourself and consider whether a calorie counting web-site's forums truly are the best place for you to hang out when calorie counting is no longer contributing positively to your well being.
You're saying it takes more skill not to count, but you've failed with counting?
If you hired a carpenter to build you bookshelves, and he didn’t use a tape measure to check the dimensions of your space or a level to ensure that the finished product was straight - instead relying on eyeball estimates - leaving you with something that was “close enough” , would you think that made him more skillful than one who used tools in his bag as they are intended to use to ensure that the final product met your satisfaction?
If you do have ED talk to your doctor
If not , intuitively eating has failed if you weigh more then you like so you need to create deficit. The easiest way and the way this site promotes is paying attention to calories in and calories out.
I suggest you also budget your money by paying no attention to your salary or expenses. This is the same plan you want for nutrition