Check out this "expert" advise! "Counting calories is bad!"
menotyou56
Posts: 178 Member
7 eating habits you should drop now
By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD
Published December 18, 2014
Counting calories
Aside from the fact that the quality and timing of the calories you consume is critical for weight loss success, the practice of counting calories can backfire. One study found that even without limitations, calorie counting made women more stressed. Nobody wants that. Plus, an increase in stress can cause a spike in cortisol, a hormone known to rev up appetite, increase cravings for fatty and sugary foods, and up belly fat storage. Also, the calorie info available on packaged foods or on restaurant menus isn’t a perfect system. I’m not saying that calorie info is meaningless, but I do think there are more effective and less cumbersome ways to shed pounds.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/12/18/7-eating-habits-should-drop-now/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_384234
4 Downsides of Weight Loss Nobody Ever Tells You About
Posted: 02/25/2015 11:23 am EST
It's surprisingly easy to get obsessive. I started losing weight just by eating more intuitively and trying to forge a better connection with my body; I would listen carefully to my hunger and fullness signals and eat accordingly. Slowly, the pounds started coming off, and I felt healthy and happy about the way my body was changing. A few months later, I hit a plateau and started counting calories to break through it. That's when I stopped feeling healthy and happy and started feeling anxious, controlling, and obsessive instead. I spent way too much time frantically crunching numbers and feeling guilty and panicked when I'd gone over my daily allotment or eaten the "wrong" kind of food. I'm a pretty laid back person who had never really dieted before, so this obsessive streak came as a total surprise to me.
After talking to other friends who had lost weight, every single one of them said they'd experienced similar phases of obsession that had been hard to kick, even years later. If you're going to count calories, I highly recommend using it as a loose guideline to follow rather than a strict rule, and if you find yourself fixating on numbers, take a break and just listen to your body instead. Losing weight is never worth losing your sanity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ravishly/4-downsides-of-weight-loss-nobody-ever-tells-you_b_6733512.html
By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD
Published December 18, 2014
Counting calories
Aside from the fact that the quality and timing of the calories you consume is critical for weight loss success, the practice of counting calories can backfire. One study found that even without limitations, calorie counting made women more stressed. Nobody wants that. Plus, an increase in stress can cause a spike in cortisol, a hormone known to rev up appetite, increase cravings for fatty and sugary foods, and up belly fat storage. Also, the calorie info available on packaged foods or on restaurant menus isn’t a perfect system. I’m not saying that calorie info is meaningless, but I do think there are more effective and less cumbersome ways to shed pounds.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/12/18/7-eating-habits-should-drop-now/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_384234
4 Downsides of Weight Loss Nobody Ever Tells You About
Posted: 02/25/2015 11:23 am EST
It's surprisingly easy to get obsessive. I started losing weight just by eating more intuitively and trying to forge a better connection with my body; I would listen carefully to my hunger and fullness signals and eat accordingly. Slowly, the pounds started coming off, and I felt healthy and happy about the way my body was changing. A few months later, I hit a plateau and started counting calories to break through it. That's when I stopped feeling healthy and happy and started feeling anxious, controlling, and obsessive instead. I spent way too much time frantically crunching numbers and feeling guilty and panicked when I'd gone over my daily allotment or eaten the "wrong" kind of food. I'm a pretty laid back person who had never really dieted before, so this obsessive streak came as a total surprise to me.
After talking to other friends who had lost weight, every single one of them said they'd experienced similar phases of obsession that had been hard to kick, even years later. If you're going to count calories, I highly recommend using it as a loose guideline to follow rather than a strict rule, and if you find yourself fixating on numbers, take a break and just listen to your body instead. Losing weight is never worth losing your sanity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ravishly/4-downsides-of-weight-loss-nobody-ever-tells-you_b_6733512.html
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Nope. Not fair to paint us all with such broad strokes. I find calorie counting a positive way to enhance my health. I hear a lot of "strict" and "right/wrong" food language in that article. That can be a huge issue, i.e. demonizing foods and unnecessary rigidity--that's not the fault of calorie tracking.
Calorie tracking is a TOOL; how one uses it can make us successful and empowered or stressed, obsessed, and set-up to fail. It's harsh but true--it's user error.1 -
Lemme guess, they were eating <1200 calories? Eating lettuce and broccoli all day? Gotta love that they don't even mention which study - just "a study." Try eating 10-20% below your maintenance needs only, sure doesnt' cause all that much stress. Nor does eating things you love, just less of it.calorie counting made women more stressed.
I lost weight by "eating clean" and not tracking cals. Also had to work out 7+hrs a week. That's more cumbersome than just tracking my intake, yo. This way I don't have to cut out calorie-dense foods in order to eat intuitively, which is the only way eating intuitively has worked for me. And I'd rather track eating food I love than not track avoiding food I love.
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FauxNews...why am I not surprised.1
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Fox news. yeahhhh. right. Calorie counting is so much easier now that we have an app for that. I had to check what MPH stands for. I believe it is "Master in Public Health". RD is for Registered Dietitian.
