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Linda0818
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15-02-2017, 01:52 PM
1

I'm really tired of counting calories

However, it's the only thing that's ever worked for me because as long as I stay accountable for what I put into my mouth, I lose the weight. As soon as I stop counting calories and keeping my food log on a consistent basis, I gain it back. I lost 80 pounds (approx. 6 stone) and kept it off for 2 years because I kept a food log. When I stopped doing that, I slowly gained most of it back, which I am now trying to re-lose. I've lost 1 stone-4 pounds so far, but am already tired of logging everything. I want to stop, but I'm afraid to because I don't want to put those 18 pounds back on. When I stop logging what I eat, I get careless.

Who out there has had success losing weight without counting every single dang calorie you put into your mouth??? I don't do diets, I don't believe in them. I believe in lifestyle changes, not quick fixes. My diet isn't perfect, but I love eating healthy and always try and stick with the better options for meals. I'm just not sure if I can do this without my 'crutch', which is my food journal, that not only logs calories, but shows the nutrition information (vitamins, minerals, fats, carbs, etc) that I'm getting from the food I eat.

For those who have lost, or are currently losing, without counting calories, I'd love to know how you did it or are doing it.
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Val J
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15-02-2017, 02:09 PM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

I don't count calories as such but try to keep my carbs to a minimum. When I was first diagnosed as borderline diabetic a couple of years ago, I started to weigh my food and made a food diary and tried to keep under 140 carbs a day as advised. I lost over a stone in weight, however I've started guessing now and I've put a pound or two back on so maybe it's time to get back to the diary!
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Linda0818
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15-02-2017, 02:19 PM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Yeah, see, that's my problem. When I start guessing instead of being accurate, that's when the weight comes back on. It's like a crutch to me, that I'm very tired of, but terrified to let go of at the same time. I too weigh and measure everything and count this and count that and I'm scared I won't be able to function without it.

Damn, I feel like a drug addict, lol.
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15-02-2017, 02:24 PM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Hi Linda , since I was 14 I've tried to stay slim . I was size 14 when I married at 19 . I thought I was fat , because my 5 brothers told me I was ! . I've tried it all , I've weighed 8 stone 5 lb after my divorce , gosh did I think I looked good , I could wear size 12 skirts and had a sexy leather one . My boobs got small and I thought I looked good , but in hindsight I look back at photos and yes I see a slim line woman but I also see the struggle . I'm now 66 and all my life I've been a weight watcher , slimming world member , I've counted calories , I've binged , I've become obsessed I've become complacent. I have size 12 , 14 and 16 in my wardrobe . I was never blessed with a shapely figure with a waist , I'm what is known as Apple shaped so the only way I could look slim was by being so under weight I looked drained .

So , in the last 6/8 months I've gained a stone , I'm now back up to size 16 , I have been beating myself up,but ya know what , I'm asking myself why , I'm not obese , yes I'm a bit too heavy , yes I'd love to be a size 12/14 but at 66 does it really honestly matter anymore.

I'll not say I'll never diet again , because I may well return to my slim world club for support but , and yes I'll say but again , will I be remembered for my extra weight when I leave this planet , I don't think so and I don't care to be honest .

I'm retired , when I worked I never stopped , I was a slimish size , but I was living on adreneline , now life is quieter I read more , I've got into a gentler way of life . I like my red wine , I can still party like a youngster, I can dance all night to live music . I can still look good . Yes I dislike the fact I'm not sticking to a diet but I'm enjoying having treats .

Good luck but stop beating yourself up . Been there , done that .

Besides I'm invisible!
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Linda0818
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15-02-2017, 02:37 PM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Thanks, Susan. I try not to beat myself up, but that's just my nature. I don't like to fail. And when I do, I take it hard.
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15-02-2017, 02:49 PM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Linda I know completely what you mean I've about given up. I enjoy what I eat and accept I'm fat. Happier like that than continually counting and weighing and obsessing.
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15-02-2017, 02:57 PM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Originally Posted by Julie1962 ->
Linda I know completely what you mean I've about given up. I enjoy what I eat and accept I'm fat. Happier like that than continually counting and weighing and obsessing.
You know what's funny is during the time I stopped counting (and yes, obsessing, because that's exactly what I did) I felt so much more relaxed. I was happier and didn't push my anxiety over the edge as much. Yeah, I gained weight. But I enjoyed myself.

But I've still got a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, constantly fighting. The devil says "Go ahead and eat and enjoy yourself" and the angel says "Don't put that in your mouth, you don't want to be fat!"

Back and forth, back and forth, all day, every day. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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16-02-2017, 01:09 AM
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Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

I've lost 4lb this week

What I've done is taken a salad plate and a child's knife and fork

So I can't fill the plate up because I can't bear to see a loaded plate which means my portion size is 'normal'. The small knife and fork mean I'm eating slower, not shovelling it in

I also only eat when I'm actually hungry. Mostly that's around 10/11am. Too late to fit both breakfast and lunch so I eat whatever I fancy

Today it was two eggs scrambled,4 thinish slices from a block of cheese ( thin end ) and a pitta bread

Dinner was a calorific nightmare, HM steak and mushroom pie plate, hand cut chips and peas. The pastry alone contained half a pound of butter lol

But with my small plate I could only fit a small portion, perhaps six fat chips and a serving spoon of peas. Because it took me so long to nibble through it, even now 6 hrs later I'm not hungry

Seriously putting food on smaller plates/bowls helps with portion sizes.

