Does anyone here not count calories, points, carbs, etc. or follow any specific plan...
Does anyone, do portion control for things like proteins, and foods that are higher in calories and use things like non carby veggies to fill up on as a successful plan for weight loss & eating healthier?
I think perhaps I fit that bill. I say I count calories, but I think in reality I practice strict portion control .
I eat six small meals a day consisting of about 200 calories each, and though I'm pretty strict with it, I don't actually count it anymore. I just already know what it is...it's fairly automated. For instance, always steel cut oats with raw honey and soy milk after cardio, always eggs after lifting, always yogurt with berries and walnuts for snack, etc. My dinner varies.
I have restricted carbs because I'm sensitive to them and they stall my weight loss.
I do exercise like a fool, I'll admit that. I'm pretty regimented about it and am always looking for ways to increase my activity.
I do not journal and I do not measure my food anymore. I know those are red flags for people, and those who have followed my journey are probably rolling their eyes because I complain alot about stalls. But I am confident that I UNDER eat, I don't over eat anymore.
In any case, it works for me. The stalls I complain about are really not stalls because I steadily lose inches. It just depends on which day you catch me on as to whether or not my mood depends on the scale.
I was not tracking anything on paper for a while. I just recently started tracking calories, fat, protein and carbs to make sure I was getting enough of everything in my diet. It turned out my protein was low. My fat intake was low too.
But, I did lose weight not keeping up with calories and stuff. I lost most of it by just eating healthier and exercising.
I lost 150 lbs doing that in just eating better, following mostly a whole foods diet. Of course I realize that in order to lose more weight, I need to count. Although even when I wasn't counting calories, every once in a while I'd plug my day into fitday or something just to see where I was at but it certainly wasn't a daily or even weekly thing.
I'm not following any plan specifically. I have counted calories, so I have an idea of what I'm supposed to eat. But mostly, I just do intuitve eating--I eat when I'm hungry (and I have to be honest about when I'm actually hungry vs. pyschologically hungry) and I stop when I'm not hungry. It can be slow, but it works well and allows me to not at all feel guilty about eating anything at all, as long as I don't eat too much of it. (I had the guilt problem with calorie counting, and it lead me to quickly go off-plan). Of course, I generally only eat healthy foods, with treats from time to time.
It's totally something that I can sustain too, which is really useful. I call it my "eat less s--t" plan!
I'm OCD about counting calories it's driving me crazy. I'm OCD no matter what plan I'm following. I also drive everyone around me crazy with it.
I was talking to my doctor about it and he suggested doing what I talked about in post # 1, just portion control and not worrying about counting calories for a while to take the pressure off. Just learn to eat healthier and make it a habit and then eventually maybe starting to count calories to tweak my plan for things I might be missing.
Of course this guy has never had a weight or eating issue in his entire life.
But it really sounds appealing to just use portion control.
It's good to hear some of you are doing this and are/was successful at it.
Ah, see this mentality I understand. It's why I do not journal. Journaling is just one more thing I could potentially quit. I can't have anything in my plan that I could potentially quit or have reason to quit. I have to keep it as simple as possible.
I have OCD issues with this process too. The latest is that I found a crack in the road at the top of my cul-de-sac which has become my turn around point. *sigh* My husband laughs at me each and every time. But I know if I walk the crack, then two times around the cul-de-sac is exactly 1 mile. If I don't walk the crack, well then who knows how far I walked?
Ah, see this mentality I understand. It's why I do not journal. Journaling is just one more thing I could potentially quit. I can't have anything in my plan that I could potentially quit or have reason to quit. I have to keep it as simple as possible.
I have OCD issues with this process too. The latest is that I found a crack in the road at the top of my cul-de-sac which has become my turn around point. *sigh* My husband laughs at me each and every time. But I know if I walk the crack, then two times around the cul-de-sac is exactly 1 mile. If I don't walk the crack, well then who knows how far I walked?
I completely understand how you feel about the crack.
I have lost 85lbs so far without calorie counting or following any specific plan.
I used to binge massively and eat a LOT throughout the day, so for me my plan is no eating between meals. My meals are much smaller portions than I used to eat and I have made adjustments to make them lower fat etc.
I then exercise 6 days a week, 1 day swimming for 60mins, 2 days doing a step class for 45mins, and 3 days in the gym for almost 2hrs. I started running in January and am now up to running for almost 40mins non-stop and that features as part of my gym workout, but some days I do a run outside instead of swimming as I class swimming as an easy day and running is HARD.
As the weight has come down I have increased the exercise to burn more calories.
I appreciate that further down the line I may need to change things, but for now it's working well for me and I'm making the most of it.
I'm mindful of what I eat and I guestimate calories. I don't specifically look up the calories in the things I eat, but I have been doing this long enough to have a pretty good sense of how many calories are in the things I eat. I'm also very predictable in the foods I eat (I eat what I love and I don't get bored, so I usually eat the same healthy things).
For example, I eat a wheat bagel with peanut butter every morning. High in calories but the fiber and protein keep me full right up till lunch. I also like to have the carbs and to fuel my morning workout at the gym. That breakfast alone is about 500 calories. For lunch, I usually go to the D'Angelos and get a small turkey sub and a bag of baked lays and together that is also around 550 calories. Dinner is usually something healthy in the 800-1000 calories range. I generally try for between 2000-2200 calories but everything is a guess.
My big thing is portion control and trying to eat normal amounts of food. I don't really snack and I don't "graze" as that gets me in trouble. I try to plan my meals where I know I'm getting good amounts of lean protein and fiber (I love lean burritos loaded with black beans, for example).
For me, it is more art than science. I know what is healthy and I know what is a normal amount. I would not do well strictly counting calories or measuring food. That is too much work and I would give up after a while.
Oh and I suppose I should've said like Matt, I am very aware of calories even when I didn't 'count' them. Like I'd look up the calories of what I was eating and I'd read labels/check calories of items I bought. Like I might not know that the apple I ate was exactly 86 calories but I'd know that apples of medium size are around 100 calories and things like that.
When I first started I was on the core plan with weight watchers (called simply filling now) because I didn't want to count & wanted to learn how to eat healthy. I lost about 60lbs that way & probably could have did it all the way but sometimes I have processed food (like during baseball season, sometimes it's a lot off my plate if I eat a frozen meal). If I didn't lose for a couple of weeks I'd count points to make sure I wasn't eating too much or not enough.
I don't follow any plan. Calorie counting and food journals are triggers for bad things for me so I avoid them. I mainly try to eat 3 small meals and 2 snacks, with lots of vegetables and whole grains. I occasionally read food labels, but that usually only if I'm about to buy a box of cookies or crackers at the grocery store.
My biggest problem has always been a lack of movement, so now I've been adding a 2-3 mile walk 5x a week to go with my food.
I'm also not following not and specific plan. I try to get at least 4 servings of veggies, 2 servings of fruit, 3 servings of protein, 2-3 servings of starches and 1-2 servings on dairy - divided into 3 meals and 2 snacks every day. I also drink a lot of water, around 3 litres a day.
Does anyone?
