Do you who count calories, only count calories, or do you put a lot of weight (no pun intended) into carbs, fat, sodium, etc? I am real curious to see if any of you have lost significant weight ONLY counting calories and not paying attention to carbs especially. And if you ONLY count calories, what is your calorie intake per day?

The reason I do weight watchers is because they count the calories AND help with the fat, fiber etc. The points are based on calories, fat and fiber, but they also have rules like 5 fruits or veggies a day, 2 dairy a day, 8 glasses of water, and 2 servings of oil. It makes it easier to get everything in for me, and it's a lot easier figuring out the points than adding all the calories. Good luck.

I began solely counting calories. I lost about 20 lbs (the first time) doing so. However, I gained almost all of it back. This time I am paying closer attention to mostly protein levels (though I try to keep fat low) and let carbs fall wherever they may. I think it helps to keep track of other things (though maybe not immediately) because it gives you other goals. I aim for 30% protein now, sometimes I am below that closer to 20% and sometimes much higher at 40%. It's not as ambitious as many of the ladies on here have gotten to but it is a good point for me now. I don't yet watch sodium (kind of afraid to ) but I think when I hit my next 'plateau' that will be what I will start watching.

i count calories, which i like because i can eat anything, even high-fat goodies (in small amounts), as long as i keep calories in check. i have found this very effective, because i can benefit from all the low-carb options (which are often lower in calories) without giving up carbs or completely messing up my diet mojo by eating one cookie. i usually eat between 1200-1700 calories a day. some people find calorie counting too daunting, so i think weight watchers is a good alternative. it makes calorie control simple for those who don't have calorie counts for everything memorized and don't have time to look everything up.

Sooner or later you just get to be more 'into' the content of your food. As some have already said ... we usually start just counting calories and it developes from there.

Yes, I think that's pretty much the way of it. A couple months ago the whole idea of counting calories was new to me. I found FitDay and started logging in my food. Then I started noticing the circle graph that displays the percentages of calories from fat, protein and carbs. My fats weren't too high because I already knew I wasn't going to get anywhere by eating high-fat foods. I eat a lot of meatless meals, so it wasn't a huge surprise to me to see high percentages of carbs. I started paying more attention to all of this when I started trying to work out more regularly and found my energy being sapped quickly. Suddenly I was trying to fit in more protein. I actually don't find it that difficult to achieve a healthy balance. I eat bread, pasta, cereal and such -- like Miles, I tend to let the carbs fall where they may.

I lost 60+ pounds two years ago by only counting calories. I've since gained 35 of it back and have managed to lose about 9 of that. For now, I'm using nutrisytem food (one week) but still counting all of my calories.

I think bobbi is right about proteins being important as you work out and as I figure this all out, I know I will need to make adjustments. I'm trying to step lightly but firmly because I'm tired of yo-yoing and want to get it off and keep it off. Someone recommended the book Calorie queens and I'm so thankful they did. The book really hit home with me and has brought a lot of stuff together in my head. Overall I know I will end up just being a calorie counter but I will use every advantage for the next couple of weeks until I get the habit fully formed.

Infrog, I love WW too, and used them years ago to lose quite a bit of weight. There overall plan is how I try and break out my food through out the day. I try and work in plenty of fruits and vegtables and monitor all the rest within most of their basic guidelines.

I track my food with a software program,it's pretty handy and I like it but as I recall it wasn't cheap. I think tracking what you eat is so important for the losing process but very important for the maintaining process (my weakness)

Now if I could just get myself to exercise.

I lost 35lbs just by counting calories. I'm vegetarian and like bread, rice, etc., so my carb counts were on the high side. Having a higher carb count didn't seem to have a negative effect on weight loss when I was strict with counting calories.

I think it's different for everyone, and you have to learn what works for your body. I have found that only cutting/counting calories doesn't work for me. I have to exercise or the weight won't shift.

But like a lot of the others here, after a while of logging my food into FitDay, I started noticing protein, carbs, fat -- and vitamins, minerals and sodium. And now this has become, for me, not just a journey to lose weight (however fast or slow it happens) but to become healthy.

I also gradually moved from just counting calories to paying attention to other aspects of nutrition, and frankly, it's because I'm logging it in nutridiary and can see right there how I'm doing. At that point, it really wasn't much work to say, "Hey, my calcium is low, have a yogurt" or something like that.

I actually began with just portion control, and moved kicking and screaming to writing everything down... and I love it now!

As for intake, when I started counting, I weighed about 285, and decided to try 2000/day. That worked really well. Now, below 230, I try to keep it under 1900, but I'm also exercising more than I was then too. I seem to still lose 1-2 pounds/week on average, and I'm good with that.

Truthfully, it really is calories in versus calories out. Strictly speaking of food, it doesn't matter what you are eating in terms of calories. The person who eats 1400 calories a day in complete junk is going to lose weight just like the person who eats 1400 calories a day in clean food.

The difference is, the *junk* doesn't work because it makes you tired, sluggish, and it is very little food. Junk is high in fat and calories so you have to eat much less of it to maintain say, 1400 calories a day. With *clean* food (whole grains, veggies, fruit, good protein) you can feel really good and full eating 1400 calories a day (or whatever your personal intake is) ....

So that's why I think a previous poster was correct....if you stay on plan, you just naturally move towards cleaner foods because you get more bang for your buck so to speak and you feel better, fuller, healthier and more satisfied because you are getting healthier food and more of it.

Of course excersise is important too, as well as staying hydrated.

I still have a whole lot to lose, but I have always been good at losing it --- not so good at maintaining because I go back to old habits of bad eating and eating too much ...

I have always counted calories for weight loss (and worked out) with much success. It was when I lied to myself about how much I was really eating and slacked off on exercising that I would gain back (and have gained back...a lot )

Good luck to you!

Thank you for all the great responses and advice. I have religiously been counting calories now for about 2 weeks. I have been paying attention to the other components (fat, carbs, protein and sodium). But I am still having trouble losing. I am only losing maybe a pound a week, if that. I am doing 35-40 min. on the Elliptical 5 times a week and strength training. I am hovering between 1200-1400 calories most days (eating pretty clean). What am I doing wrong?? I would really like to see a 2 pound week again. Do you think my body is just adjusting to what I have lost? I am by no means frustrated, but I am aggravated by the whole thing. I just keep plugging along, I don't think I am doing anything wrong. Maybe my body just likes the weight. Well, get the **** over it, cuz it is leaving you for good (eventually)!!!

Cheryl -- A pound a week is great! I don't know that we can force our bodies to lose faster than they are ready to. Plus, 2 weeks isn't much of a time frame -- any little thing can hinder you, such as water retention.

Also, while it may sound counterintuitive, you may not be eating enough! You and I weigh about the same, you are doing more exercise than I am and eating less. Intuition would say that you should lose more, but you're only eating 1200-1400 calories/day, and maybe that's not enough for your weight and all the exercise you're doing. You might want to increase what you eat by 200-400 calories and see what happens. It shouldn't be enough to put you in a tailspin, but might actually help. One problem with eating 12-1400 calories is it doesn't let you get much lower when you DO hit a plateau.

Yes, me. I don't count carbs, I never have.

Fat, yes, I watch fat very carefully.

I eat about 1200-1300 calories a day, a couple of days a week taking it a little higher.