“Just” Calories In/Calories Out

JPaigeWatts · February 2020

Has anyone lost a significant amount of weight solely counting calories (not carbs, macro’s, etc...) from start to current — with no exercise /moderate exercise?

By significant, I mean 20lbs plus...

I would love all answers, but especially related to women in their 30’s +

Lietchi · February 2020

I've lost 30lbs so far by counting my calories in and out and moderate exercise. I'm 37.

Why?

snowflake954 · February 2020

There was a wonderful thread last year about a woman in a wheelchair that lost 100lbs---will that do it?

mmapags · February 2020

Yes, almost 40 lbs here. Macros are not the key to weight loss. They can help with satiety, nutrition and body composition. But weight loss always comes down to calories in < calories out, whether you count them or not.

lgfrie · February 2020

I've lost 68 lbs & my wife has lost 53 in 8 months, doing calorie counting, moderate exercise, and "the kitchen is closed" at 7 pm sharp. Not the most extreme weight loss ever recorded for the amount of time involved, but it's been relatively easy and sustainable; we're still going strong.

We don't count carbs or macros. We pretty much know what healthy food looks like (lots of colorful veggies, take it easy on the red meat, avoid sugary junk and processed foods except for the very occasional treat) and we kinda just stick to that. On an average day my carb, fat, protein mix, according to MFP, is around 35-35-30, but I don't think those numbers mean anything for fat loss. My understanding is that low-carb diets can cause some extra water loss that continues until the dieter gets tired of eating eggs, cheese and steak and throws in the towel, and then the water retention comes right back; that kind of short-term manipulation of the numbers isn't interesting to us. Plus, we love carbs

yirara · February 2020

If calories in is bigger than calories out and you gained weight from that, why would the opposite not be true?

WinoGelato · February 2020

I lost ~35 lbs with logging daily, counting calories, no major food restrictions, all things in moderation and exercise mostly walking, light dumbbell circuit routine and the occasional weekend hike.

Are you skeptical that you’ll find many examples of success with this approach because I think you’ll find it’s pretty common here.

jlhalley7835 · February 2020

Simple math. 3500 cals = 1lb of body weight. I found my tdee subtracted 1,000 from that number to get my total daily cals (2200 for now), so far I’ve lost 80lbs in the last year following the simple math formula.

I will say my body started transforming when I started counting macros. It’s true that your body weight will drop if you run a calorie deficit but the results and health might now follow if your macros are out of wack.

threewins · February 2020

JPaigeWatts wrote: »

Has anyone lost a significant amount of weight solely counting calories (not carbs, macro’s, etc...) from start to current — with no exercise /moderate exercise?

By significant, I mean 20lbs plus...

I would love all answers, but especially related to women in their 30’s +

Not female but over 30. Yes, definitely I've lost weight without exercise. In fact it's my preferred method because I don't enjoy exercise.

gallicinvasion · February 2020

I’ve lost 100 lbs, but my first 40 lbs were lost with zero purposeful exercise. I slowly started doing short walks around the block and parking a little further from the office, but my success was completely due to logging my food and staying in a calorie deficit with that.

I did slowly introduce three short (I mean, only 15 min) morning workouts every MWF, and that’s still my only purposeful exercise. It’s definitely possible! I feel like I’ve really increased my TDEE through easy strategies like always taking stairs and walking whenever I can.

serindipte · February 2020

I lost my first 50 lbs in my forties with nothing but my food scale. No real exercise, just accurate logging. Still ate fast food, cookies, use cream, whatever, just not as often or in large quantities.

Wendyanneroberts · February 2020

Many of us have, here on mfp. I'm glad to say I have.

I'm female, physically disabled & needing wheelchair. With other health conditions. So can't "exercise" in the traditional sense of the word.

Using mfp, as a tool, I lost 59lbs (4st 3lb). Solely by counting calories. (Daily commitment to accurate weighing/logging of ALL foods/drinks).

As I lost over the weeks & months, I found what foods worked for me & those that were no longer worth the calories. I tracked my loss and data helped me find the right calorie target for me.

Enough of a deficit, so I lost weight. But not to big, so I lacked energy or had other health issues. (To low calories in my past had caused health issues). So that I didn't feel deprived. Building habits that I would use (still do) during maintainance.

So I knew I was hitting my calorie target. No "traditional exercise" but tried to increase NEAT to help. Had a slow but steady & healthy weight loss.

More importantly I have/am maintaining that loss, for just over 2 years. I still track my calories to keep me at maintainance, using calorie cycling to indulge but keep a good overall balance. With my 1,415 day streak, I have learnt what "my" calorie targets need to be.

