So, you want to lose weight without counting calories, huh?

The key word is “without” because counting calories just seems like way too much work. 

When you think about counting calories, you picture standing over a food scale tediously sprinkling individual grains of rice onto a plate.

It makes you feel more like an accountant balancing a checkbook down to the exact penny than someone who’s just trying to lose a few pounds.

The good news is counting calories isn’t a requirement for weight loss.

The only requirement is that you’re in a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than you burn). 

In this post, we’ll be going over 10 tips to help you create that deficit for yourself and lose weight without counting calories.

But first, I do want to make my pitch on why you should consider counting calories.

Hey, I at least have to shoot my shot.  

 

Why you should consider counting calories

It’s just soooo much work.

It’s way too obsessive

I don’t have time, blah blah, blah. 

^^^ Those are some of the reasons people throw around for not wanting to count calories.

If too much work, too obsessive, and too time-consuming mean a proven method that’s helped an infinite number of people lose weight (plus keep it off), then yes, I’d agree with you.

Let’s say your goal is to save money, what would you do?

You’d set a budget and track all of your income and expenses to make sure you save up the money you want.

In the same way, counting calories ensures you’re eating the correct amount of food so you can lose the weight you want. 

You should definitely be counting calories if: 

1. You’ve struggled to lose weight despite doing everything “right” 

Or…

1. You’re a total beginner

Look, you don’t have to count calories forever but do it for at least a few months.

The knowledge you gain within those few months will be invaluable and so eye-opening, I promise.

You’ll come away with such a better understanding of portion sizes and how to make healthier and more balanced food choices.

What I thought was a cup of rice before I started counting calories vs. what a cup of rice actually is blew my mind 🤯

So those 1,200 calories you think you’re eating currently are probably many hundreds more than that.

That’s my little spiel about the benefits of counting calories but back to our regularly scheduled programming…

How can you lose weight without counting calories?

Keep in mind losing weight just comes down to being in a calorie deficit.

Look no further than these 10 tips below that will help you create a deficit for yourself…

 

How to lose weight without counting calories

 

1. Make protein a staple in your diet

Weight loss becomes Mission Impossible when you don’t get enough protein. 

1. Foods high in protein like chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, shrimp, and Greek yogurt (you can find more foods like these on this weight loss grocery list I created) are extremely filling.

2. Protein has the highest thermic effect of any food (your body burns calories by digesting the food you eat). 

3. Protein is key to building/preserving muscle.

More muscle increases your metabolism, which leads to greater weight loss. 

If you’re not consuming somewhere between 0.7g-1g per pound of your goal body weight in protein daily, read through this article for ways to get more protein in your life.

 

2. Increase your fiber intake

“Superfood” is just a marketing buzzword but if you want to apply any type of food, fiber is the one. 

Yeah, yeah…We all know fiber helps you poop.

But similar to protein, it fills you up, so you should definitely be eating more of it if you want to lose weight without counting calories.

Maintaining a calorie deficit is exponentially easier when you’re full and satisfied.

But here are some other benefits to eating more fiber:

• You lower your risk of heart disease by 9% for every 7 grams of fiber you eat
• You lower your risk of breast cancer by 5% for every 10 grams of fiber you eat
• Regularly eating enough fiber reduces your all-cause mortality risk (chances of dying from virtually anything) by 19%

Just how much fiber is ideal?

Men, shoot for at least 35 grams daily.

Women, 25 grams of fiber a day.

These aren’t the only sources of fiber out there but they should give you a good starting point:

• Berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
• Whole grains
• Beans and lentils
• Avocado
• Almonds
• Pistachios
• Walnuts
• Chia seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Popcorn (without added sugar or fats)
• Leafy greens
• Chickpeas
• Split peas
• Lentils 
• Oats/oatmeal
• Pears 
• Artichoke
• Brussels sprouts
• Apples

 

3. Focus on lower-calorie, high-volume foods

Eat the most food possible and still lose weight.

That’s the dream, right? 

You can make staying in a calorie deficit easier on yourself and lose weight without counting calories by focusing on volume foods. 

Volume foods = foods you can eat a lot of on not that many calories.

You get the most bang for your calorie buck, so to speak. 

For example, you can eat a ton of foods such as watermelon, strawberries (no, fruit doesn’t prevent you from losing fat), leafy greens like spinach and kale, and egg whites without breaking your calorie bank.

On the other hand…

Foods like donuts, brownies, cakes, and cookies are calorie-dense, meaning a small amount of food will cost you a lot of calories.

I’m definitely not saying to NEVER enjoy your favorite higher-calorie foods.

Depriving yourself won’t help you lose weight and keep it off long-term (more on this in a sec).

But what I am saying is to just be mindful of what foods give you the most value in terms of fullness for the number of calories they contain. 

