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!
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.
STOPPED COMPLETELY!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Everything she said 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 ).
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.
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.
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.
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...
why is "calorie counting" your plan of choice?
so interesting....
, I'm happy to be one of you now! I've been reformed!
