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Lose Weight Without Tracking Calories

Lose Weight Without Tracking Calories

We’ve talked a lot about nutrition in past blogs. If you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle, and feel better about yourself, then proper nutrition is a must!

But what happens if you aren’t the kind of person who wants to track your calories? What if you don’t want that added stress?

Below are different ways you can potentially lose weight without actually having to download MyFitnessPal and track your calories.

Note: Nutrition is very specific. What works for your friend, might not work the best for you. Keep in mind that all suggestions below are merely suggestions, and they are intended to put you in a calorie deficit. If you try one of these options, make it a goal to stick with it for a minimum of 3 weeks. And if you are still not losing weight, then you are not in a caloric deficit.

These options are not not listed in any particular order or rank.

Option 1 – Intermittent Fasting

No doubt you’ve heard someone you know talk about fasting, and you’ve probably heard the good and bad of IF.

But there is merit to intermittent fasting, and it can have some huge benefits for you in regards to your weight loss. Not because of anything magic, but because it will inherently put you in a calorie deficit. 

Most people follow the 8:16 rule for fasting. As in, they fast for 16 hours, and they have an 8 hour window when they can eat food. For many people, those 8 hours will be from Noon to 8PM. This generally means they’ll eat 2-3 meals inside of that 8 hour window (lunch, a snack, and dinner). Essentially, you’re just skipping breakfast! The thought process is since the meals will be closer together, you will inherently be more full by the time your next meal rolls around and want to intuitively eat less.

This option works really well for some people. But, if you’re the type of person who over eats, or has big portions, this might not be the best plan for you!

Option 2 – Time Windows

A bit like intermittent fasting, yes, but without the large 16 hour window of no eating. This gives you some time frames and rules to help people who tend to mindlessly snack or graze all day.

An example of a time window style of eating:

  • 8AM – 9AM: 1st meal
  • 1PM – 2PM: 2nd meal
  • 7PM – 8PM: 3rd meal

If you tend to identify as a snacker, or a late night muncher, this could definitely work well for you!

Option 3 – Eating Out Less

Want to save a boatload of calories and money? Well, stop eating out so much! Whenever we go for fast food options, or out to eat at restaurants, we sacrifice calories for convenience or an “out to eat” experience.

Restaurants will do everything they can to get you to love their dining experience, and that usually means loading up the foods with high calorie butters and oils, and creating massive serving sizes so you appreciate the amount of food you’re getting for the money you’re spending.

Problem with that … we end up eating too much.

Even simply cutting back and the amount of meals out you have will drastically help you reduce your caloric intake. If you usually eat out 7-10 meals a week, try to bring it down to 3-5 and see how it goes.

Option 4 – Smaller Plates

It’s all about portion control, right? We humans tend to love to see our plates filled. There’s something satisfying about it, and it makes us feel like we aren’t deprived.

So instead of using your large plate with a smaller serving (which would subconsciously make you feel deprived), use smaller plates instead and fill them up. Sure, there’s nothing stopping you from going back for seconds and completely ruining this idea (please don’t do that), but it’s still a useful option!

Option 5 – Stop Drinking Your Calories

If you drink 2 regular cans of soda a day, you’re more than likely drinking upwards of 300-500 calories a day, and those calories are NOT helping fill you up. Sure, they’ll give you quick energy, but unless you’re using these to help fuel some endurance running, they’re more than likely doing more harm than good.

We recommend switching to zero calorie beverages like diet sodas, sparkling waters, flavored water, etc etc. This is an easy fix to help bring down more calories!

For most of our clients at Hustle One fitness, this option has helped the most people lose weight and dramatically improve their body composition!

Option 6 – Drink Less Alcohol

If you drink 2 glasses of wine per night that are 4oz each, that’s an additional 200ish calories per night. But most people are a bit heavy handed on the pour, so those 200ish calories can really be upwards of 300ish, maybe even 400.

Then, the alcohol in your system is going to want you to get a little snacky after dinner, so you go for the ice cream. And then because you have alcohol in your system, you’re NOT going to sleep as well, so the next morning you’ll wake up groggy and foggy and be destined for a day of hunger (fun fact: when you sleep poorly, your hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin will be all out of whack).

If you’re a person drinking 1-2 drinks each night, we’d highly recommend cutting that back to only a few days per week, and if you can, even less than that! Find some awesome non-alcoholic alternatives.

We know from helping thousands of people lose weight that tracking calories is a highly effective way of helping establish lasting behavioral change, but we also know that it might not work for everyone. Use these options to help figure out what will be best for you!

And when you’re ready to pair fitness with your awesome nutrition habits, click here to schedule your free No Sweat Intro!

-James E.

Lose Weight Without Tracking Calories

Inspiration provided by Yellow Rose Fitness.

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