Why choose other diets over calorie counting?

MelodyandBarbells

I'm completely new at dieting. Started calorie counting about 7 weeks ago, learned about caloric deficit, BMR etc and started the gym. Easy, and I've lost more weight than I ever thought I would in this time.
Which now makes me think, what's the point in any other diet? Slim fast or herbalife in particular, or even the Atkins diet or other fad diets? Why spend loads of money when all you need to do is be in deficit?

Because most people want a quick fix and don't want to work out. Most of those diets promise weight loss without the need for exercise.

Or maybe we like having our diet work for us instead of against us. Relying on exercise to maintain your weight is a recipe for failure -- something always comes up. Sickness, injury, working longer hours, moving, having a baby -- you know, life. Creating an eating plan that's enjoyable that you can maintain with as little effort as possible is absolutely key for long term success. You're deluding yourself if you think differently.

Exercise for health and pleasure, not so you can eat enough food in order not to be hungry. My opinion, of course.

Stuff like this, and "you can't out exercise a bad diet" were some of the factored that murked up the waters for me. Why did I choose other plans, which I don't even remember what they were? Didn't know what calorie counting really was about to be honest. And when people said write down everything you eat, it always seemed to be about how it made you feel, maybe full vs hungry or if that contributed to your mood after you ate, etc. I have no interest in this aspect of food, really, but when it comes to numbers, that's my jam. So I chose other methods over MFP due to ignorance and not understanding what the concept was

Truth be told, I didn't do that many other options. I did south beach when it was the hottest thing and have used diet pills in the past like over a decade ago. Then I mostly tried to use exercise to lose weight and lost a good bit until I plateaued. So many of the other options I heard about in the mean time were so unattractive to me. Intermittent fasting, appetite suppressants, 1200 calorie per day, tons of fruit and veggies... Honestly I may have come full circle to doing each of these in my MFP journey (if you consider caffeine an appetite suppressant , for example), but prior to MFP I just didn't understand the point. In my case, so simple, yet so elusive

Why might others dump MFP after trying it? I dunno, maybe they use the website to log instead of the phone app. I really think it sucks, but that's just me A lot of people also seem to over complicate logging and surprise surprise, they dump it because it's "too hard"

PoesyP

Because for many people losing weight is a mental battle almost more than a physical one and a lot of these diets are about achieving the simple physical result of eating in a deficit, but through the approach that suits the particular mental/emotional needs of a person. Some thrive on structure, some thrive on freedom etc.

tennisdude2004

Low carb/Atkins isn't a fad. You can do low carb/Atkins without buying anything but the food itself.

Depends on who you talk to about it..lots start them but can't sustain them...they are hard to follow. I can't imagine eating very low carb...and I am not a big carb eater...

Low Carb and Atkins are not guarantees...you can gain weight while doing those particular eating plans...but you don't gain weight if you count calories and stay in maitenance or in a deficit...

Millions of people start calorie counting and can't sustain it!

All of these diets like calorie counting or LCHF are healthy and all of them work, but none suit everyone. I would argue that just as many people fail at calorie counting as they do at LCHF or other style of diets.

Personally I find calorie counting totally non achievable and not fit for purpose! I find LCHF easy and natural and suits my lifestyle and fitness routines.

Everyone is different which is why there is a choice over diets. I would suggest that a majority of people on MFP wouldn't choose other diets over calorie counting, I'm sure on the forums it the complete opposite!

All diets require you to make a sacrifice, the secret is finding the one that feels the least price to pay!

baconslave

Because for many people losing weight is a mental battle almost more than a physical one and a lot of these diets are about achieving the simple physical result of eating in a deficit, but through the approach that suits the particular mental/emotional needs of a person. Some thrive on structure, some thrive on freedom etc.

Yes. That exactly. It's about mastery over the body and the mind, and as people are individuals, it's going to take an individual approach. One size does not fit all.

Low carb/Atkins isn't a fad. You can do low carb/Atkins without buying anything but the food itself.

Depends on who you talk to about it..lots start them but can't sustain them...they are hard to follow. I can't imagine eating very low carb...and I am not a big carb eater...

Low Carb and Atkins are not guarantees...you can gain weight while doing those particular eating plans...but you don't gain weight if you count calories and stay in maitenance or in a deficit...

Millions of people start calorie counting and can't sustain it!

All of these diets like calorie counting or LCHF are healthy and all of them work, but none suit everyone. I would argue that just as many people fail at calorie counting as they do at LCHF or other style of diets.

Personally I find calorie counting totally non achievable and not fit for purpose! I find LCHF easy and natural and suits my lifestyle and fitness routines.

