Lose Weight Without Calorie Counting?

Newsflash: weight loss is hard, and it takes time. A quick internet search for “how to lose weight,” however, and you will be bombarded by posts claiming fast, easy, and drastic weight loss. It seems “easy” weight loss is associated with anything but calorie counting. Harebrained schemes and detox teas apparently are legit and worth a shot, but monitoring calories in vs calories out is where society draws the line. I get it, we all want fast and easy, and measuring, weighing, and logging food can be tedious. But it gets results. And lasting results, at that.

The case For Losing Weight without calorie Counting

Just this week I came across two separate articles with strong opinions against counting calories for weight loss and, out of curiosity, I read them both. Experiencing impressive weight loss through calorie counting, myself, I just had to know why these experts were so adamantly opposed to the idea.

**Here’s what I learned, and ultimately concluded, about the feasibility of losing weight without calorie counting.**

The first article I read was by Dr. Maffetone and he says this about counting calories:

“The tradition of ‘weight-loss,’ with its diets, weigh-ins, calorie-counting, etc., has been, and continues to be, a massive failure.”

First off, weighing myself daily has proven invaluable to my personal weight loss journey, and here’s why. I do, however, agree with Dr. Maffetone about diets – they definitely don’t work. Calorie counting, though? Calorie counting is different, or at least it can be different, from any and all other diets out there…if you do it right.

In a different article, Dr. Maffetone goes on to say this about counting calories:

“The Calorie Myth: The first is the almighty calorie. The simplistic idea that eating less leads to weight loss is wrong — starvation is not a successful weight-loss approach.”

The key takeaway for me was that Dr. Maffetone says “starvation is no way to lose weight” in relation to calorie counting.

I believe he is referring to the typical, drastic, sad way most people approach calorie counting when they don’t know any better. Naive weight loss hopefuls attempt to lose weight by slashing their food intake to a measly 1200-1400 calories a day, without considering their current body weight or activity levels, and they DO end up starving and quitting. Because that isn’t healthy or sustainable.

In that regard, I 100% agree, with this clarification: Calorie restriction to the point of starvation is not a successful weight loss approach. As far as his claim that eating less to lose weight is wrong, however, I am living proof that eating less is very much a surefire way to weight loss.

I happily lost 20 pounds in 6 months counting calories, but I would NEVER advocate eating even a single calorie below the range that gets weight loss results. I will always recommend eating as many calories as you possibly can while still losing weight. In order to know that information specifically for you, you must track and keep track of those calories you tracked. (Cracking up at that sentence, here’s the planner I made specifically for that.)

On average, the people in Mom’s kids (my awesome weight loss community) eat between 1700 and 1900 calories per day. To someone with the dieting mentality, that calorie range seems outrageously high. Why? Because somehow, some way, society and diet culture have ingrained in our brains this idea that 1200 calories is some magic number for weight loss. It’s stupid, unnecessary, and miserable. Don’t fall victim to the lie that is 1200 calories! Eat more, lose weight. It works.

A few days later I came across another article against calories.

It was called “How to Lose Weight Without Dieting” written by the White Coat Trainers, and it piqued my curiosity. Here’s what I read:

“You do not need to count calories to lose weight.”

My immediate reaction was, Oh great, another article saying not to count calories. I was surprised because the website is full of lots of amazing, correct information that I agree with put forth by doctors! So why do they think you don’t have to count calories to lose weight? I read on:

“The number one strategy that you can use to lose weight naturally is to follow a natural diet…A natural diet is one that will allow you to consume real food. Food that can be found in nature. Food that is nutrient dense and gives your body the building blocks that it needs.”

They go on to say that you should be filling your belly with nutritious foods instead of junk, and by doing so you will naturally eat less. This happens because whole, nutrient-dense foods are healthier and more filling. Sounds easy enough – no counting calories needed to be automatically eating less calories. So that’s all ya gotta do. Eat healthier and you’re good!

But does that work?

It does! This works for some people. If you clean up your diet by getting rid of the processed foods (even healthy processed foods), avoid sugars then you will get results. The increase of healthy food will automatically lower your calorie intake and boom, the weight will drop off. The end. It’s not hard at all, is it?

Except that it’s super hard. The only reason I even say it’s possible is because I watched a friend lose weight this way…one friend, one time. I know a lot of people, and people who want to lose weight at that. This method has worked for one person I know. And that person has not struggled with their weight their entire life.

In my opinion, this advice is great for someone who needs to lose a little weight because they accidentally put on a few pounds over the years. Or someone who has not had a life long battle with weight but would like to trim down some. However, this advice is more complicated for life-long weight strugglers like myself.

I have a hunch that the authors of those articles haven’t struggled with weight loss their entire lives, and therefore they don’t understand the difference between people like me and them. Perhaps they have had experience with struggling to create a healthy lifestyle, but a lifelong weight loss battle is quite different. If you’re reading this, Dr. Maffetone and others, and you have been on an up-and-down weight loss journey for decades, my apologies. Email me and I’ll retract my hunch, but I’m willing to bet I won’t have to.

