How to Lose Weight Without Calorie or Macro Counting 2023 Weight Loss Dietitian

So you want to lose weight, but you don't want to count calories or macros. Well you came to the right place. In this video

we're going to be going over my six proven tips, strategies, steps

whatever you want to call them to start losing weight today without calorie counting or without macro counting. If

you're someone that calorie counts or macro counts and finds it helpful, that's totally cool

This is just a different approach that I use with myself and clients to lose weight or maintain weight

I don't really feel like counting calories or macros is necessary. It's definitely a tool some people use and love it

It's just not my jam. If you're new to my channel, hi and welcome. My name is Heather

I'm a registered dietitian and my passion is really helping people look and feel their absolute best

So if that's something that sounds good to you, make sure you're subscribing down below to my channel

That way you never miss a video. Before we get started, I have to encourage you to have a positive

mindset because that's going to give you your best results. The things that we go over, you actually have to implement and make these

changes because you could be watching YouTube videos all day long, but if you're not

actually making the changes that I'm going to tell you today, then of course you're not going to lose weight

So grab a pen, a piece of paper, take out your notes app on your phone

whatever you have to do to make this happen, write these steps down and actually implement them into your daily routine

Okay, so step number one is going to be to have a flexible structure to your meals

Even if you're not going to be like calorie counting or macro counting, you still want to make sure you're getting the nutrients you need

in the right amounts for optimal health and weight loss. So that's where my flexible structure comes into play. This approach is really designed to give you

flexibility when you're going out to eat or when you're at a party or when you're just at home and you're not really sure what to eat

but also give you enough structure that you're going to be able to lose weight with it

What we're basically going to be focusing on is putting three things on your plate

protein, fat, and fiber at every single meal to make sure that you're decreasing your hunger, increasing your energy

decreasing cravings throughout the day, and just giving your cells everything that they need to function at their best

So if we were to look at a plate, you want to make sure that half of it is filled with non-starchy vegetables

These are loaded with water volume, fiber volume, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. They're going to keep you full and you can eat a lot of them and still lose weight

So the next quarter of your plate, you want to be filled with a high quality protein source

Protein is really important for weight loss because not only is it going to keep you full, keep your energy level stable

but when you lose weight, you're automatically going to lose a little protein or muscle mass

so you want to make sure you're preserving as much muscle as possible during your weight loss journey to keep your metabolism up and your muscles healthy

So the next and last quarter of your plate should be filled with a high-fiber carbohydrate foods

And if you would prefer a fruit at your meal, that's fine too. I would just again stick to the appropriate portion. Last but not least, you want fat at your meal. Please don't forget this

I know I don't have a specific area in the plate for your fat like I did with the other nutrients

That's because you have to really find your fat source. Sometimes it's the oil you use to cook your vegetables or your starch

Or maybe you add a fourth or a half avocado to your plate, but just make sure you have a fat source on there. That is also important for balancing hormones, keeping your blood sugar levels stable

so you're having nice sustained energy throughout the day, and it also keeps you full longer than any other macronutrient

So this is obviously really important for weight loss. For breakfast, I know it could be a little more difficult to get vegetables in. If you can, that's great

and I'd really encourage it. But if not, make sure you're having them at lunch and dinner, and that in your breakfast

you're definitely having a protein, fat, and some fiber. All of these foods are helping in their own unique way to decrease cravings, increase energy levels

have you feeling full and satisfied between meals, and have you just feeling your absolute best

So I feel like now would be a good time to share with you guys that I do have a free PDF for you

It's linked in the description box down below, so definitely go check it out, and it's pretty much a grocery list for weight loss

So all these healthy foods we're going over today, what to stock your kitchen with. It also has the plate method that I was telling you before

so what your plate should look like, and a couple meal ideas to get you started. Step number two is you have to see how well you tolerate carbohydrates

This is really important, and everyone's different, and I feel like this isn't something people talk about very often

especially if you're someone with insulin resistance, PCOS, type 2 diabetes, or very sedentary throughout the day, you definitely want to listen to this

If you find you're following the plate method that I was telling you guys before, and you're not losing any weight, that's okay

What I want you to do is pull out your starch or fruit at one meal throughout the day

and it should be the meal that you are the least active around. So for most people, that's dinner time, right

We get home from work, or relaxing, or about to Netflix and chill, and we just don't need the energy that

carbohydrates provide us with as much at night time. And what you can also do is increase your protein and vegetable intake to fill you up a little bit more

Now, I'm not saying if I could eat carbs at night, or if you eat carbs at every single meal, you can't lose weight

