Does Calorie Counting work for everybody?

thelowcarbrecipes

Counting calories is great but i dont think its that simple, Im sure it will have already been mentioned but everyone will have different amounts of leptin and insulin sensitivity.

Generally less food = weightloss.


but there are always exceptions

Feyth

Calorie counting has never worked for me. The only thing that ever worked long-term was a low carb diet (with lots of fresh veggies, the occasional fruit, and mostly lean meats and dairy, almost no grains). I struggled for most of my childhood and into my late 20's with my weight. I followed Weight Watchers religiously for months on end with literally no results. I tried Jenny Craig, I worked out while dieting, I tried portion control, I wrote down everything that went into my mouth with no results. I started Atkins Diet, and lost 16 pounds in 2 weeks. During my Atkins journey, I tracked everything, including my body fat percentage and muscle mass (to track any muscle loss). I consistently ate more CALORIES on my low carb diet than I ate on my low calorie diet, and did not exercise any more, yet the weight continued to come off. After losing 75 pounds in about 9 months, my muscle loss was less than 5 pounds -- the rest of the 75 pounds lost was all fat. My blood pressure and cholesterol were pretty much perfect. I kept it off pretty easily using low carb maintenance (which is really moderate carb) for about 8 years, until my doctor wouldn't let me continue to follow the diet through my pregnancies.

After 2 babies in 3 years, and a few other unrelated health bumps in the road that did permanent damage to my thyroid and adrenals, cutting calories still doesn't work at all, but unfortunately low carb isn't getting me far either. (I've since been diagnosed with a metabolic disorder whereby my cells don't correctly process carbohydrates, and don't efficiently process certain fats and proteins either.) I'm doing everything I can -- cutting calories AND carbs, and exercising, taking my thyroid and adrenal meds religiously, taking pharma-grade vitamins under the direct supervision of a medical doctor and certified nutritionist -- but not seeing much progress. (By the way, the MD / certified nutritionist is RECOMMENDING the low carb diet for me). I'm still hopeful that with continued work and perseverance, my metabolism will start to heal enough that I can get back to my healthy weight.

The bottom line is that cutting calories does NOT work for everyone. If it were that easy, most fat people would be thin. I can tell you from experience that many, MANY overweight people - probably most - are not lacking willpower, are not lazy, and are not ignorant regarding how to track their calories. (Yes, you can all point out exceptions walking through any mall and looking at the fat chick obliviously stuffing her face with ice cream.....of course, you don't mention the thin dude at the other table doing the same thing. They're both eating equally poorly at that moment, aren't they?) Yet, despite their best efforts, they remain overweight. Cher used to say, "If it came in a pill, everyone would have a body like this." Along the same lines, if it was as simple as just cutting calories, we would have far fewer overweight people in this country. What I would really love to see here is support and tolerance for anyone who is trying to become more healthy by tracking what they eat and making an effort to eat healthy, rather than the assumption that those who do not succeed must be cheating (I'm new here, but wow I've seen a lot of that already on some of the threads).

Kudos to all of you for making the effort, and Godspeed to you on your road to better health.

Jamiebaby05

I believe cutting out my sugars and complex carbs has helped me the most. Not only does it help me loose weight, i feel less bloated and full after meals and i don't get the sugar cravings. I think that it up to each individual to find what works best for them. I personally am sticking to watching my carb and sugar intake.

tarabenet

I have finally learned that calorie counting does not work for me. Nor does carb counting, etc. If I think in terms of "these are the groups/types of foods I can enjoy freely and those are the foods I need to go light on" I do well. If I have to convert my food to numbers and math problems, all I can think about is what math problem I can eat next, and then just like in college, the math gives me stress munchies. I need for my food to be FOOD, not an abstraction. What is more basic and concrete about being alive than food?

Figure out what works for YOU! Good luck with your fitness journey!