why is "calorie counting" your plan of choice?
 

i am very curious about how others view this.:?:

i have just chosen (very recently) to count calories as opposed to low carb. i am such a believer now! i was doing low carb (not very strict to be fair) for what seems like years. and i would lose weight and gain it back when i ate "normal foods". i think low carb is a excellent program so please dont think i am pointing fingers or trashing anyone elses views.

it just didnt work for me!:o

i lost 25 pounds (more or less) since april 11th by "eating healthier" which meant less junk and more veggies and protein. and exercising 60 to 90 minutes a day. EVERY DAY. then on august 1st, my weight loss stalled.:mad:

STOPPED COMPLETELY!:devil:

i was very upset and confused. but i kept pluggin away. and the scale didnt move for 3 weeks. not up and not down. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!:(

so my DH and i added up my calories. we talked about it and theonly logical thing seemed to be it had to be what i ate. i was eating over 2000 calories a day!:D

so disappointed! now i have to count calories? i dont wanna.

but i did. and i have lost 4 pounds for august! puts me back on track of 1.5 pounds a week.:carrot:

WHOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

and i got to have a bagel with cream cheese and doritos.

OMG, thought i died and went to heaven!:^:

of course, it wasnt the whole bag of doritos and it wasnt all six bagels either.

i am a convert for life.:D


whats your reason?

For the same reason it sounds like you have; flexibility.

For the most part, I eat very healthy (whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean protein, etc.), but sometimes I want chocolate or a glass of wine (or cake, ice cream... you get the idea.) What I love about calorie counting is that I can have these things in moderation, I just need to fit them in to my calories. Or if I want to splurge one day I can cut back the next.

That's why I love calorie counting!

Because there are no restrictions.

I'm one of those people who, if you tell me I can't ... I have to.
If you say "forbidden", I immediately want it.
If you say "don't" ... I will.

:D

So if you put me on a diet where I am not allowed to eat something - carbs, fat, pasta, whatever ... it's GUARANTEED that I will fail. OTOH, with calorie counting, there is nothing I cannot have. There's nothing that's forbidden.

Now what's funny - if you put me on a diet that said "no pasta" ... I would immediately have to have a bowl of pasta NOW. But I don't think I've had pasta in well over 4 months - because there are other things that I've wanted to spend those calories on. So it's not that I am unwilling to give things up - I just want it to be my choice to give them up, rather than a dictate of some diet plan.

Actually, as I'm thinking about it ... the other thing that makes calorie counting work for me is the ability to go off plan w/out a huge penalty. For example, yesterday I ate out *and* I had vodka when I got home. I went over my daily calories by about 200. No biggie - I knew I would and I'm ok with that. I can, if I want, add a little cardio tonight or skip my dessert tonight and make it up. Or I can just realize that in the grand scheme of things 200 cals over the period of a week won't hurt me and move on.

If I were on a plan where, say, I was supposed to be restricting carbs, that "slip" might require me to go through an induction phase again. Or penalize myself some other way to make up for the slip. And when that happens, it's easy to feel like I've failed or really screwed up badly ... instead of just moving forward.

So yeah ... flexibility is the keyword for calorie counting.

.

Everything she said :D I have an acquaintance who is doing a plan they paid to join that includes *counseling*. They got scolded and humiliated in front of a group for having gone to a party and eating some olives and cheese and having a glass of wine that wasn't on their "assigned menu" for the day. I thought they had done a great job avoiding the appetizers that were fried or starchy but nooo, they got screeched at and told they had just *undone* everything and would have to go back to step one and start over! I can't imagine being able to stick with any "diet" where I have no options at all (nevermind the rebel in me who would eat something just because I was told I couldn't :D ).

I've tried counting carbs only I found that I didn't have as many food choices. I got bored with those limited choices which I got very unsuccessful in my diet. Now that I calorie count I have more choices and I watch my fat and carb intake and keep them low. I have been successful so far and its easier for me to stick to it.

A few years ago I was a die-hard Atkins person. I stayed on the "induction" phase and never cheated once. In slightly more than a year, I lost 92 pounds! But then I went out of town for a work conference, and there was really no way for me to stay on plan, so I took the week "off". Well, once I opened the gate I couldn't stop. I hadn't worked my way through the phases, so I didn't know how to eat properly. Other relationship issues came into play, and when all was said and done I'd gained it all back, plus a little bit extra. And since then, even the thought of going back to that strict eating is something I can't deal with.