Everyone is different which is why there is a choice over diets. I would suggest that a majority of people on MFP wouldn't choose other diets over calorie counting, I'm sure on the forums it the complete opposite!

All diets require you to make a sacrifice, the secret is finding the one that feels the least price to pay!

How did I end up doing a LCHF way of eating for life? FAILING over and over on calorie deficit alone. I wanted it bad. But I couldn't sustain it, not with the carb cravings driving me relentlessly to overeat carbs. It was like an addiction. I ate the carbs and got the blood sugar rush like a little high. I have no trouble mastering them now on this way of eating. I've weaned off them. But I'll always be susceptible to them.

But really, if I chose this way of eating over another, the whens, whats and whys are nobody's business. And they can climb up on their high horses, or fall off them, for all I care. I'm doing what is best for me. And just-calorie-deficit people who are successful are doing what is best for them. I may disagree with it, and it isn't right for me, but I don't judge, and I don't harangue them for their choices. My knee-jerk isn't to call something a fad that isn't just because I disagree with it or don't understand it. Or act as if those people doing IIFYM or calorie-restriction are uneducated lunatics, because they aren't. Just like many people who have chosen a different approach aren't necessarily uneducated lunatics either.

Yeah, there are a lot of stupid people out there. But assuming you and your buddies-in-diet are the only educated/enlightened ones is more than a tad narcissistic. And it's also silly reasoning. Just because there is a majority opinion, doesn't automatically mean the minority opinion isn't right in their own way.

Things for everyone to think about.

Iwishyouwell

A number of reasons. One of the major reasons is that structured "diets" help create deficits without as much personal responsibility. For people who don't trust themselves around food, having strict or very specific guidelines can go a long way toward aiding them in losing weight.

And "diets" do work. It's not the diet that fails, it's people who fail. We fail largely in the transition from the "diet" mentality to maintenance. Most diets will work perfectly fine to help create that deficit, however if you can't transition you won't have longer range success.

But here's the rub, the long term success rate for calorie counting sucks just like it does for all those diets. Of even the group of people who count calories, eat "all the foodz" in moderation, and have a seemingly sound plan that theoretically should make maintenance a breeze regain the weight. There exists NO proven, successful long term weight loss plan. Not Atkins. Not Weight Watchers. Not Slimming World. And not Calorie Counting. All of those methods have piss poor long term success rates.

Ultimately most people just don't want to be restricted greatly in the amount of food they can eat, for the rest of their lives, particularly if they live in a western society where plentiful, cheap, calorie dense food abounds.

And for some people, such as myself, ultimately it came down to "calorie counting basically sucks *kitten*". I looked for other ways to lose and maintain that fit my personality. I found them without calorie counting. So I don't' calorie count.

meridianova

I think laziness is a big factor for many people (I won't say all, because I'm sure some people have had success with some of these programs). They don't want to have to count, or think about it. They pay loads of money so that someone else will tell them what to eat & when.

^this & they do not want it bad enough.

:huh:

the human body works on complex chemical and thermogenic processes. for a lot of us, figuring out how to make those processes run more effectively so that our bodies respond to things like increased exercise, weight lifting to improve lean body mass, and better food choices is the real hurdle.

you aren't in a place to speak about who wants or doesn't want things. last i checked, straight up "wanting it" didn't make pounds fall off. all that does is insult the intelligence of a lot of good people here who are dealing with multiple issues that have to be tackled, on top of the extra effort of watching what we eat, how much we eat, and making sure we get enough exercise.

meridianova

We may be at the same place just now, but we have all taken different routes to get here...

But what I don't understand, is why so many ask questions like "I want to try diet X, but I don't like/can't eat food Y, can I have Z instead", "I'm hungry, what can I eat", "can you eat A when you're on diet B" - do a bit of research, choose your diet based on your needs, not because it's "cool". If you're not going to follow the diet to the T , then why bother in the first place? When making all those alterations, it's not going to be the same diet, and extremely complicated as well. It's easier, and liberating, to make your own diet (or meal plan, if you like) from scratch, in my opinion.

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^ this... OOOH LORDY, this. whenever i see posts of "can i have X?" i immediately reach for my sQueeky hammer of doom™ and want to beat them with it through the computer screen. we are not your mothers. we are not here to give anyone else permission to do whatever it is they're going to do. if it's a technical question about a given food, like "is arrowroot an acceptable substitute for wheat flour?", that's different. but for hug's sake, stop asking "is it ok if i have this <totally scrumptious treat>?" if you're old enough to type on a computer, you're old enough to make your own decisions about what you should or shouldn't eat.