Since I've started calorie counting, I've definitely lost some unnecessary pounds and have done some nice work on my overeating problem (that I wasn't even really aware of until I started c'cing).

On the downside, my diet has went to the pits. I used to only eat a super healthy whole foods diet.... my problem was, it was making me feel bad because I was simply eating too many calories - too many calories lead to health problems, even if they are healthy calories!

Now, I eat anywhere from 14-1800 a day while calorie cycling, and it includes too much chocolate, cheese, bread, bratwursts, hamburgers, etc. Somehow these 'treats' have become a part of my daily life. The sugar and bread in particular are taking their toll on me. Hunger spikes, slight mood swings.

So, even though I have a liver that detoxes my body for me, I'm going to do an "extra detox"! Now that I've found the right number of calories for my health, I'm going to start implementing the right foods for me health.

I just stocked my apartment full of fruit and veggies. Today I had:
B/L: fruit/veggie smoothie, 4 walnuts w/honey
Snack: apple with small amount of goat cheese, banana, figs
D salad, tofu, portion veggie casserole, mango

It may be pyschological, but I'm already feeling better. Okay, it is just pyschological.

Anyway, anyone with me and need to overhaul their diet too? Anyone else forget nutrients because they were so fixated on the calorie counts?

I try to watch the type of food I eat as well when CC'ing -but I do allow myself a little treat during the day, lke I may have a tony piece of chocolate or something like that - it keeps me from binging but your right. An overhaul is a good idea. Fruits and veggies will definitely aide in digestion.

Unna, I hear you! I often have to rein myself in when I start getting too loose with my eating. What starts out as one piece of chocolate at night can eventually become two, and then just a bit more, and . . . well, you get the picture. I found that the past couple of weeks, I've had to have something sweet after dinner. Part of that is that I increased my calories and was so heady with joy about that that I used it as a reason to include more treats. The pièce de résistance was Christmas Eve (from that meal to B & L the next day, I consumed 4000 calories--yikes!). So, this week, I've been back on losing calories (averaging 1600 per day), and I found that by today, 1600 is starting to feel like plenty of calories (whereas on day one, I was STARVING). It's because I'm not snacking on junk or eating dessert.

I do think it is important to recognize when our eating is getting out of hand and get back to basics, so to speak. I would like to get to the point where this balancing act comes more naturally (i.e., I can have that piece of chocolate and let that be enough), but for now, I have to be more aware.

Good luck & let us know how it goes!

It isn't all in your head that you are feeling better.

Fats, salt and sugar take immediate tolls on our systems. Sugar makes you feel tired, salt makes you feel bloated within hours and fat can do all kinds of nasty stuff to your digestive system.

You need these in moderation, but it sounds like you were getting too much and now your body is thanking you!

I have a friend who was always complaining of headaches and being bloated. I told her to lay off the salt and sugar for two days...and she said she felt miraculous! Just removing that junk from our bodies makes a difference...imagine how good you will feel in 30 days or so when its all gone out of your system!

lin43: My boyfriend's mother made tons of these tiny little german delicacy cookies called "plätzchen". We have three tins full - it was her X-mas present to us.

Don't get me wrong - they taste wonderful. Perfect little beautiful bite-size cookies.

But I found myself feeling super moody and craving more, more, more. .....

I need to nip this in the bud - or I'm afraid I'll keep going over my calorie limit too easily with crappy calories and I'll just feel like sugar junk... fatigue, headaches, overeating.

Razorbackbritt: I hope you are right! I think I'm starting to feel better, just don't want to conclude too much - could be psychological.

It might be psychological, but remember, the brain is part of the body! So it counts.

I got to my "goal weight" on Nutrisystem, and now that they have changed the program (and the prices) I'm ready to go on my own now. I was thinking this forum might be a good place for me. I think I will use calorie counting, but I am worried that I might let good nutrition go out the window!

