"calorie counting will get you no where"

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.

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!!! :-)

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.

"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.

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

you can not let what others say to you dictate how well or poor you make your choices for the day. you are in control of your own happiness and your own successes. make the choices that make you feel strong and happy for that day. It is a day to day series of choices. You can do this! Just because your roommate is thin doesn't mean she is in shape. Get out there do what ever physical activity you can to build a strong healthy body and feed it the good stuff it needs to fuel it and you will see success.
"calorie counting"=eating consciously

So at first my comments were going to be more along the "you need to be more confident in yourself" lines, but then I thought, check out her diary, see what's going on....you've tracked one day out of the last three weeks and that is all I scrolled through. You can't say it works or it doesn't work with that kind of a track record. Even if you're eating horribly, at least write it down, keep track, hold yourself accountable.
I'm not to my goal weight yet, I'm a work in progress and will be completely content if I go down five pounds a year until I get there. I don't know if calorie counting will work in the long term, but at least you have a guide, a place to start from, an idea of what your body needs (doesn't need).
Good luck!

I wonder if the OP (who has not been active since March) will come back to read this thread from 2012?

I wonder if the OP (who has not been active since March) will come back to read this thread from 2012?

HAND TO FACE...well done.

I hear you. I reach for Coca~Cola when I'm in pain (physical or otherwise), and when I'm pi**ed, I hunger for fried chicken AND a coke! This is a transformative moment in your life - where you have clearly articulated your relationship with food. This is GOOD! Just knowing how/why you're triggered is the hardest part...being mindful of how you react takes practice, but it does get easier.

We both know it's not the "counting calories" that works, but rather how many calories in and how much energy expended that matters, but I get your meaning. On the latter, yes it works. It can't not work. If you're not losing, take another hard look at your food diary and exercise log. Add in some time and consistency and guess what happens? You CAN be the master of your own ship!

I used to have the same mentality and wound up obese, nearly 200 lbs with stage 2 hypertension, depression, and unable to stay awake throughout a regular work day.

Simply put: your friend clearly hasn't had to worry about her weight because she is genetically predisposed to be thin. Congratulations to her; most people are not. She is ignorant in this matter because she has never had to learn about it. (In all fairness: if I was naturally skinny I wouldn't know either).

That being said, calorie counting works. It's a proven, scientific fact. Calories in verses calories out. It is as simple and as terrible as that.

Counting helped me get back to a normal weight range and has completely transformed my health. Should you obsess about each and every calorie that your putting in your mouth?: probably not. But being conscious of it isn't going to hurt you.

I always try to remind myself that you can't exercise your way out of a bad diet. Weight loss is 80% nutrition and only 20% exercise.