Are you really losing weight by counting calories?

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Replies

  • Lyndzyy
    Lyndzyy Posts: 1
    Yup. Started at Christmas, I won't lie- it is hard... but it seriously works.
  • grdaze
    grdaze Posts: 195 Member
    absolutely. When I looked at serving size and how much food was on my plate, I was shocked at the difference. Knowing what I am eating is empowering. I still eat what I want but all in moderation, aka, within calorie limits.

    I set a goal of exercising 3 times a week. That's it. So if I miss a day, it isn't the end of the world.

    I am down 20 lbs since Jan 1.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    Yes.

    At first I just started logging to 'see' where I was at, calorie-wise.
    Was mortified at the number of cals.
    Was mortified at how little of the crap I was eating, that I could eat, to stay under my cals.
    Started researching the forums for breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas.
    Was mortified by the amount of processed crap I was eating.
    Shocked by the amount of sodium in said processed food.
    Found skinnytaste.com.
    Bought a scale and made good use of existing measuring cups, spoons.
    Started exercising and found out that I could eat ex. cals if I wanted to AND still lose weight. Yes, yesss, yesssss!!!!!!!!
    I'm down 40lbs, staying about the same weight now, but I'm still losing inches.
    I make room for 'treats' or 'junk' I used to eat, by exercising or eating fewer cals at my other meals of the day.
    Life is good. Food is good. Being healthy is good!
  • yesmikan
    yesmikan Posts: 98 Member

    Definitely. I am much better at portion control now. Best of all, it has definitely helped me in building and following a nutrition plan that is healthy and fits my likes and lifestyle. As an added bonus, MFP´s food database has also helped me improve my English vocabulary (I'm not a native speaker).
    Just wanted to say I'm an ESL teacher (English as a second language) and your writing is better than some native speakers :)
  • lomogeek
    lomogeek Posts: 31 Member
    I'm definitely losing from counting calories. I'm also more aware of my portion sizes and how many calories in the foods. I think it helps me make better choices along way. I do tend to go over on my calories some days but I just roll with the punches. I figure that I could use a cheat meal once a week or so.

    sw235
    cw204
  • opal24
    opal24 Posts: 205 Member
    Are you really losing weight by just counting calories and exercise? Yes to the counting calories (and staying more or less at goal each day)

    Is counting your calories teaching you to make better decision? Yup - make bad decisions and you can't stay at your calorie goal!

    What are you doing to make sure you stay under your calories? Eating mostly fresh and/or home cooked food. I eat hardly anything processed and I shop around the edges of the supermarket!

    If you don't mind please also tell me you start weight and current weight from when you started counting your calories?
    SW: 230 lbs
    CW: 168 lbs
    GW: 140 - 144 lbs

    I set a 1 lb per week target loss and achieved that as an average over the whole of 2012. Increased my calories to maintenance over the Christmas/New year period and didn' t gain. Am now back in loss mode.
  • symonspatrick
    symonspatrick Posts: 213 Member
    No. Counting calories doesn't make you lose weight unless you are making sure that you are eating and drinking less calories than you are burning. Making sure I don't eat too many calories has helped me to lose 78 pounds in 5 months. I exercise to be physically fit but don't depend on that to lose weight. This site has helped me to make sure I get good nutrition by getting the proper amount of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. I have tried to cut back on processed foods as much as possible in order to get as many nutrients as possible. This has helped me to have a much healthier diet. My high weight was 356 pounds, my current weight is 250 pounds and my goal weight is 179 pounds which I hope to reach before the end of 2013.
  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
    I'm just curious....OTHER THAN watching calories, how do you think one would lose weight?

    There are many ways to lose weight...When I did the body4 life program. I ate protein and carbs in every meal. Five meals a day. I didn't look at calories. I just wanted to know how man fat grams were in the food I ate..It worked, but I didn't have the discipline to eat only healthy foods every day...
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    I'm just curious....OTHER THAN watching calories, how do you think one would lose weight?

