Clean Eating vs. Calorie Counting

roro73

I got on the scale this morning (after two days of "cheating") and I'm back to the weight I was when I first started tracking in December...almost a year ago!! It's time for me to be really honest with myself here and I'm making it public for accountability purposes.

I have been really struggling with the clean eating vs. calorie counting thing. I was steadily losing weight when I was a strict calorie counter and not focussed on good foods vs. bad foods or "cheat" meals. I was pretty good at staying around my calorie target even if I had a slice of pizza or a donut or something. When I became a beachbody coach it was my first real introduction to clean eating. Don't get me wrong, my body feels 100% better when I eat whole, natural foods so you'd think I'd want to do that all the time right? But what happens is I go on these extreme plans during the week and tell myself I'm going to be "good" and just allow one "cheat" meal. One meal on a Friday night turns into an entire weekend of binging. Hence my weigh in this morning. It's most likely water and I'll drop 4-6lbs this week, then once the weekend hits I'll rinse and repeat. And the thing is, I workout like a beast. I'm on my 4th week of P90X and because of my nutrition and this horrible cycle I'm not losing a thing...why would I do that to myself??

Today I've decided to stop this crazy mental cycle and just start tracking again. No matter what it is. No food is off limits...I just have to count it. And instead of setting my target as my TDEE, I've reset my calorie goal to the basic setting and I will actually track the calories I'm burning every day. I'm hoping that by taking this approach I will want to eat foods that fuel my body (fruits, veggies, lean meats etc) instead of candy, pizza, donuts but I'm giving myself permission to eat whatever I want as long as I stay within my calories.

Does anybody else struggle with this? A certain way of eating vs. counting calories (does't have to be clean eating, maybe it's low carb or a certain diet plan)??

BigGuy47

roro73 wrote: »

Today I've decided to stop this crazy mental cycle and just start tracking again.

I think this is a good plan. Keep it simple.

penny0919

I am the total opposite. I love these forums but I've never been able to keep up with calorie counting. I've lost weight twice in my life by following the south beach diet (basically low carb for the first two weeks with reintroducing whole grains and fruit after that). I gained weight with three pregnancies and will binge on sugar when stressed. Otherwise I've been able to maintain my weight this way for 8+ years.

onefortyone

I am a big fan of calorie counting and eating 'whatever I want'. I hated veggies as a child/teen but having the freedom to decide what to eat allows me to try new veggies, new ways of preparing them, and now I have a decent repertoire of recipes. I also like being able to eat Wendy's and step on the scale next day and weigh the same or less than the day before.

Counting calories has other benefits too - it is allowing me to combat my emotional eating, which got really out of control after my daughter's death. It is letting me choose exactly what to eat, but making ME in charge of the quantity. I'm not going cold-turkey from anything, so I have to stay mindful, and it is making me feel so much stronger and more in control than I have ever felt around food.

I do think you can find your own healthy balance of clean eating and enjoying treats for your body to feel better, but I would always recommend the benefits of calorie counting

brewinggirl_butskinnier

BigGuy47 wrote: »

roro73 wrote: »

Today I've decided to stop this crazy mental cycle and just start tracking again.

I think this is a good plan. Keep it simple.

Agreed.
I pretty typically cook from scratch so most things are relatively healthy. Guess what...too much food makes you gain weight whether it's healthy food or not. And I have never been able to out train too many calories.

SLLRunner

roro73 wrote: »

I got on the scale this morning (after two days of "cheating") and I'm back to the weight I was when I first started tracking in December...almost a year ago!! It's time for me to be really honest with myself here and I'm making it public for accountability purposes.

I have been really struggling with the clean eating vs. calorie counting thing. I was steadily losing weight when I was a strict calorie counter and not focussed on good foods vs. bad foods or "cheat" meals. I was pretty good at staying around my calorie target even if I had a slice of pizza or a donut or something. When I became a beachbody coach it was my first real introduction to clean eating. Don't get me wrong, my body feels 100% better when I eat whole, natural foods so you'd think I'd want to do that all the time right? But what happens is I go on these extreme plans during the week and tell myself I'm going to be "good" and just allow one "cheat" meal. One meal on a Friday night turns into an entire weekend of binging. Hence my weigh in this morning. It's most likely water and I'll drop 4-6lbs this week, then once the weekend hits I'll rinse and repeat. And the thing is, I workout like a beast. I'm on my 4th week of P90X and because of my nutrition and this horrible cycle I'm not losing a thing...why would I do that to myself??

Today I've decided to stop this crazy mental cycle and just start tracking again. No matter what it is. No food is off limits...I just have to count it. And instead of setting my target as my TDEE, I've reset my calorie goal to the basic setting and I will actually track the calories I'm burning every day. I'm hoping that by taking this approach I will want to eat foods that fuel my body (fruits, veggies, lean meats etc) instead of candy, pizza, donuts but I'm giving myself permission to eat whatever I want as long as I stay within my calories.

Does anybody else struggle with this? A certain way of eating vs. counting calories (does't have to be clean eating, maybe it's low carb or a certain diet plan)??

Losing weight is about being aware of how much we are eating and not what we choose to eat. We can get fat on 100% whole natural foods, just as we can lose weight on 100% processed foods.

Weight loss is calories in/calories out.

Food choice is based on what we like to eat and what we feel works best for us individually.

I support you on getting back on the plan that you feel is best for you. You can do this!