I was going to ask what types of diets people have - WW, calorie counting, diet plans like atkins, low-fat, low-carb, etc., because now that I feel like I'm getting my cardio under way and feeling more comfortable with that, I'd like to address strength training and food

But I wasn't sure where to start. I've calorie counted before but sometimes I feel like it becomes to obsessive or at least overwhelming, tracking every single morcel that I put in my mouth. I tend to eat lots of fruits and vegetables anyways, so I feel for myself, as long as I'm not eating obvious junk food or clearly unhealthy foods, then I'm probably doing well. But I'd like to have something in place, to actually make sure I'm NOT eating too much or too little.

Do the majority of people calorie count in some form or another?
And with calorie counting, do you start at a certain number and then as your weight drops you decrease your intake? So let's say you start at 2000 and then eventually go down 50 or 100 calories overtime? How do you know what to base your numbers on?

What do you ladies/guys do? I'm going to check out the wholesome foods threads, that definitely sounds like the direction I'm heading in but I wanted to ask you anyways, get some input, suggestions, anything you have to offer thanks a million, really!!

I admit I'm biased but you might want to check into whole foods forums. Personally, I can't count calories and I enjoy eating real food. If you eat lean proteins, high fiber foods and limited amount of processed foods, you will be nourishing your body as well as naturally cutting calories. I do recommend getting calorie savvy in knowing general amounts of calories of things. I think it might be what you are looking for in terms of your eating habits.

Check out the Veggie part of the Alternachicks forum. That may help a bit.

I think there's also a sticky about food in the Ladies Who Lift Forum.

I didn't count calories for the first 50 pounds or so, I just kind of did what Nelie suggested ... keeping it whole, real, and as unprocessed as possible. When that stopped working, I started tracking fitday calories. While fitday does get to be a little bit of a hassle, or a little obsessive, I still find it to be enlightening to learn calorie and nutrition counts of things. I'm not going to do fitday forever, but it works for me now as it helps me learn.

You could try the ADA diet. It's a great general guideline of counting exchanges instead of calories.

I am on Weight Watchers and love it. Points system.

Each person is individual as to what they are willing to do for a lifetime. I personally count carbs and this works for me. Many people log their calories on fitday or such. I write my foods daily in a home journal. Glory has some great posts about SuperFoods and this might be what you are after.

I'm doing some head work and trying to practice intuitive eating with a focus on superfoods.

Ditto what kateful said.

I don't count calories.

I count calories but I don't think it is necessary for everybody to do so. If you focus on portion control, getting healthy foods, water and excercise, that is fine for many. If it doesn't work, then add the component of calorie counting. I also find it educational. My calorie range isn't even all that strict. It's a wide range. I use it to show me what I'm doing. I like to be educated about what I eat. Wholefoods is another great way to introduce yourself to a lifestyle change. Ultimately it depends on what your body responds to and what you can handle for life. I doubt I will log or count absolutely everything for the rest of my life. Right now I just want to be more in control and more superaware of what I'm doing. Overtime my changes will become habit. I think will always mentally calculate though. I even have this cool bracelet from dietbracelet.com that I want to buy when I reach closer to goal as a mental way to count but without the obsessiveness.

I've been very successful with counting calories. I am very strict, almost obsessive about it. For the most part, I don't put anything in my mouth unless I know how many calories it is and that it fits in my plan for the day.

The whole foods diet wasn't enough for me because, well, because I didn't really eat that unhealthily to begin with. My problem has never really been junk food, it's portion control. Turns out, you can get too much of a good thing. I know Oprah says no one ever got fat on carrots, but trust me, if anyone could, it would be me--LOL.

Same thing for intuitive eating. As a kid, I was skinny and was encouraged to eat large portions. My parents were big on cleaning your plate and I was rewarded for eating a lot of food. Now, as an adult, I don't feel full after normal portions. I also have the ridiculous fear that I'm not going to get enough to eat so my intuition is always telling me I need to take a bigger portion. I have to measure everything out so that I don't overeat. I often still feel a little hungry when I finish my meal (even though I am a very slow eater) but if I wait 20-30 minutes, I'll be fine. I also end up supplementing my meals with a high volume, low calorie foods (mainly veggies) so that I can have portion sizes that are a little bigger than normal. I guess I'm doing a combination of calorie counting, portion control, and volumetrics.

I love my carbs and I don't like meat so much, so low carb diets just weren't an option for me. The calorie counting has forced me to cut down on carbs a bit though.

I also couldn't do a diet with strict menu plans or that really restrict what I can eat. What I like about calorie counting is that I can pretty much eat whatever I want and plan my own menus, so long as I stay within my calorie limit. But some people don't like this because it is more work than just following a diet that someone had planned out for you.

Even though they weren't for me, all of these approaches are valid and people have had a lot of success with them. It's all a matter of figuring out what your particular issues are and then finding the diet that addresses them.

- Barbara

Well said.

I saw someone once advise to write down all your barriers/obstacles to weight loss, analyze them, and find and adopt new strategies for these specific problem areas.

This was one of my excercises AFTER I decided to choose calorie counting for more control and education about foods and portions. This isn't here to persuade you to adopt my strategies but to show you how a obstacle/strategy excercise might look and how you can potentially use it to reach your own conclusions about how to find a weight loss program to fit your needs.


My food experience is tied to my emotions.
Strategy: make a master list of foods including better cheat foods.
I’m impulsive.
Strategy: Remind myself I will have to include the choices in my food journal. Is it worth it?
I’m a lazy cook particularly since I eat many small meals.
Strategy: buy nutritious ready to eat snacks and precut foods. Make a master list of easy meals. Keep some of these snacks on the top floor (in bedroom/computer room).
I am out of the house a lot and tend to give into fast food.
Strategy: Carry some snacks with me whenever possible and learn what I can eat and what places I can eat out without blowing my plan.
I like chocolate.
Strategy: Find substitutes. I like 40 calorie sugar free fudgecicle, caramel and chocolate flavored sugar free Creamsavers (hard candy), and Russell Stover’s sugar free toffee squares. Indulge at TOM on a small bar if necessary to keep from feeling deprivation.
I’d rather drink soda.
Strategy: Alternate soda and water regularly so I don’t feel deprived. Use those crystal light on the go packets to flavor my water. Keep my fridge stocked with bottled water.
I don’t like to exercise.
Strategy: Get a gym buddy. Look into doing other things besides traditional exercise. Wear a pedometer. Log onto the presidential challenge website. Get out of my house. Find other things to do that aren't traditional gym excercises (like walking and touring a new town).
Giving up when I feel like I’m failing anyway.
Strategy: Have a range of goals instead of a specific one. Look at the scale going down generally instead of a specific number each week. Celebrate NSVs (non-scale victories). Look at it as a change of nutritional habits. Aim for progress not perfection.

Check out intuitive eating by searching those words. A couple of the gals have already alluded to that.

Calorie counting works well for me. I'm not one who can exclude certain foods or even entire food groups from my diet. Calorie counting allows me to eat any food I want (including sweets) as long as it fits in to the days calorie and fat intake quota. I take in about 1400 to 1500 per day (I also zig-zag so the weekends are higher), and try to keep my fat intake under 25%. Fitday helps me keep a tally.

I love calorie counting but I'm one of those planning people. I like to make a plan, reassess it after a while, fiddle with the possibilities ... ya know?

I'd also like to make an observation about "obsession". Weight loss is a life style change. If you moved into a new house ... it would feel like you were obsessed with that for the first while. When you start a new job ...