Counting calories..Or not

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  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Traveler120 wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Ironandwine69 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    It's not true that it's time consuming, though, and I hate it when people try to make it sound like this big horrible burden or something people would only do if they were overly neurotic.


    But sure, whatever.

    It IS true that it's time consuming( for me). Unless you eat everything out of a box. I cook most of my meals from scratch. It's easy to scan a box, not so easy to count and measure everything you are putting in your meal for a family.


    I cook everything from scratch and it is not time consuming for me at all. I have to put food needing to be cooked into some kind of pan or bowl so why not put it into a pan or bowl sitting on a scale? Food not needing to be cooked can be plated while the plate is on the scale.

    Dump, note weight, hit tare, dump next ingredient. Rinse and repeat.

    Until when? The end of time? Who wants to be a slave to the scale. Measuring or weighing should be a temporary learning tool to understand calories in food. After that, one should know enough about various foods and quantities that eyeballing should be sufficient for the long term.

    If someone doesn't want to weigh long term, that's fine. But I think it's unnecessary to declare that others should stop weighing. I know, from experience, that I'm terrible at eyeballing. I have no problem weighing long term because it frees me up to think about other things. Using a tool to do something more efficiently doesn't equal being a "slave." Sometimes it's just the smartest way to solve a particular problem.

    One of the other reasons I like the idea of weighing food is that the idea of cutting out foods when the scale creep happens doesn't appeal to me. I'd rather keep my food choices open and monitor my intake (and I'm a terrible eyeballer too) than go through a spell where I'm feeling deprived because my weight starts creeping up and lather, rinse, repeat for the rest of my life.

    But again, this is me, and I know me, my personality, and what will work for me.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
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    I have been weighing and logging my food for years and I think of it as a very useful tool, just like a bunch of other tools I use.

    I have to pre-plan menus for the week anyway so I might as well do it here. In fact, it's easier to do it on MFP than on paper. I keep an eye on my calories to make sure I'm not going over/under (I'm a terrible eyeballer too, especially meats and ice cream). My husband can't cook so I need to weigh his food to keep an eye on his calories and certain macro and micro nutrients. Weighing and logging doesn't take me more than a few minutes a day and I love the information it gives me.

    I know lots of people who have gained, lost and maintained without ever counting a calorie or weighing anything. I just don't happen to be one of them.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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    rsipock wrote: »
    Before attending these boards I had been with Precision Nutrition. Over there we never count calories. In fact, they don't believe counting is a "leverage point"--meaning that it is not worth the time-investment. So I've never weighed anything in my life. If you cared, you could look at my food blog and you would see that my feedings are super clean, super boring, and my goals are met predictably. So counting isn't the only way.

    Time investment is exactly my point when I say too time consuming.

    The big misunderstanding from some people who posted on this blog, is that not counting means eat what you want.
    No, that's not the case.
    I watch what I eat very carefully. I am not the cleanest eater but I don't eat junk. IF has been my lifestyle for years( which probably makes not counting easier since I get 80% - 90% of my food intake in one meal).

    To wrap this up, I think counting is a great tool. But also, I don't know anyone that counted all his/her life( maybe there are people that do, but I wonder how many). What happens when/if you stop counting?...

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    I made a recipe that required weighing out 2.5 pounds citrus, there is no way could I eye ball it. The recipe would have been a disaster without my scale. It's always on my counter and doesn't take more than a moment to use.

    I have learned a lot from weighing food, especially store bought breads. It's easy to spot which breads will have more calories then stated on their package.
  • shrestan
    shrestan Posts: 4 Member
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    Is calorie counting really sustainable on a long term basis?

    The theory of calorie in - calorie out is flawed from a thermodynamics perspective [1]. However, it seems to be working within the Western culture because most of the food consumed here is not really food but man-made food-type substances that are made in big plants [2].

    And hence, the need to count those calories which can cause insulin spikes like crazy. Plus, the added preservatives come as a bonus.

    When you eat mostly whole foods, cooked at home (coz all restaurants care about is taste which often comes at the cost of lots of oil, salt, and sugar), one will not have to count calories at all and the person will weigh less and feel awesome.

    You'll literally burn more fat if you overload yourself with plants, vegetables, green leaves, nuts, fruits, etc. It's a concept called energy density [3].

