Different theories !

Fivefootcaloriecounter

Hi all how you getting on ? My heads a bit fried really. I'm told calorie counting doesn't wrk , then I'm told do Sw or eat clean . I'm so confused

serindipte

If the profile picture is of you, it doesn't appear you have much weight to lose at all. You may do better doing a bulk/cut series so you can build some muscle, then shave off bits of fat if you're unhappy with your body.

That said, there are hundreds of people on here that have lost weight doing nothing but counting calories (myself included). It sure seems to work.

cwolfman13

Calorie counting has worked for a lot of people...any diet works if you're in an energy deficiency (calorie deficit)...that's what all diets are premised on.

Eating "clean" is fine...it doesn't guarantee a calorie deficit...I eat pretty "clean" for the most part and I've put on weight doing so due to exceeding a maintenance level of calories.

Regardless of what you do, it still all comes down to calories.

marieamethyst

I just calorie count and eat my normal favorite foods. Lost 45 lbs the first time and got to goal weight. Had another baby and went back to calorie counting again and have lost 20 lbs out of the 23 lbs I gained that pregnancy. SW (I'm assuming Slimming World) works for some people, eating clean works for some people. Find what works for you and roll with it.

But calorie counting does work for most people (maybe medical conditions or something makes it harder, I won't speak for everyone)

AnvilHead

It's not "counting calories" that works, per se - it's eating less calories than you burn, by whatever means you accomplish that or whatever name they want to give the diet. Calories are king when it comes to weight loss, whether you count them or not.

FreyasRebirth

Calorie counting is a decent system but not perfect. It assigns every food a number, without strictly putting anything off limits. There's no saying you can't combine methods. MyFitnessPal is a great way to track how much of what you're eating over an extended period of time.

GottaBurnEmAll

Eating less calories than you burn is what makes you lose weight.

You can count calories to do that or not.

You can eat clean to do that or not.

Ideally, you'll eat mostly nutrient dense foods, but you don't need to restrict any foods or food groups from your diet to lose weight. You just need to eat less than you burn.

Logging and counting makes this easy and takes guesswork out of the process.

VintageFeline

Well, calorie counting isn't a diet or way of eating. Calories are a measure of energy, the body requires a certain amount to stay a stable weight, eat fewer than that and you lose weight, eat more than that and you gain. It's the science of weight.

SW and clean eating may lead to you being in a calorie deficit but they aren't doing anything different than what calorie counting will achieve (and eating clean has no guarantees if you don't have a way of knowing how much you are eating).

ogtmama

Your body will count them whether you do or not...if eating low carb, following SW, IF, or eating "clean" are easier ways for you to stay in a calorie deficit then by all means use them. You can eat through them all though if you're not paying attention to calories-the bottom line.

Machka9

I've been using CICO since I was about 17 years old. I use it because it makes sense and it works.

A few times, I've had to use CI<CO to lose a bit of weight.
A few times, I've had to use CI>CO to gain a bit of weight.
But most of the time I've had to use CI=CO to maintain weight.