Many of you may be skeptical of the fact that you can lose weight without 
counting calories, but I’m here to tell you that YES, IT IS POSSIBLE!
If you have ever googled losing weight, you have probably come across articles that recommend counting calories. However, there is often a disconnect between losing weight and watching your calories.
There is so much that plays a role in weight loss such as hormone levels.
Here is why you should NOT count calories:
-
You don’t actually know how many calories you need
To effectively count calories for weight loss, you need to know your basal metabolic rate or, in other words, how many calories your body burns each day by simply existing.
You can always approximate the number of calories you use in a day through dieting apps, but that is not always accurate.
-
Calorie labels lie
Don’t be fooled by those labels on your favorite bag of low-fat chips. You probably won’t even realize it but, they may be slightly off on their calorie count.
In fact, the Food and Drug Administration allows up to 20% margin of error in the numbers placed on nutrition labels. This means that your 200 calories snack could actually have 150 calories or 250!
I remember when I was younger my mom was heartbroken over her favorite late-night snack: Pirate Booty. This cheesy treat got in trouble for mislabeling their products calorie count. The Good Housekeeping Institute tested the product and found that it contained 147 calories and 8.5 grams of fat per serving compared to the 120 calorie and 2.5 grams of fat conveyed on the label. This was not a very good discovery and I’m sure many of us here would be unhappy with seeing our favorite snack straight up lying to us consumers.
Read more about the booty catastrophe here:
-
People suck at it
My brother and I can be grouped into this suck category. There was a point when I tried doing this, and let’s just say I didn’t really succeed.
A recent study showed people underestimated their daily food intake by an average of 47% and overestimated the calories they burned from a workout by about 30%
That’s a MASSIVE amount!!
-
Counting calories makes people focus on the wrong types of food
When you focus entirely on calories instead of quality food, can negatively affect your hunger cues and make you forget about the type of foods being consumed. At times you may even find yourself eating simply because you have calories left even though you are not necessarily hungry. Other times you may have gone over your calorie limit for the day but still find yourself hungry.
Basically, it is never good to over-restrict yourself or stuff your body.
Eating very small amounts of chicken cutlets can maybe help you lose weight, but will that really give you the energy you need? Will it help your skin quality?
I haven’t tried it but I can already tell you the answer is no.
10 Tips on How to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories
-
Cut the Carbs
* and no I’m not talking about slicing your pizza into perfect triangles *
One of the best ways to start losing weight (and one that I personally recommend) is reducing your carb intake.
Studies have shown that people who consume fewer carbs, tend to eat fewer calories and lose weight without major effort.
-
Eat Protein in all of your meals
Did you know that eating more protein can reduce your appetite, increase fat burning and help you gain muscle?
There is a lot of evidence that protein can help with fat burning and reducing hunger. This, in turn, helps you with losing weight naturally.
Studies show that protein boosts metabolism more than any other macronutrient.
One of the best ways to reduce your calorie intake is to consume more animal foods like fish, meat, and eggs.
-
Drink water like it’s your job
As someone who has recently made it my duty to drink AT LEAST 56 -64 oz of water a day, I can tell you that adding this into my routine has not only made my hair shinier and longer, but it has helped speed up my metabolism. I had always known drinking water was important, but I could never bring myself to do it.
It wasn’t until my coworker bought me the Hidrate Spark water bottle that I actively recorded my water intake. This bottle syncs with your phone and/ or fit bit and tells you just how much you should be drinking based on your weight, age, and activity level. When I started drinking the right amount of water regularly I noticed a difference physically and internally. I just felt cleaner inside and out.
I also used the app Water Reminder to help me drink more water! You should definitely try it out!
As someone who has made drinking water her job, I can agree with the research that states it can increase your metabolism and remove hunger cravings.
Make sure you drink about 8 cups a day!
-
Sleep like you’re Sleeping Beauty!
It’s very important you make time for quality sleep and you avoid high-stress situations.
Both are imperative for the best function of your body and hormones.
In fact, one study reported that inadequate sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity. Short sleep duration was shown to raise the risk by 89% in children and 55% in adults.
In addition, excessive stress can increase your levels of the hormone cortisol, which is known to increase belly fat accumulation.
As a result, it is recommended that we all get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.
-
Drink Apple Cider Vinegar
It’s been known that apple cider vinegar has a variety of health benefits, one of which includes weight loss.
Apple Cider Vinegar helps with controlling your appetite, insulin regulation, and the digestion process. For instance, a small Swedish study found that when individuals consumed vinegar with a meal, they felt a higher level of satiety after eating than those that didn’t have the vinegar.
Mix 2 tablespoons of ACV in 8-10 ounces of water and drink it first thing in the morning or 30 minutes before a meal to feel a sense of fullness.
-
Replace a grain-based breakfast with eggs
Did you know that eating eggs in the morning compared to bagels can help you lose fat without even trying?
Two studies were conducted in which one group of overweight women ate bagels and the other consumed eggs.
The group that had the eggs ended up having fewer calories at lunch the rest of the day and for the following 36 hours.
Thus, eggs are a more filling alternative that will make you eat fewer calories at subsequent meals.
-
Use coconut oil when you cook
According to Health Line, “Coconut oil is the world’s most weight loss friendly fat”.
It maintains a unique combination of fatty acids with noticeable effects on the metabolism. It has even been shown to help people eat 256 fewer calories per day.
More importantly, several studies reveal that adding coconut oil to your diet can help you lose fat, and more importantly “dangerous” fat in the abdominal cavity.
However, this does not mean you should slather on the coconut oil in everything you do. Too much could be counterproductive since it does contain a high amount of calories.
-
Use smaller plates
The human brain is a funny complex thing.
It likes to control our eating behaviors and ultimately determines if you should eat or not.
Fortunately, there is a way to trick your brain into thinking it has eaten more food: USING SMALLER PLATES!
Usually the larger your plates or bowls, the more you will fill them up. Therefore, by using smaller plates you can trick your brain into feeling more satisfied with fewer calories.
-
Avoid unsatisfying foods like your life depends on it!
We all know the biggest enemy of them all: SUGARRRR
It is literally there to sabotage your dieting work! They are not only high in calories and bad for the body, but they also leave your body feeling HUNGRY.
By cutting out sugar, white bread, butter, chips, doughnuts, cakes, etc. you can make a drastic change in your body!
-
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has recently become an effective and popular method for losing weight.
Here is how intermittent fasting can change your metabolism:
- Insulin: insulin typically increases when we eat. When we fast, insulin decreases noticeably. Lower levels of insulin facilitate fat burning!
- Human growth hormone (HGH) : The growth hormone is one that can foster fat loss and muscle gain. When you fast, levels of growth hormone may skyrocket
Moreover, two studies have found that fasting for about 48 hours can boost your metabolism by 3.6 -14%. However, fasting for longer than this can suppress your metabolism, so make sure not to overdo it!
