T Nation

Not Counting Calories while Cutting

nutrition
#1

I recently took a break from counting calories and macros. I kinda eat how my body feels (With some structure to it) Ex. I Swim and do Strongman/Oly Lifting, Most days for B-fast I eat 2-3 Eggs, A full Avocado and Vegetables or Some Breakfast Meats. Lunch is usually low carb and the carbs found are from fruits, I also eat on the higher end of the scale when it comes to fat. Pre-workout is High Carb and Protein, and Dinner usually consists of Meat/Carb/Vegatable. Somedays I won’t even eat the carb depending on how I feel, I usually will replace the carb with a fat. From everything I see this is super out of the Norm, my calories are pretty damn low, protein under BW.

This approach works for me Strength and Fat-loss wise, Is it Beginner Gains? Is there any Issue trying to do this long-term. I also do a 5/2 for lifters kinda deal on off days.

#2

Low calorie, low protein will probably catch up with you sooner or later.

At which point, just eat more. If you can stay lean and get stronger without the hassle of counting calories/macros - I’d do that. But if you get stuck, you may need to look at tracking more closely.

#3

It can work well enough.

Count protein for a day. If you get enough in by eating how you usually eat then go ahead. If not or you’re inconsistent maybe just guesstimate protein as you go through the day so that you end up in the ball park.

Watch the scales closely. Anybody can lose weight not counting by making an effort to drop or limit carbs. When scales weight starts stalling or your workouts suffer that’s when your no counting diet will be tested.

#4

I think for most people just looking to “lose weight” you just need to eat “better” and “less,” no need to count anything. Also, for most people who have been at this a while, and certainly posting on here, I would wager that they have a good idea was they can eat without getting fat, and how much they should eat to lose a bit of fat. I don’t “count calories” any more for most of the year, but I basically know how many I am eating these days.

The reason most on here speak about counting cal’s or macros is generally because many of us, by the time we post about it, are looking to go beyond that first, easy stage of fat loss into the realm of the extreme, and maybe even unsustainable.