Lose Weight Without Tracking Food

Calories will always count, but you don’t have to count them in order to lose fat. Here are four strategies to lose weight without counting calories.

Treating your weight loss journey like a science project is one of my favorite tips for removing the emotional highs and lows from the process. Like any good science project, in order to be successful, you’ll want tons of data.

Tracking calories to the first-time dieter gets a ton of eye rolls. And I get it, it’s tedious and annoying. It takes a few minutes out of your day to do and it’s not always 100-percent accurate.

How To Lose Weight And Keep It Off, Without Counting Calories

But, you know what? It works. It works wonders as long as you are truthful to yourself and your numbers and actually track every bite of food that you eat throughout the day.

However, so many folks come to me looking for a better way––or at least an alternative way––to lose weight without counting calories.

And here’s the thing about calorie counting: You don’t need to do it in order to lose weight. But with that in mind, you must understand that the calories you eat still count. Whether or not you choose to log everything you are eating.

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This is why tracking your macros is a skill that everyone should have in their toolbox. And it is a major process of my online coaching programming . I work with my clients to understand what real portion sizes look like and how that will affect their calorie intake for the day.

That said, there are plenty of times when counting every single bite of food is either unnecessary or just a simple hindrance to your lifestyle. 

Before we get started, it’s important to note that losing weight sustainably still comes boil to the same facts, no matter how you set up your diet and nutritional plan.

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So here’s what we know about losing weight. If you nail the big three pillars, you’ll see successful and sustainable fat loss:

All three of these points can be managed without tracking macros and counting calories. You just need to understand how to hit all three points without doing so. And that’s where this guide and my strategies come into play.

Or if you’re just really intimidated by the calorie counting thing and want to ease into it another time, I’ll show you how to set up a system to successfully lose weight without tracking calories.

Ways To Lose Weight Without Counting Calories

Now, again it’s important to note that I am a firm believer that everyone should spend some time tracking their calories and macros. We live in a period of time when food is super abundant and hyper accessible. 

And when we grab that bite to eat, the big money marketing of the food industry has over extended serving sizes with huge packaging. It’s warped our own abilities to understand correct portion sizing and daily calorie input.

To confront this ongoing epidemic, you should absolutely spend a few weeks dialing in your nutrition by tracking you calories and macros.

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If you’ve never counted calories before I really think you should try doing so for at least 30 days. It’ll give you a better idea of:

If you’re new here and just getting started with the whole process of setting up your fat loss diet, you’ll want to hit the pause button and check out my comprehensive guide to setting up your calories for weight loss here . 

And then when you are ready to really get into macronutrient (proteins, carbs and fats) tracking, you can read my guide to doing that here .

Proven Ways To Lose Weight On Autopilot (without Counting Calories)

Let’s set the scene for what might a normal eating routine: It’s lunchtime at the office and you’re flooded with approximately 6, 783 emails, your boss just slapped a new project on your desk with an unrealistic deadline and your kid has at least 44 extracurricular activities that need your attention this afternoon.

However over the next 45 minutes, you inhale that salad while pounding out emails and triaging the other 27 work assignments. You barely taste your food. In fact, you didn’t even realize that last bite was actually the last bite. Your salad is gone.

This sort of speed eating without consciously thinking about what you’re doing is major obstacle you’ll need to overcome in order to properly lose weight without counting calories. 

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When you take your concentration away from the plate of food and allow the mind to wander to another task, it is difficult for the body to make the connection that you are full and should stop eating. 

That last point is crucial. Our body has the built-in ability to help trigger fullness. But, we have to clear out the surrounding noise and listen for the heads up so we can put the fork down.

When weight loss is the goal, your task is to learn how to stop eating just short of fullness. You’ll want to end your meal when you are at about 80-percent satisfied to ensure a proper calorie deficit (remember, the calorie deficit is the key to weight loss, whether we are counting calories or not).

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This might sound silly, but it is the most important part of this entire process. Look, it’s not easy. Nor is it something you’ll master in a few days. But, if you can sharpen this skill of slowing down to eat mindfully, that will unlock 80-percent of your goal. 

The remaining 20-percent of knowing how to lose weight without counting calories comes down to some of the following strategies and tactics.

When you’re ready to transition away from tracking after a period of dieting, the key is to take this slowly. You’ve sharpened your skill in the tracking game. And that’s fantastic. However, learning to eat without the measuring cups and food scale is yet another skill that you must learn to master.

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Start by adding one day per week where you do not track. For example, Monday through Saturday, you’ll continue with your regularly-scheduled calorie or macro tracking and food logging, making sure that every bite of food is accounted for. 

Then on Sunday, you’ll close the MyFitnessPal app and venture into the world of eating without tracking. The goal is to get as close to your normal calorie goal as possible. 

To take this a step further, this day of eating intuitively should be as close to your normal routine as possible, too. No restaurant meals, because those are notoriously difficult to accurately track. 

Can I Lose Weight Without Counting Calories?

If your average weekly scale weight and measurements are progressing according to your liking, you can then add one more off-day (preferably not on consecutive days yet). 

Controlling portions is a fantastic way to keep your calories in check. It’s a sneaky way to count calories without breaking out the pen and paper or using fancy food tracking apps to make calculations.

Most processed foods have this figured out for you. Check the nutritional information on the packaging of store-bought foods and the labeling will reveal the proper serving size of a given food.

Five Ways To Lose Weight Without Counting Calories

However, if you’ve been following along with my articles and awesomeness , you’ll know that I encourage you to trend away from processed foods and shift to a diet focused on more whole, natural unprocessed foods like lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and more nutrient dense carb sources.

When you set up the 80-20 Rule of 80-percent whole foods, you’ll need another method of portion tracking to make this work for you. 

Enter your hand. It’s a portable tool that we bring anywhere and everywhere and it can be easily used when measuring and weighing your food is not possible or simply not desirable.

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I really like this method for clients that are traveling for work or even on vacation and want some freedom from tracking, but don’t want to eat like an asshole the whole time.

In this setup, I wouldn’t worry too much about excess fats as your protein sources will have that covered. But, if that protein source is super lean (like 99-percent lean ground turkey breast) and was not cooked in any oils, you’d want to add a dollop of oil or butter or any healthy fat, like avocado, to your plate, too.

Outside of the major meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), if aim to have a snack, I would limit that to 1-2 snacks per day at most. 

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And each snack should be small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Fruit is a great option here. Couple that with a stick of string cheese or some greek yogurt and you’ve got a fantastic option to keep you full in between major meals.

Likewise, I’d also commit to adding a protein source to any and every meal (including snacks) to help with satiety and to get you one step closer to nailing your daily protein goals.

This is the most advanced skill and I would not suggest this one until you’ve master tracking, portion control and mindful eating. You’ll need to be Yoda level of Jedi mastery in order to make this method work for your fat loss goals. 

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The most successful dieters lose weight and keep it off manage to incorporate rules like these to hold themselves accountable. Here are some of the