    But if we're talking burgers, Mac n Cheese, Store bought pasta, bread, etc and calling them food - then I guess caloric restriction does seem to help by starving the body where it begins to burn fat until a point after which it starts burning muscle.

    Since we have a lot of folks here who count calories which is nothing wrong I think but was that a lie told by the fitness industry to get people all amped up about a concept that a 2nd grader can understand?

    I'd ask you to talk to the fittest friends in your peer group and ask them if they count calories. Curious to know the answers across diff. geography.

    References -
    1. http://tim.blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/
    2. https://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/014311638X
    3. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/eating-more-to-weigh-less/
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    Ironandwine69 wrote: »
    rsipock wrote: »
    Before attending these boards I had been with Precision Nutrition. Over there we never count calories. In fact, they don't believe counting is a "leverage point"--meaning that it is not worth the time-investment. So I've never weighed anything in my life. If you cared, you could look at my food blog and you would see that my feedings are super clean, super boring, and my goals are met predictably. So counting isn't the only way.

    Time investment is exactly my point when I say too time consuming.

    The big misunderstanding from some people who posted on this blog, is that not counting means eat what you want.
    No, that's not the case.
    I watch what I eat very carefully. I am not the cleanest eater but I don't eat junk. IF has been my lifestyle for years( which probably makes not counting easier since I get 80% - 90% of my food intake in one meal).

    To wrap this up, I think counting is a great tool. But also, I don't know anyone that counted all his/her life( maybe there are people that do, but I wonder how many). What happens when/if you stop counting?...

    That's a fair question.

    What would happen if I were to stop counting?

    Well, I also IF, but I eat within a window. I'd still eat within that window and to the schedule I currently eat. I pretty much know which foods have a good satiety/caloric ratio and would stick to them and would try my best to pay attention to my hunger cues, though they are admittedly broken. I would eat slowly and mindfully just to the point of being no longer hungry. I'd weigh daily like I do now and track the trend, making adjustments to intake as necessary to prevent scale creep.

    So I know what I'd do, I just prefer to count calories and log because to me it removes an element of guesswork that would leave me feeling anxious.

    Different strokes for different folks.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Traveler120 wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Ironandwine69 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    It's not true that it's time consuming, though, and I hate it when people try to make it sound like this big horrible burden or something people would only do if they were overly neurotic.


    But sure, whatever.

    It IS true that it's time consuming( for me). Unless you eat everything out of a box. I cook most of my meals from scratch. It's easy to scan a box, not so easy to count and measure everything you are putting in your meal for a family.


    I cook everything from scratch and it is not time consuming for me at all. I have to put food needing to be cooked into some kind of pan or bowl so why not put it into a pan or bowl sitting on a scale? Food not needing to be cooked can be plated while the plate is on the scale.

    Dump, note weight, hit tare, dump next ingredient. Rinse and repeat.

    Until when? The end of time? Who wants to be a slave to the scale. Measuring or weighing should be a temporary learning tool to understand calories in food. After that, one should know enough about various foods and quantities that eyeballing should be sufficient for the long term.

    If someone doesn't want to weigh long term, that's fine. But I think it's unnecessary to declare that others should stop weighing. I know, from experience, that I'm terrible at eyeballing. I have no problem weighing long term because it frees me up to think about other things. Using a tool to do something more efficiently doesn't equal being a "slave." Sometimes it's just the smartest way to solve a particular problem.

    One of the other reasons I like the idea of weighing food is that the idea of cutting out foods when the scale creep happens doesn't appeal to me. I'd rather keep my food choices open and monitor my intake (and I'm a terrible eyeballer too) than go through a spell where I'm feeling deprived because my weight starts creeping up and lather, rinse, repeat for the rest of my life.

    But again, this is me, and I know me, my personality, and what will work for me.

    I'm exactly the same way you are. The scale, to me, is a tool that frees me to eat what I like and that's why I continue to use it.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    shrestan wrote: »
    Is calorie counting really sustainable on a long term basis?

    The theory of calorie in - calorie out is flawed from a thermodynamics perspective [1]. However, it seems to be working within the Western culture because most of the food consumed here is not really food but man-made food-type substances that are made in big plants [2].

    And hence, the need to count those calories which can cause insulin spikes like crazy. Plus, the added preservatives come as a bonus.