I have noticed a theme over the years I’ve spent on the weight loss roller coaster.

It seems skinny weight “experts,” who have never personally EXPERIENCED a decades long struggle with overeating, simply do not understand how foreign, complex, and impossible “replace crap foods with nutritious foods” really is. It’s just not that simple.

I was a chronic overeater who was obsessed with eating delicious foods, but not only that I sought food for celebration, depression, boredom, and everything in between. Telling me the obvious “stop eating that and eat this” isn’t going to fix my food addictions and jacked up relationship with food. It’s not going to suddenly make me celebrate with a banana or mourn with an apple. Not gonna happen.

Because It is so hard to change.

If it were easy, everyone would be hanging out at their happy weights, and we wouldn’t be here right now. Changing so many aspects of who I was and how I lived all at once felt overwhelmingly impossible (because it was!), so my attempts were never successful.

What these doctors suggest we do is sound advice, in and of itself. However, implementing their recommendation isn’t as open-and-shut as they like to believe. They can’t view their solutions from an overweight person’s perspective because they’ve never lived it. They just don’t understand.

I’ve always wanted to be healthy.

I have tried to lose weight for as long as I can remember, but I’ve also wanted to actually be healthy at the same time. Wanting to be healthy is what led me to commit to a 21 day sugar detox, whole 30, the 21 Day Fix, and be Vegan. All of which were unsustainable long term for me.

My cravings quickly got the best of me, and I fell way off the diet wagon. I didn’t get back on either – I stayed off for a long time feeling defeated, until I took on my next endeavor in the pursuit of health. It was always one or the other with me: “healthy” food or the foods I loved. The two didn’t and couldn’t coexist.

Until I had an idea

I figured if it was too hard for me to eat “clean” and be “healthy,” maybe – just maybe – I could try to lose weight without sacrifice. I would not cut out or restrict all the unhealthy, sugar-laden, delicious things, I would simply count calories. Because let’s face it, the weight needed to come off one way or another since being overweight is unhealthy. I decided to put off eating “right” until I felt more equipped to handle it which, honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be.

It was and is a “come as you are” approach to weight loss. The only thing I did was simply become aware of how much I was eating by calorie counting and then ate slightly less of it to lose weight. This is the small but mighty task I ask of my “kids“, as well. And as they successfully accomplish this task they begin to lose the weight through calorie counting as well.

That’s right, I actually encourage people to continue eating the crap foods they love. Why? Because it results in weight loss as people acquire consistency and they don’t grow exhausted from restrictions. Consistency that turns them into life long weight controllers once the weight they want to lose is off.

Calorie counting works

It did more than just make me thinner! It showed me that I was capable of change. That if I put my mind to something, things could actually turn out differently. This success has been my springboard to finally eating healthier, and guess what? Eating better is actually sticking. Instead of going all in healthy this time around (like I used to do), I am being a little healthier here and there and I know, just like slow weight loss, it will result in a new healthy-eating lifestyle. One that I eventually, don’t even plan to track at all.

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These doctors put the cart in front of the horse. It’s too overwhelming to just jump into the advanced world of eating only healthy food and not tracking. Even if they say it’s ok to splurge now and then, to get to that mentality of being able to enjoy a splurge while not thinking you blew it needs major mental work! (This book can help you with that).

When you are desperate to lose weight the “easy” way you might be tempted to try the non-calorie counting option. The problem is that this method is often setting you up for failure. It sounds simple, but in the end, it’ll just be one more thing that makes you feel like you can’t change. Most likely you fail because even though it sounds easy in theory, it’s impossibly hard.

So My Advice to You: Count Calories and take the steps to health slowly

Eating healthier is hard, the next best thing you can do is at least focus on the weight loss part without overwhelming yourself with food rules. Continuing to eat foods you enjoy while also achieving a healthy weight is better than being stuck where you are, gaining more weight, or continuing to yo-yo diet. After all, yo-yo and fad dieting is also super unhealthy. Plus, it’ll help you see you are capable of making all the changes you have always wanted, even healthy ones.

Can you lose weight without calories? Yes. However, if you have a history of being a lifelong, yo-yo dieter who chronically overeats then you will probably STRUGGLE. Switching to or adding in healthy foods is easier said than done for people like us. It’s just as easy to overeat healthy foods as it is to overeat unhealthy ones, and overeating anything will keep you overweight. Therefore, the boundaries that calorie counting provides is invaluable. In my opinion, calorie counting still has a very large place in the world of weight loss and always will.

Lose Weight Without Calorie Counting?

The case For Losing Weight without calorie Counting

**Here’s what I learned, and ultimately concluded, about the feasibility of losing weight without calorie counting.**

The key takeaway for me was that Dr. Maffetone says “starvation is no way to lose weight” in relation to calorie counting.