This spring I started gradually moving towards eating more whole foods. I gave up drinking diet soda constantly and started eating much more healthily. I know I lost some weight, but since I never weighed at my high point, I have no idea how much. Finally, in July I started keeping track of my intake on FitDay again, and kept my calories to 1300. Since then, I've gradually moved them up to no more than 1500, and I've started keeping my macronutrient levels at 40-30-30ish.

Like the others, I like the flexibility. If I really want something I incorporate it into my daily plan. And I know if I slip up, it won't be near-catastrophic like it was on Atkins Induction. I know it works for a lot of people, and it worked for me back then, but it's not how I can live now. Counting calories is something I can live with.

so interesting....
 

i agree with all that has been said!:D

what i am liking it that on days where i work out really hard? i can eat a bit more and on days where i have a less intense workout, i eat less.

and i know as i get smaller; i will have to tweak the calories again.

next to focus on will be the tracking of percentages of carbs/protein and fat.


but not now.:dizzy:

i am happy for the time being.:carrot:

The choice was simple for me.

More calories burned than consumed = weight loss
3500 calories = 1 lb.

Soooo, know how many calories I'm eating in a day and try to burn more than that to achieve weight loss. Easy cheesy. :D

Now beyond the simple math, I feel that knowing my caloric intake helps me to make wiser, healthier choices while still being able to indulge now and then.

yup, all the above, plus:

my big weight loss (106) was in 2002-2004. Sometimes I tried the occasional diet in between but mostly it was just conscious eating.

However, my conscious didn't let me eat enough sometimes, so calorie counting means I can make sure I don't go too low, because if you start too low too soon, you've nowhere to go later on.

It feels in control, it's logical, it's versatile.

This time, I've gone with fitday, which recommends 1750 a day. I've stuck to that, generally just under the 1700, I suppose, and so far I've done well, 12lbs since 07/31. Starting Monday, I'm going to drop 100 for the month, it seems that 1700 plus very little exercise is my maintenance allowance, cos I dropped the 12 a week ago, and have been up and down the same pound ever since.

I count calories because if I don't I gain weight, even if I am eating whole foods.

It's free and convenient and can be used as a tool in conjunction with other strategies (grazing vs structured meals, low fat or low carb, whole foods, etc).

For me its the only plan that you can actually stick with and make it a life style change. It educates you to have things in moderation, and quite frankly if I dont get to have treats on a regular basis I will end up just binging on junk! I have tried pretty much every plan, but always come back to calorie counting because it works!

Good point. Even if you are eating healthy foods you can still eat a lot of calories of them. So tracking helps you know that you should only have 1 cup of something instead of 3 for example. :)

Like a few before me already mentioned, I love the flexibility and variety in my diet. When I poke around the other diet threads, I'm amazed by how restrictive the food choices are. There's one low-carb thread in which nearly everyone said they ate fried eggs and sausage that morning! Personally, I can't do that. I need a wide variety of foods. And with calorie counting, you're rewarded for eating whole, nutritious fare by getting a good volume of food, all while learning the skill of portion control. As long as I eat the right amount for my body, it responds by losing fat. It just plain works!

I must *sheepishly* admit that I used to be so resistant to calorie counting. I didn't think it possible for me to count calories. I tried so many other plans which then morphed into trying to eat healthy and totally cut out certain things from my diet (like sugar). While I lost while simply trying to eat healther, it was a very slow loss and just the taste of sugar or other "forbidden" food would send me into a downward spiral.

I started calorie counting about 2 1/2 weeks ago. It seemed overwhelming at first, but with the help of The Daily Plate, I have done remarkable well so far. I fully admit that I been eating more processed foods that I think I should to help me as I get the hang of things. I need to focus on making my calories really count (which is not easy for this veggie-challenged chick! :) )

For me, calorie counting is my means to portion control and self control. I really am not eating a lot different than I was before, just making smarter choices. I was surprised to find the calorie content of some of the things I used to eat and have been able to make adjustments to fit in my calorie allotment for the day. I am finding that I now decide if what I want is really worth the calories that I would use up. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't, but the choice is mine. I have been careful to eat only one portion of the foods I eat unless I consciously choose to have a second portion. I'm finding that the larger or second helpings weren't due to hunger or physical need so I'm not missing anything.

