Tracking Calories...a diet killer

Seahawks909

One thing I always think about before I begin a new diet is whether or not I should track calories to make sure I am eating a certain limit. But by the 2nd or third day, I become so annoyed and can't stand to do it anymore.

Would anyone else agree with me that tracking calories can be a diet killer by frustrating you? Most people have enough to worry about already. The way I go about it is I just know what a decent portion is and I know what is much less than what I use to eat, so I eat that amount. I think calorie counting is a way that people psych themselves out of staying on a diet because its one more hassle weighing and measuring food makes it even worse.

Anyone agree or disagree?

rmalford

Can't agree at all. Perhaps you are confusing a diet with a life sytle change?

Seahawks909

Well if you are dieting, what is the point to eat a smaller amount of calories now, just go back and eat more later?
If it is a lifestyle change, are you really going to count calories your entire life? Plus, as far as a lifestyle change goes, if you really do effectively eliminate almost all of the "bad" foods you have nothing really to worry about anyway. You stomach should stay the same size and the food you eat shouldn't cause you to gain weight.

In either scenario I don't see where counting calories comes in.

bmqbonnie

In the past I would have agreed with you. I'm not the kind of person that likes to make lists, plan, organize, etc. I'm also the type of perfectionist where if I can't do it perfectly I don't want to do it at all. However, this app has made it easier and I'm getting better about not throwing in the towel completely because I went over by like 200 cals. Every day is a new day.

I started to slide again so now I'm giving myself weekly incentives for logging more and more. I went a week logging in so I went ahead and got a dress for my friend's wedding. When I go a week logging breakfast every day (almost there), I'll get shoes to go with it. When I go a week doing all that plus lunch, I'll get something else, etc until I'm consistently logging and staying under (I'm thinking when I do that for a month I'll get a new saddle). I just need to get in the habit and to look forward to it rather than put myself under all the pressure of suddenly doing everything perfectly all at once.

Seahawks909

That sounds awesome! I just don't want people to think that it is a necessity and freak themselves out to early in the game. A lot of rapid/healthy weight loss can occur if you just know the foods you are eating.

JesterMFP

If you can lose weight by just adjusting your portion size, without calorie-counting, then go for it! There's no real need to count calories if you can manage to lose weight without it. I ended up here because not calorie-counting wasn't working for me. Do what works for you. Kind of curious as to how you ended up here though!

Seahawks909

Well just looking for people in similar situations to talk to, I really could careless about the calorie counting tool or anything like that. With the way I have been eating throwing an hour of elliptical in a day and eating what I know I should will take care of any excess weight I dont want, but the problem is staying on track. So I need some motivators to help kick my in the you know what.

mcarter99

Most diet plans aim to have you not have to track calories or some other value, or at least not have to do it forever. It's not really a natural relationship with food, to have to give it such close scrutiny forever. They say we learn to naturally take proper portions and make proper choices.

That said, I'm not sure I'll ever be good at 'winging it'.

Sidesteal

Plus, as far as a lifestyle change goes, if you really do effectively eliminate almost all of the "bad" foods you have nothing really to worry about anyway. You stomach should stay the same size and the food you eat shouldn't cause you to gain weight.

Whether or not you gain weight isn't a function of foods being "good" or "bad", it's a function of energy balance. Not tracking calorie intake may cause you or anyone else to overconsume calories and gain weight.

Now that being said, I think one reasonable approach is to count calories some of the time and also take time off, to give yourself the mental break.

Seahawks909

Well I find it different for girls a guys.

I mean, when you go from fat food and lots (and lots) of beer to:

30 minutes of exercise a day
Water
Chicken/Ham/Turkey etc.
Vegetables


I am willing to bet most people can figure what is going to happen to your body after 4-6 months of that. Not these are the only healthy choices but for the most part, I think you can guess what is going to overload you and what won't.

Seahawks909

I disagree with you. Food can be classified as good/bad. How? calories per portion size. For example:

12 oz bottle of chocolate milk: 200-something calories
12 bottle of skim milk: at least 50-70 calories less. I don't need to track calories to know that the chocolate milk contains a lot more sugar and calories and it would be the least favorable option.

Fried chicken to baked chicken, I dont need to know that friend chicken has 200 more calories than baked.

