"calorie counting will get you no where"

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  • mrsajcloutier
    mrsajcloutier Posts: 7
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    Im sorry your friend isnt being supportive:( I had my second baby 4 months ago and desperatly wanted to lose weight. Ive been using mfp for two motnhs and am down 15 lbs, i walk when i can but that free time doesnt happen more than twice a week. I measure evvvverything. Salad dressing and coffee creamer especially. Every calorie counts. Measure measure measure, document document document. It WILL work. It WILL!!!!
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    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.

    Thank you for this statement! I was getting depressed and starting to feel defeated reading some of the comments on here.. and then I read your post.. WA-LA.. Thank you for bringing everything back into the light!
    Voilà
  • txsgirlK
    txsgirlK Posts: 171 Member
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    If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

    So if you aren't counting calories, why are you on MFP where the biggest thing is logging food and keeping track of calories, among other things.
  • twogirlsmama
    twogirlsmama Posts: 45 Member
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    There may come a day when your 100 pound roomie may need to make changes in her lifestyle for her own health. Karma is a *****! There are plenty of people in this world that have made huge strides in health by changing their LIFESTYLE.

    You are not on a diet. A diet is a quick fix, this is a lifestyle change. Slow and steady is good if you want to comfortably keep off the weight you are working on losing. Read through the forums and take notes of the things that you can use.

    Keep your chin up and dedicate yourself to your lifestyle change and it gets easier. I wish you the best!
  • ConnieB1979
    ConnieB1979 Posts: 239 Member
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    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?

    It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. It will work as long as you allow it to.


    ^^^^^^THIS
  • kmlevitt
    kmlevitt Posts: 14 Member
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    Ive landed is right - the biggest hurdle is in your head! Your housemate has an opinion that calorie counting doesn't work - they are entitled to that opinion. What they are not entitled to do is force that opinion onto you! You are also entitled to make your own choice whether to agree with it or not!

    I've been here (actually I don't know how long until I've finished this post!) a while now and fundamentally I'm not convinced that calorie counting on its own is the answer. What I am convinced about is that this site works for me because I get to be concious and accountable for what I put in my mouth if I log it every day and because when I'm having a tough week (like this week!) I can come onto the message boards and find some support from other members or help support them and that makes the difference.

    I have sifted through the mountains of differing views on nutrition out there over the years and come to this conclusion - its about MY relationship with food and what I believe is healthy for me! My housemate means well when she labels items in our fridge and cupboard with the percentage fat content - it annoys the hell out of me because in my belief system the fat content is not always as important as the carbohydrate content for example - but then what do I know, I'm only 2 stone lighter than I was 7 months ago!!

    One of my big breakthroughs was understanding that urge to go for the brownie - I realised that when I wanted to do that I wasn't actually hungry - I was having anxiety or stress of some form and I wanted it to go away. That realisation alone has made such a difference as understanding that meant I could find other techniques to deal with the anxiety and therefore I stopped snacking. Another little trick that helps me is using basic NLP principles - I don't talk about losing weight any more, I'm shedding weight or I'm becoming slimmer. If I lost my car keys then I'd want to find them again - I don't want the weight back so I'm not losing it - I'm sending it away forever!

    Hang in there and be gentle with yourself :-)
  • elri1908
    elri1908 Posts: 160 Member
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    Well said!

    Sorry forgot the quote!
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    Well there are two ways to look at it. There is the cause of obesity and the treatment for it.

    There are two competing scientific hypotheses out there on what causes obesity, and neither of them have much to do with mental state or willpower. One is that the food most commonly eaten today is overly rewarding to the brain, and that combined with the hypothalamus and leptin signaling from fat tissue is what leads to overeating and obesity. The other is that the food most commonly eaten today leads to over-production of insulin and damage to cells that leads to chronically high insulin levels which in turn causes overeating and obesity. Both of these are neither fully proven or disproven, and scientists are at war with each other over which one is actually correct. So for this reason, calorie counting isn't all that effective long term because the body will defeat willpower any day because the body controls BOTH Calories IN and OUT no matter how much you try to win that battle.

    But as far as treatment goes, there really aren't too many options. You either go low-calorie and hope your hormones don't reject this approach, or you go low-carb and hope for the same. If either one is successful, the end result is a caloric deficit. I think down the road there might be drugs to help manage the negative hormonal responses.
  • elri1908
    elri1908 Posts: 160 Member
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    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.