While I have to admit I used to think calorie counters were a little crazy ;), I'm happy to be one of you now! I've been reformed!

I'm pretty much the same as the other posters above me - It just didn't feel healthy long term to me to cut something out of my diet completely to lose weight, be it carbs, fat, whatever. Counting calories is simple math and math I can do... Plus, I don't have to go to meetings, order special foods, etc. I like the flexibility in that.

And, I like that I can have the occasional serving of Bailey's Irish Cream and not feel like I've slipped off the plan and beat myself up... or hershy kiss, or whatever the indulgence of the moment might be... :)

Shannon, you hinted at another reason to love calorie counting. Having a beer or candy treat every now and then is not only perfectly acceptable, but because you haven't eliminated those things from your diet they don't shock your system. When I did low-carb years ago, a small piece of birthday cake would trigger a whole cascade of responses because my body had grown accustomed to being deprived. Nowadays I can have a piece of chocolate or the occasional dessert at a restaurant without being sent into a tail spin. It's all about eating a variety of healthy foods and having the rest in moderation.

One of the cool things for me about calorie counting is, now that I've done it for a while, I'm able to estimate my calories pretty darned well. Once you get the hang of it and learn how many calories are in what you usually eat, you're able to make good decisions even when you're eating out or at someone else's house .. and you're not stuck having to refuse food when you're out to eat.

It's a nice change.

.

My first week was a little crazy. I was neurotic about it. My big slip ups have been when I didn't prepare the food (i.e. catered lunch). I can't wait to be an expert! :) I just have to get the hang of it!

Why is calorie counting my plan of choice?

In two words:






It works!





I agree with almost everything that's been written here: the simplicity, the flexibility, not having to attend meetings or order special food, learning more about real nutrition, and so on.

In short: it's simply the easiest thing for me to do for the rest of my life.

Completely agree!!! I love the fact that you can have a small treat and still you wouldn't screw up your weight as long as you have a small sized piece of cake or candy etc. Its really all about portions :)

I also like counting calories for all the reasons you all do. And I am a lot like PhotoChick... Tell me I can't have something and that is the best way to get me to crave it and usually to eat it, too. :lol:

I also like it because my off days don't have a negative impact on my overall progress. I am working hard on having fewer off days, but they do happen. And I like knowing that they aren't going to destroy me. When I counted carbs, One piece of cake at a party made me gain five pounds overnight. And killed me, emotionally. I don't need that kind of pressure or stress. Trying to do all this is hard enough, without adding abject fear of a little slice of cake into the mix.

I couldn't imagine being part of a group that hauls you up in front of the entire group and berates you for eating a few yummies at a party. What kind of sick individual does things like that?

All of the above and it is free!

For all the calorie counters:)
 

I really love the idea of calorie couting but I have huge problem, I have been so brainwashed into thinking "good foods/bad foods" that I tend to dismiss the calories in healthy foods as if they "dont' count" and am too scared to eat the "processed foods" and probably end up overeating the healthy foods. For example, I might really want pizza but I'll have tofu, brown rice and veggies, for the same amount of calories, feel unsatisfied, suffer and think that somehow processed foods or any food that isn't whole is fattening where as all whole foods are safe.

So, any insight, tips, advice, experience to help me with my twisted views would be awesome! I just want the freedom to not think that foods have an inherent quality of being fattening or not depending on their form.

Hope I don't sound too crazy:)

Eve

I love calorie counting for a couple of reasons. First off, it works! Second, I can eat whatever I want, so long as I stay within calories. I also didn't have a clue how many calories were in so many foods or what a 'normal' portion is. I've learned so much about eating healthy, sane portions.

Someone else pinpointed why I like calorie counting the most. Like so many of us, I am an emotional eater. The cool thing with counting calories is that I can start to eat emotionally, but I am always aware of what I'm doing. Even if I do go off plan, it's never as bad as it's been in the past and I am able to get right back on again in a few hours or a couple of days. I am really good at lying/rationalizing to myself and I can't do that if I write down everything I eat. That has been a huge help.

