Why you SHOULDN'T count calories

Zoe_lifts

Well, I came across a picture on Tumblr and it said "Why you shouldn't count calories"
I can't find it anymore on tumblr or elsewhere on the interwebs!
But, it basically said that you shouldn't count calories because you can eat a chocolate bar or 'bad' processed stuff for 250 calories, but it's better to just eat 'healthy' without counting calories, and then you can have a 350 cal smoothie with fresh fruits and 'good' stuff.
I mean, come on.. If you eat too many calories you're going to gain, if you eat fewer you'll lose, it's that simple.
What do you think about this?
It kind of makes me think of Freelee the banana girl from Youtube too. She eats 2000+ calories every day mainly from fruit and she eats 'raw till 4', and yet she's super skinny and fit looking.
Yes, I would eat fruit all day if i could because I really LOVE nice and ripe juicy fruit! But I don't because we all need other things than carbs and sugars too...
Opinions? I'm interested !

Veil5577

You can gain weight eating healthy the same as you can eating junk. EVERYTHING, except water, has calories. Because the basic premise of weight loss is calories in versus calories out, counting calories makes sense if you want to lose.

As for the girl who eats 2000 calories a day in fruit and stays thin, there is probably more behind that little story than Youtube is showing.

eric_sg61

You can gain weight eating "healthy" foods just as easily as "unhealthy" foods.
http://www.healthylivingheavylifting.com/the-perils-of-clean-eating/

Zoe_lifts

I also think she's lying about how much she eats.. it's crazy. A lot of people think she's not telling the truth
Here she shows what she eats in a day.. It's insane ! xD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G-lF3YTuss&list=PLBBCWd1R4G4sbcQoiOmgHyaaG-CsiZikB

jrline

Track calories in and out regardless of it being healthy or unhealthy.

vjohn04

Right now, I'm eating between 2K and 2500 per day.... and I eat pretty much whatever I like (within moderation, of course).

Not seeing your point about freelee the banana moron. She's a cyclist and switched one eating disorder for another.

Zoe_lifts

But I assume you have a very active lifestyle then?
I was just wondering, some people actually seem to do this, some friends of me have lost weight by eating what you'd call 'healthy' and not counting a single calorie..
To me it's very special someone can do this, I've tried losing weight like that in the past and it didn't work.
If I were to try it again, I would have no idea what I'm doing, or how much I'm eating.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I'll take the chocolate bar, thanks.

vjohn04

I'll take the chocolate bar, thanks.

^this.

Zoe_lifts

I'll take the chocolate bar, thanks.

Me too

Derpes

You can gain weight eating "healthy" foods just as easily as "unhealthy" foods.
http://www.healthylivingheavylifting.com/the-perils-of-clean-eating/

+1

Need2Exerc1se

Counting calories isn't necessary to lose weight. Before the internet and all these fancy apps, calorie counting was much more difficult and much less common, but people still went on diets and lost weight.

That doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T count calories.

odusgolp

You can gain weight eating healthy the same as you can eating junk. EVERYTHING, except water, has calories. Because the basic premise of weight loss is calories in versus calories out, counting calories makes sense if you want to lose.

Not true. Celery has NEGATIVE calories!! :devil: I read it on the internet.


Also, 90% of posts on Pinterest link to spam or complete junk.


You should probably also know that 86.45% of all statistics are made up.




GAWD people.



ETA: I'm sipping on a calorie free Diet Coke. *kitten*'s delicious.

Fullsterkur_woman

I also think she's lying about how much she eats.. it's crazy. A lot of people think she's not telling the truth
Here she shows what she eats in a day.. It's insane ! xD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G-lF3YTuss&list=PLBBCWd1R4G4sbcQoiOmgHyaaG-CsiZikB

I seriously can't comprehend how that woman gets enough protein. And "mono-meals" sounds like one of the worst imaginable tortures.

SideSteel

In.

nilbogger

What would stop me from counting calories AND making an effort to include healthy foods?

findusfaithful18

I'm not sure there's a straight, black-and-white answer on this. For sure, the amount of calories you consume directly correlates to your weight. You DO need to understand how many your body needs, how many you're actually eating, etc. That's why calorie counting is SO effective for both weight loss and weight gain. However, the QUALITY of the calories you consume are extremely important as well. The downside to having that 250 calorie chocolate bar instead of the 350 calorie smoothie is that the chocolate bar will make your blood sugar spike and then crash, resulting in a need to eat even more later on, whereas the fiber and protein in your smoothie would keep you fuller longer and help you not eat as many calories later on. Plus, the vitamins and minerals in the smoothie help your body operate so much better than the sugar and fat in the chocolate bar will, thus making your weight loss efforts more effective because your body is working more efficiently. You can't really go to either extreme. If you're eating all healthy foods but still consuming way more calories than your body needs, your body still will not be able to process all those calories and you will gain weight. If you eat all junk food while staying under your calorie limit, you will have an incredibly hard time feeling full and resisting the temptation to eat more, plus your weight loss will be dramatically stinted because your body is not getting the nutrition it needs.

Holly_Roman_Empire

All I know is, substituting a candy bar for a banana is not healthier for me. Because after I eat that banana, I'm still going to eat the candy bar. There's just no substitute for yummy foods.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Freelee the weirdo banana girl also runs and does other workouts a lot. So eating 2000 cals a day is a good number for her to maintain that cute figure. The upside to eating so much fruit (the ONLY upside I can think of, to be honest) is that fruit is generally low calorie, so she'd be able to eat lots and lots and LOTS of it without ever being hungry, and without eating at a a surplus. So technically it's diet that works, and if she likes it, then, weeeelll...more power to her.

That said,

do I thinks she's insane to eat such a ridiculous amount of friut every day? Do I think it's completely unnecessary and more than likely just a gimmick to garner attention/notoriety/fame? Do I ever perversely wonder with a shudder what her bowel movements must look like? Do I think she will eventually develop some sort of nutritional deficiency or illness from her weird diet?

Yes.