Counting/measuring food

Springfield1970

I spend 5 minutes at the most logging my foods. I spend about 3 minutes weighing. It gets faster the more I do it. For such amazing results and control, I think that's a pretty good rate of return.

Tell yourself off for being lazy. ; ) x Would you run your finances haphazardly?

lamps1303

You just do it. I don't enjoy brushing my teeth either, but I have to do it. For me logging food and exercising is the same thing.

I was going to say the same thing, only about wiping my @ss :laugh:

It's not FUN, but it's the best/cheapest/most efficient/sustainable way of losing and maintaining weight. Suck it up. We all have to, no one's special.

Couldn't have put it any better myself
/end thread

chelso0o

I think you could maintain without counting and measuring every single thing that goes in your mouth if you eat the same foods very regularly and only count calories for meals that are out of your normal eating pattern. For example, if you eat the same breakfast and snacks every day and rotate through lunches and dinners that you already know the calorie count for. You have measured/weighed/counted those meals so many times that you can eyeball it. For meals that are out of the normal, you would have to look those up and make sure you make choices that are within a good calorie range for you (for example, if you want to stay under 600 calories for dinner and 500 calories for lunch because you know that will get your to the right number). But if you are eating different foods every day, it would be hard to figure out calories without counting and measuring everything.

^^This.

I don't weigh or measure every little thing, especially when I eat a meal I've had numerous times before. However, I tend to measure things like shredded or crumbled cheeses, count nuts, or if I am having chips I count those. I also measure *some* sauces. I do not weigh or measure lean meats or veggies. Those I eyeball. So, it is possible not to weigh or measure every little thing but maybe 40% or so.

ratty_uk2011

I measure and record only calorie dense foods where a small underestimation has a big effect on your intake. Think nuts, oils, cheese, meat, pasta, bread etc.

Don't bother with non-starchy veg and low-fructose fruit and the like.

KBRB1

Eliminate sugars, white flour, white rice, and full fat dairy from your diet. You will be fine if you are conscientious.
I lost the needed 25 lbs slowly and kept it off for 5 years. Recently gained back 5 lbs when I started eating sugar again.
The trouble with counting calories is it doesn't account for the quality or nutritional value of food. It's a good guide line to
help you be aware of how much you are consuming, but it is not the end all, be all.

Blokeypoo

I have been maintaining for a year and weighing etc for 2yrs in June.

It's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make.

That said, I eat at a 250cal deficit M-F to allow for more food at w/e which is when I want it for eating out or family stuff so that helps the brain monkey quiet!

I weigh myself daily (always havve, even when heavier) and of course Sat it's perfect and Mon am it's a shocker, but my ov erall trend (on trendweight) is perfect maintenance and I'm not complaining!

SezxyStef

I spend 5 minutes at the most logging my foods. I spend about 3 minutes weighing. It gets faster the more I do it. For such amazing results and control, I think that's a pretty good rate of return.

Tell yourself off for being lazy. ; ) x Would you run your finances haphazardly?

This...

I mean really? how long does it take to log? How long does it take to weigh your food?

When we make cookies you don't haphazardly throw ingrediants in? No you measure them...

I am prepared to leave my food scale on my kitchen counter for the rest of my life...put my plate on it, turn it on and dish out my food...easy peasy...as well as logging...it's too easy to fall back into weight gain mode...I've proven that by yo yoing the same 30lbs for 3 years..

This is the first time since my son was born that I have lost weight and kept it off longer than 6months.

lamps1303

Eliminate sugars, white flour, white rice, and full fat dairy from your diet. You will be fine if you are conscientious.
I lost the needed 25 lbs slowly and kept it off for 5 years. Recently gained back 5 lbs when I started eating sugar again ..

That's the problem. There is no need to completely eliminate sugars from your diet IIFYM, unless you plan on avoiding sugars for the rest of your life (doubtful), so this is an unsusainable method. Everything in moderation. Log EVERYTHING. If, at the end of the day (or you have planned out your day beforehand) you have enough calories and macros for the slice of cake you want - there is no reason why you can't eat it.

DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh

This is an interesting video regarding measuring…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

ndj1979

you just make it a part of your day and do it …

I have never really had a problem with weighing everything and never really found it tiresome….

ndj1979

Eliminate sugars, white flour, white rice, and full fat dairy from your diet. You will be fine if you are conscientious.
I lost the needed 25 lbs slowly and kept it off for 5 years. Recently gained back 5 lbs when I started eating sugar again.
The trouble with counting calories is it doesn't account for the quality or nutritional value of food. It's a good guide line to
help you be aware of how much you are consuming, but it is not the end all, be all.