My Registered Dietitian pointed me here. As I was scheduled for radical surgery, the only meaningful way she and I could have a conversation about what I was eating was to use a calorie diary. After surgery it became critical as I had to make sure I was eating enough daily to prevent complications.0 -
Being overweight or obese is much WORSE !!!1
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Calorie counting is the only thing that has ever worked for me, and I've tried just about everything else. So I personally don't care what this says. The Fox News article says some things that don't even make sense.
"quality and timing of the calories you consume is critical for weight loss"
I don't know what this means by "quality", and I also don't know why timing would matter. It doesn't explain, and it doesn't offer any scientific evidence to back up this claim.
And saying that calorie counting might cause you to gain weight because of stress? Lol. Now that's reaching.
In terms of the Huff Post article, of course I agree that it's not good to obsess over it, but it doesn't seem to me like most calorie counters are being obsessive. I don't obsess, and I don't freak out if I go over my goal sometimes. It doesn't have to be that serious. Also, if your weight loss plan is based on calorie counting, then there really is no "wrong" food. If you really want something, you can make it fit into your calorie budget. It's called moderation. If she chose to ban certain foods, then that was her decision.0 -
Fox News and Huffington Post? Yeah, no, not buying it. As others have said, Calorie Counting is a tool. It doesn't have to be any more stressful than learning how to apply any new skill, whether that be a new piece of software for work, cooking a complex recipe, or building a woodworking project. At first there may be some discomfort and anxiety but as time goes on, familiarity with the process will go up, the results will improve, and ultimately stress will decrease.
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Calorie tracking isn't stressful for me. Of course, I don't obsess about any aspect of it. And I'm fairly close to maintenance now, so I'm even more relaxed than I had been at one time. But it has never been a source of stress for me. I wonder what her ideas are for "more effective and less cumbersome ways to shed pounds."0
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Wow, a Registered Dietician wrote the Faux News article? smh0
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menotyou56 wrote: »Aside from the fact that the quality and timing of the calories you consume is critical for weight loss success
.......
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i totally agree with kruggeri's post. ive counted calories before to lose weight and its the only time the weight loss stuck or lasted more than a month. i've recently gotten back into it though to lose the last 20 and the first couple weeks there is some anxiety as i realize how many calories were in certain things i was eating, and just how many i could eat in one sitting. its a wake up call. and ya that can be unpleasant, but also needed0
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Fox news. yeahhhh. right. Calorie counting is so much easier now that we have an app for that. I had to check what MPH stands for. I believe it is "Master in Public Health". RD is for Registered Dietitian.
An MPH is a very highly regarded public health academic. It might not count for much in your world, but this person would have undertaken at least six years of academic study and research in the field of public health. A dietitian only understands diet and even then, they don't seem to have the answers!0 -
I find calorie counting useful. I'm not sure if is something I want to do forever but for now it's a tool I am finding to be effective. Everyone is going to have an opinion on what works and what doesn't. I go with what works for ME!0
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It can be bad for a lot of people...I see the bad everyday here on MFP with a lot of people.0
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Yes, calorie counting can become an obsession and stressful for some people. But I have a speedometer on my car to tell me when I'm going too fast. It's just a measurement system to help me get to where I want to get to safely. What I've noticed is that I mostly eat quite well. By counting calories, I'm becoming more aware of which foods pack the most calories in me, and making choices more intelligently. I'm trying to use my calorie counting as a basis of developing better habits, not as a new source of stress.0
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I have seen some people get really obsessive (shaving food down to the last gram for accuracy), but by and large I believe that's a small minority. I find calorie counting very liberating! It gives me something tangible to use in conjunction with "eat what you want, just less of it".0
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The source is Fox News. Need I say more?0
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ive always believed that counting calories is not THE ONLY way to loose. look up Jonathan Bailor's Book " The Calorie Myth"
basically our bodies do not work like simple math (calories in, calories out) we cant put a number of how much food we should eat. All of us are different and burn calories differently. this one system of eating 1200 per day cant work for everyone.
I Urge you all just to watch his short video, i eat all the food i love and im not limited to "eating clean" I wasnt put on this earth to never eat things that actually taste good, i add butter and FLAVOR to my food, i just choose my foods wisely.
I definitely believe that we should eat more to loose more, not eat less and exercise more? that doesnt make sense. If we are exercising more we must fuel our bodies more.
http://sanesolution.com/
He makes a good point but I actually follow Mark Sission from www.Marksdailyapple.com he encourages eating a high fat diet which is what I do and it works... and im not starving. feel free to add me.0 -
Maybe if you get stressed by counting/using simple maths you need to do something with your life so you can see what stress really is.
why is it one way or another, never both. Do a study and find a group doesn't find a method helpful, must mean it's not helpful for anyone. That makes perfect sense.
There will never be one method to suit all people. There just seems to be this swing back and forth, carbs are bad, protein is bad, carbs are good, counting is bad, carbs are bad again, back and forth, around in circles.
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Maybe if you get stressed by counting/using simple maths you need to do something with your life so you can see what stress really is.
why is it one way or another, never both. Do a study and find a group doesn't find a method helpful, must mean it's not helpful for anyone. That makes perfect sense.
