Has counting calories had a negative or positive impact on you?

Jackkk98

Before I downloaded this app I would never think about what I was eating. I would eat whatever I wanted without question. As a result of this I have been overweight for the majority of my life. Counting calories has had a positive impact on me as I have lost 8 pounds in a single month just from being on a caloric deficit. I had a tendency to binge eat and if I want to binge eat on candy I still can but I will only be able to eat a few chocolate bars and for the rest of the day I won't be able to eat anything else as it would go over my calorie count. This works as a deterrent to binge eating as I won't be able to have a single meal if I binge which will result in hunger. I have also learnt about the crazy amount of calories I was consuming just from drinks alone. I was consuming around 4000 calories from drinks every week which is around 2 additional days of food. Does anyone else find counting calories helpful or does anyone dislike counting calories.

MossiO

I find it helpful, but I still really wish I was a person who could naturally eat my maintenance calories without tracking. But I know I can't, and so I will track forever.

gothchiq

Positive. I'm not a fatty any more.

JaydedMiss

Counting calories lead to me losing 100 pounds in a year (235-130)...After spending 2 years (20-22 thats like supposed to be the funnest years of my life) on bed rest with a heart condition. I turn 24 in 3 days and i can now rock a mini dress and stilettos and be a sexy bombshell for the first time in my life. I can have fun. I can run up stairs and not almost die (literally) Im more social, Less depressed, And i no longer feel the world is trying to kill me.

So yeah ima say calorie counting is extremely positive. Nothing would have changed if i didnt take the time to learn what i was eating.

OliveGirl128

I've been tracking calories in some form for the last 5ish years. That, along with adjusting my calorie intake to match my weight management goals, has resulted in a 50lb loss, improvements to all my health markers/blood work, (including stabilizing a high glucose number), going from size 14 jeans to size 4s and finally, has made it possible for me to maintain my weight loss and better health for over 4 years now.

Counting calories has worked pretty darn great for me

janejellyroll

Overwhelmingly positive. It got me out of the cycle of yo-yo weight loss that had been an issue for my adult life. I find it to be easy, convenient, and it fits well with my lifestyle. It makes maintaining my weight loss so easy, I don't plan on stopping.

bkbirge

I find counting calories helpful and frankly necessary to success. I had a very skewed idea of what a single portion size of many food items was until I started counting. And it is quite easy to slip back into those old viewpoints without the discipline of daily logging. I brush my teeth, comb my hair, etc. daily. I view counting as just another basic body maintenance/hygiene type item. It also helps to pre-log instead of waiting until the end of the day, even if I deviate from the plan I have mentally prepared myself with expectations so I'm not as likely to go over. If I wait until the end of the day to log, it can be a gamble whether I've significantly gone over or not. So a big vote for positive here.

Tabbycat00

Extremely positive. I was anorexic and terrified of food and eating. Thanks to counting calories I can keep that feeling of "control" while staying at a healthy weight.

ladyhusker39

The awareness of what I'm eating has been extremely helpful. I never would have guessed I was consistently taking in so many calories.

MegaMooseEsq

I've found it quite freeing. I've never tried to lose weight before, as I saw what binge dieting did to my mom and sister growing up and promised myself I'd never do that. I gained a lot of weight over the last decade and realized that I felt out of control of my body. So I started counting calories last year, and then this year started making sustainable, gradual changes to my diet. Calorie counting gives me that feeling of control back, and with reasonable, gradual goals, being able to track those changes over time feels great and gives me something concrete to say "yes, I can do this, let's keep going!"

SaraydaB

For me it has been really positive... Now I know the best way to eat.. I was eating way too many calories a day... n

Maxematics

Positive. I only gained weight during a very depressive period and my starting weight was already in the healthy range on the BMI scale but it didn't look good on me. I would have been undereating without MFP and failed when it came to losing weight because I would have had binge/restrict cycles. It's good to know how much I can actually eat sometimes when my brain may try to tell me otherwise. It's also really eye-opening to see how much "bang for your buck" you can get calorie wise by making certain food choices. It's certainly helped me adopt a healthier diet.

sijomial

Jackkk98 wrote: »

Does anyone else find counting calories helpful or does anyone dislike counting calories.

Both!

I found it very helpful when losing weight. Educational to see where by calories came from, massively helpful for precision by taking away guesswork and crucially - stripped away any excuses.

But I dislike counting calories so I stopped. Happily maintaining by being calorie aware but not counting.

rybo

I despise counting calories and haven't done so in a very long time. However, for a short period of time, it was very eye opening to understand how much I was eating, serving sizes, etc.
Love it or hate it, it's a huge tool to understand your intake, even if done for only a short period of time.

MommaGem2017

MossiO wrote: »

I find it helpful, but I still really wish I was a person who could naturally eat my maintenance calories without tracking. But I know I can't, and so I will track forever.