4. Don’t drink your calories away

If you want to lose weight without counting calories, make sure you aren’t sipping your calories away via soda, sports drinks, teas, or your favorite go-to order from Starbucks.

Instead, opt for 0-calorie beverages like water or diet soda.

Diet soda?! What about artificial sweeteners?

You might’ve heard they prevent fat loss but that simply just isn’t true.

If Coke Zero says it has 0 calories, guess how many calories it actually has?

ZERO 🤯 😂 

…Regardless of any artificial sweeteners it contains.

So don’t worry, you won’t cause any irreversible damage by making diet soda a regular part of your diet.

If it makes you feel any better, I have one pretty much every single day, sometimes two. 

Then, there’s alcohol…

Duh duh duhhhhh.

Now, obviously, cutting out alcohol can make fat loss easier. 

But if having a few drinks is something you enjoy, you can definitely still fit it into your diet and lose weight without counting calories.

Will you be able to go out on benders every weekend and get absolutely hammered?

I’d see it’d be pretty hard to reach your goals by doing that. 

I’m not here to tell you whether or not you should drink, that’s up to you.  

But if alcohol starts holding you back from making the weight loss progress you want, it might be time for a heart-to-heart with yourself.  

5. Eat your favorite foods (in moderation)

But wait, shouldn’t I be eating “healthier” to lose weight?

If you want to lose weight without counting calories, it doesn’t have to mean depriving yourself and sacrificing all of the foods you love.

I mean, yeah, the majority of your calories should come from nutrient-dense whole foods like chicken breast, sweet potatoes, egg whites, fruits, and veggies.

But you should also try to fit in some of those “fun” foods you like to indulge in, like pizza, burgers, wings, fries, and all the tasty desserts.

Research shows people who eat flexibility like this lose more weight than those with a super restrictive diet. 

Sustainability is the key to weight loss success.

So unless you plan on following the way you’re thinking about eating for the next 5, 10, 15 years, I would argue you shouldn’t try it for even a single day.

If you can’t sustain your diet then you won’t be able to sustain any results either.

 

6. Get on a strength training plan

None of these count as true strength training:

• HIIT workouts
• Orange Theory
• Boot camp classes
• Only lifting lighter weights for reps to “tone” your muscles
• Putting a band around your knees and performing glute kickbacks on the StairMaster

It doesn’t matter how out of breath you are or how much you sweat (neither is a measure of workout effectiveness).

Strength training means getting on a program to follow for the next 4-8 weeks (random workouts won’t cut it) and focusing on progressively lifting heavier and heavier weights. 

You’ll build/retain muscle, and as we talked about, the more muscle you have the better your fat loss progress will be.  

Muscle also helps you avoid the dreaded “skinny fat” body you often hear about.

It’s the one where you’re a smaller version of yourself but you’re also softer, rounder, and pudgier-looking in places you don’t want to be.

I hate to call you out but ladies, yes, lifting heavy weights applies to you too 🙂

I can promise you two things… 

1. Lifting weights won’t make you bulky

2. You won’t be able to grow or shape your glutes without strength training

7. Take advantage of NEAT and move more

NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is just the physical activity you get outside of your workouts.

It includes activities like:

• Walking around the neighborhood
• Doing yard work
• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work
• Grocery shopping
• Putting the dishes up or laundry away, etc

You burn three times as many calories through non-exercise movement as you do your actual workouts. 

Isn’t that crazy?

As you can see, simply walking more is the easiest form of exercise for weight loss. 

Here’s the thing, your NEAT is just one piece of several that determine the number of calories you burn throughout a given day.

So here’s a little background info…

Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) represents the number of calories you would need to eat to maintain your current weight.

Think of your TDEE as a giant pie:

The largest slice comes from your basal metabolic rate (or BMR for short), which makes up about 70% of your TDEE.

Your BMR is the number of calories you burn at complete rest.

Just imagine laying on the couch and straight bummin’ it all day long.

10% of your TDEE comes from the thermic effect of food, which I mentioned earlier back in tip #1. 

Just as a refresher, your body burns calories from digesting the food you eat, and this process is called the thermic effect of food.

The last 20% of your TDEE comes from physical activity, which gets split into two separate buckets.

• NEAT: 15%
• Dedicated workouts: 5%

I just want to call attention again to the fact that NEAT burns 300% more calories than your actual workouts!!!

 

8. Make sleep a priority

Instead of watching “just one more episode” of your favorite Netflix show (because, let’s be real, that really just means another 2-3), commit to hitting the hay earlier.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces cortisol, which is a stress hormone that makes you hungrier. 

Hunger and staying in a calorie deficit are polar opposites when your goal is to lose weight without counting calories.

I get sleeping more is easier said than done, especially for some of you parents out there.

