Okay, I've been counting calories for about two years now in order to lose weight. I've been at the weight I want for some time now, but I'm afraid of gaining. I'm tired of counting calories and restricting so I was thinking of eating whatever I want as long as I'm hungry and stop when I'm not longer hungry. What do you think? Has this worked for anyone else coming off of counting calories. I'm just so terrified of gaining weight, I hate my body as is and I don't want it to be the way it as before.
I guess there is a happy medium. I am at the point where I don't need to count calories any more because I have my diet completely memorized. I have about 4 different breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks that I have "pre-calculated" so I know what works and what does not. I also know ahead of time exactly what I will order if I eat out.
There are people who claim you can eat until no longer hungry, but frankly, if many of us did that our chairs would break.
There IS a specific number of calories that YOUR body needs to consume to maintain weight, given your physical structure and activity level. If you have a history of a weight problem, I recommend that you remain aware of your maintenance calorie requirements and learn what types of meals fit into that criteria.
I think you could try it and just keep close tabs on the scale. If you gain 5 lbs., you know it's not working. A better thing to do might be to just keep everything down to single serving portions so that you don't accidentally eat double or triple servings. You might also want to look at your meals in a grouping manner. (Ex: Bkf - 1 bev., 1 fruit, 1 starch or protein, 1 calcium...Morn. Snack - nothing or 1 fruit or 1 veggie....Lunch - water, 1 protein, 1 fruit, 1-2 starches.....Super - 1 bev., 1 protein, 2 veggies, and 1 starch or realy big salad.....Night Snack - nothing or something small)
You know, I just read the most interesting thing today on this subject and they were saying you can't loose weight (that is the weight you may gain from eating normally) until you boost your metabolism back to normal again from either yo-yo dieting, or severly restricting calories.
Here's the deal, what you have to do (and this may sound scary at first), is you need to start eating ALOT more to get up to, say, 2000 calories. BUT you need to be eating healthy stuff like nuts, eggs, chicken, fish, whole wheat breads/pastas, fruits veggies, and low fat dairy products. Just because you're eating more doesn't mean you can fill up on a pint of ice cream for the calories. Though, don't feel guilty to have treats too.
Ok, so you do that for I think a month or something (grr I can't remember how long) and you WILL gain some weight at first, but this is an important step to getting your metabolism back up. Then, you can gradually cut back to what you feel comfortable eating, but NOT go any lower than 1,200 to lower your metabolism again. You should loose the weight you regained and then stabalize to where you want to be. Just remember don't go too low or you'll just slow it down again. Add some weight training/cardio in to help with your metabolism and also eat smaller meals more often, but listen to your body and stop when you're full, but eat as soon as you're hungry again.
I've tried something similar to this before, and it worked, so give it a shot.
Last edited by sugar_babygirli; 10-20-2004 at 06:25 PM.
You know, I just read the most interesting thing today on this subject and they were saying you can't loose weight (that is the weight you may gain from eating normally) until you boost your metabolism back to normal again from either yo-yo dieting, or severly restricting calories.
Here's the deal, what you have to do (and this may sound scary at first), is you need to start eating ALOT more to get up to, say, 2000 calories. BUT you need to be eating healthy stuff like nuts, eggs, chicken, fish, whole wheat breads/pastas, fruits veggies, and low fat dairy products. Just because you're eating more doesn't mean you can fill up on a pint of ice cream for the calories. Though, don't feel guilty to have treats too.
Ok, so you do that for I think a month or something (grr I can't remember how long) and you WILL gain some weight at first, but this is an important step to getting your metabolism back up. Then, you can gradually cut back to what you feel comfortable eating, but NOT go any lower than 1,200 to lower your metabolism again. You should loose the weight you regained and then stabalize to where you want to be. Just remember don't go too low or you'll just slow it down again. Add some weight training/cardio in to help with your metabolism and also eat smaller meals more often, but listen to your body and stop when you're full, but eat as soon as you're hungry again.
I've tried something similar to this before, and it worked, so give it a shot.
The concept of zig-zagging calories is a good one, but I don't agree that the goal should be to regain some weight to strengthen the metabolism. There are many ways to strengthen the metabolism but gaining weight is not one of them! Also, calories should really be based on individual needs - not just a random number applied to all people. This is one of my objections with the food pyramid - it is only an example that cannot be applied to all.
As I mentioned, my recommendation is that you become aware of your specific calorie maintenance requirements and then figure out what some typical meals look like that fit this criteria. Its so important that people learn how to eat to maintain. You don't have to count calories every day to do this. Early on its a learning experience, but it adheres well to memory.
I agree with you jdimassimo, but sometimes when people severly restrict (or are recovering from an eating disorder they had for YEARS), gaining weight and eating alot is the only way to raise your metabolism. As i said, you CAN loose the weight and it's only temporary to get used to burning off more food then 1/2 apple.
Eating Normally 
Colleen 
Though, don't feel guilty to have treats too. 
