I agree with you,Wannabeskinny. It is one thing to seek advice and get support, but in the end each person has to find what works.
Obviously, it is calories in and calories out, but there are many ways to get the right balance. I love reading all the things that people post here that have worked to help them, but I hate it when people preach their own path to the exclusion of others.
"Calorie counting" is useless unless you eat an very excessive amount of calories a day, like 3600+. Instead, I count cholesterol, sodium content, and saturated fat--just look at the labels when you go shopping
right... im a calorie counter and ive lost 40 lb, and if you go in that forum you'll see tons of women who have lost double or triple that. nothing is "useless". different things just work for different people.
Last edited by juliastl27; 08-21-2009 at 02:37 PM.
"Calorie counting" is useless unless you eat an very excessive amount of calories a day, like 3600+. Instead, I count cholesterol, sodium content, and saturated fat--just look at the labels when you go shopping
If you are eating 3600 calories a day, you know you're in trouble. But calorie counting is most important when you are eating just a little to a moderate amount beyond what you need. That is when calories really count.
As to calorie counting comment, I didn't mean to offend anyone! :O calm down. It is an archaic way of losing weight and while some doctors recommend it, others say avoid it completely. All of my doctors, and a couple of nutritionists, have told me there is very little point in counting calories.
If you ate 1600 calories a day, you've counted the correct amount for your diet, but what if all those calories are from fats and cholesterol? Maybe you lose weight but you're dooming your arteries. And what about when you reach your goal and you stop counting calories? Very few people plan to chart and log their meals for the rest of their lives.
If you are eating the right foods and and in sensible portions, there is no need to "count calories". People have been staying healthy and even losing weight for centuries before they knew what calories were. It's better (and less time-consuming) to avoid eating excessively and avoid foods high in sugar/fats.
But like you mentioned, different things work for different people. If you want to count, by all means go ahead was just trying to give the lady some advice.
As to calorie counting comment, I didn't mean to offend anyone! :O calm down. It is an archaic way of losing weight and while some doctors recommend it, others say avoid it completely. All of my doctors, and a couple of nutritionists, have told me there is very little point in counting calories.
If you ate 1600 calories a day, you've counted the correct amount for your diet, but what if all those calories are from fats and cholesterol? Maybe you lose weight but you're dooming your arteries. And what about when you reach your goal and you stop counting calories? Very few people plan to chart and log their meals for the rest of their lives.
If you are eating the right foods and and in sensible portions, there is no need to "count calories". People have been staying healthy and even losing weight for centuries before they knew what calories were. It's better (and less time-consuming) to avoid eating excessively and avoid foods high in sugar/fats.
But like you mentioned, different things work for different people. If you want to count, by all means go ahead was just trying to give the lady some advice.
the problem here is that "right foods" and "sensible portions" are all relative terms. this reminds me of a post a made recently where someone called calorie counting "retro" when i told them thats what i was doing. i could just as easily call other diets "fads". i dont, because i know that what works for some people doesnt work for others. people get prickly when you attack something that has worked for them and make outrageous claims about how it works.
archaic or not, making sure you're using more calories than youre putting in is basic logic. as far as what you said, most of us are trying to get the most for our calories by eating good foods, but even if we didnt...
lets say i had been eating 2500 calories a day. even if i decide to only eat 1000, and i eat 3 snickers bars and one soda a day, im STILL going to lose weight. im probably going to feel hungry and sick all the time, but taking in less calories than you expend = weight loss, no matter what form they're in.
As to calorie counting comment, I didn't mean to offend anyone! :O calm down. It is an archaic way of losing weight and while some doctors recommend it, others say avoid it completely. All of my doctors, and a couple of nutritionists, have told me there is very little point in counting calories.
If you ate 1600 calories a day, you've counted the correct amount for your diet, but what if all those calories are from fats and cholesterol? Maybe you lose weight but you're dooming your arteries. And what about when you reach your goal and you stop counting calories? Very few people plan to chart and log their meals for the rest of their lives.
If you are eating the right foods and and in sensible portions, there is no need to "count calories". People have been staying healthy and even losing weight for centuries before they knew what calories were. It's better (and less time-consuming) to avoid eating excessively and avoid foods high in sugar/fats.
But like you mentioned, different things work for different people. If you want to count, by all means go ahead was just trying to give the lady some advice.
I think the point is that you're assuming a few things and generalizing something like calorie counting, which is a method and tool for many people to help guide them into a healthy lifestyle. Also not every single calorie counter logs every bite they take. My point is there are few methods to counting calories and not just "one way" just like in life style changes, there isn't one way.
Healthy eating is just that, healthy eating. I find that you are assuming that people who count calories are robots, just counting numbers. I mean these people are not rolling around in vats of lard and cheese and dooming their arteries. They are looking at healthier options, using the calorie counting in order to help them maintain a average daily calorie intake. Meaning, they are saying okay, for this meal I can have this many calories. What can I eat that is healthy for me and going to fill me up and make me not overeat? They are just using a method in addition to, hopefully , looking at OTHER bits of nutritional information.
I think when you are saying that your doctors said this and that in addition to that you also say that this method is "useless" "archaic" and has "little point." You honestly can't expect that people may not be offended by those comments.
