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Thin Dcum's who count calories and don't exercise intensely
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Anonymous
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Just curious how many calories/ day you eat.
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Anonymous
| 5'6, 128 lbs. Varies. Less than 2,000 some days but most days between 2,000 and 2,500. Often have soup with bread and cheese for lunch. |
Anonymous
| 5'3 120lbs and still trying to get into shape. 1200-1500 calories. Use portion control. |
Anonymous
| Does calorie counting actually work without exercise? I've found my body just goes into "hibernation" mode and just gets more efficient without losing weight. |
Anonymous
| 5'8 and 138 lbs (don't know if this qualifies) - but I eat between 1600-2000 calories a day and don't exercise beyond using the stairs and walking the escalators. It's all about portion control. |
Anonymous
| PP 138lber here - portion control definitely worked for me - I lost 20 pounds just by doing that, and once I got to my goal weight, I find I can eat a little more and more treats and still maintain/lose on a weekly basis. I was amazed at how many calories I was consuming on a regular basis - especially due to serving sizes in restaurants and fast food. |
Anonymous
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I have come to realize that it's all about the calories. I thought if I worked out I could eat whatever I wanted. Totally not true.
I recently finally lost 15 lbs by doing a total of 2 hours intense cardio per week (30 minutes 4 days!), and limiting calories to 1500-1800 per day. Before I was working out like a madwoman, doing classes at the gym, lifting weights (which I am going to add back in now), doing squats and push ups during my free moments of the day. And lost NOTHING. Because my mindset was, I can eat because I work out. |
Anonymous
| I limit to 1500 duing the week, but on weekends or if we go out to dinner I don't count. |
Anonymous
| What's the best way to count calories if you eat mostly homecooked food? I record what I eat, but I haven't gotten as far as counting the calories because it seems so laborious to weigh/measure all the ingredients, add up the calories, divide by number of portions, etc. |
Anonymous
I completely agree. I got into a huge fight with a friend who is getting her Ph.D. in exercise physiology over this, b/c when that Time magazine article came out last summer saying that exercise won't help you lose weight if you just use the exercise as an excuse to eat more, she was furious. But I thought it sounded very logical. For years I've been consistent with running, yoga, weights, etc., but my size stayed at a 12, when I really should be more of an 8-10. Now I'm doing weight watchers and keeping a close eye on my portions and using veggies and some fruit to fill up rather than eating more processed foods, and the weight is coming off pretty easily. I just shifted my mindset so that I don't see exercise as a free check for eating more food. |
Anonymous
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I think it's a common misconception about exercise and weight. If you actually learn how many calories are in the food you eat and how many calories you burn with various activities, it's really obvious, though. I think calorie counting was passe for a couple of decades as a weight loss method, so a generation of women (and men) didn't realize that you have to monitor intake.
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Anonymous
It can be a little labor intensive up front, then it gets easier. You probably have a certain set of meals/recipes that you make over and over, so once you do your calculations, you'll be all set. Even if you make a new recipe a couple times a week (which is probably more frequently than most people), it won't be that much additional work. |
Anonymous
I'm 5'9 and 126lb, and although I exercise regularly, I don't count calories. I never eat when I'm not hungry, and I only eat until I feel satisfied, I never "stuff" myself. I eat slowly so I stop well before that point. Last night I had ice cream.  If a pint of Ben and Jerry's says 4 servings, for me that really is 4 (or even 5-6) servings.
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Anonymous
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I don't count calories but I always just avoided foods that are high calorie. I always maintained a normal to thin weight and if I was running I was thin even though I ate larger amounts. This approach worked my entire life until I moved to the burbs and hit 40. I walked everywhere pre-burbs and now we drive. Walking just is not an option and I didn't realize how much exercise I had been getting without exercising. The restaurants out in the burbs tend to focus on family value. You get huge portions. I am now ordering things like pasta that the kids will share with me instead of the salad I would prefer. At 40, my metabolism slowed down a bit making a big difference. Having kids and losing the baby weight has honestly been less of an impact to my weight than burbs, restaurants, and 40s.
So its back to running, which I like to do for fun but not so much as a regular routine. I just don't think that you can counter some of the lifestyle constraints and age impacts to your weight by only counting calories without exercise. |
Anonymous
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OP here
I have always been and 5-6 day/ week 5 mile runner. After having my third child in feb, I am realizing exercising a lot and eating what I want is not going to happen for a while. I am looking for affirmation that I can achieve an ideal weight with calorie restriction plus being active running after the kids and eventually getting back to running when things settle down. Thanks for all the great feedback! |