Why I stopped counting calories

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  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
    edited August 2016
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    People have lost weight without an app telling them what to do or how much to eat, so no one can say it can't be done. I think this app can be used as training wheels in a sense. And when you need it, come back to it.... just don't wait till 15 pounds later

    Exactly. Notwithstanding the successes on this site, the vast majority of people who lose weight don't count calories. Counting calories obviously works, if you can do it.

    But most people who try cannot stick to it. And most people will not even try to do it. There are other ways.

    I do, however, think that CALORIE AWARENESS is very important. Ask the average uninformed person what is a better breakfast for weight loss, a no-fat bagel with low-fat cream cheese and 8 oz. of orange juice, or two eggs, a slice of bacon, and coffee with half-and-half. Most will go with the bagel breakfast.

  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
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    As a follow up - bagel - 300 calories, 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese - 70 calories, 8 oz. orange juice - 100 calories. Total - 470 calories.

    Two eggs - 155 calories, 2 slices bacon 90 calories, half-and-half - 40 calories for 2 tbsp. - Total 285 calories.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    People have lost weight without an app telling them what to do or how much to eat, so no one can say it can't be done. I think this app can be used as training wheels in a sense. And when you need it, come back to it.... just don't wait till 15 pounds later

    Exactly. Notwithstanding the successes on this site, the vast majority of people who lose weight don't count calories. Counting calories obviously works, if you can do it.

    But most people who try cannot stick to it. And most people will not even try to do it. There are other ways.

    I do, however, think that CALORIE AWARENESS is very important. Ask the average uninformed person what is a better breakfast for weight loss, a no-fat bagel with low-fat cream cheese and 8 oz. of orange juice, or two eggs, a slice of bacon, and coffee with half-and-half. Most will go with the bagel breakfast.

    Nail on the head right here. If nothing else the take-away from this tool should be increased awareness in terms of calories, portion size and nutrients in any given food.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    As a follow up - bagel - 300 calories, 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese - 70 calories, 8 oz. orange juice - 100 calories. Total - 470 calories.

    Two eggs - 155 calories, 2 slices bacon 90 calories, half-and-half - 40 calories for 2 tbsp. - Total 285 calories.

    This doesn't necessarily make the eggs and bacon the better breakfast.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,136 Member
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    Gonna need to keep track unless I want to weigh 320# again. My brain and stomach in conjunction can't be trusted to tell me when/how much I should eat. Brain "Food tastes good" Stomach "I always got room".

    I never said abandon tracking and monitoring. I just said will you realistically throw EVERYTHING on a scale down to the gram for life. Realistically I know there will be times where I can't or won't. And guess what? I've either lost or maintained weight during those times. I have aging and mentally challenged family members who have lost considerable weight not weighing or measuring chiz every single time they eat. They started out that way, they now guesstimate. And they are doing just fine.

    Do what works for you. Be well.

    Guess I should've gone with a simple "Yes" rather than attempting to explain why I would keep tracking. Not everyone has or will have the ability to guesstimate food, myself included.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    As a follow up - bagel - 300 calories, 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese - 70 calories, 8 oz. orange juice - 100 calories. Total - 470 calories.

    Two eggs - 155 calories, 2 slices bacon 90 calories, half-and-half - 40 calories for 2 tbsp. - Total 285 calories.

    This doesn't necessarily make the eggs and bacon the better breakfast.

    Just as a side note that relates to your comment... A friend and I went out for lunch one day. I ordered a salad with vegetables & grilled chicken. She said "I'm on a diet and have to avoid carbs so I am just going to get a bagel sandwich". I looked at her and decided not to even say a word.. She truly thought that a bagel was a less carby choice than vegetables. She stated that vegetables were loaded with carbs. She was happy with her choice and she often times wondered why she couldn't lose weight LOL! People genuinely are not educated when it comes to nutrition.

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Whatever works for you OP. I would say that there's a middle ground somewhere though.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    As a follow up - bagel - 300 calories, 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese - 70 calories, 8 oz. orange juice - 100 calories. Total - 470 calories.

    Two eggs - 155 calories, 2 slices bacon 90 calories, half-and-half - 40 calories for 2 tbsp. - Total 285 calories.

    This doesn't necessarily make the eggs and bacon the better breakfast.

    Put the eggs and bacon on the bagel, sub peanut butter for cream cheese... Now, that's a solid breakfast.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    As a follow up - bagel - 300 calories, 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese - 70 calories, 8 oz. orange juice - 100 calories. Total - 470 calories.

