"calorie counting will get you no where"

huntindawg1962

so you are really here for the forums even though you are not in agreement with the predominate thought (nor am I in many cases)?

grinch031

so you are really here for the forums even though you are not in agreement with the predominate thought (nor am I in many cases)?

Mainly. Now in doing that, I don't sit there and go from thread to thread on a daily basis bashing calorie counting per se as ineffective (it has its place), but when the topic comes up I will express my opinion.

huntindawg1962

Sounds like going to a vegan convention and telling them all to eat meat :drinker:

To each their own I guess

luigimoe

Finally after being told that I need knee replacement surgery, I decided to do something about my wieght problem. I started the end of January and lost 8 pounds (I gave up cocacola, drive thrus, etc. I signed up for MFP on February 29th and have lost 10 pounds since. It works. I had a week that I was babsitting my grand children and went up 3 pounds. (which I have taken off). I am being more careful with what I eat and using the counter. It is eye opening to say the least. I am hoping that less weight=less pain and maybe out the surgery off for awhile!

nessafly

Keep plugging away and one day you will look at her skinny 100 lbs then look down at your healthy body & be proud of yourself! I haven't lost an ounce in a whole month but my bod is seeing shape and less giggle! Count & excersize.... DO IT!! Just don't forget to count the brownie (or the cookie or the cake or whatever) and you won't have to beat yourself up!!!!

prism6

Eating healthier will lead to weight loss. Seeing the calories in some foods will help you make the right choices. If you are used to eating 2 McDonalds breakfast burritos for breakfast, then discover they have over 300 cal. each...I like to think that leads to making a different choice for the start of the day..therefor calorie awarness Does help....I have picked up packages of things,lets just say for instance, a candybar,normally I would eat it and not even beaware of it's contents...but now,I actually find myself looking at and actually flinging such items away from me....the lady never knew it was me that threw that butterfingers in her direction lol hang in there,it won't work half baked..gotta really do it....

grinch031

Sounds like going to a vegan convention and telling them all to eat meat :drinker:

To each their own I guess

But that's a rather lame argument. There are low-carb and running threads and groups on this forum that both have nothing to do with calorie counting that I participate in. Are you suggesting all low-carbers which don't count calories are not welcome on this forum? Or perhaps they are only here to stir up trouble?

huntindawg1962

Nope - Not suggesting anything either way. Just a general observation that if one has an opinion that is in stark contrast to the majority crowd in the room that will likely become evident. Just look at any of those low-carb threads you speak of - the "carbs are essential" crowd comes out in force on them. Just like the "eat more to break a plateau, eat back your daily exercise, or any of these thoughts you see -and all will be citing the err of the ways of that approach (BTW - I mostly follow low carb as I prefer it).

grinch031

Nope - Not suggesting anything either way. Just a general observation that if one has an opinion that is in stark contrast to the majority crowd in the room that will likely become evident. Just look at any of those low-carb threads you speak of - the "carbs are essential" crowd comes out in force on them. Just like the "eat more to break a plateau, eat back your daily exercise, or any of these thoughts you see -and all will be citing the err of the ways of that approach (BTW - I mostly follow low carb as I prefer it).

Okay I guess I didn't see a need to point that out, other than to imply I'm only here to stir up trouble, when that's not the case. Look up my post history and you'll see 95% of my posts having nothing to do with whether I support calorie counting or not.

EDIT: I think I misread this a little. So you're right that its normal people would attack me when I'm going against the grain. But I guess the difference is one should still attack the argument with counter-arguments.

neanderthin

If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

Huh? Did I miss something? Where did '95% failure rate' come from? There are thousands of ppl here who prove that counting calories does work!

For how long?

For absolutely as long as you continue to do it! It should be obvious that you can't diet/exercise to lose weight, then expect to go back to eating way more calories than your body requires and NOT gain the weight back. So, whether you are a person who will have to literally count/log calories for life (I expect I may be) or a person who once they "get the hang of it" can eyeball their portions and continue to eat healthy foods within the limit their bodies needs, it's still all about calories in and calories burned... FOREVER. Personally, I think if you're going for health, not just a scale weight, the same is true for exercise.

Well, yes it's been calories in vs out since the dawn of time, don't know what that has to do with it. Maybe we should be looking at societies that have little obesity...wonder if they would be counting calories, or even know what a macronutrient is, or care.

UnderCoverShyGirl

Well i can't read all the thread right now, so i'm just responding to the OP. I understand when someone says calorie counting and dieting doesn't work. If you consider it a diet...something you do temporarily and then go back to your old ways, that doesn't work. And calorie counting is not always an exact science...unless you are totally sourcing and cooking the food, you aren't 100% sure what goes in it. And then there are things like not being able to 100% know your metabolic rate, etc...so basically, even with calorie counting and exercise, there are tweaks and adjustments to be made because it isn't a one size fits all solution. Now we know that 3500 cals = 1 pound, but we don't know every single fact about how our bodies are working.

A good example of this is my work friend. She has always had like 30 or so pounds, mostly around the middle, that she just couldn't get rid of, she exercised with a trainer every day, and still, this belly would barely budge...i had her come on MFP and log what she ate, overall she eats about 900 cals a day and she refuses to eat more (she says she just "can't). Now if you ask me, and what we do know about bodies, eating 900 cals a day puts your bod into "starvation" mode where you don't burn as efficiently - your body doesn't have enough to use and shuts off a bit like you are hibernating. To this day she has not tried to eat more, and she still struggles with not being able to lose.

