Yes, and I had to think about answering this for awhile but I’m really glad you asked! The thing is, of course people can eat well and exercise normally, and still change their bodies. That’s the way it should be, but diet culture and “health science” tries to teach us that the only way to change anything is to obsessively track EVERYTHING. Which, as shown, is not a sustainable way to live. I burned out that way. Sounds like you did too, and countless others can tell you the same.
So what I’m going to talk about, is going back to the basic “normal eating” styles that we all learned at a young age and unfortunately abandoned when we were brainwashed into these low-calorie non-fat carbs-are-evil zero-sugar count-everything mindsets.
First, a note about servings and portions. A serving is what the FDA recommends you eat of a certain food, what is laid out in the nutritional label. A portion is the amount that a person with regular eating habits will consume as part of a healthy meal. A serving and a portion are not always the same and may vary from person to person. Let’s take a look at some normal portion sizes:
- One portion of grains or starches (complex carb) would be 2 slices of bread, a softball size pile of rice or pasta, a big potato, 3/4 cup of dry oatmeal, a double handful of cereal.
- One portion of dairy (protein) would be a cup of yogurt, glass of milk, single handful of shredded cheese, two eggs.
- One portion of meat (protein) would be probably like, one chicken breast, one standard size burger patty, one regular piece of fish (I’m not a meat eater so I have very little experience in this sorry)
- One portion of fat would be a big spoonful of peanut butter, enough butter for two slices of toast, a tbsp -ish of olive oil, a “pour” of salad dressing, etc.
- One portion of nuts (considered a fat) would be about what can fit comfortably in one of your open hands. (without shells or refuse.)
- One portion of fruit would be a regular size piece of fruit (apple, banana, pear) or one cup of chopped smaller pieces. Same goes for vegetables, although leafy vegetable raw portions may vary from cooked portions.
- One portion of a “sugar” would be a spoonful of honey, a spoon of brown sugar, a spread of jelly or preserves.
So without sitting down and calculating weight and calorie content of each individual thing, try to take it on scientific reason that if you plan your meals around these foods, that the calorie levels average themselves out over the day and throughout the week.
I am going to give you the most basic bare-bones of a “meal plan”, and although I do not know your stats, I trust that you can figure out what foods and portion sizes are right for you.
- Breakfast: One grain or starch, one protein, one fruit, and one fat.
- Morning snack: One fruit, and one protein OR one fat.
- Lunch: One grain or starch, one protein, one fruit, one vegetable, and one fat.
- Afternoon snack: One vegetable, and one protein OR one fat.
- Dinner: One grain or starch, one protein, two vegetables and one fat.
- Pre-workout snack: One protein and one fruit OR one sugar.
- Post-workout snack: One protein and one fruit OR one sugar.
- Bedtime snack: Try for mostly protein, like Greek yogurt or a casein shake.
(The snacks - morning, afternoon, pre, post, bedtime etc. will vary as needed. You don’t have to have all of them every day of course. Some days a pre or post workout snack may negate the need for a morning or afternoon snack, for example. Do the ones you feel like you need or want.)
If you plan meals around these exchanges, the nutrition will be taken care of and the calorie levels will average out. Try planning two weeks of meals at what you think are happy, reasonable, normal-eating portions for you and your body. Don’t count calories. Do not restrict. Do not diet. Don’t let yourself get too hungry (listen to your body). Get all your fruits and veggies in. Don’t skimp on protein. Do this for two weeks and see what your body does.
- If your weight stays the same, awesome! You found your healthy maintenance level. If you want to lose body fat, make slight decreases to the sizes of your portions of grains and starches, choose leaner proteins, and produce with a higher water content.
- If you gained significant weight, reduce portion sizes across the board but only a little bit. Remember that the body may “gain” simply due to higher glycogen stores after a period of increased healthy eating. This is NOT fat gain and you should not respond to this with restriction.
- If you lost a pound or two, sounds like you’re on the right track. Don’t change anything. If you lost more than a couple pounds, increase your protein and fat by just a little, because you don’t want to lose weight too fast.
If all that sounds like mumbo jumbo, just sit back and remember that this is basic human biology 101. This is literally the “normal eating” lifestyle that we’re all supposed to be doing naturally. Feeling a little peaky? Eat more. Feeling a little heavy? Eat slightly smaller meals. Feeling pretty good all over? Great! No counting, no measuring. It should be a natural and organic process. I do realize that for most people to do this successfully, they basically have to deprogram from years of diet culture. But this works, because this is derived directly from the way our bodies naturally function. We don’t have to force them into some weird number-driven process.
I really hope this helps, and although I am nervous about recommending anything specific to anons, this is a flexible recommendation that can be altered for individual needs, and I am still fairly confident that you or someone can use this information wisely. Good luck!