    Two eggs - 155 calories, 2 slices bacon 90 calories, half-and-half - 40 calories for 2 tbsp. - Total 285 calories.

    This doesn't necessarily make the eggs and bacon the better breakfast.

    Put the eggs and bacon on the bagel, sub peanut butter for cream cheese... Now, that's a solid breakfast.

    Unless you are allergic to eggs. Or peanuts. Or don't like bagels and/or eggs and/or peanut butter and/or bacon. ;)

    Personally, I'd sub smoked sausage for the bacon, toast for the bagel, and jelly for the pb. I'd also use bigger eggs (at 155 calories for 2 those would have to be small eggs). That would be the better breakfast for me because I'd enjoy it more.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
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    good luck to you! i have found that counting works best for me...if you ever do go back to it, I would recommend getting a bunch of little tupperwares and pre-weighing a bunch of snacks, like, weigh out 10 different packages of one serving of nuts, so that you have them ready for work and you don't just go for something packaged instead.

    also, the more you weigh what you cook (intricate meals included), the better you get at eyeballing and estimating when you go out to eat...it takes some time but I think its worth it.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I can definitely relate to your post. I feel MFP has been wonderful in teaching me portion size, the calorie content of most foods I eat and has helped me lose/maintain weight. Like you I was able to maintain for many, many years without tracking calories or thinking about food. I feel somewhat obsessive about food now and that's not a good thing. I would like to get back to just listening to my body and being more active. I do really like pre-logging and I do most days. But I've come far enough that I can roughly plan out my week and I eat pretty much the same food for 5/6 meals during the week that I don't have to think about it much. But I've also given myself permission to skip a meal if I'm not hungry. And I've stopped logging on the weekends. Using MFP was a real eye opener for me. To realize just how small of a portion size for calorie dense food was....to realize when I was eating "healthy", that I needed to up my portion sizes to avoid having too few calories.

    It's been wonderful, but like you I want to take what I've learned and have it be second nature while listening to my body.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    I have never heard anyone tell anyone that they need to weigh their food for life. MFP is a tool. Just like any tool, you use it when you need it.

    I have seen it here plenty of times. Usually directed to everyone who plateaus or says they can't lose weight no matter what.

    So now that I have been flamed 3 times for simply disagreeing with people on an open forum, this is where I start reporting posts. Good day.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    curlyblue21 wrote: »
    I'm getting a bit sick of counting calories, been doing it for just over a year and I have lost 5 stone, but for some reason I feel annoyed, I can't relax and enjoy my weight loss and go out as I'm constantly thinking about what I'm eating...I have to log everything every day as I'm too scared to trust myself. I need to listen to myself as there are probably times when I don't need the extra calories but I eat them if they are there anyway so thought that maybe I should take a break! But when there are days that I'm more relaxed I tend to binge more than I should! I want to do a diet that suits me long term, counting calories has worked for me but I'm getting bored

    You don't need to count if you are sick of it.

    Not counting may even open up things that life long counters might never know or experience.

    You simply have to come up with a schedule when you can eat and when you should not (or eat just enough to avoid health issues.)

    These windows for eating and not eating do not have to be rigid at all. You can go several hundred or even a thousand calories over or under. This flexibility is there to help you manage your eating and energy expenditure better. That's the beauty of the human body. For many people this flexibility is also a necessity as in attending occasions or going on a long trip.

    I initially counted and I am thankful for the knowledge on calories and macros. But in no time I realized that this eating behavior cannot be followed lifelong in this artificial manner. Eating pattern has to be done according to energy requirement and physical and social fulfillment. When you experience that, weight management becomes a walk in the park!!!

  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited August 2016
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    ConicalFern wrote: »
    JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »
    This is pretty concerning really, I've not been logging nearly as long a most here, so I've probably not had the same experiences overall.
    Not making large meals because of weighing the ingredients or not eating out because you can't find the nutritional info is completely alien to me. It takes a matter of second to put an ingredient on the scale before adding it to the pot. A quick search of the database to find a similar meal to the one you've eaten is not difficult either, I'll simply find the highest calorie choice and go with that. Honestly it looks like excuses rather than reasons, this isn't a religion or addiction, it's weight loss or maintenance.. If eating out puts you back 200 calories then adjust your target/goal next week or the week after. This app is more than a weight loss tool, it helps manage a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and surely that is more important than being 100% accurate at logging??

