Do counting calories matter?

BeckyyyXxxx486
BeckyyyXxxx486 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When people go on diets is it better to count exactly how many calories you consume every day? ✌️

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Yes they do, if you want to know how many calories you are consuming.
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    It's the only thing that's ever worked for me.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Did you realize you were on a calorie counting website asking that?

    In all seriousness, a calorie deficit is required to lose weight. If you can achieve that without counting, great, but I prefer to know how much I'm consuming, how much I'm burning, within a reasonable margin of error, so that I can achieve the CI<CO balance.
  • BeckyyyXxxx486
    BeckyyyXxxx486 Posts: 20 Member
    Thankyou for replying! I just thought your diet should be more focuses on what you eat rather than how much your eating
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Yes. Some people can come up with strategies that help them reduce their calories without counting, but this isn't always successful for everyone. Pretty much the only way that is always successful for everyone if you do it properly and stick to it is calorie counting.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    There is only one way to lose weight: by consuming fewer calories than you burn. That is literally the ONLY way to do it.

    There are many ways to achieve that, but you have to be at a deficit to lose weight. I choose to achieve that deficit by weighing my food and counting calories.
  • larali1980
    larali1980 Posts: 162 Member
    Right now I'm in the stage of trying to change the sorts of things that I eat, and not so much counting calories- yet.

    But to answer the question, it is certainly better to count calories when trying to lose weight, as evidenced by the many people on this website who have successfully used this method to get fit! :)
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Calories are king.
  • BeckyyyXxxx486
    BeckyyyXxxx486 Posts: 20 Member
    Okay thanks! Just one more thing in order to lose weight effectively you have make sure you burn more calories than you consume is this right? :)
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    If you are really good at knowing the calorie content of food, and can judge just how much of a deficit you are eating in a day, you probably don't need to count calories.
    Most of us don't have that skill set. And definitely don't have it refined enough to lose consistently, so yes, counting calories is the better way to lose weight.
    Using a food scale to get an accurate count is the best.

    Cheers, h.
  • BeckyyyXxxx486
    BeckyyyXxxx486 Posts: 20 Member
    Sorry "books and chocolate" just missed your post haha thankyou so much this has definetly helped me :)
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    BeckyyyXxxx486 wrote: »
    Okay thanks! Just one more thing in order to lose weight effectively you have make sure you burn more calories than you consume is this right? :)

    Yes. Remember that your body burns calories simply by being alive (many people on MFP initially make the mistake thinking that if they consume 2000 calories that they then need to burn 2000 calories on the treadmill, which is incorrect, unsustainable, and potentially dangerous).
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    BeckyyyXxxx486 wrote: »
    Okay thanks! Just one more thing in order to lose weight effectively you have make sure you burn more calories than you consume is this right? :)

    Yes. If you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight.

    If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.

    If you eat the same amount of calories that you burn, you will maintain weight.

    It's really not more complicated than that. :)
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    BeckyyyXxxx486 wrote: »
    Thankyou for replying! I just thought your diet should be more focuses on what you eat rather than how much your eating

    For weight loss, the only thing that matter is burning more calories (through day to day activity, keeping your heart pumping, regulating body temperature, exercise...) than you eat.
    Your body only stores fat if there are leftover calories. If you eat fewer than you burn, your body pulls the difference out of storage (fat).

    The "what you eat" is for other reasons unrelated to weight loss.
    Eat fats to have healthy hair, joints and hormone function. Eat your protein to have strong healthy muscles. Get your vitamins and minerals to support a whole host of parts and functions in the body.

    And as long as you get the stuff you NEED (listed above) there's nothing wrong with eating what most would call "junk" as long as your getting what you need from other sources and not going over your calorie goal.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How much you eat is how you gain/lose weight. What you eat matters for your overall well-being and body composition.
  • BeckyyyXxxx486
    BeckyyyXxxx486 Posts: 20 Member
    Okay thankyou for your tips guys :)

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