[Alysa Stephenson]

Hi, I'm a new poster and I'm at wits end. I've tried calorie counting for about 3 months and I lost 15 pounds but I gave up beucase it was to hard. No the weight is coming back on. Anyone having the same problem?

Thanks.

Alysa in Utah

[Focused Lani]

What works for others may not work for you and visa versa. I suggest a little self-experimentation until you find a plan that will not only works for you but you can live with and seems sustainable. (eg. shakes got the weight off for me but it came back with extra as soon as I stopped, low carb worked but was too hard on my liver, low cal left me fatigued and affected my weight training) These diets have all worked long-term for others with amazing results but none was quite right for me. So keep researching and finding your ideal plan.

That said, there are many wonderful calorie counters on here that may be able to give you advice on how to tweak your plan and make it more affective for you. Congrats on the 15lbs lost, that is no small feat and good luck in reaching your goals.

[Vladadog]

What part of calorie counting was too hard?

Just the daily tracking? Ifso, there are some great online sites like myplate and sparkpeople that make it pretty easy.

Staying within your calories? This one can be hard because we're all used to not even thinking about what we eat at all and it can be kinda a shock when you realize just how many calories you used to consume. Some of us just eliminate certain foods (I don't do fast food at all any more, for example), some substitute (a turkey burger for a hamburger saves you some calories), and most of us have learned to love our veggies - they fill you up for not a lot of calories. If you check out the calorie counter section here at 3FC you'll find lots of tips and tricks to help here.

Is it just the willpower? This one was hard for me till I finally really admited to myself that I wasn't just going to count calories till I lost the weight and then I could go back to my bad old ways. I had to realize and accept and really own up to the fact that these changes were for life. I'm learning new habits, making new choices, and what i'm doing now I'll be doing from now on. The willpower was easier for me once i knew there was nothing to go back to.

Just don't be too hard on yourself. It's not all or nothing. Every day is a new day, every choice a new one. You don't have to always be good or always come in under your calorie goal.

No matter what path you take - Weight Watchers, low carb, etc - you're going to have to learn new habits and accept that not every day will be perfect. There's no diet that works for everyone, you have to find what works for you that you can live with. But it's worth it, you're worth it!

[thelast20]

You might look at Dr. Sear's "The Zone" way of life. It's a 40-30-30 balanced plan to keep your sugar level at an even keel. You figure out the daily blocks you need and then eat by blocks that include carb, protein and fat. It's pretty easy to follow and once you get to know the quantities in each of your favority foods, its pretty measureable. I went on this years ago and just started this again. My goal is for 30 days and Ieat11 blocks a day. Best of luck.

[DuchessInky]

One of the things I found frustrating about calorie counting was all the measuring. Figuring out exactly how much of each ingredient went into something was a real pain if I cooked anything myself.

I think it's important to remember that calorie counting is a good guide, but that they can't count down to the single calorie exactly how much you can eat, or even how many exact calories are in THIS package/bottle/whatever. Give yourself permission to round, and you might find it easier for hand-counting.

[seagirl]

Most things that are worth it in life take effort.

What made you want to lose weight in the first place?

[SMSDREAMER2007]

I can't offer much except what everyone else said. I am also insulin resistant so I cut out carbs (which are the high in calorie foods) I do eat wheat bread and wheat pasta once in a while. For the most part I stay away from sugar and carbs. I don't eat fast food, I also allow myself to round. It can get daunting sometimes but im almost 35 lbs down now so it is defo worth it.

[MadBlackWoman]

I am also calorie counting. I agree with DuchessInky in that sometimes you have to round. I do know that I was in complete denial about how much I was actually eating. Now that I am tracking my calories, I realize that I had no clue by how much I was overeating each day. Not saying this is your particular issue, but in reading about journaling food vs. not, I've seen that most people who don't write down what they eat tend to underestimate.

That said, there are tools that can help. I pack my lunch daily so I know just how much I'll be eating. I keep prepackaged snacks in my backpack when I go to school so I know how many calories I'm eating at any given time and so that I can eat when I'm hungry (not wait, get even more ravenous, and then want to eat everything in sight). If you have an iPhone, there's an app for Livestrong on there where you can track your food and exercise for each given day so that you can track on the fly and not have to be in front of your computer.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by Alysa Stephenson

Hi, I'm a new poster and I'm at wits end. I've tried calorie counting for about 3 months and I lost 15 pounds but I gave up beucase it was to hard. No the weight is coming back on. Anyone having the same problem?

Thanks.

Alysa in Utah

You can try a lot of different weight loss methods, but to a very large degree, they're all hard. You can look for easier plans, and maybe you'll find one that works. Or you may have to find a way to do the hard thing that works.

Calorie counting alone, doesn't work well for me. For me, low-carb dieting is the only way that I can lose weight without insane-hunger and cravings (what I call "rabid hunger").

The problem is that low-carb diets aren't any easier for me than calorie-counting. And I still have to control calories (whether I count them or not) because even on low-carb my weight loss will stall if I don't limit my eating.

For me, that means low-carb exchange plan, and it's still not easy. Low-carb dieting in many ways is even harder than calorie counting was - but it keeps the hunger from becoming rabid-hunger.

I had to trade one kind of "really hard" for another kind of "really hard."

I'm not saying that calorie counting is your best plan. I'm just saying it's very possible you won't find an easier one.

Simple calorie counting is one of the easiest (conceptually) food plans there are. Low-carb exchange plans (which I've found work best for me) are a whole lot more complicated, but the extra complications in logic, make it a whole lot easier on me mentally (because of the reduced hunger).

But what I find easier, doesn't help you at all. There is no one-size-fits-all weight loss plan. What I find easiest (in the long run) may not be what you find easiest. My "too hard" and your "too hard" may be very different.


You're going to have to try several different food plans to find which types of "hard" are easiest for you. There's no way to determine your "least hard" except by trial and error.

Experiment and keep experimenting. Using a food journal really is tremendously helpful in discovering which plans work best for you (mentally as well as physically).

You may have to find an easier plan, or you may have to find ways to make "hard" more doable. You may have to do a little bit of both.

[Heather]

Welcome, Alysa!!! I'll second (or third) the question: what was hard for you? If we know that, we may be able to help more.