calorie counting is impossible in the long run
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It just all depends on the person.
I consider it a habit, and also necessary so I can make sure I’m getting ENOUGH food during my weight loss journey. Most other diets I ended not eating enough and harming my body.
For some people, it works. For some, I won’t.0 -
Not if it is for portion control. I have been doing very well. I haven't "cut" a lot of foods out of my diet, but I am cutting down on how much I have of them. It is an eye opener on what I can actually eat and still be under calories if I just watch HOW much I eat of them. As one person stated, it is like eyeglasses, and they are for me. I actually enjoy logging. It really helps me.
Will I do it long term? Well, if I weigh less than I did 8 years ago by Thanksgiving - heck yeah! Talk about inspiration and motivation!0 -
I enjoy counting calories, as now I feel in control, and thanks to the modern age of computers, there are sites/software that "count" for us, I couldn't diet without them.
I don't expect my calorie intake to be accurate, but gives me a rough ideas, just gotta remember the extras you might put on your dinner, such as gravy or butter, they are easy to forget and leave them out.0 -
I bet when you first road a bike, your folks put training wheels on it. You learned to balance yourself on the bike, while the training wheels were on. When the wheels came off, you had learned how to balance, and were no longer relying on the training wheels to catch you.
Likewise, if you are heavy and have had no idea how many calories are in the foods you eat, you need to learn about caloric intake and what you're eating. So no, the idea would not be to log every single calorie that you eat for the rest of your life. The idea is that you learn about portion control and calorie values so that you can make better choices for the rest of your life, once the training wheels come off.
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Calorie Counting can lead to obsession but I prefer to think to think of it as Calorie Counting leads to Education of what one puts in their body.0
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It's a good topic. I don't think everyone who has a decent shape counts calories but if you have a very specific goal, then you need to approach things scientifically leaving out a lot of guesswork. Eg if you want to lose weight then you need to monitor things so you're not eating too little and not eating too much.
As they say, you can't outrun a bad diet.
However, I'm getting an idea of how much I need to eat per meal in order to eat enough protein and the right amount of calories for the amount of training I do. I'll still use MFP until the point where something crops up (whatever that may be).0 -
go back into your cave little troll .......
I thought trolls live under bridges?0 -
I bet when you first road a bike, your folks put training wheels on it. You learned to balance yourself on the bike, while the training wheels were on. When the wheels came off, you had learned how to balance, and were no longer relying on the training wheels to catch you.
Likewise, if you are heavy and have had no idea how many calories are in the foods you eat, you need to learn about caloric intake and what you're eating. So no, the idea would not be to log every single calorie that you eat for the rest of your life. The idea is that you learn about portion control and calorie values so that you can make better choices for the rest of your life, once the training wheels come off.
I really like this. Nice way to explain it. My "training wheels" came off a long time ago, but I still like to ride my bike.0 -
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"Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated"
Love this 0 -
Different things work for different people. Calorie counting works for me.0
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Love this!OK......Give me your opinion.
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
"Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated"0 -
OK......Give me your opinion.
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
I disagree. If i were not tracking calories, I'd probably go over them and wonder why im not losing weight.
Progressive strength training will make one stronger, but my body is not ready to do that yet. so im losing weight by counting calories.0 -
OK......Give me your opinion.
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
False dichotomy - one can focus on both calorie management and fitness. You can't out train a poor diet.
^This.
Also, being knowledgeable about what you are eating is not obsessive. And it is possible to find the balance between counting and being able to enjoy certain times/days without worrying about it. For example, someone who counts every day, but takes Saturdays off. Or doesn't stress on Christmas, birthdays, special occasions, etc.0 -
I bet when you first road a bike, your folks put training wheels on it. You learned to balance yourself on the bike, while the training wheels were on. When the wheels came off, you had learned how to balance, and were no longer relying on the training wheels to catch you.
Likewise, if you are heavy and have had no idea how many calories are in the foods you eat, you need to learn about caloric intake and what you're eating. So no, the idea would not be to log every single calorie that you eat for the rest of your life. The idea is that you learn about portion control and calorie values so that you can make better choices for the rest of your life, once the training wheels come off.
I really like this. Nice way to explain it. My "training wheels" came off a long time ago, but I still like to ride my bike.
A family friend of ours has won categories in the Senior Olympics. He is fit and in his 70's and looks amazing. Tall, slender guy. I know he's never counted calories. But I've seen him eat. He's usually the last one finished eating at the table. He eats slow. And he eats the least.