We seem to have gotten so used to large portion sizes over the years. Where I cooked, a mini grill was a chop, a full chicken fillet, a large sausage, a thick rasher, an egg, mushrooms, peas, tomatoes plus a portion of chips or mash and a sauce boat. That and either a starter or dessert for £10. And it was the most popular meal on the menu because people look and think wow, great value, compared to say the sea bass that came with just crushed boils and med veg


I do know what you mean about the food diary. Years ago I done weight watchers , lost the two stone by recording and pointing everything. I did actually keep that weight off for 15 years, just regaining it these past two years due to life changes. I kept it off that long by being mindful of portion sizes as well.

Going to be harder now I'm menopausal but I'm confident I will get there before the summer
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Linda0818
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16-02-2017, 11:03 PM
9

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

I agree that using smaller plates can help quite a bit. Don't know if I could deal with children's utensils, though LOL

And I know what you mean about the menopause thing. I've finally made it 1 year without a period, which I'm very happy about. But man, the hot flashes and trying to lose weight and the joint pain and everything else that goes with it is making my life miserable.
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18-02-2017, 03:59 PM
10

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Originally Posted by Linda0818 ->
As soon as I stop counting calories and keeping my food log on a consistent basis, I gain it back.
In truth I can't see how you could make use of calorie counting as a healthy approach to eating and to life in general. Consider this:

When you go to the petrol station you fill your car with petrol/diesel. You know when it's full. You then drive around and the car uses that fuel. You haven't the faintest idea how the car is using that fuel. The usage varies constantly according to hundreds of factors inc speed, gear, road incline, surface conditions, air temperature and so on. All you know is that there is a fuel gauge that tells you when it's empty.

So, if you are counting the calories going into your body, tell me please, how do you know how many of those calories are being used by your body and in what time period? How do you know how many calories your body needs and at what times of the day?

My guess would be you haven't the foggiest idea and you just follow some book or published "standard" for the total number of calories a woman should have per day. It's worth thinking that through imo. Every woman is different from the outset, then every woman is eating different things and every woman is undertaking different activities throughout the day.

Calorie counting is an utter nonsense imo. You can only measure half of the picture, the amount going in, you can't measure the other half which is the amount of calories being used.

It is quite possible that you are actually starving your body of fuel throughout the day by restricting calories and that imo is NOT a good thing to do. That's also likely why you put weight back on when you stop counting. That fact alone is evidence that your eating regime is out of balance with your body.

My advice for all it's worth is to stop thinking in terms of weight and think instead in terms of health. No-one cares what you weigh, no-one ever asks you how much you weigh. What matters is that you are healthy and to a lesser extent what you look like to other people (though that is primarily their problem not yours).

The most important thing imo is to carefully analyse the foods you are eating, study the labels carefully and reject any food that is laden with sugars (whether added of not).
Sugars are very likely to be THE main culprit in your weight gain.

Some products will naturally have high sugar content BUT it is crucial to check whether the FIBRE content is also high. If it is, then it's ok to eat the product.

For example, a tin or carton of basic chopped tomatoes will contain about 2-3 teaspoons of sugar in it but will also have some grams of fibre. So generally ok to eat but be aware of the sugar content.

Freshly squeezed apple juice or orange juice on the other hand is bad. It has lots of natural sugar but being a juice has virtually NO FIBRE which is in the fruit skins and pith which have been removed. So don't drink these juices, you're just taking in high sugar content with no fibre to make it metabolise slowly.

Natural yoghurt is another classic. Seems healthy but actually it's full of sugar content and has absolutely ZERO fibre so just don't do it imo.

In the end you should definitely NOT need to live life counting calories and/or going on diets or attending money grabbing slimming clubs. Just be ruthless with your food choices and expect to be ambushed at every corner with seemingly good products that are actually laden with sugars.

I tell you the truth. I don't particularly eat to any special regime. I eat only when I feel peckish and I eat decent foods. I eat tortilla chips by the bags when I want a snack (no sugar just maize, sunflower oil and salt). Sugar content is 0.5g per 100g, fibre is 5g per 100g and fat is obviously high at 21g per 100g. Nevertheless, it is the lack of sugar that makes it ok.

Whilst I was working I was 15stone 6lbs and maintained that weight no matter how or what I ate. Once I left work and stopped eating according to the incorrect regime of breakfast, lunch, dinner, I started to lose weight naturally with absolutely zero effort on my part. I just ate when I felt like eating and found myself thus eating about 5 times a day but smaller things, like some cereal or toast or a sandwich or tortilla chips etc. I don't have white refined sugar in the house at all and I avoid sugars in all products that I buy unless they have decent fibre content.

Despite this I still buy occasional cakes in coffee shops, or pastries and yet I still lose weight.

Today I am 13st 5lbs and I stress again I have not been on a single diet and have not counted a single calorie. I am simply super cautious of the millions of ways the manufacturers pile and hide sugars in just about every food. By keeping the sugars away, my body isn't being screwed and neither is my brain being given false pleasure triggers.
By not having sugars I don't get the hunger pangs that lead to snacking.

I am not in any sense a truly healthy eater. I rarely drink a glass of water, I always drink cups of tea at home and lattes when I am out. I don't drink wine or beer much, only when out or when it's hot summer. Finally note that I am pretty much sedentary. I don't exercise, play sports, go walking etc. I spend hours sitting. Even so, the weight has dropped off and done so permanently to the extent I just don't worry or care what I eat. If there happen to be cream cakes available one day I'll eat one without a second thought.

Your body is a remarkable machine and IT WILL balance itself if you take care not to allow it to be poisoned with sugars. It's 100% more important to focus on the sugars and fibre content of what you eat than counting the calories.

I bet I could go through your kitchen cupboards and fridge and pick out a bunch of products that are bad. That's what you need to do imo. No fizzy drinks, no sweeteners, nothing with high sugars but no fibre.

Anyways, best of luck and hope it comes good for you.
 
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