Losing weight without calorie counting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I started doing intermittent fasting a month ago today, and I've lost 3.5 lbs doing nothing except keeping my eating window to 6 - 8 hours (window just depends on how I feel that day).

I had a few days before my period where I didn't fast and just ate intuitively (i.e., way more carbs and cookies but no late night snacking), and another night where I went out with friends and was eating and drinking late into the night. The weight loss is really slow, but it's steady and consistent. I feel a lot better, my skin looks great.

The best part is that I'm no longer craving a pile of carbs every night between dinner and bedtime. I'm confident that my late-night snacking was the reason for my 40lb weight gain over the last few years (well, that and perimenopause, stress, covid...but I coped with all that by eating crazy amounts of total crap every night once the kids were in bed). Cutting that out has made me feel so much better. I don't restrict what I eat with IF, don't do keto or anything else.

I have always been a really healthy eater at meals, but I've been an absolute binge eater outside of meals for the last several years and saw myself go from the low end of healthy BMI to 0.1 away from obese on the BMI chart. YMMV depending on your food issues. I told myself I'd quit IF after a month if it wasn't working, but I feel so much better that I don't see myself quitting any time soon!

I tried IF and it was not hard for me to eat in a shortish window, but coffee was my downfall. I really need coffee in the AM and could not get used to having it black. And since family dinner around seven is the one consistent meal we eat together I could not do an early eating window instead.

I'm PP -- Not trying to convince you to give IF another go, but I often have some half & half or even whole milk in my coffee. I don't mind black coffee (a pinch of salt actually helps as well!), but some days it upsets my stomach so I just have the extra calories and don't sweat it. I read that half & half or heavy cream doesn't impact the fast unless you're very strict or need to fast for medical reasons. I started fasting because I need to lose weight and realized that 15 calories of cream was not going to make or break things - and it hasn't! I'm trying to make this sustainable and not have it turn into an eating disorder, so I give myself grace on things like that.

[Anonymous]

I tried IF and it was not hard for me to eat in a shortish window, but coffee was my downfall. I really need coffee in the AM and could not get used to having it black. And since family dinner around seven is the one consistent meal we eat together I could

I have coffee with two tb of half n half. Doesn’t raise insulin. Then I eat anytime lunch between 12-2 and dinner at 7. This is just maintaining for me. While the cream breaks a fast, it doesn’t effect insulin levels at that quantity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I tried IF and it was not hard for me to eat in a shortish window, but coffee was my downfall. I really need coffee in the AM and could not get used to having it black. And since family dinner around seven is the one consistent meal we eat together I could

I have coffee with two tb of half n half. Doesn’t raise insulin. Then I eat anytime lunch between 12-2 and dinner at 7. This is just maintaining for me. While the cream breaks a fast, it doesn’t effect insulin levels at that quantity.

I have lost 8lbs in 6 months doing almost exactly the same. I have whole milk in my coffee. If I'm super hungry, I might also have 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal with salt. I know 8lbs is not a ton but at this rate I'll be at my target weight by the end of this year.

[Anonymous]

I have lost about 25 pounds at this point and kept it off without calorie counting or IF. Neither really worked for me.

What worked for me is editing my diet until I found what made me feel healthy and helped lose weight. This means that the vast majority of what I eat is fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. I have a coffee with milk in the morning and usually a little bit of yogurt during the day. There was a lot of trial and error.

No one gains weight on carrots and steamed broccoli. I know one pp said “but who lives on steamed broccoli???” Me. I do. And it’s actually not so bad. I have very much cut down but not eliminated bread, rice, and sugar. When you cut a lot of sugar out of your diet you begin to be able to really taste and enjoy the natural sweetness in fruits and vegetables.

My body also seems ok with dairy, which I know can be problematic for some people. I occasionally have some chips, a small sandwich, some dessert. I just don’t usually keep these things in my home for regular consumption. If I’m going to eat some cake, for example, I usually have to get up and make it myself, from scratch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lost weight using Myfitnesspal before. The problem is, I always always always gain it all back because it is not sustainable. I have this mindset of "I need to weigh/measure out and log every last exact gram of food that enters my mouth"- which is not realistic because, you know, I'm not always at home when I eat and I can't pull out my food scale at a restaurant and weigh my salmon. LOL. It's just a mental block that means calorie counting is not going to work for me. I have a significant amount of weight to lose (i'm 5'7" and 240 pounds. No judgment please.) But then I also have this mental block of like...if you're not precisely counting calories you can't lose weight! I like the control that comes with knowing exactly how many cals I'm eating for cals in cals out. But it's not feasible for me. But...I need to lose weight. If you've lost weight without cal counting (like...a lot)...tell me about your experience. I will not do intermittent fasting, keto, etc.

Presumably you would have learned how to eyeball portion sizes from going through the exercise of weighing and measuring. It doesn't have to be exact. Familiarize yourself with what 4oz looks like when it comes to protein. Usually fits in the palm of your hand or a deck of cards. Figure out what a tablespoon vs teaspoon looks like, and what 1 cup, 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup looks like. If you figure just those out, you're way ahead. So example: 4oz of chicken breast cooked in 1tsp of olive or avocado oil (because you need fat), with 1/2 quinoa (cooked). And when it comes to green vegetables, no measuring is required. Eat as much as you can handle.

[Anonymous]

Well, here's a person who might want to try powerlifting. Adding muscle mass increases your metabolism, fairly significantly.

