Why does it have to be rocket science????

It makes perfect sense.... for YOU and probably a lot of people. Others need more motivation, more accountability, more concentration. Doesnt matter what you need as long as you achieve the desired results.

It's not rocket science and it doesn't have to be. I agree! I would personally ignore your macros if you feel well and are happy with your food quality overall. That's one big set of numbers out of the picture. And if you don't like the intense workouts, ditch them. You can get enough cardio for heart health by taking a 20 minute brisk walk 5 times a week. Up your activity by going to the mall more, it doesn't matter how it happens. You probably have a feel for how much you can eat without gaining weight, so just try going by your sense of appropriateness and listen to your body. If the pants get tight, track calories a few days and adjust. Then go back to eyeballing it. The more we make it into a big math problem and obsession, the more it becomes that way. I get sick of it, too. If half the energy women put into their appearance was put into something truly productive, the world would have no problems at all, I think.

I don't lose weight naturally lol... I bounce around between eating too little and eating WAY. TOO. MUCH. So I have to track... and there's a sweet spot. And when I'm in it, the weight comes off. When I'm not, it doesn't.

I have to be precise to see results. Sad, but true.

Here's my take on the whole thing.

For me, there are 2 aspects:
1) Like Finance and managing your household income and debt and all that stuff, it's not taught to you. Most parents never discuss it, and it's not really taught in schools. Sure, you might have one class, but it's not a priority. So, you never really learn the importance of good nutrition and exercise. I never realized that PE and sports were exercise. So, when I got older and stopped all that, I didn't continue any of it. I didn't realize that I'm supposed to keep it up. For my kids, PE has been eliminated, so they are worse off because they don't even have that.
2) We live in a world where food is plentiful and the life of leisure is awesome. No one works 18 hours a day in hard manual labor, goes home to sleep and back at it again the next day. That doesn't exist much for anyone here on this site. So, your idea of "it's too much work" is really skewed. Humans used to spend all day hunting and gathering and making stuff and doing hard manual labor. They didn't have to think about anything. They just had to do it to survive. Eating wasn't for nutrition, it was to survive. You now live in a place where eating is more a luxury than a necessity.

It's an odd time we live in.

I think if a person just decides that they are going to eat reasonably well, workout 3 days a week, then that's fine. Just be happy with it and don't worry. No one is forcing anyone to count, and it's def not for everyone. I don't even tell anyone I do that because they think I'm crazy.

There's a happy healthy zone where maybe youre 10 to 20 lbs over where you'd like to be, but you're happy. Like I said, you don't log your food, but you do think about your choices and eat pretty good most of the time, you keep your exercise kind of simple and just do it a few times a week. And, that's all. I think that's very valid and I can see someone being that way by choice. As long as you don't get too over the top with it. Being overweight brings about problems, like high blood pressure and things like that, but as long as you get check-ups, eat well, exercise at a reasonable level - I think they say you only really need a few hours a week to stay healthy, then there is nothing wrong with that at all.

I am so sick of paying attention to calories and weight. I don't care how much I weigh and I don't want my life to revolve around working out and nutrition. I know it has to consume a small part, but why does it have to be so intense?
For instance....if you don't eat enough protein, your body starts to burn the muscle.

Is this making sense or am I running on too much?????

Because nothing good comes easy and keeping an eye on macronutrients and exercising is part of a healthy lifestyle. Strange how you don't care about calories or weight the launch a tirade about not eating enough protein.

You'll burn fats and carbohydrates before going catabolic and start using muscle as fuel.

You are running on too much, stop making excuses for not putting the effort in. Those who do see the benefits of their hard work and feel fitter, look better and are happier and certainly don't post about what a chore it is to keep an eye on what they eat.

The alternative is stay overweight, unhealthy and miserable. Your choice.

Happythermia and I agree. I eat anything I want. Sometimes it is definitely smaller amounts and try hard to stay in my calorie range. Now I do have a lot of weight to go before I reach my first goal. If you are healthy and progressing as you want go for it. I get frantic when I see these posts of people doing hour long intense workouts 2 times a day. I do exercise but there's no way I would stick to working out that hard for the rest of my life. Slower but still moving downward will have to do for me.

I feel you! but if I dont keep track of what i eat, I can so easily overeat *sigh*

I am so sick of paying attention to calories and weight. I don't care how much I weigh and I don't want my life to revolve around working out and nutrition. I know it has to consume a small part, but why does it have to be so intense?
For instance....if you don't eat enough protein, your body starts to burn the muscle.
Cutting out everything and constantly watching everything that goes in your mouth to make sure you're not eating too many calories. I sometimes hit almost 3000 on days I workout to Insanity or P90X. I am always sooo hungry. Their good food choices....organic lettuces with walnuts and homeade balsamic vinegar with olive oil. I eat skinless chicken breasts on the George Foreman and green beans or broccoli. I'm always eating fresh fruit and veggies for snacks and barely ever eat anything out of a box. I'm all about whole foods with a very minimal amount of processed garbage. I may have 3 or so alcaholic beverages a week and possible too much sugar when "Aunt Flo" is visiting, but I am happy with good foods....my point? Food isn't the issue, or is it?
I just want to work out, enjoy running, lifting weights for strength and eat what is good for me without the fear of calories or if its too much. If i'm hungry, I jsut want to eat.....
Is this making sense or am I running on too much?????

Just a couple other thoughts. Ignore the myths you see here. You don't really have to worry so much about your protein intake and your BMR and you for sure don't have to live off chicken breasts and green beans OR do P90X or Insanity. You can be healthy, probably moreso, by doing half what you're doing. Have some foods you miss now and then, lay off the Beachbody nutso over-the-top workouts (unless you enjoy them), take some walks instead, have some pizza. Just do it all in moderation. I have a tendency to be "whole hog" on plan or whole hog off, too. It's a tough skill to learn but you'll drive yourself nuts trying to micromanage every calorie and work out like a maniac all week.

Not 'rocket' science, it's 'bro' science. Somehow the ancient greeks managed to invent bodybuilding and the Olympics without counting their macros and calories. That's something to think about. If you can listen to your body to know how to eat properly, I would think that would be ideal. For me, I find it easy to lose control of portion sizes and things like that without measuring and counting. I guess it's like any other addiction, except you can't just stop eating like you can stop drinking alcohol or smoking.