Current Events > How can you lose fat without counties calories?

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My gf put on ~10lbs this summer after a bout of depression, and she's always been in banging shape. She asked me to help her but she absolutely refuses to count calories and says it will make her obsessive.

Ok... this will take twice as long then... but how can we do this?
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my gf refuses to weigh herself regularly because she says itll make her anorexic or obsessive

idk i just let em get fat
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have more sex

You can weigh the food as another option
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Take over meal prep and count her calories for her.

You can ballpark calories if you don't want to count.

Avoid carbs, sugar and fat, eat proteins (without fat) . Complete with veggies, avoid eating excessive fruits.
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Just imagine the portion you would normally take and cut it by half.
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MACisBack posted...

You can weigh the food as another option

That's generally a bad idea, something doesn't have to weigh much, but still can have a lot of calories.
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Have her go on the ketogenic diet. Lots of veggies, some meat, poultry and seafood, cooking oils, and a little bit of unsweetened dairy (no yogurt or ice cream); but absolutely no pasta, rice, breads, fruits, starchy tubers, and sugary drinks such as sodas and juice. She will be full after every meal without having to count calories, but she will lose weight.
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Colorahdo posted...

My gf put on ~10lbs this summer after a bout of depression, and she's always been in banging shape.

Then...she probably doesn't look too bad, lol.

That's a lot of wiggle room for 10 lbs.
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I never ever counted calories or weighted myself when I stopped being a lazy bum, just the act of doing excersise and cutting out sugar beverages of any kind will do the work for you, you dont need any indicators other than your pants and clothes suddenly feeling looser.

Really tho, doing active shit is much better than not doing active shit plus cutting off unhealthy stuff from your life is eventually gonna do the job, it aint rocket science.

Went from chubby to top shape in a couple of years pretty easily, and all I did was a couple of pushups and 20 minutes of running every other day.
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The best thing to do is reduce the amount of junk you eat and exercise frequently.
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weapon_d00d816 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

My gf put on ~10lbs this summer after a bout of depression, and she's always been in banging shape.

Then...she probably doesn't look too bad, lol.

That's a lot of wiggle room for 10 lbs.

Yeah, but weight gain is almost always a slippery slope.. that's the problem. She probably looks fine now, maybe even great, but she will probably keep steadily gaining if she doesn't change her current habits. This is always how it starts. At least she recognizes it and is willing to make some changes.

Without counting calories? Just reduce portion sizes and cut out a lot of stuff that you would traditionally consider unhealthy like excess sugar and such. Exercise can help as well but you can't expect a bit of cardio to undo day after day of shitty eating habits.
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weapon_d00d816 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

My gf put on ~10lbs this summer after a bout of depression, and she's always been in banging shape.

Then...she probably doesn't look too bad, lol.

That's a lot of wiggle room for 10 lbs.

Oh for sure, but it's not a good feeling to go from visible abs and triceps to squish belly
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Paragon21XX posted...

Have her go on the ketogenic diet. Lots of veggies, some meat, poultry and seafood, cooking oils, and a little bit of unsweetened dairy (no yogurt or ice cream); but absolutely no pasta, rice, breads, fruits, starchy tubers, and sugary drinks such as sodas and juice. She will be full after every meal without having to count calories, but she will lose weight.

That's a great idea, she complained about not wanting to be hungry
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1. Exercise fairly regularly.
2. Learn the difference between good foods and bad ones.
3. Learn when your body is telling you to eat, and when your brain is. That doesn't mean starve yourself, or even wait until you can feel physical hunger - you can tell before then when your body is ready to eat more.
4. Eat meaningfully, not mindlessly. That sounds like some motivational speaker bullshit but, what I mean is that your meals/snacks should be reasonable. Don't gorge. Get some protein in there so you aren't reaching for more in half an hour. And so on.
5. Remember that it's okay to break #2 on occasion. If you're doing a good job the other 95% of the time, eating a couple slices of pizza won't kill your progress.

