Calorie Counting vs Intuitive Eating

buglesalmoncatgirl

...or both?!

Hi there, everyone.

How do you feel, in your experience, about calorie counting? What about eating purely based on "inner signals"?

In my experience, I am better off tracking and counting calories. When I tried to eat intuitively, I was not consistent, never sure if I was "just satisfied" or whatever number on a hunger/fullness scale of 0-10. I really wanted it to work! However, calorie counting takes away the guesswork for me and I'm used to it.

I gained weight trying to eat freely and intuitively. I lose weight when I count calories and stay at a deficit.

How about you?

Muscleflex79

there was a whole thread on this just yesterday - try searching for it.

but I think you already answered your own question - you (and most) gained eating intuitively and lose counting calories...what more do you need to hear than that??

buglesalmoncatgirl

Ha! Interesting. Nice to hear I'm not alone.

kommodevaran

I don't count calories, I eat freely, but within reasonable limits. I weigh some foods and count others. I usually eat only when I'm hungry, and I know I'm hungry when I want a meal (real food). Occasionally I eat just because I want to eat ("fun food"). I don't fully trust or understand my satiety signals, so I portion my meals and eat what I planned. I don't worry if I'm eating a little more or a little less, it evens out over time, and I feel fine so I know I'm eating well. I know that I'm maintaining my weight because I weigh myself every day.

wizzybeth

My gut reaction is that intuitive eating sounds reasonable - however, the nutritional density and caloric values of foods vary greatly!!! For instance, you could eat a reasonably small meal from McDonald's when you're "hungry" - a regular cheeseburger, small fries, and a small soda.

700 calories.

That's almost 50% of my calorie allotment for the day.

2 tablespoons of peanut butter is nearly 200 calories. That's without bread and jelly. Some breads are 120 calories per slice or more - jelly is about 50 calories. A very tiny and not very satisfying meal of PB&J could be nearly 500 calories.

It is very very easy to go over on your calories while eating "comparatively" small meals unless you weigh your food and count calories.

IC1109

Intuitive eating has never worked for me and I don't think it ever will... It takes over 14 hours of no food for me to start feeling hungry, so by that I eat too little. If I eat based on the times other people eat (or I think "I'm shaking, whoops, I should eat!") I still eat either too much (underestimate the calories/eating too often) or too little (not feeling hungry). Over the years I've developed the habit of eating more than I need, because I just never felt hunger and had to base eating around other people. On the other side of the spectrum, I can also eat around 3-4x more than I need IN A DAY in one meal, and not feel full. I guess something is broken there haha!

I have to count calories to manage my weight and nutrition. My partner is quite taller than me but only 30-40 pounds heavier. He is underweight and eats intuitively. His body is very sensitive to nutrition changes. This is another example of under-eating.

Most people who try to eat based on what their body feels overeat and think they are eating a healthy amount. Stick with counting calories. Maybe that LOOKS like a 300Cal serving, but once you weigh it and realize it's 600-700Cal... You'll be in for a shock!

buglesalmoncatgirl

Yea I agree. Counting calories works best for me. I wish I was an intuitive eater. Oh well!

endlessfall16

Obviously you need to do what works best for you. However, you should also learn and discover ways to make your life better.

You put "inner signals" in quotation says you don't have or know it but I think you believe you need it in order to be able to do "intuitive eating". Well, I don't know what inner signal that is but I don't need it. I also put "intuitive eating" in quotes because it could mean many different things to different people.

I just wrote in other thread that I don't need to count calories nor depend on some signals. I simply fast or eat light to make up for the time I eat fully.

All the challenge in weight loss is having the discipline to not eat (eat less) when you have to. And why is that such a challenge is how one controls his appetite and some understanding about hunger.

middlehaitch

Read this http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10522557/calorie-counting-vs-intuitive-eating#latest

You will get all opinions.

Cheers, h.

trigden1991

If people were good at eating intuitively, why is anyone overweight?

Meelisv

trigden1991 wrote: »

If people were good at eating intuitively, why is anyone overweight?

This.

If i was eating intuitively, i would most likely still be at the weight i used to be, or probably even bigger.

TimothyFish

Intuitive eating works great as long as you don't allow yourself to cheat. The same goes for counting calories. You can weigh all your food and even buy a calorimeter so you can do your own testing, but if you allow yourself to eat too much then you'll still be overweight. I find that counting calories works for me when I am trying to lose weight, but a more intuitive approach works better when I am trying to maintain my weight. I don't ignore calories completely, but if I'm hungry I eat.

Gallowmere1984

I am leaning toward Lyle McDonald's thoughts on the matter. In the modern first world, no one is eating intuitively, unless they are fat. You are utilizing some form of restraint, either conscious or otherwise, to not weigh 300+ lbs. in a world of 500 calorie bagels, 2000 calorie desserts, and 3000 calorie medium pizzas.

Tacklewasher

trigden1991 wrote: »

If people were good at eating intuitively, why is anyone overweight?

The one's who are good at intuitive eating are the ones not overweight.

I'd say my wife is one of them and I'm not.

endlessfall16

trigden1991 wrote: »

If people were good at eating intuitively, why is anyone overweight?

Same as asking...if calorie counting works, why are there still overweight people?

cwolfman13

I used calorie counting as a short term learning tool...like training wheels on a bike. Eventually, I just learned to ride. I haven't counted calories in about 4 years. I have more or less maintained over that time save for the 10ish Lbs I put on every winter...I strip them off every spring and don't count calories to do so.

Wtn_Gurl

I combine the MFP food budget (where we record what we will eat and have eaten) and then pay attention to whether I am truly hungry, and putting those two together, I sort of eat intuitively, i.e. if I know I have some available macros, and how much, I can then know how much I can allow for the next meal. so I use both of those tools together.

endlessfall16

cwolfman, I also started out counting and eating 1500 a day. In 3 month time, it taught me to be aware of calories and the kind of fullness and hunger that comes with this amount. Before that, I got panic when such a hunger hit and I ate and failed to lose lbs.

Seffell

Our intuition follows evolutionary ques developed during times when food was scarce and you had to eat high calorie food in order not to die.
So naturally we find pleasing calorie dense foods.
And this is pretty obvious if you go out in the street and look around in any developed country nowadays - obesity is prevailing.

TimothyFish

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

I am leaning toward Lyle McDonald's thoughts on the matter. In the modern first world, no one is eating intuitively, unless they are fat. You are utilizing some form of restraint, either conscious or otherwise, to not weigh 300+ lbs. in a world of 500 calorie bagels, 2000 calorie desserts, and 3000 calorie medium pizzas.

If everyone is "utilizing some form of restraint, either conscious or otherwise," doesn't that imply that everyone is capable of controlling their weight through intuitive eating?

trigden1991

endlessfall16 wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

If people were good at eating intuitively, why is anyone overweight?

Same as asking...if calorie counting works, why are there still overweight people?

Because they're not calorie counting? Or don't understand the principles of CICO