Why You Don’t Need to Count Calories to Lose Weight

This probably seems a bit shocking, but you don’t need to count calories to lose weight.

In fact, you don’t need to count macros, track points or use another food tracking app to help you lose weight.

It’s just that you’ve been for so long that a diet or food tracking was necessary to lose weight.

I fell into this mentality for a long time too. After college I knew I needed to lose some weight.

My mom had been doing Weight Watchers, so I decided to give it a try. It was something new, different and seemed easy enough to follow.

I started to see the weight come off, and I was really happy. But then I hit a plateau. So I decided to try a cleanse. Again, I saw the weight come off, but once the cleanse ended, I was back to where I started.

So I went back to Weight Watchers, but was never fully satisfied with my results. It’s because there were a few things at play here. Plus reasons why whatever diet you’re following, whether it’s calorie, macro or point counting, keto, paleo, etc, only work for so long and never last.

Leaving you feeling disappointed in yourself. Wondering which diet to try next. To chase the high you felt when you saw the initial weight loss happen.

Reasons Why Your Diet is Holding You Back

Your Starting Point

When I started Weight Watchers, or really any diet for that matter, I had started from a place of hatred. I hated how I looked in the mirror after leaving college.

I remembered what I used to look like when I first started college. Comparing myself all the time to that high school/early college body.

Being disappointed in myself for getting to the place I had gotten to.

A lot of the time a diet, or counting calories, is started to lose weight, which is fine. But that wanting to lose weight usually comes from a place of hatred for how you look. Or being disgusted with what you see in the mirror.

This is a dangerous starting point. Because it usually means that no matter how hard you try, the weight is going to come back. Leaving you feeling underwhelmed, frustrated and disappointed in yourself.

Don’t worry though, we’re going to talk through a different starting point soon.

Counting Calories or Tracking = Guilt, Stress, Anxiety

There are too many women I know, myself included, who feel guilt, stress or anxiety, or a combination of them all when it comes to tracking.

You can start off with the best of intentions when you first start your diet. Being really good about tracking and counting calories and making your own food to pack.

This can last for a month, a couple weeks, or maybe even just a week before something comes up. Like eating out with friends. Or having a last minute dinner date with your significant other.

Something that throws a wrench in your perfectly planned day.

Which leaves you feeling guilty, frustrated or stressed about your day of eating.

I know these feelings well. I would feel so stressed out if a friend texted me asking to go out to dinner that night. Meaning I had perfectly planned out my whole day of what I could eat. Only to have a wrench thrown in that perfectly planned day.

I would scramble to figure out what I could eat. What would fall into the plan. Then feel guilty while I was out to eat, wondering if maybe I was going over my points allotment for the day.

Anxiety would creep in when there were treats at work that I wanted to eat. Feeling like if I indulged in something that wasn’t on-plan, I wasn’t good enough. Like I didn’t know how to control myself or my cravings like other people could.

Here’s the problem. Diets don’t work with your everyday lifestyle. Having feelings of guilt, stress and anxiety on a weekly, or even daily basis is no way to live your life.

Your Healthy Lifestyle Outside of Counting Calories

Your Starting Point

Okay, so let’s backtrack a little.

Earlier we talked about how starting from a place of hating your body is not the best place to start.

Instead, we should be starting from a place of acceptance.

Accepting where you’re starting. Knowing that the goals you’re setting for yourself are healthy, achievable, and positive.

When you can accept where you are, it helps fuel your desire to reach a goal. To help you achieve it and actually see lasting change.

That was my problem when I started WW. I was starting from the wrong place. And why, no matter how hard I tried, I never officially reached my goal. Or, I would reach it, but it wouldn’t last.

However, when I started again {this time with intuitive eating…more on that below}, I started from a place of acceptance.

This is where I began to see lasting change. Where my body was making changes that I had always hoped and dreamed it would.

Since my mindset was positive, my body wanted to be in that same positive state as my mind.

No Counting or Tracking = Freedom, Positivity, Self-Love

So here’s the change. From counting calories to intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating leads to feelings of freedom, positivity and self-love.

You’re no longer hating your body, but embracing it for all it does for you. Being food obsessed when you were counting calories {I totally was, and not in a good way} to having true food freedom.

Intuitive eating opens up new doors to a better mindset around your food choices and your body. It give you the opportunity to get to know yourself better and what your body truly needs.

Because here’s the thing. Intuitive eating is more than just listening to your cravings, hunger and fullness cues. There’s so many more nuances that take place with intuitive eating. A lot of it comes down to your mindset and practically rewiring your brain for something completely new.

The mindset work is what takes the most time. It can maybe be the most frustrating. But it’s absolutely necessary.

Take it from someone who spent four years working on her mindset and intuitive eating. And now I want to help you do the same.

Leaving calorie counting behind and seeing lasting changes in your body is totally possible, but your mind needs the help. I wish I had someone to talk to when I was going through many of these changes.

It’s the reason I created Piece of Mind Squad. To help you rewire your brain from diet to intuitive eating. You can check it out here {👈 click that link}, or leave me a comment below.