I know it works. I just seems so time consuming! Does it ever get easier/quicker/faster? Do you ever get to the point where you can just do it in your head? Do you end up eating the same things over and over again just to avoid calculating new meal counts? Thanks...
For me, no . But my older sister lost over 60 pounds by counting calories. At first she said it was painstaking, but eventually she could count tons of things in her head. She even calculated all of her favorite recipes using caloriecount and other web tools. My best friend also can count calories in her head. Maybe I didn't do it long enough at any point to really make it happen.
I haven't been doing it long enough yet to really say. I still get really obsessed about it. I use the daily plate to count my calories which helps, but I am still not doing so great at cooking meals, just eating easy things I can enter in... I hope to get to the point where I can cook things.. like soup!
I could probably do it in my head if I wanted to, but I like knowing for sure. It does get easier though. I literally spend less than 5 mins every morning logging my cals. I use the LoseIt app on my iPhone and it has the ability to store all my common recipies so I'm not constantly having to put in every ingrediant. If I find a new recipe I like then I might spend a little extra time to add that to the program. It store all my favorites by alpha order so I don't have to go searching for it. I don't find the weighing and measure to take that much time either. I've lost over 100 lbs doing calorie counting in form or another (the last 25 have been through true calorie counting with a journal and caloried limits through) and I think that whatever time it takes is worth it. It certainly was overwhelming and more time consuming in the begining, but once my database was established, like I said less than 5 mins.
For me, it is a necessary obsession. Not worrying and counting what I ate/drank got me to 330 pounds and I just refuse to do that to myself, my health and my body ever again.
Yes, it is a pain, especially if you eat out, which complicates things a lot more. And it is very time-consuming, especially when one is preparing recipes. In the past, the Nutrition Data website--nutritiondata dot com--has been very helpful for me when calculating calories for things with more than, say, three ingredients, as they have a recipe analysis tool that seems pretty accurate. Unfortunately, there seems to be a glitch in their system or something, because it hasn't been working for me lately (which means entering EVERYTHING INDIVIDUALLY into FitDay...ARGH), but it's worth a shot.
One benefit to calorie counting is that is really increases your awareness of food and how healthy or unhealthy it may be. Reading all those labels provides you with a much better understanding of what constitutes "normal" amounts of things like fat and sodium. And you'd be surprised at the kinds of foods you'd think are lower-calorie that are actually SHOCKINGLY fattening.
I think the short answer is, if you have a good memory, you probably do memorize calorie counts pretty easily. My memory sucks, though; I've been counting calories on and off for years and I still need to look at labels. Like, for EVERYTHING. It's definitely worth it, however, if you're trying to keep yourself within a particular limit. If you have time, I'd recommend going to the FDA website and skimming through some things on their Labeling & Nutrition section.
During the week I calculate in my head a lot, because most days I eat the same thing (I'm totally a creature of habit). But if I want something extra, or if I eat a piece of chocolate or something, I take a few minutes and calculate everything I've eaten so far, and then I modify my meals for the rest of the day based on the calories I have left to eat.
On weekends I kind of eat whatever so I keep closer tabs on it. I also know the calorie counts of many foods because I've been doing it for so long, so the effort isn't as great as it used to be.
With all my previous attempts years back, calorie counting was the bane of my existence. I used a rather 'traditional' method of pen and paper with those little books loaded with caloric information. Yeah, that lasted about a week max each time.
Now, however, I use the Livestrong application on my iPhone and have been successfully calorie counting for three months now. The thing I like about the app is that it has A LOT of things you can search for--including food in restaurants. Also, if you go online to their website, you can enter recipes of meals you've cooked and it will calculate the calories for you. Overall, my boyfriend and I have been very please with the app and it has helped us tremendously keep on top of counting our calories.
I think it does. Sometimes I eat the same breakfast for a while but it's more because I have found the balance of filling and delicious at the same time. I normally calculate my breakfast and lunch together in the morning while I'm eating breakfast and then I don't have to worry until I get home when I want a snack and have dinner and stuff. On the days I eat out or something (or when I know I'm eating out) it takes time to make everything fit but that's about the only time I ever have to take a lot of time to work things out.
I was logging my food intake for other reasons before I started calorie counting, so as a habit it's no big deal to me (have been tracking for 2 years, watching calories for a year).
There have been a few weeks while traveling where I haven't been logging, and it appears I've gotten a mental idea of what I need to eat as I don't go off the rails even without seeing the numbers. But I'm pretty stressed not "knowing" the numbers so suspect I eat more carefully when I can't log.
I've tried every diet and have decided, like you all, burn more calories than you consume and you'll lose! I just started tracking, and I have been using the Lose It app for the iPhone. It has name brand foods, restaurant foods, and a generic food list. If I can't find something I'm looking for, I google the food and can almost always find what I need! I try to plan my meals beforehand. Mid-morning, when I start thinking about lunch, I'll figure out what I'm going to have and enter it all in so I'm not tempted to make bad decisions when I'm hungry!
I've found that there is SOME tracking and accountability for all diets - and for me - seeing it written down holds me accountable!
It does get a lot easier. Yes, I can count in my head, but I prefer to log it into the computer. I know the calorie count of most things now without having to look at the nutritional facts,and have become good at eying portion sizes, but I still weigh it. It takes me no more than a minute extra a meal to weigh and log my choices. If I were you I would get a food scale with a tare feature for quick and easy measuring.
I just started using SparkPeople to count calories (at someone's suggestion here) and I find it faster than all the other online tools I've used. Because I have access to a computer almost all day I add a little bit at a time typically. In SparkPeople you can save things as favorites or copy over whole meals so it becomes even faster logging meals.
I've been doing this again for a couple of months and I have some things memorized. I don't plan ahead of time, but I'm getting good at making choices that fit in a range of 300 - 450 calories per meal . (I do check online for calorie counts if I am going to a restaurant because it is surprising how they can take somthing healthy and with added oil and sugar really increase the calorie count.)
Just like any other habit you get used to it in time. It really, really gives you invaluable information for your future. Some people on special plans may argue with me but it is almost ALL about creating a caloric deficit. Without knowing how much you are taking in or burning it is hard to really know how to rework your plan when efforts stall.
If you don't continue to calorie count I would still suggest starting to do so for a while until you get a good feel for how many calories you are intaking. I really don't personally plan to calorie count the rest of my life. I hope when I get down to maintenance weight I will be a calorie expert and know how to make good choices!
I use the Lose it app and takes me about 5 minutes a day to log what I eat. Also, if I am going out I just look online and find the nutrition info for where we're going. After 3.5 months it is just a habit now. I have tried to skip a day and just couldn't do it. I like having my eating history available for me to look back at.
ugh - calorie counting.
Thanks...
. But my older sister lost over 60 pounds by counting calories. At first she said it was painstaking, but eventually she could count tons of things in her head. She even calculated all of her favorite recipes using caloriecount and other web tools. My best friend also can count calories in her head. Maybe I didn't do it long enough at any point to really make it happen.
