Flexibility! I am the mistress of my own domain. I am not restricted to any group of foods. I can have just about anything I want as long as I remain within my allotted calorie amount. And, when I do have a meal or a day where I do blow it out, no harm done. I just get back on track the next meal or day and all is well.
Plans like WW, JC, NS, food delivery are just out of my budget. I can buy fresh foods at the store and prepare my own healthy meals at a fraction of the cost. As far as meetings and support are concerned, that is nice, but I feel I get the same thing, here.
what a great response! It's funny how when I decided I was going to do the calorie counting, it almost like I felt a "weight" lifted. Like I wasn't tied down to one thing and I actually felt a lot better! Not only will I save money by not buying special foods, but I can feel normal when I eat because nothing will be "forbidden"
Nothing being off limits was what I liked about starting to do calorie counting. I had been doing WW, but it's expensive and i feel like I can do this and it's almost no cost, especially without having to buy special foods.
I joined mydailyplate and it actually said I needed more calories then I was eating with WW.
Well, with calorie counting, I can figure out (through trial and error) how many calories a day MY body needs to eat...not what Fitday, Daily Plate, or some diet counselor tells me to.
My reasons:
~Free-no contracts, things to buy, membership fees, meetings, etc.
~I can do this for LIFE
~There are no foods that are FORBIDDEN. I eat healthy, and make great food choices...but on plans like Atkins, South Beach, Fat Smash, or others where there are certain foods that are literally NOT allowed at certain times-I can't handle that. If someone tells me that I CAN'T have something, of course, it is going to make me want it.
~Maintenance. I can maintain this lifestyle after I get to goal, and do this forever, to keep the weight off.
I also like that calorie counting allows me to try different eating approaches within the same framework -- lower fat or lower carb, substitution or whole foods, Mediterranean, vegetarian, etc.
What I like most about calorie counting is that it works! :
Other things that I like about it:
It doesn't require complicated math; the whole WW points thing just always seemed to complicated to me.
No guesswork--I figure out what I can eat for the day and eat it. No trying to figure out if I'm full or still hungry, no trying to trick myself into eating smaller portions.
I don't have to give up carbs (although I have cut way back, especially on processed carbs).
It really prepared me for maintenance by teaching me how to make good choices. I don't know how anyone on a diet that dictates what you can and can't eat (or worse, one that provides food for you) ever transitions into maintenance. You'd go from having your food chosen for you to being on your own with very little guidance; seems like a recipe for failure to me.
I enjoy that I can finally see how many calories I should be eating, and what that looks like in servings. I don't usually eat "fat-free" items, I just eat less of what I used to be eating.
Height: Tall enough for my feet to reach the ground
Quote:
Originally Posted by aphil
Well, with calorie counting, I can figure out (through trial and error) how many calories a day MY body needs to eat...not what Fitday, Daily Plate, or some diet counselor tells me to.
My reasons:
~Free-no contracts, things to buy, membership fees, meetings, etc.
~I can do this for LIFE
~There are no foods that are FORBIDDEN. I eat healthy, and make great food choices...but on plans like Atkins, South Beach, Fat Smash, or others where there are certain foods that are literally NOT allowed at certain times-I can't handle that. If someone tells me that I CAN'T have something, of course, it is going to make me want it.
~Maintenance. I can maintain this lifestyle after I get to goal, and do this forever, to keep the weight off.
I like the fact that calorie counting encourages me to learn to eat healthy, because even though no food is forbidden (very important!) I'll go hungry if I'm not eating right. Through calorie counting, I've learned to eat healthy and still incorporate things like chocolate, cheese, beer and wine into my lifestyle. That way, I'm never deprived and always feel satisfied.
For me, I like to be in control ... and calorie counting allows me to physically measure what I'm taking in. It increases my accountability. When all is said and done at the end of the day, I can't blame a shortcoming on the fact that WW wasn't specific enough on portion size, I can't blame my husband for wanting to go out to dinner... the only person I can blame or pat on the back is me. The buck stops here.
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