I’m new to counting everything

Question

I’ve never really been one to count calories. I just cut back on carbs.  But now I’m dead set on doing this the right way.  In fact, I found a chair yoga for amputees, so Monday I’m starting.  (Sunday was my day I set aside for rest, before I found the chair yoga, it’s football day here)

I’m short on my calories for the day.  I’m not hungry. I didn’t overeat at dinner.  Is it ok to go over? And what if I go over in the other areas? Will this hurt my diet?

AnnPT77 · Answer

It's OK to eat under goal occasionally, usually not a great idea to do it routinely.

Adequate calories are the foundation of health; fast weight loss can feel thrilling at first, but eventually tends to cause bouts of deprivation-triggered over-eating, breaks in the action, or even giving up altogether because it becomes Just. Too. Hard.

I agree with Sollyn that it's fine to focus on calories first, though I'd add satiety into the initial focus, too.  Feeling relatively full most of the time helps a person stick with it.  That makes satiety something to give attention, too.

Longer-run, it's fine to be over on any of the macros, within reason.  What do I mean by "within reason"?

Protein and fats contain essential nutrients, things our bodies can't manufacture out of other intake.  That means we need to eat certain minimums of those for best health.  That's not "perfect every day" as a goal, though.  "Pretty close on average over a few days, most of the time" is fine.  Carbohydrates are more flexible . . . not because they're unimportant, but because they're so important that our bodies can manufacture carb-equivalents out of extra protein or fats if necessary.

So, when I say it's OK to be over over macro goals "within reason", I'm suggesting that as you set up some new, routine eating habits, you avoid being routinely, consistently lots under protein or fats goals.  Most people seem to be OK with fats without deliberate attention, so it's common to focus more on protein.  As a mini-bonus, protein requires a bit more calories to digest/metabolize.  As a bigger bonus, it helps us keep and - if we add the right exercise stimulus - even increase our muscle mass (a good thing, obviously).

It's true though, as mentioned, that we don't need to dial in the macros right off the bat.  They don't affect weight loss directly: That's about calories.  Indirectly, nutrition can matter. Sub-par nutrition over the longer haul can trigger fatigue or spike appetite.  If that happens, we burn fewer than expected calories through movement, or have trouble staying within calorie goal.  That can matter.  But the direct impact on weight loss is still via calories.

So, first figure out how to eat close to a sensible calorie goal while feeling mostly full and happy.  Once that's going pretty well, your food log will tell you if your nutrition could be improved for health reasons.  You can then start tweaking your routine eating habits to tune up nutrition, macros first, maybe fiber and micros later.

Best wishes for success!

P.S.  Maybe it's just me, but I think any method of weight loss that works to get a person to a good weight and keep them there long term, staying healthy and well-nourished alongside, is "the right way".  Calorie counting is ONE way, IMO, not THE right way.  It suits me well, but it won't suit everyone, and that's OK as long as they can find something that does work for them.

sollyn23l2 · Answer

If you're not hungry, it generally wouldn't make sense to eat more and go over. I wouldn't worry about macros right now, just calories. Take some time , don't rush, and focus on accurately measuring everything you eat. Really get yourself in the habit of if it goes in your mouth, it get tracked first. You got this.