Has anyone tried to lose weight this way?

[Arkteia]

I am not using any diets or counting calories. I am trying not to think of food, or rather, treat it casually. Eat when I get hungry, whatever is there. If there is pizza at the office, eat a piece of pizza. If there is none, eat whatever I brought from home, but only when I am hungry and stop when I do not feel hungry. In the evening, at home, eat only when and if I am hungry. Not allowing myself to walk around feeling hungry, either. No fancy diets because they, in fact, focus your mind on what you eat.

I am shopping for food, but only what I remember to buy. No wandering around aisles.

And no shopping for clothes or any compulsive purchases. Avoiding sales.

It seems to work. Slowly, not too fast but I do not need it to be fast. I think the principle is to reduce stocking up. It is my own idea, but maybe such an approach exists, and perhaps someone here has tried it? I shall tell you what happens. (I never suffered from an eating disorder of any kind, just overeat, like many people, without noticing that I am hungry.)

 

[partgypsy]

No one in our house is on a diet. The main thing we do is just try to have relatively healthy things in the house to eat. We all like to eat, so not thinking about food is not an option! So we have lots of fruit (fresh fruit, fruit cups, dried fruit) yogurt, nuts, string cheese. My husband tries to have a vegetable or a salad with each main meal. We make popcorn for snacks. I try to make my own cookies for dessert (or tonight, apple pie). We are not totally restrictive (for example we have some sugared cereal right in the pantry right now, and ice cream in the freezer), but we never bring chips and soda home.
The problem with me I'm not a good planner without a list, so if I didn't go to the grocery store with at least some plan/list, I'd end up not having enough food in the house, feeling hungry and resorting to takeout/pizza.

But if it works for you, it works!

 

[monarch64]

What has been helpful to me in the past is something similar: I stop asking myself "what am I hungry for?" or, "what sounds good?" and just eat to fuel my body. I only keep healthy foods on hand, and shop every couple of days to make sure we have fresh produce at all times. Another way to go about it is just to stay as busy as possible...I often overeat out of sheer boredom. The times in my life I've been the absolute fittest and thinnest have been the times when I just haven't had time to do anything more than fix a quick, healthy meal, eat it, and then move onto the next activity.

 

[marymm]

A couple of years ago I discovered the magic of eating a good breakfast every single day - it seems so very obvious and I know I see/hear this advice all the time but for me, it is true - if I start my day with breakfast, the rest of the day always goes better: I have more energy and I make better food decisions for lunch/dinner/snacks. I did lose some weight when I first changed my diet to include daily breakfast. Other than making sure I eat breakfast, I pretty much eat what and how much I feel like eating, but I find I voluntarily choose more healthful and nutritional items 95% of the time. And I try to be conscious of how much time has passed since I last ate - if I had my regular breakfast (plain low-fat Greek yogurt with Nature Valley granola and assorted berries) and the noon hour rolls around and I don't feel hungry for a meal, I will munch some walnuts or almonds and have a piece of fruit, and then mid-afternoon maybe have a more generous snack like a peanut butter & banana half-sandwich, or hummus & whole grain pretzels, or apple or pear slices with a small chunk of cheese. But a small bit of dark chocolate is a daily treat, and now and then I enjoy a frosted brownie or an ice cream sandwich. These days, I am totally aware that when I eat processed foods I end up feeling like crap, but sometimes that's my only food option and as a once-in-a-while choice it doesn't ruin my day - but otherwise, I'd rather eat well and healthfully, and feel great and energized.

 

[Haven]

I maintain a healthy weight doing exactly what you describe, Crasru. I eat when I'm hungry, and I stop when I'm full. I do not diet. The only time I ever diet is when I'm doing Body-for-Life which is like a bodybuilding program for non-bodybuilders. Most of the time, I just eat when I need to eat.

I've actually lost some weight since the summer, and I think it's because I've been paying a teensy tiny bit more attention to when I'm full. DH and I eat pizza and fast food whenever we get the urge, and we're both in very good shape. (We do a lot of activities as part of our normal lives, as well, so that must help.)

I think you're on the right track.

 

[yennyfire]

I do the same thing crasu. After a lifetime of dieting and not allowing myself to have anything I thought of as "bad", I got to a point after my first child was born that I was so busy that I forgot to think about food. I ate when my body told me it was hungry. In addition to fresh fruits, veggies and lean meat/fish, cake was a staple in my diet (at the time). Four months after my son was born, I weighed less than I did when I got pg with him. I have maintained this approach for the past 7 years and it works great for me. I don't view any food as "off limits" and allow myself to have what I want in moderation. I always try to set a good example for my kids, so we have lots of healthy choices as well as a stash of "treats". Not obessing over food is a much more pleasant way to live (at least for me!).