While I don't personally find your comments offensive to me, I do think it is amusing that the thread is about a woman who is tired of the opinionated people around her who think their way is "right" and she felt she was being talked down to, assuming from the title of the thread. Now if you count calories you're retro, archaic, doing something pointless and useless because so and so's doctors said so. etc... I also do agree with you on a few points, but some of your wording seems to attack people who choose to count calories. That might just be my take on it though!
Quote:
UGH, isnt that the truth. no matter how successful you've been, seems like almost everyone (whether theyre fat, thin, fit, or have never successfully lost weight in their lives) wants to tell you about what you're doing wrong. everyone has their "2 cents" so to speak, and its almost like they cant stand NOT saying it. just ignore them. no matter what plan you're on someone will be telling you to do this or that.
She said it best...
By the way I don't count calories, but in the beginning I did. I needed to learn how to pay attention to the calories, fat, sodium, and more, but I'm at a point in my journey where I am living my life style my way. I do pay attention to my calories though as that works for me. I'm pretty mellow..maybe too mellow...hmmms.
Last edited by Jacquie668; 09-13-2009 at 10:47 PM.
I do think it is amusing that the thread is about a woman who is tired of the opinionated people around her who think their way is "right" and she felt she was being talked down to, assuming from the title of the thread. Now if you count calories you're retro, archaic, doing something pointless and useless because so and so's doctors said so. etc...
As to calorie counting comment, I didn't mean to offend anyone! :O calm down. It is an archaic way of losing weight and while some doctors recommend it, others say avoid it completely. All of my doctors, and a couple of nutritionists, have told me there is very little point in counting calories.
Did they give you a reason why there's no point in counting calories?
If you ate 1600 calories a day, you've counted the correct amount for your diet, but what if all those calories are from fats and cholesterol? Maybe you lose weight but you're dooming your arteries. And what about when you reach your goal and you stop counting calories? Very few people plan to chart and log their meals for the rest of their lives.
I do! Maybe not as meticulously as I do now, but I plan on always and forever being aware of the nutritional value of everything I put in my mouth. I have committed myself on learning about food and that includes portions, calories, fat, sugar, salt, etc. No calorie counter is going to argue that 1600 calories that come from fast food vs.1600 that come from healthy foods is equal. None of us are stupid enough to think that, dieters are not all dumb blobs hoping for an easy way out.
If you are eating the right foods and and in sensible portions, there is no need to "count calories". People have been staying healthy and even losing weight for centuries before they knew what calories were. It's better (and less time-consuming) to avoid eating excessively and avoid foods high in sugar/fats.
If I don't make time for this then what good is the time that I have? What better things can I spend my time on than solidifying my knowledge about my diet? If I don't do that for myself then who will? Will you take the time to reteach my body how to eat sensibly? I think not. What is a "sensible portion" anyway? Explain that to a binger who has trained herself all her life that a sensible portion is eating until you feel physically ill and sedated. How am I supposed to figure that out without some kind of guidelines? I don't have the "portion control" police around me to help me figure that out, I only have calories, carbs, sugar, and fat content to help me. I've heard this "sensible portion" bit before and while it sounds normal and healthy it's something my body does not recognize yet. Thankfully by counting calories I now know what a sensible amount of chicken breast is, a sensible amount of oil, a sensible amount of nuts, etc.
But like you mentioned, different things work for different people. If you want to count, by all means go ahead was just trying to give the lady some advice.
All advice is appreciated, but it's a little impolite to tell people that what they're doing is useless and pointless, especially since the OP was about criticism about her diet in the first place.
This is a great example of how everyone needs to know what is the best method for their OWN bodies.
Actually, I started by religious calorie-counting. After a few years (2?) of maintaining, I was able to do it without calorie-counting (eventually, when maintaining, you will be able to judge this accurately and easily through repetition). Now, for the past year, I have been calorie-counting AGAIN because I do a lot of heavy weight training and need to make sure I eat enough food (and ratios of protein/fat/carbs). That's 3 different methods in 5 years for me.
Like we always recommend on 3FC - take STEPS towards a healthy lifestyle in order to make it last. If were were all born dieticians and knew how to do it in the first place, I'm not sure anyone would be here?
Perhaps ... Vanilla might have meant to say that evidence is building that a calorie is only a calorie inside the laboratory, and that as our ability to measure what's going on inside the body is advancing, so is our knowledge that truly, everyone's body treats food differently. Cutting-edge nutrition is moving down into our DNA (nutrigenomics) to tease apart the puzzle of why some people's cells convert fats at 80% efficiency, and others at 95%. Why some foods accelerate one person's aging, and others do not. But until the day comes that we can walk into a lab, give blood, and get a personalized printout of exactly what our optimum diet needs to be ... it's going to continue to be trial and error. I know I've made my share of trials, complete with plenty of error ... and what works for me certainly doesn't fit many of the acceptable modes. If the OP has something that works for her - CONGRATS!!!! Woohoo!
Loved the Times article. It was great. I am so hungry after I work out. I completely destroy any good I have done. I am concentrating on the food and portions and plan on adding back in the exercise after I get my portions under control. I am willing to wait a little longer to lose more in the end.
, looking at OTHER bits of nutritional information. 
I also do agree with you on a few points, but some of your wording seems to attack people who choose to count calories. That might just be my take on it though!