I've been following this general set of guidelines for a couple months now. I've lost nearly 20lbs. as a result, without ever starving myself or counting calories. This shit is easy to figure out, and yet so many people think there needs to be a rigid, unflinching structure for it to be effective.
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Eat less than you already do, and move more. That's how.
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LinksLiege posted...

1. Exercise fairly regularly.
2. Learn the difference between good foods and bad ones.
3. Learn when your body is telling you to eat, and when your brain is. That doesn't mean starve yourself, or even wait until you can feel physical hunger - you can tell before then when your body is ready to eat more.
4. Eat meaningfully, not mindlessly. That sounds like some motivational speaker bullshit but, what I mean is that your meals/snacks should be reasonable. Don't gorge. Get some protein in there so you aren't reaching for more in half an hour. And so on.
5. Remember that it's okay to break #2 on occasion. If you're doing a good job the other 95% of the time, eating a couple slices of pizza won't kill your progress.

I've been following this general set of guidelines for a couple months now. I've lost nearly 20lbs. as a result, without ever starving myself or counting calories. This shit is easy to figure out, and yet so many people think there needs to be a rigid, unflinching structure for it to be effective.

You're right, but this isn't going to take you into "great" shape territory, just "not fat". She's not fat, she's trying to get back in great shape
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Simply eating less will do it.

Eating less is hard though, because it means you'll go hungry. In order to avoid that you can eat the same amount but cut out high calorie foods. The easiest things to cut are sweets, sodas, alcohol and fried food.

Another thing you can do to avoid eating less (or less of what you like) is increase your energy expenditure by doing exercise.
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Asherlee10 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

Have her go on the ketogenic diet. Lots of veggies, some meat, poultry and seafood, cooking oils, and a little bit of unsweetened dairy (no yogurt or ice cream); but absolutely no pasta, rice, breads, fruits, starchy tubers, and sugary drinks such as sodas and juice. She will be full after every meal without having to count calories, but she will lose weight.

That's a great idea, she complained about not wanting to be hungry

It is a great idea on paper, but the commitment to that is very difficult and cutting sugar is going to be a rollercoaster of emotions. This video is in a Nordic language but does a good job showing you how it will go.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-3263390/Man-gives-added-sugar-alcohol-one-month-loses-weight.html#v-3226117276862531929

I almost never eat added sugar. Maybe once a month
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Colorahdo posted...

You're right, but this isn't going to take you into "great" shape territory, just "not fat".

Something tells me your definitions of "great" and "not fat" are a bit skewed.
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Move to a different county
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Asherlee10 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

Asherlee10 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

Have her go on the ketogenic diet. Lots of veggies, some meat, poultry and seafood, cooking oils, and a little bit of unsweetened dairy (no yogurt or ice cream); but absolutely no pasta, rice, breads, fruits, starchy tubers, and sugary drinks such as sodas and juice. She will be full after every meal without having to count calories, but she will lose weight.

That's a great idea, she complained about not wanting to be hungry

It is a great idea on paper, but the commitment to that is very difficult and cutting sugar is going to be a rollercoaster of emotions. This video is in a Nordic language but does a good job showing you how it will go.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-3263390/Man-gives-added-sugar-alcohol-one-month-loses-weight.html#v-3226117276862531929

I almost never eat added sugar. Maybe once a month

Good for you, but most people in the U.S. are not like that.

My point is that guy makes it seem like giving up sugar is this incredible thing that's hard to do. It's not hard at all... it's called cooking for yourself
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As someone that went from ~190 to now constantly between 155-160 and posted results on CE, I never counted a single calorie

Makes far more sense to me to do research on whats healthy, make a list of everything that you think you would enjoy eating long term, and simply eat those things 80-90% of the time while avoiding common calorie dense foods like soda, alcohol, chips and other snacks 80-90% of the time (if not completely)

In regards to how much to eat, well I simply ate til i wasn't hungry any more. Important thing here though is don't eat yourself full. You can eat yourself to not be hungry while not completely filling yourself up. Advice I heard and stick to once was "On a hunger scale of 1-7, eat yourself to a 5", which basically translates to eat yourself to a 7/10. You're not completely full (and pretty much everyone should know what feeling completely full feels like) but you're also not hungry at the same time. That's where you want to be. This does however require you to be aware when you are eating and making sure you really ask yourself "Do I REALLY need to eat the rest of whats on my plate?"