I went from 165 to 125 without a diet change through strength training.

[Anonymous]

Calorie cycling, op. Google it and implement it. If you plateau like you say you do, it is not the age messing up your metabolism. It is that your body is programmed to do one thing: store, store, store.

You have, in essence, by counting and eating so few calories all the time, trained your body to store cling onto every morsel!

This is, I think, the biggest obstacle to all people trying to lose weight that are capable of great self-control. You have to tell your body that it is not in a famine state. You do that by eating more calories. Then, after a week, two, or more, each person is different, you restrict, and then you will lose weight. Think of weight loss as peaks and valleys, not as a downward spiral.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried Weight Watchers? A different kind of calorie counting with incentives built in to help you make healthier choices. Works for me.

[Anonymous]

I started at your weight last year and am down 60 pounds. I started with gastroplasty (stomach stapling) which didn't help much- just lost 20 pounds. I tend to snack rather than eat big meals and this procedure is just about limiting total amount. Then I went on wegovy and lost the rest of the weight- it's been a great drug for me. But it's hard to get- most insurance doesn't cover. But it's great- I don't count calories but just don't feel like eating. I'm not transitioning to ozempic for maintenance which is less than half the regular wegovy dose but insurance covers it. And hope I can maintain weigh loss on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, here's a person who might want to try powerlifting. Adding muscle mass increases your metabolism, fairly significantly.

I went from 165 to 125 without a diet change through strength training.

Are you male? I think it matters. Men seem to take off weight through exercise alone quite easily. I'm a woman and exercise, including weightlifting, just makes me hungry.

[Anonymous]

I think if you can approximate your calories without obsessively counting them, you can do this.

I have lost 15 lbs in 6 wks by cutting back on what I eat and how much I eat. And I feel great, I am going to keep going as I could do with losing a further 15 lbs.

So I'm "roughly" eating 1200-1500 per day without being exact about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I tried IF and it was not hard for me to eat in a shortish window, but coffee was my downfall. I really need coffee in the AM and could not get used to having it black. And since family dinner around seven is the one consistent meal we eat together I could

I have coffee with two tb of half n half. Doesn’t raise insulin. Then I eat anytime lunch between 12-2 and dinner at 7. This is just maintaining for me. While the cream breaks a fast, it doesn’t effect insulin levels at that quantity.

I have lost 8lbs in 6 months doing almost exactly the same. I have whole milk in my coffee. If I'm super hungry, I might also have 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal with salt. I know 8lbs is not a ton but at this rate I'll be at my target weight by the end of this year.

Same! I do IF but put a good splash of whole milk in my coffee every morning. I don’t really consider this breaking the fast.

[Anonymous]

I have never counted calories. I know how much is too much. I have a brain. Eat until you are not hungry, not until you are "full." I learned that from spending a fair amount of time in Europe. Put the fork down!

I eat as many veggies and soups as I want in any amount.

I no longer buy any junk food and I never should have. My kids only see it at school and birthday parties.

I lost my 22 pounds and it has stayed off for 12 years. I am only 5'1" so even an extra five pounds makes it difficult to zipper my pants. I walk, do yoga, and light weights. I feel and look good. I am 112.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never counted calories. I know how much is too much. I have a brain. Eat until you are not hungry, not until you are "full." I learned that from spending a fair amount of time in Europe. Put the fork down!

I eat as many veggies and soups as I want in any amount.

I no longer buy any junk food and I never should have. My kids only see it at school and birthday parties.

I lost my 22 pounds and it has stayed off for 12 years. I am only 5'1" so even an extra five pounds makes it difficult to zipper my pants. I walk, do yoga, and light weights. I feel and look good. I am 112.

This is still calorie counting of a sort - you have approximated the calorie contents by choosing to eat less and better, and that's fine, that's also what I do, it is less obsessive and restrictive, you know your own body better and have catered to your dietary needs.

I've lost 16 lbs in 2 months and feel so pleased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never counted calories. I know how much is too much. I have a brain. Eat until you are not hungry, not until you are "full." I learned that from spending a fair amount of time in Europe. Put the fork down!

I eat as many veggies and soups as I want in any amount.

I no longer buy any junk food and I never should have. My kids only see it at school and birthday parties.

I lost my 22 pounds and it has stayed off for 12 years. I am only 5'1" so even an extra five pounds makes it difficult to zipper my pants. I walk, do yoga, and light weights. I feel and look good. I am 112.

This is still calorie counting of a sort - you have approximated the calorie contents by choosing to eat less and better, and that's fine, that's also what I do, it is less obsessive and restrictive, you know your own body better and have catered to your dietary needs.

I've lost 16 lbs in 2 months and feel so pleased.

Yeah I agree. Many people just do not have a good sense of what they’re eating/how much they’re eating. Once you know that, you don’t need to count— you will just know naturally approximately how much you’re eating. But a lot of people don’t know this! Nutrition knowledge is pretty poor in the US. I had a friend recently tell me that she was “shocked” at the number of calories in a bag of chips. I mean, duh, right? But she genuinely didn’t know and was eating almost 1000+ calories by grabbing “just a few handfuls” every day. People also fail to understand portion sizes— that box of crackers is actually like 10 portions! Etc.

I think it’s important to truly see what you’re eating- whether that’s through a diary or calorie counting or whatever. You only need to do it for a week or two. Then you’ll start doing it naturally.