    There are many ways to lose weight...When I did the body4 life program. I ate protein and carbs in every meal. Five meals a day. I didn't look at calories. I just wanted to know how man fat grams were in the food I ate..It worked, but I didn't have the discipline to eat only healthy foods every day...
    Whether you were counting them or not, it was still a caloric deficit that caused the weight loss, though.
  • latoyasmith1985
    latoyasmith1985 Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks everyone for your response.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    yes silly
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Just count calories! Easy peasy. There's no secret to it. Work out to be able to eat more and to help your body be healthier.
  • mariah_papaya
    mariah_papaya Posts: 39 Member
    Yes - and even more importantly, I feel like counting calories and tracking nutrients has made me aware of the QUALITY of fuel I am putting in my body. Keeping at 1200/day is hard, but when I make good choices (high protein, avoiding carbs, wheat, sugar, dairy) then I don't even feel hungry even at such a low calorie intake. On the other hand, if I have a sugary breakfast, the blood sugar spike has me starving by lunch time, and the cycle of badness starts there!
  • Gemz321
    Gemz321 Posts: 64
    Yes its working for me. I try and have some treats now and again as it helps me stay on track, but they are still within my calories for the day. If I am really hungry one day, I try and exercise more to compensate.
    Start weight: 210 lbs
    Current weight: 173 lbs
  • krissy_krossy
    krissy_krossy Posts: 307 Member
    Are you really losing weight by just counting calories and exercise?
    Yes

    Is counting your calories teaching you to make better decision?
    Yes, I've found out many foods I thought were low calorie/sugar/sodium were definitely not.

    What are you doing to make sure you stay under your calories?
    Weighing food, recording, pre-planning meals, and exercise.

    If you don't mind please also tell me you start weight and current weight from when you started counting your calories?
    Officially:
    Beg. of Jan- 189
    Now- 171
    The first several pounds were water though, I'm sure.
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
    I had lost 170 pounds just by following a 1500 cal diabetic diet... the plan was by counting food choices not calories... then at 430 i started logging and counting my cals at 1200 ...fine tuned what i ate and started walking...in nine months i lost almost 200 pounds.
    logging your calories makes u realize the amount of calories a food has...and makes u plan your meals so u are able to get in your protein and other essential foods to make it healthier you. I used my time learning exactly what foods I needed and could fit in to be healthy...every one is different n we all must do what is best for ourselves.
    Mindless eating as well as portioning can cause you not to lose weight. logging your cals can keep u on track and honest...that is if you are honest with yourself in logging and portioning.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    no. i'm losing weight via magic.
  • kingofcrunk
    kingofcrunk Posts: 372 Member
    I have lost 86 lbs by simply counting calories and exercising. That is all there is to it. The simplest thing I've ever done - I don't knnow why I didn't do it earlier and save myself the trouble of having to lose so much!
  • kelly101386
    kelly101386 Posts: 389 Member
    I tried weight watchers, slim fast and other sorts of fads.

    Since counting calories and moderate exercise, the only pounds I lose are from my body and not my pocket!

    It definitely works!
  • 05kilos2015
    05kilos2015 Posts: 11 Member
    Like that philosophy. I'm hoping its that simple. K
  • jonswife0206
    jonswife0206 Posts: 125 Member
    Yes.yes.yes. I figured how many calories I need and stick to them every day.I make better food choices and not rely on calories alone though. I want to be healthy and a balanced diet is important. I log what I eat and exercise daily.This makes me accountable and also a steadier way to keep the weight coming off. I started at 285 and am now at 239.6 as of this morning.
  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
    I'm just curious....OTHER THAN watching calories, how do you think one would lose weight?

    There are many ways to lose weight...When I did the body4 life program. I ate protein and carbs in every meal. Five meals a day. I didn't look at calories. I just wanted to know how man fat grams were in the food I ate..It worked, but I didn't have the discipline to eat only healthy foods every day...
    Whether you were counting them or not, it was still a caloric deficit that caused the weight loss, though.

    It was some intense training for the most part. Short workouts but max out when doing cardio and weights. I couldn't tell you if I ate 1500 calories or 2500. It was just healthy foods except one day a week. On that day I could eat anything I wanted. And took full advantage of it..
  • Makeda1211
    Makeda1211 Posts: 134 Member
    Definitely, counting calories and exercise is the way to go. You become accountable for the food you put in your mouth when you count your calories. I started at 277 and am now at 251 since Thanksgiving. I can't even tell you how many inches I have lost either.

