Health & Family Losing weight without counting calories - my experience

Recently we were discussing calorie counting and weight loss. I maintain that counting calories are not required for weight loss, specifically in response to these posts:

Challenge accepted. This is my journal of losing weight without counting calories. I will be using the advice in this article, except eating eggs for breakfast (I am eating oats): 7 Proven Ways to Lose Weight on Autopilot (Without Counting Calories)

and this article (not 2, because I am not eating eggs for breakfast and not 3, because I quit coffee, not 6 because I don't know what glucomannan is and I don't think I need it and 23, because I don't think I need to supplement with whey protein.) 26 Weight Loss Tips That Are Actually Evidence-Based

tagging @Simon Hampel

I'm reasonably confident I will lose 4 to 5 kg by first of Jan 2018. I won't be weighing myself until then.

 

Status report:

Background

I have been unhealthy and overfat in the past but adopted a healthy lifestyle based around eating nutritious food, which resulted in my weight dropping to 85 kg.

I started renovating a property in June 2016 and started eating sugary, refined foods for an "energy boost". I have continued eating these although I am no longer working at the reno.

My weight was 96kg in June 2016, today it is 100kg

Current situation

My nutrition is very poor. I am not selecting nutritious food, I am eating junk food. This has to change.

I feel tired most of the time, I have little energy and motivation, I get hungry a lot, I feel anxious often and I am not sleeping well.

Current weight is 100kg, current waist is TBA.

Recommendation

Switch to eating mainly nutritious food to improve mood, energy levels and manage hunger. Portion control will be judged on eating slowly then stopping eating when feeling full. Basically I will be cutting calories without counting calories.

Note: the concept of eating nutritious food to reduce hunger has been studied and found to be effective.

Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet

 

Guiding principles

1. Drink Water, Especially Before Meals

2. Drink Green Tea

3. Cook With Coconut Oil

4. Cut Back on Added Sugar

5. Eat Less Refined Carbs

6. Use Smaller Plates

7. Portion control

8. Keep Healthy Food Around in Case You Get Hungry

9. Brush Your Teeth After Dinner

10. Eat Spicy Foods

11. Do Aerobic Exercise

12. Lift Weights

13. Eat More Fiber

14. Eat More Vegetables and Fruits

15. Chew More Slowly

16. Get Good Sleep

17. Beat Your Food Addiction

18. Eat More Protein

19. Supplement With Whey Protein

20. Don't Drink Calories, Including Sugary Soda and Fruit Juices

21. Eat Whole, Single Ingredient Foods (Real Food)

22. Don't "Diet," Eat Healthy Instead


from here: 7 Proven Ways to Lose Weight on Autopilot (Without Counting Calories)

and here: 26 Weight Loss Tips That Are Actually Evidence-Based

 

And this is the bottom line of why I don't think I need to count calories to lose weight.

I current eat breakfast around 10, lunch around 12, afternoon snack around 4, dinner around 7 and an evening snack. One of these is my old junk meal or snack, the other is a nutritious alternative. I don't believe it takes a genius to figure out the nutritious alternative has less calories.

Breakfast option 1:

- Woolies Chocolate Chip Muffin

- small hot chocolate

(I felt dreadful an hour after eating this)



Breakfast option 2:

- overnight oats (make with whole oats and whole milk)

- green tea



Afternoon snack option 1:

- Woolies M&M cookies

- milo



Afternoon snack option 2:

- apple

- banana

- half a handful of raw almonds



I haven't done lunch or dinner yet, watch this space

 

Good on you. You'll probably hate life for the first couple of weeks but won't look back after that.

Thanks for the articles too. Doing a lot of it already except for cooking with coconut oil as I'm not really a fan of coconut but might have to give it a go.

 

I started today. I felt better today than yesterday. Yesterday for breakfast I had the muffin and hot chocolate. About an hour after that I felt dreadful! Today I had the overnight oats and green tea. I actually like the oats with just oats and milk but I have felt hungry all day. It is a different type of hungry though. It's more of a vague, background hunger that I find quite manageable. It's not at all like the hunger I had before where I felt like I had to eat.

I have done all this before and the only problem I had was with the volume of food and the amount of chewing. I get a saw jaw from all that chewing!

