I won’t track calories anymore

Errr ok.

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

I have lost an incredulous amount of weight using this app to create a calorie deficit but I gather that counting calories may cause problems for some people. I hope you find your easiest path forward.

Calorie counting is a must for me. I would be guessing all kinds of wrong if I just did it by sight. I don’t see how that will work for you unless you are doing a lot of exercise and burning off the extra calories. For me, I want to eat healthy and avoid sugar and junk. Good luck!

I hope it works for you. Calorie counting is not the only way to lose weight. A calorie *deficit* is the only way to lose weight. So if you find it easier to get yourself in a deficit by eating foods you deem "good" rather than tracking and counting, then maybe it would work for you.

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.

It sounds to me like you're blaming the tool (calorie counting), rather than how you used it (your food choices, placing unnecessary restrictions on yourself, etc).

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.

The fact you have an ED is kind of important information here.

try it out for yourself- the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

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.

One of the benefits of growing older (in addition to the obvious one--which is that doing so beats the alternative) is that you've seen a number of situations where what used to work for someone no longer works very well. And you've also seen people who change how they do things, and then go on to flourish in their new ways!

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.

syeda2007 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

syeda2007 wrote: »

the good old fashioned way of losing weight, without counting calories.

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.

Duh I know you need to be in a deficit to lose weight

But I’m saying is someone can be in a deficit without counting, but I get some people don’t have the skill for that and need to count every minuscule calories down

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?