The rest of us have teased him before, because he eats to so little and so slow. Unfortunately, because the rest of us are all overweight, he can't tease us back. But I know it's no coincidence that he's in great shape and has always eaten this way. For me, it is about learning to eat differently. I hope once I get it in my head, it'll stick!0 -
False, if overall health was simply a matter of activity and proper nutrition without a way to monitor and measure I would have never been heavy to begin with . . . my eating habits and activity level never really changed, just my portions. Having dealt with various eating disorders and having OCD tendencies I can tell you there is a difference between obsessed and dedicated (accountable for yourself), I'm not obsessed, but I am dedicated to not ending up where I was 3 years ago.0
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Impossible. No. Not ideal (for me at least). Yes.
My ideal would be one where I can pretty much eyeball how much I need to maintain and only track periodically when I know I'm eating foods likely to give me problems if I overeat them.0 -
Totally agree..........I couldn't live my life counting calories and looking at packaging.........I already look stupid when people spot me hahaha!!!
Short term.... Yes
Long term..........for me.........No!!
Good way to lose weight though, by tracking on here and REALISING just how much you do eat in a day.
This site is an eye opener0 -
I suppose if you ate only healthy, nourishing foods and listened to your body (eat when hungry, stop when almost full) you could go into maintenance without logging. That's a behavior you need to learn though. I like to log so I can see exactly what I'm putting in my body. I'm pretty much at maintenance, but want to continue to lean out, so watching macros is helpful for me.
I guess whatever works and keeps you on track is what you need to do. If you get obsessed with counting calories, then try another method.0 -
call me obsessive. I've been doing it for years0
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OK......Give me your opinion.
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
Rationalization
Definition: An unconscious defense mechanism in which irrational or unacceptable behavior, motives, or feelings are logically justified or made consciously tolerable by plausible means.0 -
One one hand, yeah, I can see that counting calories can become obsessive. I get burnt out on it and take breaks from logging.
On the other hand... how is it any different from balancing your checkbook? MFP is Quicken for calories.0 -
What?? I am sure you have seen lots of opinions on this statement. I am not at goal yet, however when I reach it, I will continue to track. My husband is at goal and currently adding muscle and still tracks his food. MFP is a great tool for everyone to use. Who cares if people look at someone like they are crazy because they read label, check their food out on mfp before they order, or figure out how many calories they have to spend when they head out? It is comparable to budgeting money...just calories instead and EVERYONE wants to be as wealthy/healthy as they can be.0
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Like everything else in life - it depends on the person. No one form of anything (diet or otherwise) will work for all people. If counting calories works for you, great, do it. If it doesn't, move on and find what does. It works for me at the moment and I intend to continue to use it until i reach goal. Once I figure out how to manage maintanence, I hope I can stop logging. but if I need to continue to keep myself in check, no big deal. It takes seconds a day to record everything - and I don't get obsessive about it.0
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Great going......folks0
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OK......Give me your opinion.
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
"Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ One of my favorite quotes!!!! people say I'm obsessed all the time as they reach for their second donut....0 -
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
Nope.
You can't out-train a bad diet. Or, as the phrase I have adopted says, "You can't outrun a fork!"
The primary reason why most Americans are overweight is because if you just eat without thinking about what you are eating it is trivially easy to overeat. Many of the foods Americans eat are cheap, convenient, tasty, and calorie dense. If you eat without thought to what you are eating, you are virtually guaranteed to gain weight.
If we lived in a "primitive" society like we did 100 years ago not only would we probably be more physically active but our diet choices would be restricted to seasonal and less calorie-dense foods. Today that is not the case.
I honestly think that in reality nearly everyone, even healthy people, will ultimately need to start tracking their caloric intake or they will almost certainly end up gaining weight.0 -
UMM. I think if you do it for a while and your eating the same foods. You get an idea how much to eat of what kind of foods. How much treat calories you can have to maintain your weight. I say if it works for others then let it be. There are lots of people maintain for a few years on here that still count calories at least most of the week.0
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OK......Give me your opinion.
calorie counting leads to obsession.It is not ideal for permanent fatloss.Instead one should focus on nourishing ones body and use
progressive strength training to get stronger .Fatloss will be a byproduct of getting healthy...
"Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated"
Yup. Not that there isn't a place for strength training, but calorie counting. WORKS. And doesn't overwhelm your day unless you want it to.0 -
Calorie counting leads to.... knowing how many calories you're taking on board.0
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