...a Gabe pulls out her wings.

For serious. I love my family and my friends; they've all been super supportive, and awesome, and I wouldn't trade them for all the quatloos on Triskelion, but heck if they just sometimes don't understand what it is that I'm doing. And since I can't lose it on them (you know, because of decency and social mores and stuff), here I am, in the forums, venting.

I straight up calorie count. I mean, I try to be healthy-ish overall, but my only rule is calories. I've lost a hundred and thirty three pounds so far with almost no pain or deprivation. If the proof is in the pudding, then I'm Bill-freakin'-Cosby, all right? All right.

Man, I could totally eat some pudding right now. But I digress.

The first annoyance is my sister, who, again, has been super supportive, and I love her. But she's never really had a problem with her weight. Heck, when she was in high school, she had to deliberately gain weight. I have never had that problem. So, when I go to visit her, and she wants to go out for breakfast, she doesn't seem to understand my thought process.

"Oh, they have granola!" Yes, because granola is well-known for not being totally filled with calories. And it's also crack. She'll also recommend avocados and fried fake sausage. It's like she looks at something, sees that it's healthy, and then immediately determines that it's something I can easily eat. Calories don't count or her; only naturalness does. And it's hard to explain that, no, I'm simplifying it to one number.

Same with my friends. One of them is starting the weight loss journey herself, except she has way less to lose. She's kind of doing the calories thing. Sort of. Except she's also doing the natural foods thing with it, which makes it about seven billion times harder. Which is fine, except that whenever I talk about it, I feel like the unhealthiest person in the world. Because my lunch is sometimes cheese and crackers, and I've been known to save room for coffee.

Another one of my friends isn't doing a weight loss thing, but upon hearing what I've had today immediately goes, "OMG, you need more protein!" I'll admit, an Atkins follower I am not. But my day starts with a Greek yogurt, progresses into (for instance) some goat cheese on crackers, and ends with a sandwich that has both chicken and cheese on it. I mean, there are still plenty of carbs, but there's also some protein in there. Just based on my quick calculations, I'm totally meeting these guidelines. And I hate her a little bit for making me do math to prove it, because I don't like to do math. Unless it's counting calories.

Fortunately, my mom seems to get it, and so do a couple of other friends (one of whom is doing his own journey! ). But, man, when people don't get calorie counting, they really don't get it.

I agree. Calorie Counting is just one form of moderation.

I too TRY to make healthy choices - but moderation is the key and it is better to eat something that will satisfy me both physically and emotionally. So in my mind it is better to feel good about your diet rather than deprived.

The only time I eat something that is good for you with a high caloric value is when I am not hungry at all but I need to fill in calories at the end of the day - like almonds. But an ounce of almonds does not fill me up when my stomach is growling.

Vent away Gabe. That is what this place is for.

I really think it confuses people. It makes it simple for you and I b/c the math makes sense but some people don't like to play the numbers game. I feel you though, mention a calorie and some people look at you like you're using profanity.

I totally understand what you are talking about!!!!

I have a group of friends right now that I know through meetup. A lot of our meetups are centered around food. Since I've been calorie counting, I've declined all of our meetups which involve restaurants and potlucks. One of my friends CONTINUES to invite me, week after week, to dinner out at <insert restaurant here> or potluck at <person's house>. And these restaurants are usually local mom and pop eateries - where nutrition information is not readily available. And since the group has quite a few foodies, the restaurants aren't usually "Sally's Super Salads"...lol.

It's making me feel bad because I keep declining her invites, but she knows what I'm trying to do in terms of my weight loss - so at some point I am hoping she stops asking!

HAHA, a Trekkie

sorry double post

I totally understand. I have someone in my life who is always trying to get me to eat things that are "healthy" but obviously high in calories. She say, "This fancy sandwich has olive oil coated bread with herbs, sauteed veggies (in more oil), and melted cheese. It is so good and the ingredients are good for you." I'm thinking, sure veggies and olive oil are good for you, but that overloaded oil-drenched sandwich is so full of calories. I'm not eating it (unless I was into sandwiches, but I'm not). I'm counting calories based on meal allowances, with occasional exceptions that I plan for in advance. I don't like keeping a food diary or obsessing over what I eat. Now I just focus on each meal that I eat, focusing on my calorie goals that individual meal. For example, I keep my breakfast under 250 calories, which is usually not hard for me. Today I ate 160 calories. I'll usually make up the calories with a snack.

Your post was great. It made me click on your blog link. I wanted to read more about your journey! Sadly, I can't access your blog at work.

I just wanted to post to let you know that I do feel you. I haven't had a lot of negative comments, but I've shut down loved ones rather quickly when I hear "Are you supposed to eat that?" *sigh*

I calorie count because I do not believe in 'forbidding' myself any food. There is no way I can do that long term. It's working for me, that's all that matters.

I definitely empathize....I calorie count and I am vigilant about it. Every morsel. If I don't do it this way, I won't lose weight, it's that simple this is what works for me. And I am really enjoying my journey this time.

I am always amazed at how everyone has an opinion about this, that I should consider other methods of weight loss instead;, WW is better, or atkins would be better, etc. I am losing 1.3 lbs a week on average, which to me is awesome. I'm doing it the right way because the scale shows the numbers going down, and not in drastic fashion. How on earth is that wrong?!?

I had a cookies and cream milkshake and four fried chicken nuggets for lunch. I know exactly how many calories were in my meal, and I can keep it within plan, and it made me happy, and I don't feel a lick of guilt about choosing it over, say, an avocado/olive oil/sparkly-antioxidant salad. That's what I love about calorie counting...and that's why I take a multivitamin.

I figure I'll work on the health foods when I'm not so pudgy that a long flight of stairs inspires trembling. Anyway, I just looked up the nutrition info on that milkshake to make sure it wasn't way higher than I thought...and it turns out my luxury lunch was probably the most protein I've had in days. And calcium...yay calcium!

(And you're right about granola being crack.)

That's exactly how I am--I need to be able to have the things that I like without it being off plan. Calorie counting's the only way for me to do it. And I'm actually updating my blog again, so woot.

And, Nibbles, yeah, exactly. I take a multivitamin every morning because I'll go absolutely nuts if I feel like I have to worry about every single little thing that I'm supposed to be eating. And, hey, I can have the occasional dinner of tortilla chips and salsa, and it's still on-plan!

Also, regarding being a Trekkie? Guilty as charged. The marriage didn't stick, but my ex's love of Star Trek sure did. Le sigh.

Yeah. Same here. I've been going down about two-ish pounds a week, and I just get so freakin' mad when people talk to me like I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not saying I'm perfect (and there's a big ol' line of people who'll agree with me on that!), but what I'm doing seems to be working for me, so .

OH MY GOD I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY.

I seriously am going to punch someone in the face the next time they question anything I want to eat. If I don't post for a while it's because I'm in jail or something. Just so you guys know

I just died laughing reading this...

Me too!

Looking around, we've all lost quite a bit of weight. It's so interesting that we all have this happen. Do they think we just goofed up and dropped all this weight by accident?

Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock ;-)