So yes it's definitely possible. Although exercise is good for your health, as long as it is modified to your personal circumstance.

amyepdx · February 2020

Lost 98 lbs counting calories - gained 35 back not counting calories...

JPaigeWatts · February 2020

The reason for my question is, due to overlapping auto immune disease, I have to be careful with what I do. If I go low carb, I drip blood from my cuticles and bruise easily. I can lose weight and then have a flare up and gain like nobody’s business. It’s frustrating. However, with Keto and Low Carb, etc... so popular, I just wanted some encouragement that doing this in a way that helps me feel my best will still work. I have weeks to months where I can lift weights and walk a couple miles. Then I have moments where my legs won’t work at all and I’m wheelchair bound. With counting calories I can adjust what I eat and when to fit my needs at the time — it’s just helpful knowing that I don’t have to listen to all the hype about diets that don’t help me, and I thank each of you for being an encouragement!

scarlett_k · February 2020

Yup, I tick all of those boxes. I'm almost 40 kg down from doing exactly what you described. You don't need a special fad diet to achieve a calorie deficit.

Wendyanneroberts · February 2020

JPaigeWatts wrote: »

The reason for my question is, due to overlapping auto immune disease, I have to be careful with what I do. If I go low carb, I drip blood from my cuticles and bruise easily. I can lose weight and then have a flare up and gain like nobody’s business. It’s frustrating. However, with Keto and Low Carb, etc... so popular, I just wanted some encouragement that doing this in a way that helps me feel my best will still work. I have weeks to months where I can lift weights and walk a couple miles. Then I have moments where my legs won’t work at all and I’m wheelchair bound. With counting calories I can adjust what I eat and when to fit my needs at the time — it’s just helpful knowing that I don’t have to listen to all the hype about diets that don’t help me, and I thank each of you for being an encouragement!

As well as my physical disability, I also have a heart condition & autoimmune disease. My days can vary so much between "good" & "bad" periods, of each and can be a delicate balancing act. I detailed my loss in a previous post up thread, that is why I have found tracking on MFP works so well. I can adjust calories in/targets to allow for these differences. Accepting a slower loss through harder days, when the calorie deficit was smaller. But I also found cutting to low, would also trigger a flare of my autoimmune disease, needing adequate "fuel" to get through these days. But accurate calorie journals, compared to my loss, over time, helped me find my "sweet spot".

JPaigeWatts · February 2020

Wendyanneroberts wrote: »

As well as my physical disability, I also have a heart condition & autoimmune disease. My days can vary so much between "good" & "bad" periods, of each and can be a delicate balancing act. I detailed my loss in a previous post up thread, that is why I have found tracking on MFP works so well. I can adjust calories in/targets to allow for these differences. Accepting a slower loss through harder days, when the calorie deficit was smaller. But I also found cutting to low, would also trigger a flare of my autoimmune disease, needing adequate "fuel" to get through these days. But accurate calorie journals, compared to my loss, over time, helped me find my "sweet spot".

Mine affects my heart as well (kidneys, eyes, liver, lungs) - pretty much what it decides to go to war with. I battle it with prayer, praise, and a good ole sense of humor.

I read a shirt once that said “Auto Immune Disease: Because the only one tough enough to kick my behind is ME!” Loved it! I originally started attempting a 2lb weight loss and 1200 calories. I lost 4lbs and then nothing. I felt awful and hungry. I then adjusted it to 1lb which gave me a little over 1500 calories and I’m working my way to a 10lb loss. So I get what you’re saying.

I read thru some community posts and kept seeing a lot about macros and keto and just decided to stop reading and ask my own question, lol. You’re doing AWESOME!

JPaigeWatts · February 2020

lgfrie wrote: »

Plus, we love carbs

👆🏻 Same brother, same!

Luke_rabbit · February 2020

While I walk and do a little bit of gentle yoga, I can't do much more exercise without risking pain flare ups.

Calorie counting has allowed me to lose a little over 20 pounds since last Spring. I now weigh 122 lbs - I am 5'3" and 55 years old.

serindipte · February 2020

I love carbs! Didn't keep me from losing weight at all.

ActionRZ · February 2020

Even though I “try” to somewhat limit carbs, I basically just watch calories only. However, I am also trying to eat more protein. I am almost at my original set goal weight but I also figured I’d have more muscle by then too.

NorthCascades · February 2020

I lost weight and kept eating bagels, just not as many. Also rice, oatmeal, fruits, veggies, pasta, none of it prevented me from losing weight. I had to work them into my calories though.

amusedmonkey · February 2020

Yep, 30+, lost 140 lbs, exercise was mostly walking (although I did introduce running later after having lost a good portion), and the only thing I paid attention to was calories, although I did keep a loose eye on protein because I tend to undereat it.