 

[JewelFreak]

It's a good approach, Crasru. Since May I've lost 30 lbs with essentially that approach -- and being sure to exercise every day, which makes a HUGE difference. I obsess over sugary stuff, especially chocolate, so allow myself a chocolate-something one day a week. I eat good stuff at meals & other times, grab an apple or string cheese, grapes, etc. Am working on the next 25 lbs, whew! Haven't felt this good in a long time & actually find myself craving fruit instead of sugary packaged foods (er, mostly).

Doing 1/2 hr of fairly intensive yoga every morning really helps a lot too. Requires getting up only a tiny bit earlier -- I do a DVD & roll into it as soon as I finish my coffee. It is wonderful for banishing aches & pains & especially tension headaches, which I get a lot. A great way to start the day peacefully but still revved up.

Good luck!

--- Laurie

 

[chemgirl]

I hate feeling full! I also hate feeling hungry! So I usually eat whenever I'm hungry, and stop eating when I don't feel hungry anymore. If that means I eat 2 cookies in the middle of the afternoon, I eat 2 cookies. Then I might not feel very hungry so I'll just have a salad a bit later in the evening. Then I might be hungry before bed and have some popcorn. If I don't eat anything in the afternoon, I'm good for about a quarter of a chicken and a potato at dinner. I'll usually have tea and something sweet around 8:00pm, because that's what I feel like eating. I'm between a size 2 and 4 so I guess it works long term.

It drives my husband and parents nuts because I'll eat half a plate of food, or a third of a piece of cake, and then stop. I always hear "How can you waste that! Its so good!" but I just don't feel like eating any more once I feel done. Its not even a willpower thing. For example, my husband can sit there and eat an entire box of oreos. I feel like I've had enough after a couple.

I don't know why I do it. Its not really a diet. Its just how I've always been. My mom used to be worried that it was an eating disorder, but a nutritionist went over what I ate and said I was getting exactly what I should. I just don't get a lot of extra.

The only advice I can give is to try and keep some granola bars or snacks with you at all times. I like the Kashi To Go bars. I find I don't have a lot of fat/energy stored up so when I get hungry, I get hungry. It can't really be put off for an hour. I'll get dizzy if I walk around hungry for too long.

 

[jstarfireb]

I think this is a very healthy way to eat. I keep hearing that eating multiple small meals and basically "grazing" all day is better for your metabolism, and that dieting doesn't work because you gain the weight back right away. Unfortunately, I can't do this, as much as I'd like to. I only get brief breaks away from the OR when I'm working, so I have to eat a ton of food so I won't be hungry before the next break, which is hours away. One of the risks of working in a field where the mantra is "eat when you can; sleep when you can." I also rarely ever feel full...I'm like a bottomless pit. I joke that my entire body cavity is lined with one giant stomach. Otherwise I can't figure out where it all goes and why I never feel full!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I've lost my baby weight using the same approach as you. I eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full and nothing is off limits. In an effort to save money DH and I have been cooking most of our meals at home and I always try to include veggies as part of the meal. Instead of a starchy veggie like mashed potatoes we substitute broccoli, carrots, peas or steamed mixed veggies in addition to another veggie with the main dish.

I don't go crazy with exercise but I figure chasing my kids around all day (I'm recently involuntarily unemployed) counts as something. I do have a treadmill in the basement but haven't had the motivation to get back in the swing of taking a "walk" or "jog" each night.

Another major thing that I've changed in my eating habits are my portion sizes. There's no need for me to eat until I'm stuffed to the gills so I use a small plate (or bowl) and eat only one portion, and fill up on veggies if I feel like eating more after that. For sweets and treats I try to limit myself to a piece of chocolate per day or something small a few times a week; but like I said before nothing is completely off limits.

 

[HopeDream]

I'm a naturaly lean person. I have always eaten this way and have remained the same weight for atleast 10 years now. I cook a lot at home and do my best not to eat fast food and processed foods too often, or too many things with artificial flavours, but I do eat a little bit of everything. I find when I listen to my body I want to eat protien, vegetables and carbohydrates in equal amounts, but every one is different. If I do crave a super calorie rich treat I indulge and find that I don't often want more than one serving anyway.

I think "diets" are artificial, and one of the easiest ways for a person to ruin their natural balance (medically neccessary diets excepted).

 

[dragonfly411]

Crasru - This is generally how I eat day to day now. I also tend to remind myself that hunger is not immediate. I am not going to die if I am hungry for a half an hour or an hour. I do try to eat when I'm hungry, but if I don't have a healthy option readily available, that is what I think to myself. I try to gauge the level of my hunger, and eat based on that level. I generally eat 5-6 times a day, small servings, with lunch being my biggest meal. My metabolism seems happiest on this schedule.