    It's very easy to get in the calories when you are eating junk but its a whole different story when you are eating clean.

    Just a thought.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I want to know the truth lol.. Are you really losing weight by just counting calories and exercise? Is counting your calories teaching you to make better decision? What are you doing to make sure you stay under your calories? If you don't mind please also tell me you start weight and current weight from when you started counting your calories? I am just a little curious.

    Yup...given you inputs, MFP will give you a calorie goal...that goal has a built in caloric deficit from your maintenance level of calories. When you meet that goal, you lose weight plain and simple. Of course, there's a little more to it than that...you do need to weigh and measure your foods and ingredients to get accurate calorie counts on what you are consuming...so provided you are doing that and your calorie consumption is accurate, you will lose weight.

    20 Lbs since October...I lost some before I found MFP...MFP has made my tracking that much easier. Along the way I've learned to make better nutritional decisions. When i first started I wasn't working out at all...no need to workout for weight loss, just a calorie deficit...but I started feeling so much better I had to get out there and get active again. Now I workout 5-6 days per week , cardio and weight training. It's all I can do to let myself have some rest for my body to repair at this point. But I do it for fitness...my calorie goals are for weight loss.
  • Hiskhaleesi
    Hiskhaleesi Posts: 53 Member
    Are you really losing weight by just counting calories and exercise?
    :drinker: 17 pounds down in under a month!

    Is counting your calories teaching you to make better decision?
    :laugh: For the most part. Take tonight for example... family will be eating velveeta shells and cheese, I will be eating veggies.


    What are you doing to make sure you stay under your calories?
    :smokin: I stalk MFP relentlessly. also I've learned what my commonly eaten foods are worth, calorie wise

    If you don't mind please also tell me you start weight and current weight from when you started counting your calories? I am just a little curious.
    :embarassed: 243 January 16th
    :tongue: 226 Today
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
    I'm just curious....OTHER THAN watching calories, how do you think one would lose weight?

    Some people have lost weight by eating intuitively...nothing is off limits, they eat only when hungry and stop when satisfied. I have a friend who lost (and has kept off) close to 75 pounds this way. Me, I am never satisfied so I could not do that. :laugh:

    I used to work with a lady who would eat whatever she wanted, but only half of whatever it was. She lost a lot of weight. I didn't have much luck when I tried that approach, lol.

    I've lost about 10 lbs. in 6 weeks just counting calories and exercising 5-6 times a week for 40-60 minutes each (depending on how much energy and time before work I have). I noticed a lot of bad habits right off the bat when I started this, and logging everything has helped me to be a lot more aware of what I'm eating. I started at 183 and am now at 172.6.
  • AggieFan2011
    AggieFan2011 Posts: 551 Member
    Yes I am. I typically do cardio 5-6 days a week. I've slacked on my strength training the past couple of months, but I plan on getting back on that wagon after this first round of exams and papers is finished. I do think that counting calories and logging everything I eat has helped me to make better choices. I won't say that I always make good choices, but I log the bad days too because it helps me see where I went wrong and it allows me to fix those mistakes. I started using MFP at the very end of October this past year and I have currently lost 21.5 pounds. I've done this simply by counting and logging my calories and exercise. I also have started eating healthier foods and adding a lot more fruit and veggies into my diet which has helped I'm sure, but ultimately I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am simply watching what I eat more and being way more active than I used to be. I promise if you commit to logging and actually follow through you will see results. Good luck! :smile:
  • peruna
    peruna Posts: 1 Member
    well. it's not working for me. eating 1200 a day, exercising. in 6 weeks I havent lost a thing.
  • Andrew_peter
    Andrew_peter Posts: 94 Member
    Working good here, 23 lbs lost since ealy Jan through mostly diet and hitting the weights again; just starting to get into the groove of significant daily cardio too which is doing wonders for overall sense of wellingbeing and daily energy!! Next step is to focus on actually eating healthier as the crap foods I eat haven't changed, just the portions.

    Started 288 lbs and down to 265 now.
  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
    well. it's not working for me. eating 1200 a day, exercising. in 6 weeks I havent lost a thing.

    your probably not eating enough...

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