Hey everyone so I've been lurking here for a while and I opted to try the calorie counting diet just because it looks simple (and lots of calculators online and ipod haha). My question is mainly about the other things like carbs and the sugar - do you count those too, should I pay a lot of attention to them, or strictly calorie count? With second year law firm recruiting coming around the corner in August, I want to dazzle them haha. I have been eating fruits and veggies and oatmeal but notice some things are higher in sugar. I also do not exercise *see law school reason above I will continue watching the posts and I hope this helps. Everyone is looking so awesome!

I think it's mostly about what affects you personally. I personally have no loss if I consume lots of carbs, like breads and cereals. But I don't have a problem with potatoes or carby veggies. I can have sugar but just not late at night. Just see how different foods affect your loss.

I count calories but I also make sure to keep an eye on my carbs. I lose better when I don't let them get too high. I keep my net carbs below 100 grams a day. The less carbs I eat the less carbs I crave as well.

i count my meals but i mainly just count my carbs calorie. for some reason, i tend to forget to count vegetables and fruits i eat.. which can actually add up i guess since i eat 3-5 fruits a day and LOTS of veggies. i have trained myself (very bad) to think that i can eat all the veggies i want and not feel bad. however, i try to eat veggies that are not covered in calories.. b/c that kind of defeats the purpose

I count everything. Rather, my calorie tracking app counts everything I aim for 50% cals from carbs, 20% protein and 30% fat, with fiber over 30g and sodium under 2000mg.

I tried lowering the carbs for a while (40%) but it's not really a sustainable way of eating for me right now. I need this to be a plan that I can stick to, and the carbs don't seem to affect my loss at this point, so I'm not worrying about it.

Congrats on making the change! I'm with you- cc'ing is the easiest, most flexible, and intuitive weight loss method (for me! everyone is different) and I hope you find the same success with it.

I first started only looking at calories until I a) got the hang of it and b) started slowing and stalling in my weight loss process. That's when I felt comfortable making other changes- for a while adjusting my fat/protein/carb ratio first, then a month or so later looking at fiber and sugar. For me it was good to just take a few things and start adjusting them rather than try to keep up with everything all at once. It would have been too overwhelming. I'm now able to mentally decide what combination of foods I'll eat during the day, or readjust dinner based on lunch, to meet all my own different nutritional goals. It has taken several months to get there, and for me working incrementally on one thing before adding another has been better.

I would do whatever you feel comfortable with. Ideally it's best to get in enough protein, lower your sugar, etc not just for weight loss but for overall health reasons too. But don't feel the need to hit perfect numbers on everything immediately- making one change at a time is still moving one step closer to a healthier lifestyle! All of us are always improving, one step at at time