LOLZ …and the sugar and white flour/rice fear mongering continues…

so you are saying I can eat all the brown rice I want and I will not gain weight? What about wheat bread, is that negative calories..??

jimmmer

Eliminate sugars, white flour, white rice, and full fat dairy from your diet. You will be fine if you are conscientious.
I lost the needed 25 lbs slowly and kept it off for 5 years. Recently gained back 5 lbs when I started eating sugar again.
The trouble with counting calories is it doesn't account for the quality or nutritional value of food. It's a good guide line to
help you be aware of how much you are consuming, but it is not the end all, be all.

You reintroduced carb sources that you had been restricting? Probably led to an increase in glycogen storage which in turn led to an increase in water storage. It's not really a bf issue.

3-5lbs gain rather rapidly wouldn't be out of the way. It is not reflective of 5lbs of fat gain though - unless you have something like before/after dexa scans to back up your assertion that you managed to gain 5lbs of fat rapidly without being in a surplus (if that is indeed your claim) due to sugar being present in your diet.

Of course this is assuming people care about fat gain and loss when they speak of weight gain and loss. If they are concerned purely with scale weight, then fluctuations in this could be down to any number of things.

dq_14

I have been thinking about this for the past two weeks -- and I'm in the "losing weight" stage, not even "maintaining."

When I gained about 15 pounds two years ago, I started logging everything I ate using a calorie counter app, and without even exercising much, I went back in shape. With a busy schedule and too much stress, however, I gave up what had become a habit for a few months. After I gave up counting calories, I started gaining weight and after a few unsuccessful attempts to log my food again, I gained much more than I had lost back then -- now I have about 25 lbs to go!

This time, I decided to change my lifestyle once and for all. The main goal is losing weight, but I want to have a healthy life more than anything. Rather than starving myself with diets that don't last more than a few weeks, I eat healthy, home-cooked food and exercise. To see if I've been on the right track, I saw a nutritionist two weeks ago. I told her I stopped logging every bit of my food, but rather I started watching what I ate. (I'm already familiar with the calorie count of the food I eat after months of logging calories and measuring food -- I try not to have a breakfast over 400 calories, for example.) As I was telling the nutritionist about my diet routines (how I eat 3/4 cup of cereals, with half a cup of skim milk and a tablespoon of honey -- which is about 250 calories), she stopped me and said, "you say you don't count calories anymore, but you still do." According to her, I should never ever count calories, because if I do, I will gain more weight than ever the minute I stop -- and she says, I, like everyone, will stop at some point because my body will start to crave the essential fats, sugars and proteins it's been missing. She, as an expert (and quite a skinny person), may have a point but I'm confused. How can I lose 25 pounds if I completely omit tracking my calories and measuring my food? What do you think about what the nutritionist said? Could calorie counting be a mistake?

(Sorry about the long post. I'd really appreciate your comments!)

jimmmer

I have been thinking about this for the past two weeks -- and I'm in the "losing weight" stage, not even "maintaining."

When I gained about 15 pounds two years ago, I started logging everything I ate using a calorie counter app, and without even exercising much, I went back in shape. With a busy schedule and too much stress, however, I gave up what had become a habit for a few months. After I gave up counting calories, I started gaining weight and after a few unsuccessful attempts to log my food again, I gained much more than I had lost back then -- now I have about 25 lbs to go!

This time, I decided to change my lifestyle once and for all. The main goal is losing weight, but I want to have a healthy life more than anything. Rather than starving myself with diets that don't last more than a few weeks, I eat healthy, home-cooked food and exercise. To see if I've been on the right track, I saw a nutritionist two weeks ago. I told her I stopped logging every bit of my food, but rather I started watching what I ate. (I'm already familiar with the calorie count of the food I eat after months of logging calories and measuring food -- I try not to have a breakfast over 400 calories, for example.) As I was telling the nutritionist about my diet routines (how I eat 3/4 cup of cereals, with half a cup of skim milk and a tablespoon of honey -- which is about 250 calories), she stopped me and said, "you say you don't count calories anymore, but you still do." According to her, I should never ever count calories, because if I do, I will gain more weight than ever the minute I stop -- and she says, I, like everyone, will stop at some point because my body will start to crave the essential fats, sugars and proteins it's been missing. She, as an expert (and quite a skinny person), may have a point but I'm confused. How can I lose 25 pounds if I completely omit tracking my calories and measuring my food? What do you think about what the nutritionist said? Could calorie counting be a mistake?