As far as how to do it, I started out slow. I started out just writing down what I eat. Than I moved up to counting calories in the packaged stuff where it was easy to figure out what the calories was.

The final leap for me was getting a food scale that had a food database in it. Best purchase, ever! I am now able to keep track of fruits, veggies, rice and everything. I used to rationalize the same way you do. I can now tell you that I can eat 200 calories of fruit fast and easy. A good serving of rice is over 200 calories. A yam is another 200 calories. See how fast it can all add up?

And! Foods with fat in them are good. If I am not careful, I'll start craving fat, so I reach for the almond butter. Or I feel like I could kill for some sugar, so I reach for a peach. Or it's TOM and to heck with it, I reach for the ice cream and just eat it in moderation.

I do stay away from pizza and tons of other foods, but there are plenty of other people that work them into their diet. It can be done, you just have to plan it out.

Eve, if you want pizza, just make healthy pizza. We had pizza night on Sunday night, and it was yummy. We toasted whole grain/low carb tortillas, then added a little seasoned tomato sauce and a little shredded skim milk mozzarella. For toppings we had turkey pepperoni, fresh basil and red bell pepper rings. We assembled, then put them back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese was melted. Super tasty, and much lighter and healthier than regular pizza.

A big trick for me is figuring out a way to make what I want in a healthier way. A few weekends ago I took my formerly fat-laden enchiladas and made them healthy enough so that I could eat a serving of them without feeling guilty.

As far as "healthy stuff doesn't count", I track everything I put into my mouth into Fitday. A day or two of that and you see, in very blunt terms, that everything does in fact count!!

She's so right. I'm such a dork that i sometimes guestimate msmts like a TBSP/half a cup etc to test myself and I'm pretty much always right now from so much measuring and weighing!

Exactly, it's for life!! So simple, so easy. Tonight I made chocolate chip, butterscotch chip, raisin, oatmeal, spelt flake cookies. (I know, long titled cookies, ha, ha.) I had 2 and didn't feel the least bit guilty because I had a calorie deficit for the day. Now normally I might have had something a little healthier but I wanted the cookies so I had them. If I was on another diet plan I probably wouldn't be able to have cookies and stay on plan but I can calorie counting. I also won't give up homemade macaroni and cheese because I just love it to pieces.

i probably have the dumbest reason on here for liking cal counting lol... i love soda... not diet soda, but honest to goodness real soda lol... so, i eat about 1600 -1800 cals a day... and if i want my ONE Small glass of soda in the evening i exercise an extra 200 cals off during the day.. if i dont.. i dont get it... still exercise to burn reg cals.. but have to burn 200 extra for my glass of soda.. dumb huh? lol
i just like having a plan that i can do and have what i want.. as long as im responsible with it... i make the choice.. if im feeling too lazy to do the extra exercise, i know i wont get my soda.. and that makes me sad lol.. so, it gives me a lil more motivation.. that works with anything i feel like having... i love having NO restrictions lol

Well said! And it's not stupid or dorky or anything. I think it's smart that you recognize what you love and you make a way for you to have that.

A few years ago a co-worker tried Adkins. I didn't want to do the whole plan, but tried to cut carbs along with him. It was nearly impossible to eat! So, I didn't even consider that when I went to lose weight this time. I had considered something like Jenny Craig where you buy the meals, but I didn't like that plan for several reasons. First, it's expensive and I'm frugal. Second, I wouldn't learn how to eat properly and would probably gain the weight back when I stopped paying. I didn't want to be paying Jenny to cook for me for the rest of my life! Lastly, I love to cook and would be cooking for my family anyhow. And, I wanted them to eat healthy, too! DH was (very) slightly overweight, too. Somehow, I got the desire to eat healthier permanently, not just lose weight. Calorie counting provided a simple solution. Really, if you looked at the things we ate and drank, nothing was too terrible. In fact, virtually none of our eating habits were "bad" - nothing fried, sugary or too fatty. Drinking soda was our worst eating sin. But, overall, we ate and drank just a little too much. In fact, my calculations using on-line tools showed that I was only eating 300 calories over what my intake should be for my goal weight of 145!

