No, I'm not saying you're gonna get fat eating baby carrots or celery sticks. I highly doubt that's possible, since celery, especially, has very little calories. But I mean things like baked fish, chicken breast, many types of veggies, things like that. The calories add up and they add up quick. I found that I lost weight way too slowly (meaning it took forever just to lose one pound) when I did the "as long as I eat healthy and exercise, the weight will come off" thing.
Well and I EAT those things... as well as peanut butter, granola and even beef.. all in reasonable portions. Emphasis on reasonable portions. And I am losing an average of 1-2 (usually 2) pounds a week.
I'm not saying it's for everyone... but that it CAN be done. Personally I would never be able to maintain a habit of having to write down everything I eat and all that.. would drive me up a wall. But ya, we are all different.
Oh I should clarify... I am definitely AWARE of the calories I eat and the nutritional value, etc. I just don't log stuff, journal and all that. I KNOW that celery is better than chocolate, etc.
Well, I am not aware of calorie numbers at all. I wouldn't be able to approximate how many calories are in anything... well let's see... I know that water has none, celery has a little more, and chocolate has a lot. That's my best at approximation... no numbers though.
But of course I do have a good idea of what a portion looks like and nutritional value of different foods. I think journaling is also important for most people trying to manage weight. When I first started trying to lose weight (in 2001) I journaled everything.. I didn't work out calories or measure with an instument but just wrote down what and when I ate. Eyeballing portions etc.. It was certainly necessary and helpful or I wouldn't have really seen what was going into my mouth.
The regain of the weight was of course easy ... I should have seen it coming. Without keeping myself accountable with calorie numbers and not journaling my exercise anymore it was like I was in a coma.
I think not counting calories and all this is harder in the sense that it is easier to live in denial. But I know that over the short term calorie counting is not possible for me.. and over the long term I won't develop the ability, even if I did I wouldn't sustain it... so I don't. But I know that if I keep my exercise in check and journal my activities it is so much easier to be mindful about my eating. So journaling exercise and weighing every morning are my safety nets...
Counting calories or not... it all takes awareness and discipline. And lots and lots of support. Glad to see all of you here.
I don't count or weigh food or anything. Like all of y'all, I've just made an effort to make much better choices! Simple things like 2% milk, whole wheat instead of white bread, more veggies, brown rice, diet soda if I MUST have soda, fat free latte's instead of full fat caramel macchiato's...stuff like that. My weight is coming off slowly, but it's coming off! I DO have 'bad' foods once in awhile, but I look at the calories and just make the best, bad choice...lol.
I only log my bike miles for the 500 mile challenge, and because I'm watching my mileage go up ride by ride because I'm hoping to do a self supported century (100 mile ride) sometime in the next year or so. When I jog/walk I go for time and how I feel/sweat factor. I have an obsessive personality and that could be very bad for me if I started in on numbers and all that.
I think not counting calories and all this is harder in the sense that it is easier to live in denial.
Well I look at it exactly the opposite! Putting so much focus and time on food is IMO detrimental... I don't NEED to focus on food all the time; exactly the opposite.
And I guess I am an old timer LOL but I grew up on a farm way out in the sticks of Missouri... and even as long as my parents were able they ran a huge cattle farm. Believe me, when I was in high school doing all that I certainly never need to count calories, go to a gym or whatever... and I doubt if either of my parents ever set foot in one but they were thin as could be all their lives!
For me it was just a matter of quitting the junk habit, eating right and getting off my couch potato butt and getting it out there moving! I don't NEED all the fancy diet programs, counting anything or journaling it, or anything else to lose the weight and get in shape except my own common sense, doing what is right, and getting off my butt.
Note I am not putting such things down if they help people... but it is SO interesting and "telling" at how often I get told it can't be done my way. People actually recommend their diet plans to me all the time when they see I am losing weight. <G> Oh by the way my DOCTOR says I am doing it right. My blood pressure has even gone down by 20 or 30 points!!!
When I started losing weight, I only counted super foods. I didn't think about counting calories at all! I started counting calories to ensure I was eating ENOUGH. I wanted to hit my goal weight with a hot metabolism, not a depressed metabolism that would make it super easy to regain weight (like my previous weight loss attempts).
I still count calories to make sure I am eating enough. Since I eat mostly whole foods (concentrating on fruits/vegetables) it's easy to dip down to 1400 or so without even meaning to (trying to keep my metabolism hot by staying around 1800+).