Edit: I have also taken weeks off activity, not even walking, because I have a chronic back condition that flares up sometimes and I'm almost 100% bedbound during recovery. With less activity, I had to choose either to eat less or to take a maintenance break during these times. Towards the end of my weight loss I tended to just eat at maintenance because I didn't have as many calories to play with during inactive phases as I did when I first started.

I also took maintenance breaks whenever I couldn't deal with dieting for whatever reason. One of these breaks lasted an entire year, and it was an even greater achievement than weight loss itself because it proved to me that I could maintain the weight I lost sustainably with calorie counting. My progress was slow with lots of breaks, but it was sustainable. I don't think I would have managed it had I tried to rush it because I know I'm prone to burnout.

yirara · February 2020

One problem with autoimmune conditions is that during a flareup your body might store more water to help healing the attack. This is not fat, but it still shows up on the scale. Also, some medications (steroids) lead to an increased water weight and to more hunger. If you are aware of the first you're fine. Just keep on telling yourself that it's just water and will go on it's own again. The second is something you need to work on. It's hard, but doable.

missysippy930 · February 2020

I lost 100 pounds before I even began to walk more. So yes, as so many said, it’s very possible. I went on to lose 40 more pounds with elliptical and walking, and using light weights.
Weight loss occurs when you eat less calories than your body burns. Exercise is very beneficial for overall health, and recommended, but not necessary for weight loss.

nighthawk584 · February 2020

almost 100 lbs with CICO. I eat balanced diet. Carbs are around 200-300 ...makes no difference. I exercise 7 days a week, but that has nothing to do with my weight loss. I eat back every exercise calorie. The "secret" has ALWAYS been counting calories and staying at a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Luke_rabbit · February 2020

bold_rabbit wrote: »

While I walk and do a little bit of gentle yoga, I can't do much more exercise without risking pain flare ups.

Calorie counting has allowed me to lose a little over 20 pounds since last Spring. I now weigh 122 lbs - I am 5'3" and 55 years old.

And my macro answer:

I'm a pescatarian/ mostly vegetarian and I eat a lot of carbs (45-50%)! The only macro I "watch" is protein. While losing, I tried to get 70-100 grams. I now usually get 80-110 grams. I don't want to go too low (for general health) or too high (kidney concern per my nephrologist). I eat in the 1600-1700 calorie range for maintenance.

Kiyomoo · February 2020

Well, certainly. I've lost 92 pounds by just doing CICO.

I have had brief periods of exercise here and there, but all of that combined wouldn't count for more than 2 or 3 pounds at most. I was never consistent the times I exercised.

I am 23.

Kiyomoo · February 2020

JPaigeWatts wrote: »

The reason for my question is, due to overlapping auto immune disease, I have to be careful with what I do. If I go low carb, I drip blood from my cuticles and bruise easily. I can lose weight and then have a flare up and gain like nobody’s business. It’s frustrating. However, with Keto and Low Carb, etc... so popular, I just wanted some encouragement that doing this in a way that helps me feel my best will still work. I have weeks to months where I can lift weights and walk a couple miles. Then I have moments where my legs won’t work at all and I’m wheelchair bound. With counting calories I can adjust what I eat and when to fit my needs at the time — it’s just helpful knowing that I don’t have to listen to all the hype about diets that don’t help me, and I thank each of you for being an encouragement!

Those diets, low carb, KETO, intermittent fasting, whatever it is... all of those work because of CICO. They may not be actually counting their calories when they use those diets, but if those diets work for them, it is because they are burning off more calories than they are taking in.

Terytha · February 2020

I've always ignored my macros. And I lost my first 40 lbs only counting calories and not doing much else. I've been exercising since, but I'm just trying to avoid too much loose skin.

Danp · February 2020

Lost the first 30-35kg (65-75lbs) with nothing but changing the number of calories I ate. Zero working out or exercising. I didn't even change my diet and continued to eat the same foods I had always eaten. The only change I made was that I tracked and paid attention to how much of that food I was eating and made sure that most of the time I was in a calorie deficit.

I've gotten to the point now where I was able to get a bit more active and workout occasionally but exercise hasn't really done a thing as far as losing weight is concerned. My progress with or without working out is pretty much the same, or if anything my weight loss has slowed down a little as I'm having to decrease my deficit to fuel my fitness goals.

So yeah. I've lost significant amount of weight (52kg / 114lbs) and by every known measurement (at least those run by my doctor) am in great health all while eating the same foods that made me fat. I'm the poster boy for "it's all about calorie balance"

“Just” Calories In/Calories Out

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