Im so confused..I dont know which one to count?

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codycisco
codycisco Posts: 62
in Health and Weight Loss
Calorie counting blows my mind! I have been counting points and tracking those. When I calorie count it seems that I could have more than I am getting on points. Im so confused! My diary says that I am not eating enough today but my points do.
Can I trust the calorie count on my tracker, can I trust my calorie burn? HELP!

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  • PibblesRun
    PibblesRun Posts: 236 Member
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    Counting points...like weight watchers point system? I would go by what your calories say. If your putting every thing in exactly right to what you eat and your cals add up to your daily limit id stop, regardless of what points say. Calories dont lie! The point system was made up by someone...

    If those arent the "points" you mean, then what points are you talking about?
  • pojinx
    pojinx Posts: 34 Member
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    Yea I am going to assume that you mean weight watchers points. My calories were more strict than my weight watchers points in the beginning then they switched as I started to lose weight. My advice would be to go with whichever is more strict on your diet, neither is going to leave you in starvation mode.
  • sgall123
    sgall123 Posts: 133 Member
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    calories always add up to more as on ww you dont count fruit and veg for example in points i was also confused by this when i was tracking both but after a couple of weeks i could see this site was more realistic in the long term as food in real life doesnt come with a points value but everything comes with a calorie value so i cancelled my ww subscription and i dont regret it at all. plus i was more hungry on ww as some foods low in fat and calories but high in carbs for example was too many points . save yourself money and use this site for free
  • codycisco
    codycisco Posts: 62
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    Yeah I was refering to WW. I have been stuck at the same weight for awhile now and the same amount of daily points. I think it could be easier to count calories than figuring points. I just want to lose 60 more pounds and sometimes I dont always know what point value to put on something, like when I eat out at buffets. I know its bad but thats all my friends and hubby want to eat. I try to exercise more on those days but I dont even try to figure out the points. I usually load up on the salad bar and try to find the leanest protein I can find. Is the estimate for your daily calories on MFP correct? I cant find the calorie burn for TurboFire so I use the Turbo Jam/kickboxing amount. I worry that this will mess me up. What do you all think?
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    yeah, count calories. It is more concise. You need to get good at estimating weights and volumes so you can log your food accurately and quickly - especially at buffets. The only way to get good at estimating is to take a few weeks and weigh/measure as much as you can so you get a good feel for how much things are.
    Is the estimate for your daily calories on MFP correct?
    It should be close. You might see that over time you need to adjust it a little, but it will most likely be by no more than 50 calories or so.
    I cant find the calorie burn for TurboFire so I use the Turbo Jam/kickboxing amount. I worry that this will mess me up. What do you all think?
    If you really want to know your calories burned for that type of exercise, best bet is to use a heart rate monitor. Other than that, a quick web search is showing somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 calories/min for most people. That is going to vary from person to person, but might give you a sanity check.
  • hungergames324
    hungergames324 Posts: 240 Member
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    I was doing that in the beginning too. I realized, I wasn't counting calories for my fruit and veggies since they were "free" on ww I was under my calorie goal on here. Start counting calories for fruit and veggies (if you aren't already) and it should be even.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
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    Counting calories gets easier and easier the more you do it. I don't believe in not counting fruit and veggies because an apple is 95 calories...if you eat 4 apples and don't count them, that's an additional almost 400 calories you're adding on. I think that might be why people plateau on Weight Watchers, because they're actually eating more calories than they should and don't know it. But that's just my guess.
  • Ruthe8
    Ruthe8 Posts: 423 Member
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    You're using two different systems and you expect them to be the same? Pick one.
  • carolebville
    carolebville Posts: 140 Member
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    You're also eating alot of carbs; which may keep the weight on. Eat more protein; less carbs. Change it up a little --
    Best wishes. I've done weight watchers in the past and prefer MFP -- and the real calorie counting, I feel is the best way to continue on this journey for the rest of my life.

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