Have you managed to lose weight -without- counting calories?

[Dustycloth]

It’s the only thing that’s ever worked for me. But it’s sooo tediously boring that I eventually give up and put the weight back on.
I also find i go too far with it… end up cutting calories too low and inevitably end up ill or with vitamin deficiencies.

So I don’t want to count calories. But how do I lose weight then?
I’d like to lose 1.5 stone but no idea how. My mind has been skewed from years of yo-yo dieting, I seem to be either feast or famine.

I carry most of my weight around my middle so I’d like to come at this from a health perspective, I know it’s best to get the weight off now before it causes problems. So I don’t want to be cutting out food groups. I don’t think fasting would work for me as it’s seems to trigger the famine part of my thinking.

Would exercise be enough?

If you lost weight without it consuming your every thought… how did you do it?

I changed what I ate (switched to whole wheat pasta, brown rice, more veg and fruit, and more home made soups), followed portion recommendations for weight loss, also proportion of veg/ protein/ starch per plate recommendations, and used smaller plates for dinner.

No eating at all after 7pm.

Hearty breakfast.

No sugary snacks.
No dessert.
No sugary drinks.

Increased my water intake to 64 fl ozs daily.

I never counted calories, which I find very irksome.

Nope. I had to count the calories, and I continue doing so after reaching target. It’s helped me maintain and it’s really quick clicking on MFP so I don’t find it tedious. It takes 5 minutes a day, but I’d rather spend 25 mins a day doing it than go back to feeling so unhappy in my own body.

I didn’t count calories, far too tedious, but was, and still am, calorie aware - so I think about what I eat across a day and aim for healthier lower calorie meals- whole grain, brown rice / pasta, less cheese etc. Cutting most snacking and not drinking helped a lot when I was losing weight.
got to my ideal weight doing this 5 years ago and it’s stayed off since.

Keto
log everything on MFP

don’t worry about calories too much : your hunger will reduce fairly fast

I’ve lost a stone since Xmas just taking it slowly. I was gorging on carby things (especially biscuits late at night) and eating huge winter portions so I’ve just been more moderate and cut out some snacks. No calorie counting and no making myself unhappy, and I haven’t banned anything.

I started a thread on here (the lazy pig ones) and it really helped in the early days as I felt accountable writing it all down!

Keto worked, calorie counting just drove me mental.

Keto.

I only ever counted my carbs and otherwise ate freely. Lost 7 stone!

The only way you'll not only lose weight but keep it off is to stop eating poor quality food (especially UPF), and adopt a healthy, active lifestyle.

To lose weight: Intermittent fasting, virtually no carbs or alcohol (don't drink calories).

Long term :
Cut out sugar and refined carbs
Eat mostly vegetables, some fruit, moderate amounts of lean protein, small amounts of healthy fats (EVOO, avocados) and complex/unrefined carbs.

Look at Mark Hyman, Becky Gillaspy, Michael Moseley and others on YouTube. Learn about nutrition, the evil influence of the food industry, and above all the importance of cutting out sugar.

And exercise, especially weights and resistance based workouts. Not to lose weight, but to stay healthy - through the menopause and beyond.

The short version: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

Weight Watchers worked for me. Counted points and not calories

Intermittent fasting works for me. I eat in my eating window and don't even think about food outside of that.

I find it really easy to stick to which is the most important point when you want to lose or maintain weight.

Yep. Counting carbs has been so much more effective than calorie counting, and I'm never hungry. 2 stone down after about 12 weeks.

Low carb alongside intermittent fasting has always been the fastest way for me to lose weight. I basically just eat 2 meals a day and don't snack at night. Calorie counting is deathly dull and not for me at all.

Have a look at this, @Dustycloth

SW doesn’t involve counting calories.

I exercise 5 times a week (intensely) and do not count calories - I can't and won't for my
MH, as it's taken me to a dark place before. I'm generally mindful of what I eat though, I've lost 12kg a in 4 months.