3 Methods To Help You Lose Weight WITHOUT Calorie Tracking

Here at the Armoury we’re big fans of calorie counting

It’s akin to taking the time to learn and track your finances- if you aren’t willing to sit down and look at your money coming in (calories) and bills going out (expenditure) to forecast your bank balance (weight), then you’ll often end up struggling to afford that holiday you were meant to be saving for, or having to buy industrial sized containers of lube to assist in the effort of getting into the jeans that were once a perfect fit

Yes, if we look at this purely from a logical perspective, tracking calories makes sense

Things is though, humans? Aren’t always logical

sometimes (just as with tracking finances), putting the data into your phone after a meal or large purchase just stops happening

maybe work is too hectic, maybe you’re always eating on the go and don’t have time, or maybe you just hate technology

I get it

and with the 100+ clients the Armoury has coached over the years, they’ll always be a percentage that would rather not track

do we just shrug our shoulders and tell them they’re doomed? Of course not- that would be not only extremely unhelpful, but also a touch melodramatic

And it’s our role to help men and women in Milton Keynes that want to lose weight to get there WITHOUT the fad diets they’re bombarded with every 5 minutes

So over the years we’ve tried and tested many methods to help our clients achieve fantastic results without ever having to track data with their smartphone, or worry about food scales at home

Because just as a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it 100% makes a noise- creating a negative calorie balance (consuming fewer calories than you’re expanding) is the only driver of fat loss, regardless of whether you’re tracking the data or not...

Non-Tracking Method Of Reducing Calories One:
the Snack Timer Method

One of the primary enemies of calorie control is mindless snacking

you know, that moment when you’re looking around your desk at work for the Mars bar you were saving, before coming upon the empty packet and realising you've inhaled it without taking any notice whilst dragging data through never ending spreadsheets?

or the entire pack of “Family sized” popcorn or crisps you can happily demolish whilst watching reruns of American Idol on Netflix

It’s these calories that can contribute largely in regard to your energy intake, but give very little back in actual enjoyment- there’s a real difference between taking your time to enjoy a jam donut with zero distractions and absolute focus, and just throwing it down your neck whilst driving and singing along to Miley Cyrus

So, how can we help reduce this mindlessness?

One method we’ve seen be very successful here at The Armoury Coaching Studio, is the pre-snack timer

It works like this:

1. Get the urge to snack
2. Set timer on phone for 5 minutes
3. Have a glass of water and continue to do whatever you were doing
4. When the timer goes off, decide whether you still want the snack
5. If you do- take at least 5 minutes to slowly enjoy eating said snack with no distractions- if you don’t, then continue with your day
   
   

This will result in one of two things

You’ll either realise after 5 minutes that you don’t really need that Twix, and you were just bored/working off habit

Or you’ll realise you really want that Twix, but you’ll focus on it and enjoy it 10x more than if you’d absentmindedly scoffed it without paying attention to the texture or taste

either way you’re building mindfulness around your food- which is a proven step forward when it comes to overall calorie reduction 

Non-Tracking Method Of Reducing Calories Two:
The Veggie Stack Method

When we think of “dieting” we automatically think of taking food items away

No more sweets, crisps, burgers, booze….

But oftentimes a more effective approach to sustainably reducing total calorie intake and bringing your waist size down a size or two?

is actually adding foods in

here’s the magic thing about veggies: they’re high in fibre (keep you full), and generally low in calories

eating a plate of McDonald’s french fries is doable for most, and north of 1,000 cals if slightly stacked

Eating a whole plate of steamed broccoli? You’ll be lucky to struggle through it, and if you did you’d still only be a couple of hundred calories down

so here’s how we can take advantage of this method to help drop daily intake WITHOUT tracking calories, or “banning” foods:

1. With every meal, fill up a large bowl of steamed veggies
2. Eat the large bowl of veggies before anything else
3. Now move onto your main meal (whatever it would have normally been), eat slowly, and stop eating once you’re full

If you’re taking your time to eat mindfully rather than throwing everything down as fast as a kid that’s eager to get back to his Playstation after dinner?

you should find you’re full and ready to stop eating before you get to the end of your plate- therefore slightly reducing your calorie intake by adding foods, rather than taking them away

Non-Tracking Method Of Reducing Calories Three:
the Time-Restricted Method

Now this method gets a lot of hype online, and is often referred to as “intermittent fasting” 

So before we delve into the simplicity of this strategy let’s make one thing abundantly clear- the primary benefit of reducing the hours in which you allow yourself to eat is making it easier to consume fewer weekly calories

no magic hormonal boosting is going to offset the need to create an energy deficit for fat loss, so let's just focus on that

and that, in essence, is a complete summary of how this method works- you’ll pick a time frame that you “allow” yourself to consume calories- then outside of those hours you drink zero calorie drinks (water, coffee, teas etc)

The most common method of doing this is the 16:8 split which means fasting for 16 hours a day, and eating within 8

For most people that’d mean having their first meal at around 12pm, and last meal at 8pm (sleeping for half of their ‘fasting window”)

It honestly can be that simple a process to begin feeling your clothes fitting a little looser, and start to look forward to strutting down the beach in upcoming holidays, rather than dreading it

if you'd like to have a chat about what tactic might be best for you to achieve exactly that, or learn more about our Personal Training Studio here in Milton Keynes? Then just click here and grab yourself a free trial- We'd love to see you.

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