(Sorry about the long post. I'd really appreciate your comments!)

Well, don't cut out essential fats, sugars and proteins - just reduce the amount you eat to put you in a modest deficit.

You need to retrain yourself that healthy isn't cutting something out. Lots of healthy people eat all kinds of things and they still lose weight.

stealthq

...
How can I lose 25 pounds if I completely omit tracking my calories and measuring my food? What do you think about what the nutritionist said? Could calorie counting be a mistake?

(Sorry about the long post. I'd really appreciate your comments!)

If you are able to reduce your portions and therefore your calories enough, you can lose the weight without calorie counting. Lots of people find that very difficult, though. Calorie counting, if done accurately, is a guarantee for at least the input side of the calories in/calories out equation. It also lets you know where you are in case you want to make adjustments later.

My opinion is that your nutritionist is only giving you one side of the story. If you quit counting calories and never monitor your weight, then sure. You're likely to fall back into old habits and regain the weight, though if you're good at eyeballing portions that should take a good while. BTW - this is what happens on every diet, which is why most people regain the weight they lose no matter what they try.

But, you can stop counting calories, keep an eye on your weight and if you gain, say, 5 lbs over your goal weight then start counting again until you're back where you want to be.

Oh, and the bit about craving fats, etc? No. You just tend to backslide to old habits. Kind of an 'I've reached the finish line, so it won't hurt if I ...' mentality. Like I said, happens on every diet.

Blokeypoo

she says, I, like everyone, will stop at some point because my body will start to crave the essential fats, sugars and proteins it's been missing.

(Sorry about the long post. I'd really appreciate your comments!)

I don't see the link. I have counted cals for the last 2yrs but don't see why my body would be "missing" the things you mention above. If you do it gently on a sensible cal limit (I did 1400 to lose my wt) then there is plenty of room for the essentials listed plus a few other things too!

Dietitians here in the NHS still often push the food pyramid which most people have long abandoned. I'd ignore that line from her and just use the stuff which suits you. People might get fed up of cal counting but it's not because they lack nutrients unless they do comedy low cal in which case they will reap what they sow.

craftywitch_63

Maybe if you allowed yourself NOT to measure one thing but measured everything else, it would help. Force yourself to measure everything EXCEPT non-starchy vegetables. The vegetables are your "freebie." Since you have something that doesn't need to be measured, weighed, etc., you might be more likely to weigh, measure the rest of the food.

Wish you the best! :flowerforyou:

craftywitch_63

Eliminate sugars, white flour, white rice, and full fat dairy from your diet. You will be fine if you are conscientious.
I lost the needed 25 lbs slowly and kept it off for 5 years. Recently gained back 5 lbs when I started eating sugar again.
The trouble with counting calories is it doesn't account for the quality or nutritional value of food. It's a good guide line to
help you be aware of how much you are consuming, but it is not the end all, be all.

LOLZ …and the sugar and white flour/rice fear mongering continues…

so you are saying I can eat all the brown rice I want and I will not gain weight? What about wheat bread, is that negative calories..??

You mentioned brown rice but you forgot about

dq_14

Maybe if you allowed yourself NOT to measure one thing but measured everything else, it would help. Force yourself to measure everything EXCEPT non-starchy vegetables. The vegetables are your "freebie." Since you have something that doesn't need to be measured, weighed, etc., you might be more likely to weigh, measure the rest of the food.

Wish you the best! :flowerforyou:

That sounds great! Thanks!

nxd10

I do log everything, but I only weigh and measure periodically now.

If you google 'portion size' and click in 'images' it will give you pictures you can stick in your wallet to keep you honest. Besides, 80% of what I eat is stuff I've eaten before, and I know what it is and approximate portion sizes.

---

Also, as someone says, setting your diet on autopilot helps. I eat one of four or five things for breakfast and lunch. I drink milk or juice in JUICE glasses (5 oz) not water tumblers. I skip cheese and butter and sugar most of the time. I rarely eat bread and use low carb tortillas instead (50 calories). I eat ice cream in a Chinese tea cup (1/4 cup). I drink water, never soda.

If I do that, I can treat myself to whatever I want in reasonable portions and have calories left over without worrying about it much. Even though my maintenance is only 1440 calories and I don't exercise much.