    I'm sure if you've been so strict over the last few years, you should sustain it for some time but I'd imagine meal portions, snacking etc will soon start to sneak back in with time. Good luck, you certainly seem like you need a break from logging maybe you'll be back with a new love for it..

    It's more than a second. It takes a few seconds to weigh it, yes, but then you have spend ages finding it in the database and when you're in a rush to get everything in. A good example of it adding time is parmesan cheese (again!) on my pasta. I love putting it on, but weighing it adds so much time; I have to weigh the bowl, grate it into the bowl (where it tends to go everywhere) then weigh it. Now I can eat similar amounts and just grate it straight onto my meal.

    I wouldn't spend ages looking up parmesan. I would scan the barcode once, the night before I made the pasta when I was pre-logging my day, double check the entry, and I would "save meal" so I could reuse it easily later. Now every time I make pasta, I just add the entire meal with three or four clicks.

    Day of, I just look at the amount I logged the night before and use the scale to measure it out. I find it super easy. Usually I spend less time planning my next day than I spend brushing my teeth, and to far greater benefit. I have every common meal saved by now, so typically I start with a saved meal and modify if needed.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    I have never heard anyone tell anyone that they need to weigh their food for life. MFP is a tool. Just like any tool, you use it when you need it.

    I have seen it here plenty of times. Usually directed to everyone who plateaus or says they can't lose weight no matter what.

    So now that I have been flamed 3 times for simply disagreeing with people on an open forum, this is where I start reporting posts. Good day.

    I've seen people advised to *start* weighing food if they have stopped losing weight or say they can't lose weight. But telling someone to begin weighing doesn't mean they're being told to weigh everything to the gram for the rest of their life. Like any tool, it can be something that people use for a while to meet a goal.

    I don't know, it's easy to say that no one is literally saying that you have to log for the rest of your life, but this thread is kind of refuting that. I was really pleased how this thread started out with people celebrating a different way of being nutritionally aware, but then it switched pretty fast into people trying to tell the OP that he shouldn't stop logging without giving any reason for it, arguing with him about his reasons, telling him he's just making excuses, etc.

    Yes, no one is literally saying that people should weigh food for the rest of their lives, but the unrelenting pressure sends a pretty clear message over time, that even if you carefully consider whether or not logging is right for you with in-depth knowledge of how it affects you and what you're willing to do, people will still tell you that you should still be logging.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Mentali wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    I have never heard anyone tell anyone that they need to weigh their food for life. MFP is a tool. Just like any tool, you use it when you need it.

    I have seen it here plenty of times. Usually directed to everyone who plateaus or says they can't lose weight no matter what.

    So now that I have been flamed 3 times for simply disagreeing with people on an open forum, this is where I start reporting posts. Good day.

    I've seen people advised to *start* weighing food if they have stopped losing weight or say they can't lose weight. But telling someone to begin weighing doesn't mean they're being told to weigh everything to the gram for the rest of their life. Like any tool, it can be something that people use for a while to meet a goal.

    I don't know, it's easy to say that no one is literally saying that you have to log for the rest of your life, but this thread is kind of refuting that. I was really pleased how this thread started out with people celebrating a different way of being nutritionally aware, but then it switched pretty fast into people trying to tell the OP that he shouldn't stop logging without giving any reason for it, arguing with him about his reasons, telling him he's just making excuses, etc.

    Yes, no one is literally saying that people should weigh food for the rest of their lives, but the unrelenting pressure sends a pretty clear message over time, that even if you carefully consider whether or not logging is right for you with in-depth knowledge of how it affects you and what you're willing to do, people will still tell you that you should still be logging.

    I understand that this is a sensitive topic and a variety of things have been said here. I'm not saying I agree with all of it 100%, but what I see a lot of people responding to are very specific roadblocks the OP mentioned and how to potentially navigate those without quitting logging. If OP doesn't want to log, they shouldn't log. But I will say that the specific reasons listed in the OP do strike me as having practical solutions *other* than not logging and I think some people are responding based on that.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Mentali wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    I have never heard anyone tell anyone that they need to weigh their food for life. MFP is a tool. Just like any tool, you use it when you need it.

    I have seen it here plenty of times. Usually directed to everyone who plateaus or says they can't lose weight no matter what.

    So now that I have been flamed 3 times for simply disagreeing with people on an open forum, this is where I start reporting posts. Good day.