There will never be one method to suit all people. There just seems to be this swing back and forth, carbs are bad, protein is bad, carbs are good, counting is bad, carbs are bad again, back and forth, around in circles.
Hahahahaaa, this is gold! So true.
Know what I find stressful? Not fitting into my favorite pair of skinny jeans. Not knowing if that slice of cheesecake is going straight to my @ss or not. Looking like crap in a bikini, or watching the scale number climb.
Taking three whole minutes per meal to log what I've eaten and make sure I'm under goal?!? *Gasp!* Why isn't my hair falling out from the stress??!!??
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Fox News? And that first sentence? Yeah, not even buying that.0
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Well, *kitten*. I've been doing it wrong. Guess this 50 pounds was just a fluke.
*sigh*
Someone pass me a cleanse and a timed meal plan, please.0 -
natacha305 wrote: »ive always believed that counting calories is not THE ONLY way to loose. look up Jonathan Bailor's Book " The Calorie Myth"
basically our bodies do not work like simple math (calories in, calories out) we cant put a number of how much food we should eat. All of us are different and burn calories differently. this one system of eating 1200 per day cant work for everyone.
I Urge you all just to watch his short video, i eat all the food i love and im not limited to "eating clean" I wasnt put on this earth to never eat things that actually taste good, i add butter and FLAVOR to my food, i just choose my foods wisely.
I definitely believe that we should eat more to loose more, not eat less and exercise more? that doesnt make sense. If we are exercising more we must fuel our bodies more.
http://sanesolution.com/
He makes a good point but I actually follow Mark Sission from www.Marksdailyapple.com he encourages eating a high fat diet which is what I do and it works... and im not starving. feel free to add me.
I count calories and I eat 2100 calories for weight loss. No one is forcing anyone to eat only 1200 calories a day or to choose to lose 2lb/week. Our bodies ARE all just running off of basic math, and that is why calculators are estimates and the calorie goal is to be adjusted based off of your activity level and real-world results.
I'd rather keep eating as I do now, meaning eating in moderation, and be aware of how different types of food affect my caloric balance so taht I can be prepared to change how much I eat when my activity levels change or weight changes.
The reason you've lost weight eating a LCHF diet is because you are engaging in calorie restriction without meaning to. That's how I lost weight "eating clean" years ago, but it didn't stick. Also had to work out 6-7hrs a week, when I didn't I'd gain back ~15lbs of the 45+ I'd lost.
ETA I also eat all the food I love, but I'm not limited to eating low carb. i LOVE carbs. Your method is simply a different type of restriction based on macros and food type as opposed to good vs bad/evil vs not-evil/healthy vs not healthy.
Also find it amusing that your calorie goal is still pretty low (and painfully low carb).... and that you are still tracking calories. In the end it's all about calories for weight loss, and you have days where your average is super low, some days it's more reasonable or excessive, so it all balances out to being below your maintenance needs. You aren't losing because of waht you do and don't eat.0 -
Lol, don't count your calories. Don't look at the food you put in your mouth. Right, ug! Oh and btw don't bother counting your steps or monitoring your heart rate either. Yeah, heaven forbid we take control of our health. Fox news wouldn't have any advertisers left then, would they? Huffington Post for that matter either.0
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It's important to know that there are many ways to lose weight successfully. Calorie counting works for a lot of people. It doesn't work for me because the controling and regimented aspect of it triggers me to binge (clinical binge eating, not just overeating). I have lost 120 pounds, with only a few of those pounds lost (and regained) thanks to calorie counting. It has taken years of changing habits, learning portion control, and behavior modification, but now I have a much better sense of when I have eaten "too much" or "too little" depending on my needs for fuel. Isn't that what we all want eventually? To not have to be "on a diet" for the rest of our lives?0
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rebekahzinn1 wrote: »It's important to know that there are many ways to lose weight successfully. Calorie counting works for a lot of people. It doesn't work for me because the controling and regimented aspect of it triggers me to binge (clinical binge eating, not just overeating). I have lost 120 pounds, with only a few of those pounds lost (and regained) thanks to calorie counting. It has taken years of changing habits, learning portion control, and behavior modification, but now I have a much better sense of when I have eaten "too much" or "too little" depending on my needs for fuel. Isn't that what we all want eventually? To not have to be "on a diet" for the rest of our lives?
I've never been on a diet in the sense of cutting out foods to be able to lose weight, but yes my goal is not to always be in a state of trying to lose weight. I do have plans to go on bulk/cut cycles though, so regularly tracking my caloric intake is far more beneficial to me than trying to re-learn every time how I should feel when I've consumed enough. This just takes all the guesswork, guilt, etc out of it. I can eat what I want within my goals and I'm golden!0 -
I started counting calories 10 days ago and I've had zero stress from counting calories so far. It's done the complete opposite for me. Every day I'm under my daily calorie needs and I see the numbers it makes me feel happy that I was able to achieve my goal. It's good to visually see progress every day you are able to stay under your calorie needs.0
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Yes counting calories is bad.........for the "diet" industry. It doesn't require you to buy someones cherry-picked pseudoscience book, it doesn't promise magic in pill or bottle etc.0
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