How to Eat Healthy: 15 Easy Ways Without Counting Macros or Calories

Find 15 solid strategies to eat healthy, boost energy, or lose weight without counting macros or calories.

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My client had been so diligent.

When first starting a new eating plan – and there were lots of them over the years –  she dutifully recorded each morsel of food and sip of drink. She’d weigh, measure, count, calculate, and follow all the rules.

She felt self-righteous when she passed by the donuts at work or the chips her kids left on the kitchen counter. She LOVED the feeling of being in control.

And she loved knowing exactly what to eat and what not to eat. Until …

… she landed in food jail. She always landed in food jail.

By the time she scheduled an appointment with me, she craved a better way. The strict food rules that once gave her a sense of security and self-control now left her feeling deprived, bored, and craving candy.

Anyone locked up for long will break out of food jail and risk tossing themselves to the other end of the dieting spectrum gobbling down food as if they might not get the chance to eat again. The result? More shame, less self-confidence, and a bellyache.

How you can stay out of food jail

Keep it simple. Embrace healthy eating over strict, painful, joyless diet rules!

The macro diet or counting macros is one of those trendy diets that often wears people out. Calorie counting can do the same. While counting calories or macros has both advantages and disadvantages, I’ve got good news if you want to focus on food instead of numbers: You can eat healthfully and even lose weight without counting macros or anything!

15 ways to eat healthy without counting macros or calories

Here’s a no-counting way! See below for my views on IIFYM (if it fits your macros) and counting calories.

The basics of healthy eating without counting macros

#1 Plant-slant your diet

I don’t mean for you to eat vegetarian or vegan – though these are fine options. Instead, fill your plate and your belly with the best the vegetable kingdom offers: legumes & other pulses, nuts & seeds, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The more wholesome plants you eat, the more phytonutrients you get. Variety and abundance are critical because each plant food has a different array of health-shielding phytonutrients.

And while you’re plant-slanting your plate, aim to include legumes – beans, peas, and lentils – a few times each week. We call legumes longevity food because scientists linked them to long living in a study spanning four countries: Japan, Australia, Sweden, and Greece.

• • Here’s my most popular lentil recipe.
  • Here’s my most popular legume recipe of all time.

#2 Add vegetables to the foods you already eat

Even veggie-lovers often fail to eat the recommended 2 – 3 cups of vegetables daily. Eating more veggies doesn’t mean more work if you slip them into foods you’re already preparing. Add extra veggies to your sandwich, zucchini and carrots to your spaghetti sauce, and steamed cauliflower to macaroni and cheese.

Here are 6 Ways to Eat More Vegetables. You’ll discover that filling up on non-starchy vegetables has the welcome side effect of helping you lose weight without counting macros!

#3 Sit down to salads regularly

Say yes to leafy greens and the wholesome foods we mix into them. Salads are a regular part of a Mediterranean-style diet. Start a meal with a low-calorie salad to rein in your total calorie intake. More help to lose weight without counting macros.

Don’t fret over salad safety. Instead, check out how to keep your salad safe.

#4 Eat protein-rich food at breakfast

Skimping on protein is a bad idea, yet it’s so common, especially at breakfast. Your muscles, energy level, and appetite will thank you for including adequate protein.  You don’t need a high-protein diet but do spread your protein intake out over the day. Enjoy lean meats, fish, lentils, beans, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or other protein-rich foods at your three main meals. Along with exercising, spreading protein throughout your day helps preserve muscle mass.

Here’s what could happen if you eat too much meat.

#5 Balance your meals

If you do this three times a day, you’ll eat well without counting macros. Eat some protein-rich foods, some vegetables, and some high-fiber grains, starchy vegetables, or legumes. For details and a meal planning template, check out the simple plate method way to balance your meals.

#6 Drink a cup of tea

Black, white, green, oolong. They all come from the leaves of the same plant, and all have health benefits. Tea has the same types of phytonutrients we adore in fruits and vegetables, so get an extra health boost with a cup or two. Here’s how to brew the perfect cup, plus learn why I advise skipping bottled teas in favor of home-brewed tea.

Snack smartly

#7 Eat snacks only if you’re hungry

I know you grazers hate me right now. Sorry. But we’re not supposed to be in the fed state all the time. That’s when insulin levels rise, blood sugar and triglycerides go up, fat is laid down, and the liver works to process all those nutrients. Those parts of your metabolism must happen for your survival – but not all day long.

#8 Make your snacks count

Create a written list of 5 or so wholesome foods you enjoy for a snack. Pick one when you need to eat between meals. Choosing from a list is easier than having an entire conversation (uhh, argument) in your head about what to eat and if what you’re craving is a good choice. Enjoy a food that fills in nutritional gaps – probably fruits and vegetables, no? Here’s a list of good snack choices.