This is me exactly. However, I still find tracking calories a positive experience for me as it helps me become much more mindful about what I'm eating, and I enjoy the eating experience more.

samm_ohh

I find that I lose weight when I count my calories. I've been off and on using the app for a couple years and logging my intake makes me aware of what eating of how much I eat. When I don't log my intake I maintain it gain

katnadreau

Definitely positive. I love seeing my calories for the day go up after an awesome workout, I love finding different foods to fill my day with. I love wine and I no longer feel massive guilt for drinking a glass because I can see I have room for it. I love that I can see how consistent i have been with staying on track, and know that one care free date night a month with my husband won't eliminate all progress. I did take a few weeks off of counting calories and tried counting points. I was hungry, grumpy, couldn't eat any of the foods I loved without feeling massive guilt. I'll gladly count calories for life.

Francl27

I lost 80 lbs (gained 10 back sadly), so yeah, I can say that it has had a positive impact for me.

cwolfman13

Both...positive in that it helped me drop my weight and improve my overall health and it taught me how to eat appropriately. Negative in that in the end I was overly obsessed with the numbers. The tipping point was my wife's birthday and I was all stressed out about eating at this very nice restaurant because I couldn't count the calories...she told me to stop already, and I did...haven't counted a single calorie in over 4 years.

timtam163

I find it helpful to do every once in a while in order to become mindful of just how much I'm consuming. I won't do it every day for the rest of my life but I think it was helpful to keep me from crash dieting in order to lose weight, or from relying on exercise and neglecting nutrition.

HeidiCooksSupper

When I count calories, I stay at a deficit and I lose weight. When I stop counting calories, my consumption increases and I slide back up to the mid-280s. I have many years experience of this. Weighing twice what I ought is finally severely retricting my activities. This time feels different. This time I'm understanding that watching calorie consumption is something I will be doing for the rest of my life.

sczoo26

For me it has been very positive, before I started calorie counting I would quite happily add more mayo and then more.. And eat what I liked when I liked, since starting calorie counting I feel I am in control of food and not food being in control of me.. I will never look at mayo In the same way again, and to see how many calories are in somethings is a real eye opener too, so yeah ima say calories counting has made a huge impact to my life and I'm so greatful

CaliMomTeach

Positive. I am aware in a way I wasn't for most of my life, and dropped over 50 pounds in about 8 months. The only "negative" is that I can no longer be blissfully ignorant that eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's chunky monkey or the entire side of french fries at In-N-Out has such a high calorie count, and what a large percentage of my daily intake that is. You can't "unknow" what you learn by calorie counting, and that is really a good thing. Not giving myself permission to eat whatever tastes good to me in whatever amount I feel like has been a very new thing for me over the past year. In my 20s and early 30s, I did this without much trouble, but after having two children and getting older the weight started to pile on. I must have been more active younger or just burned more calories or ate high calorie foods but less often. Now, I know I need to count and pay attention to keep the weight off. When I stopped counting for vacations, I did put on some weight. I will take breaks here and there for vacations and holidays, but I see calorie counting as a lifelong thing for me.

candicew70

Positive. I often think "oh I didn't eat that much today." But then when I add it all up, I see what I really ate. Usually it's plenty :-) And I want to be sure to get 30% protein, which is usually a challenge, so that too.

Chef_Barbell

Counting calories has been positive for me...

AlabasterVerve

Definitely positive - the more tools the better. Counting calories isn't part of my maintenance strategy (even though I periodically count calories just because I like to) but it was extremely helpful determining exactly what it is about my low carb diet that keeps my calories in check.

Keeping carbs low is important for me (obviously or I wouldn't do it) but the impact on my eating patterns is what I've found matters the most. It's not uncommon for people to stall on a low carb diet and you'll find all sorts of lists of what to cut out if you do (cream, cheese, nuts, sweeteners, fruit etc.) or people will restrict carbs even further thinking that's the problem.

Having a firm grasp on calorie counting and that insight into my eating patterns after logging for so long has been invaluable.

Tammyjo06

As much as I would not like to count calories, I absolutely have to. It's the key to my success. Otherwise I mindlessly put things in my body that add up fast to a disaster! lol I wish I could be one of those people who can casually eat and not keep track. I can still have fun and eat yummy things. I'm just that person who needs to visually be aware of food. What can I say? I love good food!

sardelsa

It has definitely helped me have more calorie awareness.. it helped me lose, gain and maintain at one point. It was pretty essential when I was bulking a few years ago to make sure I was eating enough according to plan.

But now I typically can't be bothered, sometimes I log a meal or day to check in and see how my macros look. Otherwise I just kind of wing it.

SmithsonianEmpress

It has been positive for me in addition to having a food scale, which I was totally against for quite some time. I feel more educated about my health.

mlinci

Very positive for me - I lost close to 50 lbs, and have been maintaining for a few months now. I'm the lightest I've been since my early 20's and I eat chocolate every day. What's not to like?

CattOfTheGarage

Positive. So far it's the only way I've found not to persistently overeat, and not only does that help with my weight, it makes me happier, too.