I now use Fitday to track grams of protein a day (trying to stay above 100), eat enough healthy fats (20%) and to track vitamins/minerals etc. I tend to plan out my meals in advance (I usually do Fitday 2-3 days in advance) and make slight tweaks to make sure I am hitting all my food goals (10+ super foods a day, 100 grams of protein, at least 1750 calories, at least 20% of calories from healthy fats etc).
Did you lose your weight by never counting or do you just no longer count now that you're at your goal?
Well, I used FitDay maybe the first month of my "diet", but that was it. I didn't want to have to count calories, journal, and weigh food for the rest of my life. So, I just taught myself how to eat healthily!
I still count calories to make sure I am eating enough.
Yes, this can be a problem. I didn't realize until joining 3FC how easy it is to eat too little. I mean sometimes it "seems" like what I've eaten throughout the day is enough... but I'll bet there are many days when it is not.
You'd think that in the long run it would balance out.. somedays you eat too little.. that's ok because somedays you eat a little too much... unfortunately it doesn't work out that way.
Counting super foods sounds like a good idea. I will have to pay attention to that... of course I will add some of my own favorites to the superfoods list.....
Well, I used FitDay maybe the first month of my "diet", but that was it. I didn't want to have to count calories, journal, and weigh food for the rest of my life. So, I just taught myself how to eat healthily!
Yup. Same thing worked for me. Though I had to use Fitday well over a month. I wanted to ensure that I developed a good idea of proper portions and healthy calories and such. I don't even use Fitday to track my exercise anymore. Once I was in the habit of it well enough, I didn't feel I needed to rely on it any longer. Now I can eye spot 3 oz. of chicken or fish...and it's less than the chicken breast I used to have and think THAT was one portion. LOL I know better how to read labels and what foods are better for me than others. I know when I've had a low calorie day and can afford to splurge on a candy bar (I never outgrew my love of chocolate). I know when I've overdone it and should hold off on the candy. I know that candy shouldn't be eaten daily now as well. LOL
I do a high calorie count in my head, which keeps me real to myself. Basically, I set a goal of 1300, count high, then break my rules and snack sometimes late, or eat too many peanuts while in the park feeding the squirrels. And in the end, probably end up somewhere between 1500 to 1700 realistically. If I tried to stick realistically to the 1500 to 1700, I'd be apt to go over. By setting a lower goal, I allow myself the right to go over...because I know I will. I dunno why, but I think it's a mental thing.
I could not be bothered to count or measure, I eat better but don't deny myself anything.. I know if I am going for the Vanilla coffee cake I am going to tack on at least 15 more hiking. It a slow process but it is what works for me!
i dont count or weigh. Just cut out sugar, white flour, processed and canned and frozen foods. all fresh (i will have frozen veggies when i am in a hurry) fat free foods instead of fatty. no red meat, fat free milk, stuff like that. for a treat i eat fat free sugar free jello pudding. although that is rare because i try not to have any artifical sweetners either. i have made a complete turn around. it was hard in the beganing, but now its like it has always been this way. i do something for excercise everyday. and drink a tom of water or make iced green tea (unsweetened) im the weird one on here. lol. it has helped alot though. im dropping lbs well this way, but never am hungry. also i have upped my fiber
I need to clarify. I don't count calories or weigh my food. I eat less than 30 carbs daily and try to make sure that the fat content isn't very high in my foods. Fruits don't count in my way of eating (this certainly isn't Atkins by the book) but it has worked for me. I eat liberally of fruits and veggies. I did track calories for a month or so when I hit a plateau to see if maybe I was getting too many. No, I came up with 1400-1500 calories a day. I journal my food daily at home and my exercise. If this is confusing, what I am saying is I eat less than 30 carbs in my planned meals, have fruits for snacks and don't count them in my carb count. So in total , I probably get more like 50 carbs a day. I love watermelon and pineapple and couldn't give it up. Fruit didn't make me fat to start with.
Misti, I have had lots of people tell me that I'm doing this all wrong and that I can't lose the weight and maintain it this way. But, I am doing what works for me and will continue to believe that whatever works for me is the right way for me.
well my starting weight was 168 and my over all goal is 135. when i got down to 162 i decided for motivation to pay myself $5 a lb + 50 cents per 1/2 hr excercise. my hubby said forget that. that he would pay me $10 a lb from where i was (162) to my goal of 135. he says that there is no fun if i have to pay myself. lol. so that will give me $270 towards new clothes when i get to 135. now that is what i call motivation! lol
That's my best at approximation... no numbers though. 