I like calorie counting because it easy, it works, doesn't cost anything extra, and includes all foods that I want or like.

As others have said...once you've done it for a while - you just know the caloires of things by looking at them. Of course, I still weigh and measure quite often- but, I am getting really good at estimating too when I need too.

Of course - all that being said - I still have to eat healthy foods and once in a while indulge in treats.

I am a rebel...tell me I can't ever eat something - and that's just want I really want. So - calorie counting is such a good fit for me.

I've been doing calorie countng for almost a year now. It's the only plan ever that I've been able to stick with long term all of my 'dieting career'. I have to laugh - cause it's not that much of a diet anymore - but, the way I eat now most of the time.

I know that I already posted a general thought on calorie counting, but here is a very specific example of it:this week I had a 1/2 of a bacon cheeseburger & sweet potato fries from The Vortex on Saturday (greatest burger place ever IMO) and a few chicken fingers and a piece of toast from Zaxby's last night... and I still lost 1.3 pounds this week, because I stayed within my calorie count even with those indulgences.

I told one of my coworkers who is on Adkins about it this morning and she just about lost it... she has been plateaud, even gaining, for almost a year now but keeps hammering the low carb. I'm trying to get her to try counting calories for a little while and see what happens. I think she is eating in the 2000-2500 calorie range right now on Adkins and she just isn't burning those calories off...

i count calories but i also put a big emphasis on where my calories come from because i need to get a certain ratio in by the end of the day.

As simply as I can state it.

Because it works! 145 pounds gone and counting ;)

As Ever
Me

Calorie counting.

I think it all comes down to how I was brought up to eat versus how I've learned to eat.

When I was a kid the meals had to be cheap because we were a family of five on a rather tight budget. My mother didn't really cook much and, while my father liked to cook, his favorite things were the grill and the oven. Roast with potatoes, burgers and brats, lots of gravy, and boxed items.

After my parents were divorced I was the cook. I started cooking healthier meals, but then I found something out. I *really* loved to cook. I loved to make up recipes. I loved butter. I loved baking. This kind of threw healthy out the window for a while. Then came Iron Chef and the introduction of ingredients to me that I'd never had. I started looking for them, cooking them, tasting them, and creating dishes with them. And some were not low fat. I have a distinct liking for a good piece of red meat with heavy marble. And a good piece of pork belly. And skin. And cheek. And...yeah. You get the picture.

Taking some of these things out of my diet would be very hard. Counting calories makes it easy. Nothing is off limits, but I must do it all in moderation. Making a meal with courses at home is a test of my ability to stay on plan. A 3 course meal with starter (generally a salad of some kind), a main dish (which includes a vegetable, a meat, and a starch generally), and a dessert (now more likely to contain fruits and/or yogurt) can be hard to do with an allotment of 600-800 calories for dinner. But I can do it if I plan my main dish well and my dessert is something small.

I think that one of the misconceptions is that you can't eat fattening food and lose weight. You can, but it's harder. The more fattening it is, the higher the calories. The higher the calories that one meal has, the less you have for the rest of your meals.

Being able to go out to my favorite Italian restaurant and ordering the lobster bisque with a side salad or the lobster and shrimp ravioli is one thing that I'd really miss if I wasn't calorie counting. I'd miss pasta a lot. I'd miss a good-sized hunk of rustic French bread dipped in cream soup. I'd certainly miss chocolate. A lot.

The key to any diet is moderation and counting calories really helps with that. I have a target caloric allotment for the day. Going a little under or over is okay as long as it isn't more than 100 calories, and varying by about that much once in a while keeps my weight loss going. I'm happy with what I've done so far and will continue. :)

Because weight watchers was making me INSANE. All I did was think about food and how much food I couldn't eat. I felt like a total moron shopping with my calculator and the scale never moved. While I can't sing CC's praises JUST yet - seeing that it has been two days since I started - the scaled hit its lowest this morning and I have been eating like a lunatic just to make sure I wasnt actually starving. I needed something that I knew would make sense - scientifically. The only formula I could come up with was how many calories you need to burn to lose poundage. Hit fitday - figured out my what my restrictions were. Went onto a kids encyclopedia and figured out the differences in fats, calories, proteins and carbs and calculated the best nutritional plan.

Can't mess with science. lol.