When I go to a restaurant, I almost never eat everything that they serve in one sitting. I always eat about half of it and eat the rest later. That's just one tactic that I use to not over eat
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-Cut sugars aside from fruit
-Cut most breads and pastas
-Drink only water
-Eat grilled meats and vegetables mostly
-Indulge once a week so you don't lose your mind
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Canuklehead posted...

Take over meal prep and count her calories for her.

This. Come up with a set of acceptable meals you both like, and only buy ingredients to make those meals.
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People who start bitching before even starting the diet are the most difficult ones IMO

The best way to lose fat is to do it the way the bodybuilders to it. Make a personalized meal plan with 5 or 6 meals and stick to it. Don't count calories but count portions, like for example meal #2 could be 1 bowl of veggies and 50 to 100 grams of white meat... something like that.

But most people don't have the discipline to lose weight consistently without a strict meal plan. They just bitch and moan if you tell them to watch the sauce and they want to prepare complicated meals and all... it's almost impossible getting them to stick to anything, then they just say "well, nothing works for me" and they give up
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Colorahdo posted...

You're right, but this isn't going to take you into "great" shape territory, just "not fat". She's not fat, she's trying to get back in great shape

Why do you think it wouldn't? What kind of 'shape' was she in before?

Asherlee10 posted...

It isn't the act of not eating foods with added sugar in it that is all that difficult, though it is to many people that have no been taught anything about cooking or nutrition. His video is about what his body and mind goes through after reducing his sugar intake. Sugar is an addiction and cutting that out takes a toll.

Not if you have even the least bit of self control. Fat people aren't victims.
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If calories aren't being counted, at least standardize intake so it's just not a variable. It doesn't matter if it's always 1500 or always 2000, just so long as daily intake doesn't fluctuate between 1200 and 2300 a day then whatever baseline calories are can be met with increased physical activity and not subsequent "I just worked out really hard, I can now eat even more!"

But otherwise, yeah. You'll need to hold the reins and hope she doesn't self sabotage by gorging on ice cream the second your back is turned.
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Asherlee10 posted...

faizan_faizan posted...

Colorahdo posted...

You're right, but this isn't going to take you into "great" shape territory, just "not fat". She's not fat, she's trying to get back in great shape

Why do you think it wouldn't? What kind of 'shape' was she in before?

Asherlee10 posted...

It isn't the act of not eating foods with added sugar in it that is all that difficult, though it is to many people that have no been taught anything about cooking or nutrition. His video is about what his body and mind goes through after reducing his sugar intake. Sugar is an addiction and cutting that out takes a toll.

Not if you have even the least bit of self control. Fat people aren't victims.

Watch the video. That guy is not fat and you don't have to be fat for it to be hard to reduce your sugar intake.

That's not my point, although I do admit that fat part was a bit uncalled for.
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Asherlee10 posted...

Then I don't know what point you are making.

Maybe read the first part? "Not if you have even the least bit of self control." and yes, I did watch the video.
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Just lower what you normally eat and do activities that make you sweat more often. I never counted calories when I was trying to lose weight, I literally just tried my best to avoid carbs/sugar and ate more vegetables and protein.
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Just eat less how is this so hard for people. Stop stuffing your face.
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Colorahdo posted...

weapon_d00d816 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

My gf put on ~10lbs this summer after a bout of depression, and she's always been in banging shape.

Then...she probably doesn't look too bad, lol.

That's a lot of wiggle room for 10 lbs.

Oh for sure, but it's not a good feeling to go from visible abs and triceps to squish belly

Visible abs on girls is gross imo
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