But try to get as close to 7-9 hours of sleep each night as you can.

Even just half an hour to one hour more than you’re currently getting can make a huge difference.  

 

9. Keep a water bottle on hand

A lot of the time, dehydration can mask itself as hunger. 

So next time you’re feeling a little hungry, you might actually just be thirsty.

It’s easy to think hydration means drinking water exclusively.

And while getting enough water is definitely important, being hydrated also means getting a solid balance of electrolytes too. 

That’s going to be things like your sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc.

A quick “pee test” will let you know whether or not you’re hydrated. 

Is your pee lemonade-colored?

You’re all good to go and adequately hydrated.

Is your pee more medium to dark yellow? 

Sounds like you’re dehydrated and need to get some fluids in you. 

… Like right now.

 

10. After a slip-up, get back on track ASAP

On your quest to lose weight without counting calories, you best believe things aren’t always going to be all unicorns, pixie dust, and rainbows (i.e. 100% perfect and according to plan).

At some point or another, you’re going to experience a slip-up.

Maybe you go on a bender one weekend, binge eat, and just act the complete opposite of someone who’s trying to lose weight without counting calories.

When something like that happens, here’s what I want you to do: 

1. Take a deeeeep breath innnnn and take a deeeeep breath ooooutttt.

2. Realize it’s going to be okay, that you’re human, and we all make mistakes.

3. Don’t let things snowball and get out of control.

Don’t tell yourself “I’ll just wait until Monday to get back on track.”

As soon as you’ve realized your slip-up, do something small–anything–to put yourself back in the win column and start building positive momentum:

• Go on a walk around the neighborhood.
• Go in your phone and schedule times for workouts, grocery shopping, meal prep, etc: If you do this exercise on a weekly basis, it’ll drastically improve how consistent you are, and being more consistent leads to better results.  
• Eat a serving of fruits and veggies at your next meal, drink a glass of water, etc

If your friend made the same mistake, like going over their calories or having a bad weekend, would you tell them: “Well, you’re just a big dumb-dumb and I don’t see a way out of this one for you”?

You wouldn’t.

You’d give them words of encouragement and tell them to hop back into the saddle, which is part of having a weight loss mindset.

Here’s another way to think about it…

When a baby’s first learning how to walk, they fall down A TON, right?

But at no point in time do they just stay down on the ground, get discouraged, and beat themselves up. 

No matter how many times a baby falls down, they hop up, determined to give it another go.

When it comes to weight loss without calorie counting, have that same type of resilient mindset 💪

 

Weight loss without calorie counting wrap up 

If you want to lose weight without counting calories, refer back to the tips on this list to help you create the deficit you need: 

• Emphasize protein in your diet
• Eat more fiber
• Focus on low-calorie, high-volume foods
• Limit liquid calories
• Include some of your favorite foods in your diet
• Lift weights 3-4 times a week 
• Increase your NEAT 
• Prioritize sleep
• Stay hydrated
• Get back in the saddle ASAP after a slip-up

 

Lose weight without counting calories FAQs

 

How to know if you’re in a calorie deficit without counting calories

If you’re losing weight, that’s probably the most obvious way to tell. 

Just make sure you weigh yourself every single day and don’t get caught up in any weight fluctuations.

The scale can be finicky sometimes though, and the number you see might not always be an accurate representation of the progress you’re making.

For example, when you’re a beginner to strength training, you can lose inches but not weight.  

You can read this post for a complete guide on how to tell whether or not you’re in a calorie deficit without counting calories. 

 

Can you eat 1,200 calories and still not lose weight?

1,200 calories aren’t enough for some toddlers, let alone a full-grown adult.

If you truly were only eating 1,200 calories, then yes, you’d lose weight.

Look, I get you want to lose weight fast.

And you think cutting your calories super low holds the key to that.

But how has that worked for you in the past?

After depriving yourself for so long, it all catches up with you.

Eventually, you end up caving and start binging on all the sweets, treats, and snacks you cut out of your diet.

You end up gaining all the weight you lost back and getting stuck in this sort of yo-yo diet pattern.  

Instead of running on a weight loss hamster wheel, actually eat some food! 

Go with a more moderate cut in calories (roughly 80% of your maintenance).

You’ll be able to sustain that for the long haul and actually enjoy some of your favorite foods while still losing weight. 

 

Should I count calories or just eat healthy?

Know this:

1. Eating healthy doesn’t mean automatic weight loss.

2. You don’t HAVE TO count calories to lose weight.

Weight loss comes down to being in a calorie deficit, and we’ve gone over ways to make that happen in this article.

Now, you know that I’m a big fan of counting calories, especially if you’re a beginner or someone who’s struggled to lose weight.

That’s because counting calories gives you a systematic way to ensure you’re eating the number of calories you should for weight loss.