I've been unconscious most of my life about what i was putting in my mouth and the calories it contained. I knew i could never keep a food diary, i'm just not that type of person. Well, i started logging long ago, off and on, and learned so much about the nutrition and calories in food. When i really pay attention, i lose a bit of weight, when i cheat a little - a smidge of butter there, a night out here, i don't lose weight....that definately shows me that my body either maintains, loses, or gains based on the nutritional value/calories of what i put in my mouth. I also see that i seem to burn slower than a lot of people - probably because i'm still sedentary for the most part....so i see people losing huge amounts of weight that eat way more than i do...but i know that i've got to ingite that metabolism with exercise to see that affect.

I also had to understand that i have a relationship with food. It has been my friend, my social activity, my comfort, my boredom buster, you name it. I've done a lot of work to start understanding and listening to my "non hunger" use of food...i do agree with you that it is necessary. Maybe not for everyone, but for some of us, to make a life long change, we need to understand why we reach for what we reach for. If you are meeting your calorie goals and not losing weight, i think you need to change something up.....you can customize them...lower or raise it by 200 cals and see what happens over the next couple weeks, or amp up or change up your exercise habit and see what happens. And remember, just a couple pounds a month over the course of a year ends up being a lot. It's taken me a year to lose almost 60lbs, but it happens. Don't obsess with the scale, and don't give up. Calories in/out is a science, just keep figuring out how to tweak what you are doing to work with your individual body and personality and see what point has you burning the fuel and losing. Just my 88 cents LOL.

minadeathclutch

hmm... theres like 10 pages of people claiming it works, against one 100 lb girl claiming it doesnt. lol


this is NOT a diet, this is being informative.. this is realizing that the donut you want to scarf down has nO nutritional values whatsoever.
this is realizing how many calories are in those 3 spoonfulls of peanut butter...

this is just to be aware................................................................

Springfield_Rocks

says my 100 pound roommate. I snapped back at her. I couldn't help it, I got defensive. That comment alone was enough to shut down my entire day, and I'm convinced it was the reason I wandered up to the counter at panera and ordered a brownie without even thinking about what I was doing. I've been doing MFP for a while and I've seen little to no results. Half of it is that I can't seem to disconnect the emotional connection I have to food. Also, working out every day almost never happens. However, even weeks when I manage it somehow and eat right, the numbers barely go down and if they do, they go right back up again. Is it true.. will calorie counting really get me no where? I dont know. feeling defeated.

Sorry you're having a rough go of it right now. The idea of 'counting calories' didn't work for me- stay with me here lol- it didn't work because I was trying to restrict my food intake too low. I had a correlation of eating less was 'good' and if I was 'good' that meant I ate less. "Eat less move more" was a lie for me because I didn't understand the bigger picture. I would be 'good' and restrict restrict restrict- only to lose it all in an 'emotional' (ie, last ditch effort by my body to get some calories in me) eating splurge. Then- restart the cycle of feeling 'bad' because of a 2x2 inch square of flour and eggs.

Far better to fuel ourselves than to starve. If I were to take a person and put them in a box- only feed them less and less food.. would I be good then? No. So why do I give myself a pass to do the same to me? Starving myself now won't fix the overeating in the past.

What changed my thinking was finally seeing whether I ate or didn't had NO bearing on whether I was 'good' or 'bad'. The terms have lost their meaning.

So that brownie? I would eat it and enjoy it. Log it- account for it and make room for it in a sensible eating plan. Then remember nothing but good things about the brownie and me eating it- no longer is my food chained to guilt and remorse.

So I no longer 'count calories' in the same way I was before- now I'm adding up fuel and making sure I have enough for the busy life I have planned. I will never be 'bad' because of what I ate again- I am liberated and free. Hope this rambling made sense

YES!! EXACTLY!!! :-)

missfancy1980

says my 100 pound roommate. I snapped back at her. I couldn't help it, I got defensive. That comment alone was enough to shut down my entire day, and I'm convinced it was the reason I wandered up to the counter at panera and ordered a brownie without even thinking about what I was doing. I've been doing MFP for a while and I've seen little to no results. Half of it is that I can't seem to disconnect the emotional connection I have to food. Also, working out every day almost never happens. However, even weeks when I manage it somehow and eat right, the numbers barely go down and if they do, they go right back up again. Is it true.. will calorie counting really get me no where? I dont know. feeling defeated.

So do i hun and I'm only 130lb, trying to get down 15lb or so and seeing no results. I'm seeing quick and pleasing results from working out, and what's more i'm finding exercise really fun and a little addictive. But counting calories i have to be honest has gotten me nowhere in over a month and a half now. All but given up myself x

Jojo1859

Calorie counting will definitely help, but I think it also has to do with the types of foods you're eating. If you're getting all of your calories from things that are typically unhealthy, you're probably not going to do so well at loosing weight. On he other hand if your feeding your body good fats and fiber and typically healthy foods but going "over" your calorie limit chances are you'll still loose weight. So yes calories can help, but don't forget to take into account what you're eating not just how much you're eating.

loves_jc

Comming from an emotional eater, I have seen it working for me. Dont let others get you down. Possitive people is what I try to keep company with. When I am around those that are not possitive I remind myself that I am better then that. It will help, Just fyi I run at 530 am so that I have time to get it done. I always say before husband, kids, and Life.

jameswestlund

"Half of it is that I can't seem to disconnect the emotional connection I have to food. "

Heh. You're speaking my language. That's a crappy feeling.

LiftAllThePizzas

tagging to read on my phone

projectlife224

It most certainly does work, for most, with some time, patience and yes experimentation and adjustment.

Chevy_Quest

Wow @HUNTINGDOG Very well said!

well, you can always look at it the other way, not counting calories has brought us all to where we are today so apparently not knowing what you are consuming is not working either so something has to change.