    When you eat mostly whole foods, cooked at home (coz all restaurants care about is taste which often comes at the cost of lots of oil, salt, and sugar), one will not have to count calories at all and the person will weigh less and feel awesome.

    You'll literally burn more fat if you overload yourself with plants, vegetables, green leaves, nuts, fruits, etc. It's a concept called energy density [3].

    But if we're talking burgers, Mac n Cheese, Store bought pasta, bread, etc and calling them food - then I guess caloric restriction does seem to help by starving the body where it begins to burn fat until a point after which it starts burning muscle.

    Since we have a lot of folks here who count calories which is nothing wrong I think but was that a lie told by the fitness industry to get people all amped up about a concept that a 2nd grader can understand?

    I'd ask you to talk to the fittest friends in your peer group and ask them if they count calories. Curious to know the answers across diff. geography.

    References -
    1. http://tim.blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/
    2. https://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/014311638X
    3. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/eating-more-to-weigh-less/

    Sorry. Incorrect. Move along...
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Options
    RAinWA wrote: »
    shrestan wrote: »
    Is calorie counting really sustainable on a long term basis?

    The theory of calorie in - calorie out is flawed from a thermodynamics perspective [1]. However, it seems to be working within the Western culture because most of the food consumed here is not really food but man-made food-type substances that are made in big plants [2].

    And hence, the need to count those calories which can cause insulin spikes like crazy. Plus, the added preservatives come as a bonus.

    When you eat mostly whole foods, cooked at home (coz all restaurants care about is taste which often comes at the cost of lots of oil, salt, and sugar), one will not have to count calories at all and the person will weigh less and feel awesome.

    You'll literally burn more fat if you overload yourself with plants, vegetables, green leaves, nuts, fruits, etc. It's a concept called energy density [3].

    But if we're talking burgers, Mac n Cheese, Store bought pasta, bread, etc and calling them food - then I guess caloric restriction does seem to help by starving the body where it begins to burn fat until a point after which it starts burning muscle.

    Since we have a lot of folks here who count calories which is nothing wrong I think but was that a lie told by the fitness industry to get people all amped up about a concept that a 2nd grader can understand?

    I'd ask you to talk to the fittest friends in your peer group and ask them if they count calories. Curious to know the answers across diff. geography.

    References -
    1. http://tim.blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/
    2. https://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/014311638X
    3. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/eating-more-to-weigh-less/

    That's funny. Really. I got to morbidly obese eating whole foods as the majority of my diet. I lived with a chef who eschewed anything pre-made or convenience type foods and seriously disliked going to restaurants. Maintaining a 125+ weight loss eating pretty much anything I want, including store bought pasta, bread, burgers, etc.

    And you counted the mythical calories in those foods too, right?

  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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    J72FIT wrote: »
    shrestan wrote: »
    Is calorie counting really sustainable on a long term basis?

    The theory of calorie in - calorie out is flawed from a thermodynamics perspective [1]. However, it seems to be working within the Western culture because most of the food consumed here is not really food but man-made food-type substances that are made in big plants [2].

    And hence, the need to count those calories which can cause insulin spikes like crazy. Plus, the added preservatives come as a bonus.

    When you eat mostly whole foods, cooked at home (coz all restaurants care about is taste which often comes at the cost of lots of oil, salt, and sugar), one will not have to count calories at all and the person will weigh less and feel awesome.

    You'll literally burn more fat if you overload yourself with plants, vegetables, green leaves, nuts, fruits, etc. It's a concept called energy density [3].

    But if we're talking burgers, Mac n Cheese, Store bought pasta, bread, etc and calling them food - then I guess caloric restriction does seem to help by starving the body where it begins to burn fat until a point after which it starts burning muscle.

    Since we have a lot of folks here who count calories which is nothing wrong I think but was that a lie told by the fitness industry to get people all amped up about a concept that a 2nd grader can understand?

    I'd ask you to talk to the fittest friends in your peer group and ask them if they count calories. Curious to know the answers across diff. geography.

    References -
    1. http://tim.blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/
    2. https://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/014311638X
    3. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/eating-more-to-weigh-less/

    Sorry. Incorrect. Move along...

    Move along????Is this high school??

    At least he provided sources, where are yours?
    And I'm not saying I agree with what he said.

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