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.

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!

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!