I used to do South Beach. And I still to some extent follow it in a common sense way; very little white starches for example.
I used to be a very strict calorie counter but honestly it just gets me too crazy sometimes. You shouldn't have to use a teaspoon to measure out your butter every time you make toast! But now that I'd gone through that crazy calorie counting time, I pretty much know what everything I eat is. And I keep a running tally in my head all the time.
So I just try to follow the food guide we were taught in school pretty much. Fruits, veggies, protien servings the size of a deck of cards etc etc.
I read about fitday.com on this site and just got around to checking it out. I was pretty skeptical about it, bc I don't think the calories on paper translate that well into what you're actually eating and that can mislead you. For instance, I had a turkey sandwich for lunch today, which you can find on fitday, but you can't really tell the computer that you made the sandwhich with 100 calorie pita, 2 slices of shaved turkey, raw spinach, and baba ganouj. I guess you can measure those things out and enter the calories, but I'm not into that level of calorie counting.
However, as a ball-parking device, it is actually really cool. You can put in all your stats, and the over view page shows you visually what you've eaten and what you've burned, if you're getting all your nutrients, and how far you are toward your weightloss goal. Definitely worth checking out
Last edited by forestroad; 06-11-2009 at 08:20 PM.
i'm calorie counting (yes im one of those obsessive people who makes a sandwich and enters each individual ingredient into thedailyplate.com lol), and im moving towards not just counting calories but making calories count as well (lol so cheesy), so having good fuel as well as the right amounts
yeah I was a big calorie counter too but, I said screw this..I rather save myself the frustration and just eyeball stuff..like hotnewspirits said, a deck of cards for meat sizes and stuff..
Im actually on this plan called burn the fat feed the muscle..from a e-book..i think its awesome, it has worked quite well for me i must say..if anyone is interested, i can email it to you for free..its a $40 book..
I'm a calorie counter also. I think it's the easiest thing for me. I like having control of how much I eat. It's the total opposite of my relationship with food before. It feels good. And if I want pasta, bread, or a treat, I can!
I have done SB in the past with success but I over ate the "approved" foods too... LOL So now I am a Weight Watcher member. Love it!! I choose as many healthy filling foods as a can, but the points helps me with portion control and I can fit in speical events without going off plan.
i've done the low carbs but I came to the realization I love mac and cheese and calzones to much to give up. So i just calorie count and have everything in moderation. Best thing since slice bread. Ha no pun intended! Also I wear a gadget called gowear fit/ bodybugg that tells me how much calories I burn a day. So with me calorie counting and watching the calories being burnt through out the day I can know exactly how much weight I am losing for the week.
I do Weight Watchers. It's pretty much just a version of Calorie Counting which won't drive me crazy. I'm one of those that would get waaaay to detailed with counting each calorie. WW points are loose enough to let me relax and enjoy my food. YMMV
I'm mostly following the "paleo" diet. No grains or dairy, and definitely no processed foods. I'm not trying to do it in a low carb way though; I'm eating a ton of fruit. I've been slacking lately, but I feel great when I'm on it, and I find I eat far less than I did when I was getting my carbs from grains. I noticed I was a couple of pounds down the first week, but I attribute that to loss of bloat moreso than loss of fat.
I can't do the calorie counting thing. I get obsessive. When I'm not calorie counting I lose more and I'm far less stressed. I wish it made me feel in control, but I feel less in control than when I'm not calorie counting. I think I'm a little weird. :P
I'm a not too strict calorie counter. I don't use measuring cups or spoons but eye ball it. I try to stay within 1200-1500 calories everyday. I know that is a big difference so i usually only have one or two 1500 calorie days. I also workout at least 5 days a week. Alternating between 30 minutes on the eliptical and some Jillian Michael's videos which range from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Been doing this for 7 weeks so far and lost 11 pounds. Oh i also try to stay far far far away from trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils.
I'm a very strict calorie counter. I measure everything I eat, write it down in a notebook, and enter it on fitday.com. I probably won't be able to keep up this amount of work forever, but it feels good to be in control of my food while my body learns what a 4 oz piece of chicken looks like.
What works best for me is loosely counting calories. Like others I've done the super intense calorie counting so I basically eyeball everything but I keep count in my head and keep a pretty good estimate of what I'm eating.