    Well said!
  • Tinkerbell1369
    Tinkerbell1369 Posts: 32 Member
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    I enjoy this site and it makes me accountable to not just myself but all my buddies on here. Also if I am having a emotional day and have a brownie or yesterday it was a apple fritter finding out it was 300 calories shocked me. But I knew apples and other fruit fills me up with less calories and so that is what I did snacked on fruit. At the end of the day I still had enough calories to eat a little icecream. Now yesterday I used up most of my calories but I don't every day. It takes 3,500 calories to lose or gain a pound. so if you cut your calories by 500 a day you will lose a pound a week.
    But if you don't eat enough your body will hold every calorie, Also salt and water retention will make you gain at times which is why you should weigh only once a week. Muscle weighs more than fat so you might be losing inches and not losing weight which is ok as well. Pick one thing at a time to work on, eating healthy and staying with in your calories for a day. If it is a emotional day work on one meal at a time. Take your calories and divided them into 3 small meals and 2-3 snacks. So say you can eat 2,000, each meal can be 400 - 500 calories and each snack 250 - 400 calories.
    The one exercise that worked really well years back before I got sick was strapping on a pedometer and slowly aim for 10,000 steps a day. PM me if you want to know the basics I lost 60 pounds over 1.5 years with only walking. Then I got sick and gained it back and now I am working on it again.
  • jenseye
    jenseye Posts: 166 Member
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    Calorie counting works as long as you are committed to it and actually follow it and it doesn't sound like you truly are.
    One good week will not show a loss when the prior weeks are bad weeks.
    This takes time, it's not a diet, it's a change in your lifestyle and eating habits. This is about being healthly!
    Try and not let others upset you to the point you sabotage yourself, read the forums there are tons of people on MFP that have lost weight, a lot of weight, by counting calories and exercising.
    You can do it, but you need to believe in yourself and what your can accomplish if you put your mind to it.
  • elri1908
    elri1908 Posts: 160 Member
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    If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

    You've been on this site since October 2011, and you've posted 985 times. Your ticker stands at zero.... I understand your disappointment, but your remarks are not helping people looking for support.
  • Morgori
    Morgori Posts: 954 Member
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    Since 10/11/11 I'm down 68lbs. counting calories and going less carbs and sugar, seems like it is working for me. Find a four week period when you celebrate no holidays and stick to a lower calorie intake (I try to stay >1900) every day for four weeks, you will lose weight.
  • SoySalva
    SoySalva Posts: 138
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    Counting calories has gotten me 70lbs lighter...if that's not an indication that it works, I don't know what is! Count your calories do your workouts and see the results....betcha you'll be glad you did:smile:
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

    So if you aren't counting calories, why are you on MFP where the biggest thing is logging food and keeping track of calories, among other things.

    There are plenty of uses for this site besides using counting calories as a means to lose weight. They could use it as a way to manage macro-nutrients alone, or for informational purposes only. Or they could use it to track exercise alone. Or they could use the site because there is a largely active forum to discuss things.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

    You've been on this site since October 2011, and you've posted 985 times. Your ticker stands at zero.... I understand your disappointment, but your remarks are not helping people looking for support.

    I see your point, but this is relative to the thread. Why would someone post a thread if they only expect to hear one-sided views that validate their own view?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,017 Member
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    If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

    So if you aren't counting calories, why are you on MFP where the biggest thing is logging food and keeping track of calories, among other things.

    It may say swiss milk on the side of the bus, as in advertising, but the bus doesn't necessarily go to Switzerland. j/k

    I'm here to get fitter, and to share my imput and knowledge about nutrition and weight loss with others even at the expense of not being popular with some of my statements, this thread obviously one of them. My point is and always will be that until someone makes fundamental changes in their overall attitute to food, exercise, stress etc, that simply by counting calories almost all will not find longterm weight loss or health. That 95% failure rate isn't something I pulled out of a hat, it's reality. I'm not saying it won't work, but chances are it won't.
  • huntindawg1962
    huntindawg1962 Posts: 277 Member
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    ]Yes, something fundamental has to change......dieting and counting calories is a fail.

    So if MFP is really just a calorie counting tool and some level of support - and you don't seem to agree with it - why are you here? We have no magic pills to offer.
  • elri1908
    elri1908 Posts: 160 Member
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    If a 95% failure rate is any evidence, then counting calories doesn't work.

    You've been on this site since October 2011, and you've posted 985 times. Your ticker stands at zero.... I understand your disappointment, but your remarks are not helping people looking for support.

    I see your point, but this is relative to the thread. Why would someone post a thread if they only expect to hear one-sided views that validate their own view?

    After reading your post about the other uses of this site (of which I was ignorant) I actually slapped my wrist for being so fast to react to the statement..... my bad! Thanks for the info :blushing:
  • huntindawg1962
    huntindawg1962 Posts: 277 Member
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    I'm here to get fitter, and to share my imput and knowledge about nutrition and weight loss with others even at the expense of not being popular with some of my statements, this thread obviously one of them. My point is and always will be that until someone makes fundamental changes in their overall attitute to food, exercise, stress etc, that simply by counting calories almost all will not find longterm weight loss or health. That 95% failure rate isn't something I pulled out of a hat, it's reality. I'm not saying it won't work, but chances are it won't.

    I think we missed that you were using sarcasm in your response - and that whether calorie counting or whatever - something fundamental is needed - thanks for clarifying your position.

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