why do calories not count on low carb?
karirenae
Posts: 106 Member
I have a desk job, so im sitting all day. my TDEE supposedly like 1700 ish and im eating that at least but usually under 20g.. so how am I still losing without technically losing any weight? How does it work?!
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Calories do count.
I count calories and eat low carb
145 lbs of fat lost.
Counted calories all the way.
There are some inefficiencies in the burning of body fat to get glucose from
What I understand but I don't think anyone says calories don't matter.
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Calories count for me. Most days I am satisfied and under my 1900 calorie goal, but some days I feel like I could eat a horse.3
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I say calories don't matter.
At least, you don't need to count or intentionally restrict them.
I am at Disney right now, so I can't get into explaining it in depth at the moment. The short answer is that you don't get to choose how your body allocates calorie usage, so attempting to control it by limiting your intake artificially is just causing unneeded stress and making things harder on yourself.3 -
They do count, but low carb tends to make people less hungry, thus you don't have to necessarily count calories. If you don't eat when you're really hungry your body has a stress response, releasing cortisol, which makes it harder to lose weight. Each body has a natural ideal weight(more like an ideal range probably) that it wants to be in, so if you're in tune with your bodies hunger/lack there of signals you will eventually return to that range as long as you remain mindful of eating only when you're actually hungry and not for emotional/other reasons.7
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sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »They do count, but low carb tends to make people less hungry, thus you don't have to necessarily count calories. If you don't eat when you're really hungry your body has a stress response, releasing cortisol, which makes it harder to lose weight. Each body has a natural ideal weight(more like an ideal range probably) that it wants to be in, so if you're in tune with your bodies hunger/lack there of signals you will eventually return to that range as long as you remain mindful of eating only when you're actually hungry and not for emotional/other reasons.
Interesting bit about cortisol
I know I do like a piece of steak at times
Nothing else will do.1 -
They count, but I find that when eating LCHF I am most often under my calorie goal. The high carb things I used to eat had to be watched closely for calorie count or else I would go over my calorie goals.1
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sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »They do count, but low carb tends to make people less hungry, thus you don't have to necessarily count calories. If you don't eat when you're really hungry your body has a stress response, releasing cortisol, which makes it harder to lose weight. Each body has a natural ideal weight(more like an ideal range probably) that it wants to be in, so if you're in tune with your bodies hunger/lack there of signals you will eventually return to that range as long as you remain mindful of eating only when you're actually hungry and not for emotional/other reasons.
While I have the same question/experience as @karirenae your post does help. Thanks
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Calories definitely do count. Keto is NOT MAGIC despite what some people will tell you. The idea that you don't need to count calories is based on the theory that you will be less hungry and naturally eat at a deficit on low carb. This is true for some people. Not true for alot of people. Fat is very high in calories. If you eat what you would think is a "normal sized" meal that is high in fat you are almost definitely going to be eating too many calories. It's the most common reason people give up on eating low carb. The whole "I'm only eating 20g carbs a day and I'm not losing weight, this diet doesn't work". I can eat 20g carbs a day and still consume 3000 cals if I don't track. There's no way I'm losing weight on 3000 cals a day.5
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They definitely count! But I quickly found that the majority of my calories were coming from hig carb foods. Once I cut those out, I am actually having to make up some calories at the end of the day.4
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EbonyDahlia wrote: »Calories definitely do count. Keto is NOT MAGIC despite what some people will tell you. The idea that you don't need to count calories is based on the theory that you will be less hungry and naturally eat at a deficit on low carb. This is true for some people. Not true for alot of people. Fat is very high in calories. If you eat what you would think is a "normal sized" meal that is high in fat you are almost definitely going to be eating too many calories. It's the most common reason people give up on eating low carb. The whole "I'm only eating 20g carbs a day and I'm not losing weight, this diet doesn't work". I can eat 20g carbs a day and still consume 3000 cals if I don't track. There's no way I'm losing weight on 3000 cals a day.[/quote
This x1002 -
Most people who talk about eating 3000+ calories a day, and how it's easy to do on low-carb, don't actually eat 3000+ calories a day. It's significantly more difficult than people give it credit for. I've tried to average really massive amounts of calories (primarily to test the possibility of gaining weight without carbs), and it just becomes a chore. While anyone can eat over 3000 calories in a single day, doing it day after day just won't happen without effort (or a huge TDEE that justifies that intake). I think the longest I've made it eating 4,000 calories a day was for just under a week. And, the last few days were absolutely miserable. The last thing I wanted to do was think about food, even worse was eating it.
Fat is very calorie dense, but that doesn't make it easy to consume. About the only way I can make large amounts of fat easy to consume is to mix in some artificial sweeteners (which is one reason I am anti-AS and most fat-bombs). How many people here have consumed a whole cup of plain heavy cream in a sitting? How about drank a whole stick of melted unsalted butter? I'm willing to bet that I'm the only one with my hand raised. Both those are about 800 calories of pure fat. In both cases, you could not have paid me $1,000 to consume another cup/stick right after. And, I didn't want to eat anything or even think of food for hours.