 

Nice work. You'll kill it mate. Another tip, simply weighing yourself regularly. I did this without making any real concerted effort to change my diet and lost 10 kg in 12 months.

 

The weight loss and exercise industries have conditioned us that lighter is healthier. I am not particularly interested in keeping track of my weight. I am more interested in eating nutritious food to boost my energy, mood and feel less tired. Along with an appropriate level of exercise, water and sleep I believe I will be living a much healthier lifestyle. In the past I have found that a healthier lifestyle leads to weight loss. I am pretty strict about not weighing in regularly because I think it takes my focus off what is really important. That's my approach because it works for me but I know it is not for everyone.

Oh yeah, I am at the end of day one and already feeling more clear headed. I have had dreadful brain fog for weeks.

 

Well done @Perthguy it looks like you know your stuff. I feel that your improved mood, reduced anxiety and increase in energy will be a big motivation in maintaining your new nutrition choice.

Are you still on your bike much?

What's the reasoning behind no eggs?

 

I will take the stats and then ignore them until 1st Jan.

You are right that I will be measuring though. I will be measuring to align with my goals.

- awakeness, alertness: most days I feel tired all day. Let's call this the alertness scale.

- energy: I have not had much energy or I have had brief bouts of too much energy. We'll call this the energy scale.

- anxiety: particularly in the last month, I have felt anxious a lot. But it's not about any particular thing, it's just a general feeling of anxiousness. I believe it is linked to eating too much junk food but we will see.

So, for yesterday I can report:

alertness: moderate (I felt moderately alert all day)

energy: moderate (I had moderate but even energy levels all day)

anxiety: low

Today I feel more alert and more relaxed, and I slept a lot better last night as well.

 

Getting back to the food I enjoy eating is good motivation too. On Wednesday night I had a big bowl of mushroom pasta. It was not very enjoyable. Last night I had the same pasta, but a half serve with the rest made up with veggies. I enjoyed that a lot. It was a lot tastier than a boring bowl of pasta. Pics to follow.

I haven't been cycling to work for a year, so I have wasted a lot of time on PT. Now the weather has picked up I am itching to get back on the bike. I just need to get it all set up on the weekend and I should be good to go from next week. I know exercise also improves my mood and energy levels, so that should be a good boost too.

The suggestion is to replace breakfast with eggs. That's not practical for me at work because I eat around 10. Overnight oats is a simple option for me. I have oats at my desk and I can put them in a jar and pour on milk at lunch time. Then they are ready the next day. Easy. The only problem with oats and milk is not enough fat, so I need to either add full fat greek yoghurt or coconut milk. I haven't decided which yet. Actually, I will probably do yoghurt one week and coconut milk the next week.

 

Dinner Wednesday night. A big bowl of mushroom pasta. Imagine this but the bowl is full instead. It was not very enjoyable to eat.



Last night instead I cut the amount of pasta by nearly half and then added a load of veggies. I only cooked the veggies until they were just done, so still a bit a bit of crunch, which is just how I like them. This was delicious!

 

Day 1: wrap up.

Breakfast: overnight oats and green tea
Lunch: vegetable pie
Afternoon snack: apple, banana, half a handful of raw almonds, green tea
Dinner: mushroom pasta with loads of veg
Evening snack: half a tea cup of full fat greek yoghurt

Exercise: none

alertness: moderate (I felt moderately alert all day)
energy: moderate (I had moderate but even energy levels all day)
anxiety: low
hunger: moderate but even throughout the day

 

Big Aussie John has made 70 and is looking fine, although his wife looks much finer.
Can't see him ever losing much size before his time is up, just a big guy.

 

So, wait, this thread isn't about losing weight?

 

I'm guessing you're not a morning person? Most commentary I read about healthy living says to kick start your metabolism quite early?

 

That seems to be the common wisdom, but I never eat first thing and I am a morning person. I was up at 4 this morning. I can't face food until at least 10 am.

 

It is about losing weight but not through severe calorie restriction, calorie counting, excessive exercise or frequent weight checking. This thread is about adopting and living a healthy lifestyle with the outcome of losing weight because of that. Check back in on Jan 1, 2018 to see if I was right