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying for certain people that don't tolerate carbohydrates as well, and have a harder time converting them into energy

this can be a really helpful tool to get past the weight loss plateau. Step number three is very important

Please don't fast forward this because you feel like you've heard it before, but up your water game

This is so, so, so crucial for weight loss for many reasons

We need water for every single cell in the body to function properly. Also, a lot of the times if we're not drinking enough water, and we're dehydrated, we're mistaking our thirst for hunger

So we're eating more because we're thinking we're hungry. However, you're just really dehydrated

So just make sure that you're drinking enough water throughout the day. This is also going to boost your energy levels

and just make you feel really good. One easy way to do this is to start by drinking a tall glass of water first thing in the morning

and that's going to ensure you're getting a couple cups in at the start of the day

It's also going to rehydrate you since we're dehydrated throughout the nighttime, and it's going to make you feel great

Trust me, I do this every single day. Now I can start my day without it

Number four is be prepared. Although we have our flexible structure in place

it's really going to help us with our weight loss goals and make things easier for us. When you're prepared

it's a lot easier to stick to your health goals. Now, I'm not saying by any means that you have to start meal prepping every single meal for the week. Trust me

I'm not doing that. What I would suggest is focus on the area that you find that you struggle with the most

I know a lot of people struggle specifically with breakfast in the morning. We're busy, right

We wake up maybe a little late, trying to get the kids on the bus, trying to get ourselves ready for work

whatever it may be. So some tips that can help with that are to prepare your breakfast the night before

Have easy go-to options that you can quickly grab in the morning, or just wake up five minutes earlier

make it a priority, and make yourself a quick healthy breakfast. Once you have that down pat, then move on to the second area that you struggle with and try and work on that

But that's going to be the best way to go about being more prepared in these situations

And then it starts becoming second nature to you, so even if you don't prepare something the night before

you'll probably have some good go-to options that you can grab, and it's just become a habit

and you know it's something you have to do in the morning. Step number five is to sleep more, better, deeper. This is so important

This is something I would say I struggle with the most when it comes to health-related things. I know how important it is

That's why I even did my thesis in my master's program on sleep and hunger hormones, because I saw the relationship that when I wasn't

sleeping enough at night, my appetite was definitely increased the next day

I definitely didn't feel as good the next day, and obviously you're not going to have as much energy

That's self-explanatory, but it can affect our hunger. Actually, when we're not getting good quality sleep at night

it can increase our hunger hormone ghrelin and decrease our satiety hormone leptin

So we're hungrier the next day. I'm actually going to do a separate video on this because this is just a topic

I'm so passionate about, but some tips to help improve your sleep are to

set a bedtime. Yes, like you are a child. Set an alarm on your phone that you're going to start getting ready for bed

Get off electronics. This is a big one because the blue light that radiates from your phone, your TV, your computer, that decreases your sleep hormone melatonin

So you want to avoid those when you're trying to go to bed. So definitely make sure that you are sleeping well, making it a priority

focusing on it, and that's going to help with your weight loss. Last step, yay

If you've made it this far, step number six is going to be you have to change your mindset and get rid of your excuses

Like I said before, you have to have a positive mindset or else this is going to be a miserable experience for you and at the end of the day, these are long-term goals

We don't want to lose weight for a week. We want to lose weight for the rest of our lives

So you have to enjoy the process. You have to learn to enjoy the process. Learn to make all these healthy habits

and you're going to start to love them when you start realizing how good you feel and when it comes to excuses

I want you to take them, put them in a garbage bag, tie them up, and throw them out your window

They don't help anybody and I promise you for every excuse that you tell me, I can give you probably five to ten

solutions, if not more. You just have to find it and you have to be willing to find that solution

I understand things come up, things happen, big situations in our life where

honestly, weight loss might not be the priority at that time, but I'm talking about those daily excuses

You know what I'm talking about. I don't have to give you examples. Those need to go

If you mess up, forget about it. Move on. Every meal is a new opportunity to start over

So don't wait for Monday, don't wait for the new year. Just start now and

course correct. If you feel like you ate something that you shouldn't have eaten and that isn't really on your health plan

just make your next meal better. That's all you can do. Don't stress out about it because that's not good for your weight either

Please give this video a thumbs up if you thought it was helpful for you. Share it with a friend if you think it might

be helpful for them. And make sure you subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. That way you don't miss any videos because I'm gonna be making a lot more on this topic

All right, I'll see you guys in my next video and please let me know if you try these and they work well for you. Bye