Health & Family Losing weight without counting calories - my experience

Three weeks up. It's really gone by fast. I am glad I am logging this because next time I get off track I will have something to refer back to that works. I am surprised how easy it has been to fall back into old habits: oats instead of cake or muffins for breakfast, fruit and nuts instead of chocolate or cake for afternoon snacks and walking home from the train.

Perhaps doing things the way I did for a long time is partly why I am feeling myself again?

 

Rolled oats. Full cream milk. I zap it for a minute on high, put the lid on and leave overnight in the fridge, zap for a minute on high when I am ready to eat and enjoy!

I am making mine in a Rose's jam jar and tip in approximately a 1/3 jar of oats and fill with milk to about 2/3. It ends up looking like this but I had not put in enough milk when I made this batch:

 

Just an update on this one. Apart from having some very mild headaches in the first few days, my side effects have been: feeling less hungry, waking up clear headed, feeling less tired, having more energy, feeling happier and generally enjoying life. I'll take that!

 

I think the junk food (everything chocolate) has a lot of hidden sugar. I think cutting excess sugars is a big help. For me, having sugar just makes me want to eat more.

 

I think you are right. I was hungry a lot but the more I ate the hungrier I seemed to get. And also very, very tired. But then I don't think I was sleeping well. I am sleeping a lot better now.

 

Super well done Perthguy. Goes to show how dangerous (and sneaky) the junk food can be.

Generally I eat healthy (buckets of green tea, food smoothies etc) but do have a sweet tooth. I recently did sugar-free-September ... didn't cut sugar out all together ... so still had the weetbix with greek yoghurt (no sugar) and full cream milk for breaky, but cut out all the obvious sugar.

No Macca's frappe on a hot day, no full tub of icecream after dinner just because the luxury brand was half price etc. The bloated stomach disappeared. Was much more alert. Slept better.

Fell off the wagon now that it's October and school hols - back on again tomorrow

 

Great stuff.... I really think the sugar is the baddie. I noticed consuming Toblerone would make me hungry. Ditto icecream and biscuits. I've ditched all that. Drink teas, water or water with lemon. I haven't gone full keto diet but I am contemplating it and might do it however I've started seeing nice changes at my tummy.

People are saying to do a 5+2 diet, ie, 5 days eat whatever and 2 days or fasting (can eat, but just very restricted). Apparently it helps your cells clean up all the junk inside them, and removes all the sugar around the cells...

Also, people are talking about metformin as an anti-aging tablet. @skater, @See Change, have you encountered this? It's been around a long time as a treatment for diabetes type 2. And apparently it has a whole bunch of other great effects too, slows down degenerative processes.... And the final thing... Apparently it's also very cheap.... Worth googling.

 

@Gockie, while I'm not a doctor, my understanding of Metformin is that it is used for those that are pre-diabetic as well as diabetics. There's all sorts of claims of the wonderful things it can do, including to help in weight loss, and yes, it is very cheap.....unlike some of the stuff I had to take prior to my hip replacement. For any real significance it needs to be a rather large does that is taken. I was only prescribed the smallest 500mg dose, and have since come off of it, so I have no personal experience of this.

For some really confronting information of Sugar, watch That Sugar Film (that's the actual name of it). It is really scary how much of it is in everyday items. You could ditch the icecream, biscuits, softdrinks & lollies & STILL get an overload of it.

OH, & a fast isn't a fast if you are still eating.

 

Agreed - which is why you should read the labels, and go for fresh. I make hubby's museli (shop museli is packed with sugar) - cook dinner from scratch (which I have to do 'cause of the nightshade thing anyhow) - and eat "whole fat" products (lite is packed with sugar)

I have another aunt who swears by the 5/2 diet - but I just can't do it

 

I have not really tried 5/2 but it's not very appealing for me. There is an easy alternative 14:10.

"Intermittent fasting has a new ratio: 14 hours without food and a 10-hour eating window each day."​

I usually stop eating around 8 after dinner and don't eat again until breakfast at 10. That gives me my 14 hours, which I get quite often. I am not very strict about it though. If I am hungry later in the evening, I do have a small snack.

Diet wars: Is the 14:10 the new 5:2?

 

I have tweaked this recipe and started adding 2 or 3 good sized teaspoons of full fat greek yoghurt.

1. tip in oats.

2. cover with milk + a bit more for luck

3. microwave 1 minute

4. stir 2 or 3 good sized teaspoons of full fat greek yoghurt into the warm milk

5. refrigerate overnight

6. microwave 1 minute before serving

I like it better. It is creamier and more filling. Besides, I don't eat enough fat and dairy saturated fat may be protective against type 2 diabetes.

> When the researchers broke down the results by specific food type, the consumption of butter (at 12 grams a day) and cheese (at 30 grams a day) were both linked to an increased risk of diabetes. On the other hand, people who ate whole-fat yogurt actually had a lower risk than those who didn't.

This Kind of Fat Lowers Your Risk For Diabetes

 

Blerg! It has been a week since I updated my daily eating so there is no way I can remember everything I have eaten. I need to find a simple way of tracking intakes that doesn't involve calorie counting or fitness apps. Maybe just "S Memo" on my phone?

 

Day 22

Breakfast: overnight oats and green tea

Lunch: Indian vegetarian

Afternoon snack: 2 small bananas, almonds, dried pineapple

Dinner: Pesto pasta, apple crumble muffin, lemon syrup muffin, custard, stewed strawberries

Evening snack: none. Not hungry

Exercise: none

 

Day 23

Breakfast: banana and marmite on toast

Lunch: Mushroom and green pea, tomato pasta

Afternoon snack: none

Dinner: Mushroom and kale vegetarian lasagne, salad, apple crumble muffin, lemon syrup muffin, coconut custard, stewed strawberries

Evening snack: none. Not hungry

Exercise: none

 

Day 24

Breakfast: none

Lunch: Tomato and cheese sandwich

Afternoon snack: none

Dinner: Pizza and salad

Evening snack: stewed apple

Exercise: demo shed, move 20 slabs, load trailer, unload shed and 20 slabs

 

Day 25

Breakfast: overnight oats and green tea

Lunch: Pizza and salad

Afternoon snack: none

Dinner: broccoli, cauliflower, green pea and corn gratin on corn chips

Evening snack: stewed apple

Exercise: none

 

Day 26

Breakfast: overnight oats and green tea

Lunch: Curried egg and lettuce salad on rye bread

Afternoon snack: 2 small bananas, almonds, dried pineapple

Dinner: Mushroom and green pea, tomato pasta on corn chips

Evening snack: stewed apple

Exercise: Walked 2.30 km in 31 minutes

 

Day 27

Breakfast: overnight oats and green tea

Lunch: Agedashi Tofu

Afternoon snack: 2 small bananas, almonds, dried pineapple

Dinner: broccoli, cauliflower, green pea and corn gratin on corn chips

Evening snack: Banana and Greek yoghurt with a teaspoon of brown sugar

Exercise: walked 3.23 km in 25 minutes

 

I am going to stop posting all food intake on this site. I have posted everything for nearly a month, which is enough to give anyone a fair idea.

Back on Jan 1 with my results.

At the start my weight was 100 kg and my waist was 104.5 cm.

tagging @Ace in the Hole and @Graeme, I will be back in 76 days to answer the question:

Is counting calories necessary for weight loss?

Until then assume I am just continuing on with the program. I will post if anything in particular changes.