Hi all

After looking around this website a bit, I've noticed that there is a LOT of emphasis on calorie counting. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, since it seems to work wonderfully, but I'm questioning whether it's right for me.

I've never counted calories before and it seems like a rather confusing and time-consuming activity. For example, the other day I baked a quiche - do I need to count the calories of every single ingredient in it? I find calorie counting websites fairly useful, but I'm not sure how far off they would be for a homemade quiche.

Also, I'm trying to make my health/weight loss change a lifestyle change, and I don't really want to be counting calories for the rest of my life. I'm a vegetarian, I enjoy eating good food and think I eat reasonably well. Here's what I would probably eat in one day:

Breakfast: yoghurt with muesli and berries OR 2 pcs. wholemeal toast with peanut butter
Lunch: dinner leftovers or subway
Dinner: usually curry, stir fry, or a tomato-based dish, with some sort of protein such as beans, chickpeas or tofu. I eat veggies pretty much every night. Occasionally it will be pasta or rice as well, but I'm trying to stay away from processed carbs and don't really love brown rice or wholewheat pasta!!

Snacks are usually fruit or something like soy crisps or roasted chickpeas. Obviously sometimes I'm not terribly healthy and eat chocolate or chips or something, but I've been really good for the past few weeks and after I slip up the next day will be healthy again!

So basically: do I need to count calories, or do you think I'll still lose sufficient weight by eating as I do and not worrying too much about the calorie content? I walk at least half an hour every day and go to the gym several times a week too.

Sorry for the long post, but this has been bothering me for a while and I'd really like some advice

I'm currently counting calories - I use myfitnesspal.com and have gone through and input a lot of my recipes in there. I also work out at the gym 3-5 times a week for 30 mins a time. I don't plan on counting calories for the rest of my life - but it is teaching me a great deal about how many calories are in different types of food.

I don't think you NEED to do it, but I'm finding it a useful tool.

You don't need to do anything that you don't want, but that may mean you have to accept certain other results.

People calorie count, because it's a good way to keep an accurate and honest measurement of what they're eating day to day. It also means that when there's a stall or if they need to look over what they've been doing, they have a good record they can scrutinize in order to make changes or find areas that can be improved. That does however mean, that many people need to be thorough and write down all their foods and the amounts and measure and weigh, and track.

There are people who use intuitive eating, or who mentally count calories each day to get a rough estimate in order to lose weight.

There's nothing wrong with any of those ways, it's all about what you're willing to accept.

As an example, you might find that if you just stick to consciously making healthier choices without writing anything down that your personal day-to-day frustration remains low and you lose weight perfectly fine. However, one consequence is that if you reach a plateau you might have a harder time pinpointing things to change. It could also mean slower weight loss if you aren't as good at estimating your food intake as you think you are. Or you might have to accept that from time to time if things get rough that you DO have to calorie count for a week in order to understand servings and how much you can eat in a day.

But, again, it's not wrong. It's just you adjusting a plan to your life. As long as you're okay with the possible outcomes of not counting daily, and as long as you're willing to work with it, then you can most definitely succeed!

I am calorie counting, but not as strict as I could be.
Basically, I note down everything I eat in a diary, search (using myfitnesspal or calorie king) for the calories and then if I'm under or over, I adjust what I eat the next day. The calorie counts is never perfect, but it gives you a good idea of how much you're eating.
I found that after a week, the staples of my diet - what I eat for breakfast and snacks and what I have for lunch at uni, I didn't need to calorie count, because I automatically knew that I could eat them, and was still about to have a decent sized dinner.
It's a good way of working out what you can eat and what isn't the best things to eat. I'm only new to all of this, so having that guideline, I feel, is helpful.

If you can count calorie, it will better for your good health.

counting calorie makes balanced diet.

The thing that I like about calorie counting is that I'm sure of what I'm eating. I can't tell you the number of times I've been completely surprised by how many calories are in a meal that seems "healthy." Sometimes there are way more than you think, sometimes way less. My mom tried a diet like the one your suggesting- where she just chose "healthy" meals- and she completely stopped losing weight for a while. She started getting sick and didn't connect it to the diet, because it seemed like she was eating healthy. Turned out that some days she was eating as little as 500 calories, and her body was shutting down. All this from a diet in which she at three meals and felt "full."

Calorie counting is not a difficult thing, you just have to learn how to do it. It doesn't take me any longer to prepare food than it does you- the counting takes about 30 seconds- and I always know that my body is getting what it needs.

Also, there's a good chance that you're eating more calories than you would expect. While soy crisps and chickpeas are "healthy," they're also very, very high in calories and it's not uncommon to underestimate them.

Thanks for all the advice! I have been doing it vaguely every now and then to make sure I'm not eating HEAPS, and seem to end up around the 1200-1300 calorie mark (although I tend to overestimate to be on the safe side). I might keep a list of the foods I eat all the time and how many calories they have and do it for a week or so to get the general idea of how much I'm consuming, and then hopefully I can more or less figure it out myself.

Like you, at one time in my life, I really, really did NOT want to face the prospect of counting calories for the rest of my life. However, as I've gotten older and have gotten to "know" myself better, I've realized that I may just have to count calories forever because I'm not so great at estimating. Also, I'm one who needs regular treats (sweets, etc.) in my diet, and I am not good at intuitively working those treats into my diet in a balanced way. When I calorie count, though, I know whether a treat fits into my daily calorie count, whether I need to have it and cut back on something else, etc. So, those benefits of calorie counting outweigh the nuisance of it most of the time for me.

Also, having a calorie counting app on my phone has made the process so much easier than it was for me in the past.

However, not everyone is the same. So, you may find that you can intuitively balance your eating so that you can lose/maintain your weight without counting calories. It's about finding what works for you.