I agree with the people who say you don't need to count calories. I used to be very strict on counting calories and eating foods I should have stayed away from, my calories were always used up before dinner.

I check calories on certian foods that I am not familiar with, but overall I just eat lots and lots of veggies and lean protein, low or non-fat dairy and a few nuts, seeds and whole grains thrown in. it's impossible for me to get too many calories when I do this. I'd rather be full on healthy foods than feel hungry and deprived which always makes me go off plan.

I just checked out the paleo food list too, I'm pretty much following that and didn't even know it.

I started out on SBD, but the Paleo plan is really well rounded and seems to be more of a change in lifestyle than a restrictive plan.

Thanks to whoever brought up the Paleo diet, I'm definitely going to check into it.

The one thing I would, personally, be concerned about is the nuts and oils. It's easy to overdo it on those types of foods and not even realize and the fats & calories add up quickly.

You are totally right!!! It can be very easy to add several hundred calories very quickly!

No, but it's good to know which foods have how many calories. I have always thought measuring and weighing your food is too anal-retentive and OCD. You're off to a good start, focusing on eating "real" food is an important step - like sontaikle mentioned, it's hard to eat yourself 1000 calories over maintenance levels on vegetables and chicken breast!

I just try to eat mostly whole foods, half of my meals are veggies, but I do need to count calories in order to be more accountable.

I can easily eat maintenance instead of eating to lose by having just a few hundred more calories (an extra drizzle of olive oil in a pan, 1/2T of peanut butter, a few extra nuts, or a little extra hummus).

Calorie counting is the way it works for me, but I know that eating whole foods makes it that much easier so I stay satisfied.

Hey I agree with everyone in one way or another, but all i can give is my experience. The thing is, there are tons of different methods to lose weight, and all are acceptable, but the only WAY to lose weight is calories in vs calories out. There's really a whole lot of room for interpretation there, which is wonderful, because it means you can find exactly what works for you. The bad part is, no one can tell you exactly what will work for you, only what works for them. Vegetarianism, Paleo, South Beach, calorie counting will ALL work in the aspect of calories in/calories out, but you have to consider the factors of your own psychological and emotional connections with food and eating, your schedule, etc.
For me, calorie counting is the only way to go. Right now, I lack the ability to "eat intuitively" (I'm jealous of people who can and suspicious that it's all a huge myth...lol), although I hope that through this long and beautiful journey I will be able to learn that skill. But some maintainers will tell you that they never do, they always count calories, so who knows. I find that calorie counting keeps me honest, which is good because I have a tendency to lie to myself, which is exactly how I got to 262 lbs. I guess I'm probably what normal people might call a little "obsessive" about calorie counting, I plan meals out and tweak them and spend considerable energy on figuring out the very best way to use my calories each day, and I feel better if I have tomorrow already planned out when I go to bed. But the way I figure it, I thought about food obsessively before, and at least now I'm directing that focus in a positive way for my health and well-being. So it doesn't bother me. I think my fiancé finds it a little weird but he supports me anyway
The question is, are you confident in your ability to eat intuitively and not overeat, or do you still need to be actively aware of exactly how many calories you eat? If I had been stalled for two weeks, I would experiment with my calorie intake, and maybe try calorie counting for a week to see if the scale starts moving again, and that will probably answer this question for you.
However, if it's more comfortable to you to hang out at the same weight for awhile while you learn to eat a good diet of whole foods and eat healthily without counting every morsel, that may be very beneficial for you. This whole journey is one of discovery, and you are coming face to face with all the little quirks of your body. I think if you just make small adjustments, and stay aware of how your body reacts to them, you will figure out what you have to do to achieve your goals. Definitely absorb the advice on here from our fabulous maintainers, because they are experts, and there are many times I should have taken their advice and thought I knew better and regretted that later. But in the end, no one can give you their plan that helped them lose a hundred pounds or however much, and you follow it and be guaranteed the same results. Every single plan will WORK, what matters is what works for you so that you don't feel obsessed or deprived. For me, following strict rules about the food I can eat is a sure fire way to feel deprived and eventually binge. Calorie counting allows me to eat whatever I'm craving, learn moderation and portion sizes, and figure out how to eat for maintenance and be prepared and informed to eat out in the real world. On the other hand, by the time I get to maintenance I want to have eliminated processed foods and eat only whole, organic foods. But right now, I'm still learning, and calorie counting is a god send.
Good luck hon

munchievictum- Exactly how I feel! This is why I have to count calories. But kudos to all who can follow a plan strictly and lose weight AND keep it off without counting calories.

We don't disagree at all. You took what I wrote, made up an argument I wasn't making and you disagreed with it.

I never argued that one could not benefit from eliminating a specific food or food group from their diet. It simply depends on the individual and the context.

My pet peeve is when one goes from eating crap to eating a certain diet and then argues that the certain diet (usually it is vegan or paleo people making this argument) is what made them feel good when it was actually they stopped eating crap. It's like they found a new religion.

Do you see the difference?

WannaB- I definitely admire the people who don't need to log everything they eat, but I feel like this is a huge project I'm running and that includes data and paperwork. When I'm just going "blind" (which is how I feel if I don't plan and count) everything falls apart.

was going to say but JohnP beat me to it.

*you* feel a benefit from being a vegetarian without dairy. my bff, also, *loves* being a vegetarian.

i cannot be a vegetarian - on my restricted calorie diet, two of the things that fell by the wayside were red meat and dairy. they're too calorie-dense to sustain in any great quantity on a VLCD so i swapped them out for shrimp (which i love) and fish and eggs (both of which i hate)...

and now i'm anaemic.

AGAIN.

this is the 4th time i've tried something even approaching vegetarianism and i always end up with some pretty yucky consequences. meanwhile, my bff cannot even eat hidden meats (such as the ham her bf snuck into her beloved potato salad because he thought he was oh, so funny) - she has lost the ability to digest meat completely so ends up with gas, bloating, and cramps.

just because vegetarian works for you and her doesn't mean it's THE answer - it just means it works for you guys.


and as johnp said, you're arguing something that wasn't even mentioned: all he said was that going from a crap-loaded diet to ANY diet that doesn't have crap is going to make you feel better.

ANY diet. it doesn't necessarily follow that the one you chose is the holy grail - someone who went paleo and feels fabulous would probably feel equally fabulous on atkins, south beach, weight watchers, or heck, even cabbage soup because it's not what they ARE eating that made the difference, it's what they're not eating any more.

I agree, I think people have a tendency to miss the forest for the trees with weight loss. They focus more on one particular method instead of the broader idea of the basic science of dieting, and it stands in the way of enlightenment and complete understanding of good nutrition.

Very eloquently stated.

sometimes my english major shows. Lol.

I see no arguement, only a discussion.

My response was to this statement:

"It's not eliminating meat that made them feel better it was eliminating all the garbage."

Which is why I said:

"Many people do, indeed, feel better from the simple elimination of animal products, with no other variables."

Sure, you may have just been using veg*nism as an example, but to a casual observer of your statement, they may misconstrue the message you were trying to convey, i.e.:

"My pet peeve is when one goes from eating crap to eating a certain diet and then argues that the certain diet (usually it is vegan or paleo people making this argument) is what made them feel good when it was actually they stopped eating crap."