    I've seen people advised to *start* weighing food if they have stopped losing weight or say they can't lose weight. But telling someone to begin weighing doesn't mean they're being told to weigh everything to the gram for the rest of their life. Like any tool, it can be something that people use for a while to meet a goal.

    I don't know, it's easy to say that no one is literally saying that you have to log for the rest of your life, but this thread is kind of refuting that. I was really pleased how this thread started out with people celebrating a different way of being nutritionally aware, but then it switched pretty fast into people trying to tell the OP that he shouldn't stop logging without giving any reason for it, arguing with him about his reasons, telling him he's just making excuses, etc.

    Yes, no one is literally saying that people should weigh food for the rest of their lives, but the unrelenting pressure sends a pretty clear message over time, that even if you carefully consider whether or not logging is right for you with in-depth knowledge of how it affects you and what you're willing to do, people will still tell you that you should still be logging.

    I understand that this is a sensitive topic and a variety of things have been said here. I'm not saying I agree with all of it 100%, but what I see a lot of people responding to are very specific roadblocks the OP mentioned and how to potentially navigate those without quitting logging. If OP doesn't want to log, they shouldn't log. But I will say that the specific reasons listed in the OP do strike me as having practical solutions *other* than not logging and I think some people are responding based on that.

    Yeah, I'm sure the intention isn't to send the message that people should be logging forever in any post individually - it's just an overall attitude, a relentless pressure as I put it. I honestly don't think I've seen a post here where someone mentioned not logging where there wasn't at least one person who told them that they should be in some way or another. Each individual is just trying to give their own helpful advice (because everyone has a novel-length list of advice on this site, well-intentioned though it is), but all that advice gets heavy after a while!
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    Mentali wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Mentali wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    I get where you are coming from. I wonder myself how many people here will honestly keep weighing everything to the nth gram for life like they advise every newbie or everyone struggling.

    I have never heard anyone tell anyone that they need to weigh their food for life. MFP is a tool. Just like any tool, you use it when you need it.

    I have seen it here plenty of times. Usually directed to everyone who plateaus or says they can't lose weight no matter what.

    So now that I have been flamed 3 times for simply disagreeing with people on an open forum, this is where I start reporting posts. Good day.

    I've seen people advised to *start* weighing food if they have stopped losing weight or say they can't lose weight. But telling someone to begin weighing doesn't mean they're being told to weigh everything to the gram for the rest of their life. Like any tool, it can be something that people use for a while to meet a goal.

    I don't know, it's easy to say that no one is literally saying that you have to log for the rest of your life, but this thread is kind of refuting that. I was really pleased how this thread started out with people celebrating a different way of being nutritionally aware, but then it switched pretty fast into people trying to tell the OP that he shouldn't stop logging without giving any reason for it, arguing with him about his reasons, telling him he's just making excuses, etc.

    Yes, no one is literally saying that people should weigh food for the rest of their lives, but the unrelenting pressure sends a pretty clear message over time, that even if you carefully consider whether or not logging is right for you with in-depth knowledge of how it affects you and what you're willing to do, people will still tell you that you should still be logging.

    I understand that this is a sensitive topic and a variety of things have been said here. I'm not saying I agree with all of it 100%, but what I see a lot of people responding to are very specific roadblocks the OP mentioned and how to potentially navigate those without quitting logging. If OP doesn't want to log, they shouldn't log. But I will say that the specific reasons listed in the OP do strike me as having practical solutions *other* than not logging and I think some people are responding based on that.

    Yeah, I'm sure the intention isn't to send the message that people should be logging forever in any post individually - it's just an overall attitude, a relentless pressure as I put it. I honestly don't think I've seen a post here where someone mentioned not logging where there wasn't at least one person who told them that they should be in some way or another. Each individual is just trying to give their own helpful advice (because everyone has a novel-length list of advice on this site, well-intentioned though it is), but all that advice gets heavy after a while!

    I think it depends on why someone stops logging. If you stop logging because you are able to succeed without it, that's great. It's people who make out logging to be some sisyphean ordeal that I would offer advice to, because logging doesn't need to be at all difficult nor time consuming - it's quite literally easier than brushing my teeth every day.

    Does everyone need to log forever? Certainly not. Will many of us log need to log forever in order to be successful? Probably. I certainly plan to keep it up for the rest of my life, which is why I make it a habit and have a lot of tricks to make it quick and easy. I know without a doubt I'd regain if I gave up my new habits, of which pre-logging my meals is a critically important one. I'm totally fine with that - as mentioned, I think it's super easy.

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