 

[Arkteia]

It's a good approach, Crasru. Since May I've lost 30 lbs with essentially that approach -- and being sure to exercise every day, which makes a HUGE difference. I obsess over sugary stuff, especially chocolate, so allow myself a chocolate-something one day a week. I eat good stuff at meals & other times, grab an apple or string cheese, grapes, etc. Am working on the next 25 lbs, whew! Haven't felt this good in a long time & actually find myself craving fruit instead of sugary packaged foods (er, mostly).

Doing 1/2 hr of fairly intensive yoga every morning really helps a lot too. Requires getting up only a tiny bit earlier -- I do a DVD & roll into it as soon as I finish my coffee. It is wonderful for banishing aches & pains & especially tension headaches, which I get a lot. A great way to start the day peacefully but still revved up.

Good luck!

--- Laurie

I think yoga is great! I always recommend yoga to my patients in order for them not to get "stuck" on things. Raja yoga is probably more important. I hate "hot yoga" which is Western invention and has nothing to do with yoga but changing your approach to things and outlook on life helps.

I think my principle is based on how tribal people live (I often thing of how they lived and why we are what we are; after all, we are not so far gone from them!). They ate when and only when they were hungry. They exercised naturally by doing work or chasing deers or waging wars and our gyms are paltry substitutions of their exercises. But I think that many mental illnesses or traits are in fact not illnesses but the consequences of civilization. (Think of a guy with slightly manic traits, he would be the fastest hunter, the best warrior, the natural leader... and now he is confined to a cubicle, at home at work, small wonder he does not know what to do with either his energy or anger!). But I am getting of on a tangent here... probably the result of my involvement with ancient civilizations, LOL! So chasing a kid as a young mom is a very healthy way of exercising, because this is how tribal moms used to exercise! I believe no one was fat at that time... can not imagine them being fat.

 

[JewelFreak]

Agree 100% about hot yoga. How to have a heart attack! I'm also un-charmed by yoga-as-dance with loud heavy-beat music -- not yoga. I do a couple of different types; my fave at the moment concentrates on poses that use core muscles, as well as the usual wonderful stretching that relieves tension so well. It is changing your attitude that matters.

Think of a guy with slightly manic traits, he would be the fastest hunter, the best warrior, the natural leader... and now he is confined to a cubicle, at home at work, small wonder he does not know what to do with either his energy or anger!

Great insight. Was thinking about similar things yesterday, coincidence. Humans haven't evolved in any measurable way for many millennia; evolution is so slow. I wondered if we could ever get rid of the genes that make hunting a pleasure -- might do away with wars & some crime, but who knows if that isn't also responsible for good things such as ambition to succeed, or curiosity. Ancient civilizations are a longtime interest of mine too.

I believe no one was fat at that time... can not imagine them being fat.

No Twinkies, licorice, chips, or Burger King. Plus running after deer, as you said!

I don't know where you are, Crasru, but we gotta sit down & have lunch together!

--- Laurie

 

[Arkteia]

Agree 100% about hot yoga. How to have a heart attack! I'm also un-charmed by yoga-as-dance with loud heavy-beat music -- not yoga. I do a couple of different types; my fave at the moment concentrates on poses that use core muscles, as well as the usual wonderful stretching that relieves tension so well. It is changing your attitude that matters.

Think of a guy with slightly manic traits, he would be the fastest hunter, the best warrior, the natural leader... and now he is confined to a cubicle, at home at work, small wonder he does not know what to do with either his energy or anger!

Great insight. Was thinking about similar things yesterday, coincidence. Humans haven't evolved in any measurable way for many millennia; evolution is so slow. I wondered if we could ever get rid of the genes that make hunting a pleasure -- might do away with wars & some crime, but who knows if that isn't also responsible for good things such as ambition to succeed, or curiosity. Ancient civilizations are a longtime interest of mine too.

I believe no one was fat at that time... can not imagine them being fat.

No Twinkies, licorice, chips, or Burger King. Plus running after deer, as you said!
I don't know where you are, Crasru, but we gotta sit down & have lunch together!

--- Laurie

Laurie, I am in/close to Seattle, WA, and you, as I remember from your posts, are somewhere in one of the Southern states, but we travel! We plan to go to San Diego pretty soon, so if you are in the vicinity...

Or if you ever want to go to a place of ancient civilization, give me a holler! Turkey is on our short list now...

Also, if you know any forum on ancient civilizations, can you, please, post it? Mine is very small, although the lady who runs it and has a blog is very knowledgeable and feeds us a lot of information!