Counting Calories Only

gooz71

So is anyone not looking at anything but their calories to lose weight? Can I ignore all of the protein, carbs, etc and just focus on the calories only?

BrittneyLervig

I've lost 68 lbs in 13 months counting calories only

Unknown

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vespiquenn

Yes. But it is advised to at least look at protein to maintain as much muscle mass as possible as you lose.

apullum

You can, but I've found that if I really overdo it on carbs or fat, I'll feel hungry with no calories left for the day. I don't intentionally count carbs, but I do try to eat more filling foods that fit into my calorie budget, which has resulted in me eating fewer carbs and less fat.

nutmegoreo

Calories are king for weight loss. You may find that certain macros (carbs, fat, protein) are more filling. As mentioned protein can help protect your existing muscle. You may also find that you are frequently under in certain nutrients (don't look at the potassium numbers though, they aren't required on labels, so the database is way off on that). If you really don't want to watch the other numbers, just watch the calories. At some point, you may want to evaluate the other numbers though.

Christine_72

Some people do. But for me, Protein, fibre and fat are important too, and i try and make sure i get enough of all 3. Then there's Vit C and A which i keep a close eye on too.

Also, I've been doing this for over 2 years. When i first started i only watched calories,and once i got a firm handle on those I moved to also tracking macros and micros. It can be a bit overwhelming trying to hit everything when you first start. One step at a time, in the end weight loss is all about calories.

cityruss

Yes.

wan_ashraff

Can guide me for weight lose..i just focus calorie

jennifer_417

Calories are the only important thing for weight loss. As you get further into the weight loss process, you probably start taking other factors into consideration, like satiety (feeling full) and fueling workouts properly, etc.

crzycatlady1

gooz71 wrote: »

So is anyone not looking at anything but their calories to lose weight? Can I ignore all of the protein, carbs, etc and just focus on the calories only?

Back in my active weight loss phase I didn't know about MFP and had no clue about what a macro even was lol. I only focused on hitting my calorie goals and had no problem losing the extra weight

Now, almost 4 years into maintenance, I'm starting to pay attention to macros and realizing they're kind of a pain in the butt It's adding stress to my eating so I'm probably going to ditch tracking them again. I've done really well just focusing on eating a varied diet and on calorie intake!

Lounmoun

I look at calories for weight loss but do try to hit my protein goal as that helps me feel more full. IME if I am hitting my calorie goal and protein goal the rest takes care of itself.
You don't have to look at anything but calories for weight loss.

cwolfman13

Calories are what matter for weight management...macros are good to be aware of in terms of getting proper nutrition and balancing your diet. They can also be important for fitness performance and recovery

Tacklewasher

I look at protein as well. I want to lose as much fat and as little muscle as I can so I make sure to hit 100g of protein. Biggest issue for me is that there seems to be a wide variety on what is the proper protein amount, so 100g is based on it being a nice round number, and not much more than that. I try to hit it with food but if I'm under then I will have a protein shake. The one I found is 35g and 150 cals so just 10 cals not from protein. And it is cheap at Costco. Took a bit to get used to the stevia taste, but now I like it. Kaizen Chocolate something.

I pay a bit of attention to sodium, more to see how it impacts my weight from water retention. But that's it.

rileysowner

gooz71 wrote: »

So is anyone not looking at anything but their calories to lose weight? Can I ignore all of the protein, carbs, etc and just focus on the calories only?

Yes, you can look at just calories as that is what will determine weight loss. Where the others can help is 1) To see what satisfies you more and for longer. 2) In the case of protein, to help minimize muscle loss along with the fat loss.

DanyellMcGinnis

I lost 45 pounds this year only counting calories. I am a vegetarian and I've kind of settled into low fat/high carb because it works for me (with the carbs coming mostly from whole grains, beans, and starchy vegetables). I am just not all that interested in consuming a lot of protein (usually it makes me feel sluggish and doesn't actually keep me full).

We cook most meals from scratch, never the exact same thing twice (even if the recipe is the same, it is too tedious for me to reformulate it with a 300 gram sweet potato instead of a 350 gram sweet potato, or the brown rice pasta instead of the whole wheat pasta, etc., and I'm not chopping off 50 grams of sweet potato just so I can use the previously-entered recipe), so building recipes with macros isn't going to work for me. I could do it, but if I am not going to have the same thing again, there isn't much of a point in investing all that time.

gooz71

Noel_57 wrote: »

My diary is set to show just calories. I am OCD and freak out if I see red numbers from going over in macros.

Have you seen a loss so far?

gooz71

Thanks all!!

kshama2001

I do pay attention to protein and carbs, as having slightly more protein and slightly less carbs than the MFP default macros: 50% from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat keeps me fuller. But I don't obsess about it.

TimeToReduceFat

Bump

VUA21

So far I've lost 190lbs just watching calories. I try to eat reasonably healthy (~70% healthy) and ignore my macros. I have just learned to listen to my body, if I'm craving fruit, I eat fruit, I just watch how many calories I consume.

meatball2714

Macros just make things confusing. I don't know how people can keep up with that. I do pay attention to my carbs because when I eat too many, I get really hungry. There is no way I could do the macro diet.

Seffell

Yes.
Chances are your macros will naturally fall in the expected limits. At least mine do.

12Sarah2015

Yes just calorie counting