I am sure there are people who over-eat and don't lose weight, at first or for brief periods of time. But, that's nearly always temporary and doesn't result in weight gain unless you were extremely malnourished going into it. Others are convinced they need to count because they don't trust their own body's signals. Maybe the signals are messed up because of years of poor nutrition and hormones and don't work right. Of course, you only delay the healing and correction of those issues by not allowing the body ample nutrition and opportunity to recalibrate. At their core, the vast majority of low-carb programs do not include calorie counting in any way. Most of them only recommend further carb restriction (all the way down to zero) for those who aren't losing weight.
Calories exist. Your body will have to do something with all the calories you consume and remove from fat stores, if you're going to lose weight. But, you have no real way of knowing how many calories your body will burn through each day. Will someone gain weight eating 6,000 calories a day for an extended period of time? Probably. Could an obese person accidentally eat enough (because they didn't count their calories) to gain weight? That I would like to see happen.5 -
I think this style of eating tends to focus on meeting your macros first, calorie intake second. So while I definitely agree that calories count, the main goal should be to meet the proper macros (and calories should then pretty much fall into place). I'm still trying to find my sweet spot for macros so I can easily be more consistent, but I don't completely ignore calories.2
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Actually I have consumed a whole cup of heavy cream in a sitting, and still munched through a whole bag of porkrinds after....4
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It is a funny thing the way low carb works on appetite
I may eat nothing till 2:00 then eat cuz I need to feed the machine
And eat a pound hunk of ribeye
Still that is under 1600 calories
I do count calories
But I don't often get close
If I get a 20+ mile ride in it does not get close without work1 -
sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »Actually I have consumed a whole cup of heavy cream in a sitting, and still munched through a whole bag of porkrinds after....
Plain heavy cream? The second time I did it, I had to sweeten it just to make it tolerable. How were your total calories that day? How many days in a row did you manage to eat well beyond your TDEE?
I am not saying it is impossible to eat after consuming that much, just that is gets rapidly unappealing. Especially if you've been at or above your calories the previous day(s). I was trying to hit over 4000 calories those days (well, except one time when I just wanted a cup of butter) and can tell you the thought of another cup/stick is just disgusting.
Pork rinds with melted butter... that I could totally do!1 -
All this talk has made me sort of want a big cup of heavy cream. Lol
Of course, the reality is less fun than the thought.2 -
For me calories count (matter), but you don't have to count (total)** (**if you eat food ONLY when you are truly hungry on LCHF (and have no alcoholic beverages etc..))
And I know they count if you are a post-menopausal, 5'1, sedentary, BMI 31, w/little muscle mass..
Plain Heavy Cream? Consuming too much, unappealing? Not in my world, and not if you whip it, add vanilla and berries.. I see your one cup and raise you 4. HAHA3 -
Lol. In fairness, whipped with vanilla and berries isn't exactly plain. I was trying to control the carbs by avoiding those. The sweeteners also made it a lot easier when I added those. That's why I am convinced that anyone could do it sweetened. It is like the sweetness hides how fatty it is from your senses.4
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I find I do not have to worry about cals if I stay within my macro guidelines. Some days I eat 1400 cals- other days I eat 2400-- I eat based on how hungry I am. If I eat carbs, my cals can be way higher with a lot more hunger and I feel like poo-- so for the most part, I prefer staying on track just because I feel so much better when I do. Also, I am getting used to (and actually find myself liking) feeling a little "lighter" by not eating til I am way full. These days for the most part I prefer to eat until I am just satisfied-- and generally that also works to keep my cals down.
I am not a fan of "fat bombs" per se because they do not seem to do much about my hunger. Protein fills me up mad quick, though.1 -
Fit - I hear ya.. To be fair, I can't overindulge Every night, -- not unless I have a Mr. Creosote's wafer thin mint.1
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It may just be a mind over matter think sometimes. I can go straight to my mouth with 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil if semi solid but prefer it melted in coffee, etc. Now I do drink heavy whipping cream from a quart cartoon just like I use to drink boiled custard when it is out around Christmas/New Years.
Maybe stopping eating by 5 PM is more calorie restriction than anything else.
I can eat 5 over easy eggs, 6 strips of bacon, four cups of coffee with 10 mini creamer cups each and a large glass of water and be stuffed.
I did some counting last night and that meal does give me 70 grams of protein. I forget on the fat amount. The half and half pushes my carbs near the 50 gram limit if I am not careful. 1 -
sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »Actually I have consumed a whole cup of heavy cream in a sitting, and still munched through a whole bag of porkrinds after....
Plain heavy cream? The second time I did it, I had to sweeten it just to make it tolerable. How were your total calories that day? How many days in a row did you manage to eat well beyond your TDEE?
