Success without logging food in an app?

[Rejoinedforthis]

After some advice/success stories from anyone who has seen success in losing weight without tracking everything in an app. I have about a stone to lose, and am finding that being over 40, plus recent BC cancer treatment (everything except Tamoxifen as it caused a clot on my brain after only a short time of taking it!) plus being knackered from working FT with a young child is making this stone seemingly impossible to shift. I am not overweight but I am uncomfortable and my clothes no longer fit well, plus I’m sluggish and tired from making poor food choices. My issue is my diet, not my exercise (lifelong exerciser, I do resistance training, running and pilates) but I really don’t want to track my food to lose this weight. The main reason is because I have suffered from BDD in the past and for years I was obsessed with tracking macros - think weighing cucumber levels of obsessed. I looked like I was in incredible shape but my MH was diabolically bad. I’ve done years of work to heal that and even the thought of logging my food in an app makes me feel nervous. The second reason is I’m trying to reduce my screen time and I don’t want to add yet another reason to look at my damn phone.

Has anyone been through similar, and can offer any advice? 🙂

I hate tracking too because my mental health goes down the pan when I do - sounds similar to what you described. I am very overweight now. The only way I've managed to lose weight successfully (well not that successfully since I put it back on I guess!) but the time it's been the most successful for me is when I was doing 5:2 - I didn't calorie count the 2 fast days, I just wouldn't eat till dinner and then just have soup as I found that it's pretty hard to eat more than 500-800 cals of soup in one go, and I am a very all or nothing person, so I would just mentally shut down the possibility of eating until dinner time.
I think I got derailed by a succession of holiday - illness - holiday....stress from having 2 ND children who I didn't realise were ND.
I'm going to give it another go.
I actually was on the 5:2 thread all those years ago and it did help me to stay a bit accountable.

Thanks @Captainladder I hadn’t actually thought of 5:2 - and I’m very all or nothing as well (which is probably why the tracking sent me so batshit) so I could probably stick to the fasting days without too much stress. Until life gets in the way again I guess! Good luck ❤️

I don’t know my exact starting weight but have lost a couple of stone this year, mainly through intermittent fasting. I also increased my steps and started reformer Pilates, but sounds like you are active.

I find IF is great because I don’t have to track calories or food etc, it naturally just stops me snacking in the evening or eating a lot. I tend to do about 10/11-6. I do have a coffee in the morning and a couple of times a week will stay up later with my husband to watch a film and might have popcorn or a takeaway etc so I’m not strict on it every day, but I might then the next day shift it later or try and eat a bit healthier.

i don’t track at all, but i find I eat a lot less crisps/ choc etc in the day time and I just have less time to fit food in, I feel fuller, so tend to eat 2 meals rather than 3, and prioritise higher protein food.