I think if I stay pretty close to the structure I had on Nutrisystem, I'll be alright. I need to require myself to eat 4-5 vegetables a day, and a couple of fruits, and for the rest, try to lean on the side of protein more than carbs. And of course, a little bit of chocolate every day.

I think eating 4-5 veggies a day is a key factor. I can eat a heaping plate without a lot of calories.

I want to lose 10 more lbs and then stay there.

It's funny, I've just started to revamp my diet a little bit this last week or 2! About 2 years ago, I was vegetarian bordering on vegan. However, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to keep that up for the rest of my life. When I first started in include meat and dairy again, I did so sparingly. However, I noticed that in the last few months I was eating more and more meat to the point that I was back to where I was with eating meat.
At the beginning of the month I watched a documentary on the China Study. I read this book when I was thinking about going vegan. It is an awesome book, but the documentary makes it very easy to understand. Anyway, it forced me to realize that I was not watching my cholesterol intake like I should and that I really do enjoy eating more of a plant based diet with some cheese and meat here and there.

I'm much happier now! I eat meat about 2-3 meals a week at the most. Dairy is a little more, but mainly just cheese. I buy soy milk from Aldi's and have that instead.

Our bodies really do enjoy when we treat them well with healthy foods. That isn't to say we can't indulge and enjoy junky food. We just need to keep it in it's place, which is as a treat.

Awesome work guys!!

Everyone is totally right about the "psychological benefits" - I somehow forgot that my brain is a part of my body!!

Queen Sarah: I love calorie counting, but due to its "loose structure" - namely you do what you want within your calorie limit - you can start to forget about healthy eating.... you simply make your portions smaller and continue to eat the not so good stuff and still loose weight!

So, yeah, I'm definitely learning that I want to make fruits and veggies the center of my diet again.

tdiprincess: I feel exactly the same way. It is easier to eat lean meats and dairy and such - which are fine, technically, but don't have the vitamin content of other plant-based foods.

You might try doing something like an exchange plan. There are some on here who do that. It’s a way of “counting” calories more loosely but still ensuring proper nutrition---e.g., number of veggies per day, etc. If you post about it, I’m sure those who do it will reply.

I don’t know if you read any of Michael Pollan’s works, but his research has shown that eating meat just 2-3 times a week allows us to get all the benefits of meat-eating (and there really are some) without the harmful side-effects that often accompany eating meat more frequently than that. I do eat meat, but I only buy organic and/or humanely raised (from Whole Foods). I don’t eat red meat very often; mainly it’s chicken. I prefer seafood.

Oh, Unna, how on earth are you managing to keep your hands off of it? I don’t think I could! Cookies are so easy to overeat.

I Love the Exchange plan!! In fact, that's why Nutrisystem worked so well for me -- it was based on that. Then a couple of weeks ago, they conflated several categories into fewer categories, and I didn't like that -- it's almost as bad as "Points," but not quite. So I have been searching the internet for a forum where there would be others who used exchanges. I couldn't find that, specifically, but I found this forum, and have been thinking I would basically do exchanges, but mainly try to stay within a certain calorie limit.

I'd be thrilled if there are other people here who do the exchange plan! I just bought the book "Exchanges for All Occasions," and some other books, and I've been collecting recipes (although I'm not much of a cook!)

I made up a meal planner page to keep in my planner (5 1/2 x 8 1/2), but I've found that mostly, I've just been logging my food at Fitbit.com. It's working well so far, because I'm still in the habit of eating according to the Nutrisystem plan ~~ we'll see if I keep that same structure, or if I start to play fast and loose, without the Nutrisystem support...

I think I'll always think in terms of exchanges, even though I might only track calories...

Queen: Kaplods on here does exchange plans. She has a bunch of information. I bet if you PM'd her, she'd give you a ton of info!

Lin: I have not read that book, I may look into it. I mainly eat chicken, but sometimes I do get a hankering for beef too. My meat generally comes from us going out to eat to a restaurant or a friends house. Then once a week or so at home. It usually ends up being weekend food.