I am not saying it is impossible to eat after consuming that much, just that is gets rapidly unappealing. Especially if you've been at or above your calories the previous day(s). I was trying to hit over 4000 calories those days (well, except one time when I just wanted a cup of butter) and can tell you the thought of another cup/stick is just disgusting.
Pork rinds with melted butter... that I could totally do!
Yes plain. And I don't know how my calories were, but that days intake was like a bag and a half of pork rinds and probably 12 ounces hwc...I was at fair showing goats, so had limited foodstuffs available. And I managed to eat(probably, my logging sucked at the time) beyond my TDEE(since I gained weight) for about 15 days.
And yes, pork rinds with melted butter are delicious.
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I'm still not convinced. It's an interesting data point, but it would be better with actual numbers and a longer time period. I think we really need a prolonged over-feeding experiment in here. Like find some (already overweight) people determined to put weight on (for science) over a month or two... while eating 10 g/day or fewer total carbs.1
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I usually agree with you Goat, but it's pretty easy to eat 3000 cals a day on low carb. Fatty bacon and eggs cooked in butter. I have butter in every coffee (140cals each), salami, fatty meat, food cooked in oil, creamy sauce etc. The cheeseburger pie for example comes out to 1000 cals a serve as per the recipe, and I could easily eat more than one serve. For you, eating only meat, it would probably be difficult to eat that much meat. I think the point is though, you do need to watch your calories. With careful management I fall just under my 1800 a day. On days when I let myself eat how I want to it's more like 2600. Alot of people who are new to LCHF or Keto become discouraged because they watch their carbs but aren't getting the results they want because they aren't tracking and are simply eating too much.2
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I definitely have no problems over eating on low carb at all. There is a pretty big difference between eating to lose weight and eating to maintain weight. I could probably control myself enough to keep at the same weight, but I would still be hungry and still have to keep an eye on my intake. I would not find it hard to eat over 3000kcal a day and I probably did every day anyway, before joining MFP. If I ate meat all day I estimate I could comfortably consume at LEAST 2000kcal worth. It doesn't take much fatty meat to hit that.
My partner eats over 3000kcal per day to maintain his weight of 75kg and doesn't seem to have trouble :-). He has about 13,000 kilojoules per day which is about 3100kcal I think. For my tummy to not scream in hunger at me all day 2400kcal is what it takes. Which means no weightloss for me. My TDEE is generally 2200-2400kcal depending on how active I am. I would still be hungry eating at TDEE but could handle it.
I was already overweight by the time I finished being a teenager, and continued to grow bigger and bigger until I was obese class 3 and had a BMI of 52 at age 32. I overate by about 600kcal per day last year judging by my weight gain.
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EbonyDahlia wrote: »I usually agree with you Goat, but it's pretty easy to eat 3000 cals a day on low carb. Fatty bacon and eggs cooked in butter. I have butter in every coffee (140cals each), salami, fatty meat, food cooked in oil, creamy sauce etc. The cheeseburger pie for example comes out to 1000 cals a serve as per the recipe, and I could easily eat more than one serve. For you, eating only meat, it would probably be difficult to eat that much meat. I think the point is though, you do need to watch your calories. With careful management I fall just under my 1800 a day. On days when I let myself eat how I want to it's more like 2600. Alot of people who are new to LCHF or Keto become discouraged because they watch their carbs but aren't getting the results they want because they aren't tracking and are simply eating too much.
Exactly. I can maintain well just counting carbs. But if I want to lose weight, I have to count cals. I have to watch the fatty foods really close. Particularly cheese, nuts, and mayo. Nuts are currently my nemesis. I can eat ALL THE NUTS. I can have them, I just have to reign them in.
I don't think Goat has much trouble with those since he cuts them out and doesn't need fats and sauce to adorn the veggies he doesn't eat.
And new LCers often still have unresolved food issues or still haven't figured out hunger cues, both of which can cause unintentional overeating. And us older LCers (even me) sometimes struggle with remnants of those issues sometimes, too.
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Oh yeah...and the booze. Mucho kcals...
Nuts and booze. Bad habits for me. They add up real quick.3 -
Oh yes. Mayonnaise. I could eat 100g in a go easily. That's probably 700kcal right there. I try to avoid it.0
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Oh yes. Mayonnaise. I could eat 100g in a go easily. That's probably 700kcal right there. I try to avoid it.
I could eat good mayo by the spoonful, too sometimes. Shame on me.I count my calories every day. I use a scale, measuring cups and tsp/tbsp. Why not? Can't hurt. It's better to know what you're taking in calorie wise, low carb or not.
It definitely doesn't hurt to be mindful of what you are consuming.0 -
baconslave wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Nuts are currently my nemesis. I can eat ALL THE NUTS.
I've pretty much cut out nuts for this reason. They're just too easy for me to binge on.0
