It is funny, all those commercials that used to entince me to the refrigerator...don't lure me at all. Especially the pizza commercials...I think what a waste of calories...How many minutes of exercise do I have to particpate in to burn it off? I never thought I would think like that. I went out to dinner last night for the first time in around 2 months...all I kept thinking was what a waste of calories for the standard American fare!!! I ordered 2 servings of steamed veggies. I forgot to ask for no butter because I don't use it at home. The veggies tasted gross saturated in butter. I asked the waitress how much butter they put on it. She said one of those little cantaloupe scoops. My mind was trying to calculate the calories. That wasn't worth it at all. This is really a good thing.

I totally agree. I've found so much more enjoyment out of food because I really want it to count. I was talking with a coworker about walking 10,000 steps a day (which she'd never heard of). I said it's really important to add active living to daily life. She thought that must be why I am looking so good lately. I told her actually walking 5 miles for me doesn't lose weight because it's about equivalent to a candy bar of calories. I have to walk, exercise four times week, and bike to really reduce weight.

Knowing just how many calories are in food and how many you need to take it off make me much more aware and appreciate everything. My husband misses our family going out for our weekly restaurant but I also don't find it worth it. I'd have to work out so much more to allow for the restaurant's oil, sauces, and such.

I'm on my way to maintenance living in a couple months. I need to actually be ready to have those bits of uncalculatable foods (in modest amounts). I'll have to convert to this new person.

I love calorie counting. It's taught me so much.

Oh yeah even now when I'm like oh I'm craving this I just look up the calories and go NM!

The other day my friend went out got a combo at like burger king, fries, a drink, a whopper with cheese, and some cake dessert. She came over to hang out but I told her I'd already eaten dinner. She asked if I wanted a bite I said no thanks- as she ate she was like oh I wonder how many calories this is? I told her "about 1800 I'd say."

She opened her eyes really wide and was like OMG NO WAY! Don't say that- no wonder you won't have a bite!

I won't go out with my coworkers if they go to places I can't get good choices at- so when they get mexican I don't go, but if they go to places that have healthier food I'll go. Today we went and got sushi I was the only person who got rolls without all the sauces and stuff

I've become the same way as beerab. My coworkers go out all the time, every week or so. If they're going someplace I can pick something healthy, like Buffalo Wild Wings, I'll go. (Love their naked tenders. Also love ordering them, lol.) Otherwise, I opt out.

For me calorie counting has really increased the amount of time I spend exercising. I aim for average calorie deficit of 1167 per day to lose 1 pound every 3rd day. It wouldn't be possible for me to cut my intake that much without entering eating disorder territory but was able to get to the numeric deficit I wanted by increasing my exercise.

Oh, where to begin? Calorie counting has been my saviour. It's opened up a whole new world to me in so many ways. I don't know where I'd be without it. Certainly not at goal.

Since my intuitive eating button is missing, calorie counting came in to save the day. It forces limits on me, it's built in accountability and portion control. Just what the doctor ordered!

The very second I started counted calories, I became so much more aware. Wanting to get the very most from each precious calorie, my choices just naturally blossomed into good, wholesome fare. I've learned so much about nutrition because of it. I am a calorie snob. It's made me choosy and particular and educated - and - slim - and healthy. You could definitely say that I'm a fan.

For me, calorie counting represents control. It's the closest I can get to measuring the amount of energy I take in, and when I know I'm eating well I don't get despondant when the scales don't shift immediately.

Calorie counting has been great for me.

It first served as a flashing neon sign of what I had been doing wrong for such a long time. I went in on Fitday and figured out the calories of what I had been eating on just an average day (no major binges or restaurant eating) before I changed my eating patterns, and I couldn't believe how many calories I was racking up--and how little nutritional value I was getting from them!

For me, taking the time to plan my meals ahead of time eliminates a lot of stress. On workdays, I no longer have to scramble madly around the kitchen or resort to fast food because there was "nothing in the house to pack for lunch." I can tweak the plan if I need to allow for something special.

Thanks to suggestions from you chickies, I have a stash of plan-friendly snacks at work that keep me from getting light-headed, ambling out to the vending machines, or making a "quick run" to the Outside World. (One of my old favorites, a medium Butterfinger Blizzard from Dairy Queen, was 750 CALORIES!!! For a SNACK! That by itself is half of the calories I eat in an entire DAY now!)

It has changed every single thing about the way that I eat. I eat SO MUCH MORE veggies/salads/fruits now because I can get the best caloric "bang for my buck" I can have a HUGE salad with chicken breast and low fat dressing and and and... for like 350 calories! And it will fill me up and keep me full for hours.

Calorie counting has changed my life.

As usual, sign my name to Robin's post. EXACTLY what calorie counting has done for me.

I will only add, that it isn't only calorie counting, it was also LOGGING (journaling) those calories. Merely counting wasn't enough for me. The act of having to own the count, record it for posterity was a very key piece of the weight loss puzzle for me. If that key were missing, I would not have been as successful.

Using Fitday kept me honest, on track, and gave me the information I needed to help adjust my plan along the way.

Calorie Counting has Simply gave me away to be healthy And lose the weight I need off.
No more looking at those diet pills that can harm you~Diets that have you buy there foods~That I hear are yucky~ And no more worrying on how to maintain afterwards~Once you find calorie counting~You got it ~the weight loss secret For free.

So to sum this up~HOW HAS CALORIE COUNTING CHANGED YOUR LIFE OR THINKING?

I am Proud to say ~I think I am gonna be skinny soon~And My life is changed forever.

I love this thread and am going to post it in the general calorie-counting section so others can participate!

I used to think that jogging a mile a day was plenty exercise. Now that I know how many calories go into the food I eat compared to the calories I burn while exercising, I know how to balance the two. I think twice before I do something.

The calorie count gives me a method of evaluating the worth of the food, much like I evaluate whether I want to buy something based on its price. Is this food worth x calories to me? The way I ate before was much like walking into a store and buying stuff without knowing how much it cost.

I agree with Couch. For me, counting is a total sense of control.

I have also found out is has taken the edge off of the desire to eat junk...or rather binge on it.