If you are eating "healthy" food (meaning lower calories per portion alternatives) it is going to really hard to become obese on a typical 2000 calorie diet once you have your stomach shrunk to accept only 2000 calories.

karenjoy

couldn't agree less, I lost 57lb by counting calories....it's not too hard, you just don't want to do it enough.....yet

Seahawks909

In my young adult life, Ive lost a combine total of 75 pounds (25 lbs on 3 separate occasions) and never once counted calories for more than a day.


My point is:

Your body/stomach goes by the weight of the food not the calories. For example, currently I eat over 3000 calories a day, which would be something around 50 cans of greenbeans. Could I possible eat 50 cans of greenbeans? no of course not, but that would be my calorie intake of now. The point is to eat food with less calories per weight, thats how you trick yourself/stomach to not eat as many.


Now breaking away from great tasting terrible food is another issue.

bmqbonnie

For the record, I did lose quite a bit of weight without tracking (30-40 lbs). It's those last 5-10 lbs that are more challenging, so that's why I'm trying to get more diligent about logging. I'm also pretty active, so it would be all to easy for me to go "I'm hungry and I've been on my feet and lifting stuff all day, I'm sure I can have a second portion of ___".

Sidesteal

I disagree with you. Food can be classified as good/bad. How? calories per portion size. For example:

12 oz bottle of chocolate milk: 200-something calories
12 bottle of skim milk: at least 50-70 calories less. I don't need to track calories to know that the chocolate milk contains a lot more sugar and calories and it would be the least favorable option.

You can only claim that chocolate milk is more calorie dense and has more sugar. Whether or not this makes chocolate milk okay to consume is dependent on the rest of your diet.

You do not eat food in isolation. The diet as a whole needs to be considered rather than the labeling of one item as good and another as bad.

If you are eating "healthy" food (meaning lower calories per portion alternatives) it is going to really hard to become obese on a typical 2000 calorie diet once you have your stomach shrunk to accept only 2000 calories.

Your stomach doesn't shrink to accept calories. Volume perhaps, but not calories.

Are avocados bad? What about almonds? These are calorie dense.

Sharonks

I agree that ultimately you would hope you don't need to log everything you eat every day for the rest of your life. And I agree that some people can cut back on food and not track what they eat. My husband has reduced his serving size and has lost about 40 lbs. But, for many people, the only way to build a healthy relationship with food is to figure out what is the proper amount for them to eat. The best way for many to do that is to log and count cals until they naturally are eating in a proper cal limit. They need to track cals burned so they can make realistic choices rather than saying "Oh, I walked half a mile today so I can eat a 500 cal dessert and be fine." As with many new skills it requires paying attention to details until what you are doing becomes habit. And making your new eating and exercising skills a permanent habit requires lots of practice. Especially because these new habits often have to over ride a lifetime of habits.

Seahawks909

Sorry, as I listed in the other post, it is all about calories to weight in stomach (volume) so I agree with you on there.

Yes, obviously your whole diet is dependent on each meal.

Are avocados "bad"? If you are losing weight, absolutely. That would be counterproductive. But if you are a weightlifter and you can support/need more calories than someone who doesn't do weightlifting, no. right now, I wouldn't touch any avocados.

Its dependent.

I am not saying you can never have "bad" foods, I am saying you dont need to count calories to know (99% of the time) what the better option is if you are looking to lose maximum weight.

natalie412

Totally depends on the person!!! I like logging - it is actually fun to me. I've been on maintenance for over a month, and I don't weigh or measure quite as much - I estimate more. For me, it actually make me feel freer to enjoy food, since it takes the guesswork out. Eventually I will stop logging, but I will always be ready to start again if my weight starts creeping up...

InnerFatGirl

It's because of calorie counting that I have lost 30.5lbs. I couldn't do it before.

But, yeah, I get sick of it sometimes.

Seahawks909

Thats cool! Usually you don't hear people who really enjoy it. Although, to me I always thought it was interesting...what if the calorie counts are complete estimates and over the course of the day you actually ate 200-300 more/less. But, that probably isn't true.

Teliooo

Sorry, as I listed in the other post, it is all about calories to weight in stomach (volume) so I agree with you on there.

Yes, obviously your whole diet is dependent on each meal.

Are avocados "bad"? If you are losing weight, absolutely. That would be counterproductive. But if you are a weightlifter and you can support/need more calories than someone who doesn't do weightlifting, no. right now, I wouldn't touch any avocados.

Its dependent.

I am not saying you can never have "bad" foods, I am saying you dont need to count calories to know (99% of the time) what the better option is if you are looking to lose maximum weight.

Why are you actually on this site?