#9 Say no to office food

Talk about an annoying conversation to have in your head! I learned long ago it’s better to skip negotiating with myself and head straight to “no.” My rule is that I never eat food brought into an office except under two circumstances. You can read how I use rules with exceptions to bypass lots of needless, tiresome conversations with myself in How to Handle Office Junk Food.

Plan for success without counting macros

#10 Leave fruit in sight

Put some in a pretty bowl on the counter or make fruit front and center in the fridge. Either way, you’re more likely to eat this disease-fighting food if it’s not hidden away.

#11 Pre-portion your food

Want to control your intake of crackers or chips without denying yourself? Easy-peasy. Just fill baggies with an appropriate amount, stuff the baggies back into the original package, and there you go! You’ve got a stash of right-sized snacks or treats! You can do the same for foods you want to eat more often. Fill baggies with grapes and cherries or carrot sticks and radishes. Store them in the refrigerator to make grabbing a bag of fruits or veggies as easy as grabbing a bag of chips.

#12 Stock up on canned foods

They’re magical when time is tight. Canned soup and canned tuna make a wholesome, fast meal. I reach for canned tomatoes several times a week. Same for canned beans. Here’s a favorite fast meal: Drain a can of red beans and a can of tomatoes. Mix them together with a can of vegetarian refried beans. Add some jalapenos if you have them. Mix in some reduced-fat cheddar cheese and a bit of cumin and cayenne. Heat it and enjoy it in a warm whole-grain tortilla.

#13 Eat fatty fish

Aim for two or more fish meals weekly. Here’s why: Health Benefits of Fish.

• • Here’s my most popular (and super easy) salmon recipe

Embrace a positive mindset

#14 Treat yourself to dessert

I HATE cheats, cheat meals, and cheat days. Cheaters are bad, and I don’t want you thinking badly of yourself for cheating. For goodness sake, treats, not cheats. Let’s treat ourselves nicely and build in treats. I eat chocolate every single day – but not more than once. (I’d really struggle with my weight if I ate chocolate multiple times a day.) Here’s how to love chocolate and keep your healthy diet.

#15 Turn cooking into a meditation

I know this sounds silly, but I’ve been doing it for years, and it’s wonderful. It takes much of the chore out of meal prep. Instead of rushing through the scrubbing, chopping, and measuring, focus on the task, get into the rhythm, think about where your food came from and how it’s about to nourish your body and please your taste buds. This one change in my intentions has transformed dinner prep for me.

Thoughts on counting macros

Macros stands for macronutrients: fat, carbohydrate, and protein, that’s all. If it fits your macros (IIFYM) is an advanced way to calorie count. You calculate (or someone prescribes) the number of grams of fat, carbs, and protein to eat daily. Each gram of fat gives us 9 calories. Both protein and carbohydrate provide 4. That means if your macros are determined correctly, IIFYM is just a non-magical, extra-detailed way to count calories. It’s more work, but it forces you to balance your intake at least fairly well.

I think it’s tedious, joyless and the pits, but others disagree, and that’s fair. I prefer to balance my macronutrients simply by balancing my food. My method is very simple:

• Include a protein-rich food with every meal
• Include a whole grain or serving of legumes with most meals
• Add small amounts of healthful oils, avocado, olives, nuts, or seeds with most meals
• Eat a ton of non-starchy vegetables
• Throw in some fruit and dairy every day
• Save room for my favorite dark chocolate-covered almonds or something similar

And voila, I have a balanced day, every day, and I don’t count a thing.

Side note: I usually recommend people with diabetes (but not prediabetes) count carbohydrates to better manage their blood sugar levels and overall health. And I typically teach carb counting for this reason.

Thoughts on counting calories

No, you do not have to count macros to lose weight. And you don’t have to count calories either.

However, if you don’t know where your calories come from, I recommend a short-term calorie counting experiment – say no more than two weeks. It’s like budgeting your money. Once you have an idea of the cost of your usual items, you figure out how to cut back if necessary. Maybe that burger from the Cheesecake Factory isn’t worth 1750 calories (no, I’m not making that up). And maybe a slice of their carrot cake at 1710 calories is a big fat no thanks. But maybe 5 chocolate kisses, at 120 calories, become the perfect treat. I don’t calorie count, but I do pay attention to calories because I need to manage my weight.  I read labels to see how various foods fit into my personal calorie goal.

Like my former clients – lots and lots of clients actually – I used to sit in food jail, suffer, break out of food jail, and still suffer. These days, I focus on eating healthfully instead of wasting my energy on so many diet rules.