Intermittent calorie counting

[RapidFail]

Wondering if anyone else here does this.

Whether I'm bulking, cutting, or maintaining, I only count calories on weekdays - breakfast, lunch and snacks. I use meal planning so I'm not constantly looking up the calories of new foods, but I always use my kitchen scales to weigh everything and make sure portion sizes are consistent.

No matter what I'm doing, I always leave myself 800 calories short of my target calories for the day, then I eat the same thing as my family (wife and 2 young kids) for dinner. Some days I'll be a little under, others over, but in general I know that 800 calories is a good average dinner for me.

On the weekends I just eat intuitively and make sure I'm getting at least four (usually four or five) meals with 20+ grams of protein each day.

I weigh myself daily and use a weekly average to determine whether I need to increase or decrease calories. I've been counting calories intermittently like this all year and have found it to produce reliable results. I wouldn't recommend it to someone new to calorie counting or to anyone with poor self control or a tendency to binge.

[AdamWW]

I do not, no...

I'm probably one of the very, very few people here who doesn't calories or macro count at all. I just make sure I get at least 4 meals/snacks a day containing protein over 25g.

I do weigh myself 4 or so times a week to make sure I'm still gaining weight steadily, but that's all.

It's done WONDERS for my mental, social, and physical well-being... I just eat to feel physically and mentally well, which means different things on different days.



It's not for everyone, but for me personally, I prefer relying on internal cues (hunger, energy, strength...) vs. external cues (apps, calculators, etc) to determine what I need.

[Strawng]

I do not, no...

I'm probably one of the very, very few people here who doesn't calories or macro count at all.

I do weigh myself 4 or so times a week to make sure I'm still gaining weight steadily, but that's all.

It's done WONDERS for my mental, social, and physical well-being... I just eat to feel physically and mentally well, which means different things on different days.



It's not for everyone, but for me personally, I prefer relying on internal cues (hunger, energy, strength...) vs. external cues (apps, calculators, etc) to determine what I need.

I don’t track either & I never plan to again. I have no need to either. After years of tracking & intuitive eating, I can very accurately guesstimate to hit my goals. Tracking would change nothing aside from robbing my freedom & time. That being said, I think anyone coming from the SAD should track before & learn how their body responds before trying to eat intuitively.

[AdamWW]

I don’t track either & I never plan to again. I have no need to either. After years of tracking & intuitive eating, I can very accurately guesstimate to hit my goals. Tracking would change nothing aside from robbing my freedom & time. That being said, I think anyone coming from the SAD should track before & learn how their body responds before trying to eat intuitively.

100% Agree.

For years and years I refused to believe I could eat intuitively and make progress... but actually, it was massively holding me back.

After intuitively eating in this way for months, I tracked my calories on a random day, and it was literally within <100 calories of what I thought it would be...

I can't tell you the number of times I MADE myself eat or not eat because I thought I had to... the former was necessary in recovery for a brief period, yes, but it was easy to learn what real satisfaction felt like.

Nowdays... just zero reason.

[RapidFail]

I do not, no...

I'm probably one of the very, very few people here who doesn't calories or macro count at all. I just make sure I get at least 4 meals/snacks a day containing protein over 25g.

I do weigh myself 4 or so times a week to make sure I'm still gaining weight steadily, but that's all.

It's done WONDERS for my mental, social, and physical well-being... I just eat to feel physically and mentally well, which means different things on different days.



It's not for everyone, but for me personally, I prefer relying on internal cues (hunger, energy, strength...) vs. external cues (apps, calculators, etc) to determine what I need.

What you do is essentially the way I eat on weekends and holidays. Works well for maintaining weight for me, but not for cutting or lean gains, where I need a bit more structure to hit my targets.

[Dranseth]

This is exactly how I do it. I have three structured meals per day and one variable (with the fam). I allot 600 calories and 30g protein for the meal with my family. It also works for me. I do, however, keep it the same on weekends. My meals are fairly consistent so I dont actually count every day, I just happen to know what the macro content is of what I am eating.

[RapidFail]

This is exactly how I do it. I have three structured meals per day and one variable (with the fam). I allot 600 calories and 30g protein for the meal with my family. It also works for me. I do, however, keep it the same on weekends. My meals are fairly consistent so I dont actually count every day, I just happen to know what the macro content is of what I am eating.

Yep - I'll often go a month or more without checking MFP because my breakfast, lunch and snacks are consistent. I generally leave 30g protein and 30g fats for my dinner as part of the 800 cals. Basically the meals I keep tight control over are the ones I eat when I'm at work.

[VicDumbbells]

I weigh myself daily and use a weekly average to determine whether I need to increase or decrease calories.

I use my pants and a post shower glance. Are you competing soon or something?

I do not, no...

I'm probably one of the very, very few people here who doesn't calories or macro count at all.

I don't either. I have in the past. The foods I eat most are typical and I know the portions so typing it all into a tracker is no longer needed. For me it's best not to be too food/weight focused.

[RapidFail]

I use my pants and a post shower glance. Are you competing soon or something?



I don't either. I have in the past. The foods I eat most are typical and I know the portions so typing it all into a tracker is no longer needed. For me it's best not to be too food/weight focused.

Definitely not competing - unless you count over 35s softball as competing! If I'm just maintaining by bodyweight, I'm fine with weighing once a week or so and not counting calories, but I find lean bulking to be something that requires precision - moreso than cutting.

[Mrpb]

When I'm abroad I sometimes go 3-4 months without counting calories. I think it's a good thing to get used to. I think I get slightly better results while tracking though but I'm not sure.