Has anyone had success not counting cals

I'm just wondering if any of you (especially women) are having success not counting calories but just watching portions.  I'm soooo beyond sick of counting calories though, it alomst pisses me off to think about doing it again.  I've been at this for 12 years - I feel like I know the calories in everything!! LOL - I'm afraid to stop counting though.......I'm not talking about eating chocolate cake three times a day, I'm just talking about a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner without all the measuring and obsessing.  I bet I can guess the calorie amount in any amount of any food with 5% error!!

I never measure or obsess, I just round out everything and estimate. It works for me! I've lost 20lbs with this method alone, only now am I adding excercise to the equation.

If you already know within a 5% error, you probably don't need to worry about it.  Give it a try and keep an eye on the scale.  You should be fine.

Maybe you can take a month off - or two weeks if that is too long - and try to see how it works. If you still lose or maintain then you are fine, if not go back to counting. I plan to stop counting once I reach my goal, as I hope by that time I will have leaned so much and can do without all the math. I think that should be the goal..it seems crazy, or at least to me, to count every single calorie forever.

did you really count calories for 12 years??? I hope I don't do it that long.

I've been counting consistently since the middle of July... and this weekend I had so much going on that I didn't count anything! But I still think I did pretty well. I think I'm still gonna count during the week... I sit at a desk at work so its not really out of the way to log stuff... plus it keeps me on track better. But I think I'm gonna stop doing it on the weekend and just keep myself in moderation and watch portions!

No, I haven't been counting for 12 years all the time.  I started this diet thing 12 years ago, then after an eating disorder and load of other crap, I'm still doing it.  I feel that counting calories plunges me back into the anorexic days - like "how many calories less can I eat today than yesterday, or this week vs. last week."  It becomes an obsessive behavior for me, which stresses me out, pisses me off after a while and so I give up and eat everything in sight.  I feel that maybe if I can let go of the calorie counting   that I can establish some sort of normal behavior towards food.  I don't think counting calories is all that normal.  Who knows - just wondering if I can do this without counting.    I was also thinking that if we are supposed to make a "lifestyle change" rather than be on a "diet" then counting calories is good at the beginning, but in the long run, I don't think its realistic to do it everyday for the rest of your life.  If you think about it, we usually eat mostly the same things week in and week out for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Then there are special occasions, vacations etc where we just have to be smart.  I feel that if we just eat smart with the occasional splurge, there shouldn't be the need to count calories.  The reason that some of us are overweight are because we don't exercise, or we emotionally overeat, or because we don't pay attention to what we are eating as food is EVERYWHERE these days.  I feel that with a little exercise and mindful eating - the weight can come off for the long term.  If the weight doesn't come off - maybe its not meant to be?? 

I'm way more successful at losing weight when I'm not counting calories.
I think about food a lot less, so I'm hungry less.

You said you've been counting for a while, so I'm sure you have an idea of what portions you should be eating.

I wouldn't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine!

jblarghb,   I feel that when I count calories, I actually think about food more!  It could also be that when I'm focused on "dieting," I don't allow myself foods that are not "approved" so to speak.  I know people have splurge days or get the food they've been craving once or week or once a month.  I find that when "dieting" I deprive myself of most foods - so that could be driving me crazy.  I just feel like I don't deserve it unless I get to my goal.  I used to have like cookies for example and figure them into my daily total - lately I haven't been doing that.  So of course, when I get frustrated and pissed off, I go for a box of cookies.

I have successfully not counted calories for twenty years.

Of course, I also gained 80 pounds in that time...

On a more serious note, I would say I have started counting calories now, but I know that I'm really just *estimating* calories based on approximate serving sizes and it works for me.  I count calories - but not to the point that I weigh and measure everything (or, for that matter, ANYthing) - and that works for me.

I actually lost about 25 pounds using LA Weight Loss (when they were in business).  The way their program works is that you alot yourself so many servings of protein, starches, fruit, veggies, dairy, and fat.  Then you just make sure you eat all of your foods evryday.  Obviously, there is portion control, but with that program, you can lose about 2 pounds a week.  I basically learned a new way to eat and to balance everything out during the course of the day.  But there's no counting calories, only servings.  And I've been able to keep off the weight for over 2 years now, so I'd say there is success without counting all of the time :)

I cannot stress enough how much I believe in the low glycemic diet. It is so easy plus, you can eat all you want of the foods that have a glycemic index below fifty. If you are eating foods at 50 you will not gain, over 50 you will. But stay under it and you will be satisfied and lose weight.

You can have thick noodle pastas, chocolate cake, M&M's, Snickers.Pumpernickel or sourdough breads, rye is OK too.

Just look up the glycemic index on the web, get to know the foods that you like that are on the list and eat!

I am losing about 2# per week by eating a low glycemic diet, getting 60 minutes of cardio and 15-30 minutes of weights per day 4x a week. I still have pizza and ice cream about once every three weeks and doughnuts for Saturday morning breakfast twice a month. I don't feel deprived at all. If I am hungry it's just because I haven't eaten enough.

Good Luck!

I use this site to check out of the ordinary foods after I eat them, just out of curiosity. I have lost 30 pounds so far, and only the first ten were with counting cals. After that, I got the hang of how I should be eating, and lost 20 more without counting. I do estimate. Like you sid I just don't obsess anymore.

I'm just afraid of getting all obsessed over it again so that it controls my life.  I do beleive in checking package listings or looking something up here on CC if you don't know the calories, but I just get crazy with everything.  I weigh all foods to the gram and I get SO anxious when I'm at my parents house and I can't do that.  I then get angry and crabby at everyone.

Oh and for those of you that don't count, do you estimate or do you just kind of know what to eat and go with that? 

I dont count.  I did for a few weeks and since during the day I mainly eat the same thing, I have an idea of what I'm eating.  Dinners though is another story - I have no clue what the calories are for what I've made.  I tried the recipes analyzer but it came out to be sooooooooo much and its impossible that what I had was that many cals. 

I just watch what I eat and try not to eat a lot. 

Cosmogirl82, are you having success at the weight loss?

katethegreat - well I've been doing it a few weeks and I'm only doing this mon - thur,  fri - sun we go out for dinner so my days are not that great.  I try to be good on the weekends but it doesnt always come out that way )))) But then again, I dont go crazy with food.  I just eat what I normally would if I wasnt watching my diet (but I DONT eat carbs, I actually dont eat bread / pasta / potatoes... any of that stuff at all) I do go to the gym during the week and try to be there at least 3-4 times a week.  I lost a few lbs so far but I think my weekends are screwing me up :(  I'll try to do better once the summer's over

I don't count anymore.

I counted for a few weeks to try and get an idea of how many calories I was putting in my body and where my problem areas are (weekends, BTW).  After that I've just been mindful of what I'm eating, especially on the weekends.

I had already lost 15ish pounds when I started counting.  I lost another 15ish pounds after I stopped counting.  I'm currently at maintenance and just keeping an eye on the scale for any signs of trouble.