counting calories and carbs?
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littlesewflake
Posts: 15 Member
I am new to this group so I apologize if these questions have been answered elsewhere.
I originally disliked the "theory" of Atkins because I thought it was fadish. After doing some research however, I had to eat my little humble (low carb) pie and admit that it was based on some really good strong facts. However, my weight gain has not been entirely about carb or low carb (at least I dont think). There is certainly an emotional issue and here is where I struggle.
I lost weight on Atkins BUT, I also clearly ate too much due not to hunger but to other stuff, emotions, loneliness, stress, whatever.
So, those of you here, do you count calories as well as your carbs? Clearly MFP puts emphasis on calories.
Thank you.
Lisa
I originally disliked the "theory" of Atkins because I thought it was fadish. After doing some research however, I had to eat my little humble (low carb) pie and admit that it was based on some really good strong facts. However, my weight gain has not been entirely about carb or low carb (at least I dont think). There is certainly an emotional issue and here is where I struggle.
I lost weight on Atkins BUT, I also clearly ate too much due not to hunger but to other stuff, emotions, loneliness, stress, whatever.
So, those of you here, do you count calories as well as your carbs? Clearly MFP puts emphasis on calories.
Thank you.
Lisa
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Replies
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You can always adjust you percentages (I forgot how in settings) so you can have your "goal" carbs/fats/proteins be what your ACTUAL goals are for Atkins.
As far as counting calories and carbs...honestly to start out focus on one or the other. For me, the first time I did low carb I lost 90 pounds without counting calories. One of the theories (I'm not sure if this is in Atkins book or not, I never read it TBH) is that eating low carb gets your body in ketosis. Typically in ketosis you're not as hungry, resulting you in eating less calories, causing weight loss.
This is just a suggestion that I tried to keep in mind for myself. Let's say I eat chicken wings for lunch which are definitely high in calories. For dinner or snacks I would try to do something lighter like fish or grilled chicken and veggies or a salad. I hestitate to say "watch your calories" because the thing with Atkins/low carb, it is high fat and that sometimes can scare people to not eating enough fat.0 -
I'm resistant to losing weight so I do look at it but sometimes it's to make sure I eat more because I don't have a big appetite on this plan.
If you're an "eater" then just make sure that your fat is much higher than protein, otherwise I think some people will end up eating too much and someone said on another thread that if you eat way too much, then those calories can convert to carbs or something of the sort.
I'm a newbie but if I was you I would just log everything and eat as much as you want, keeping your fat higher than protein and see how it works. If your not getting results then look back and see what you can change to help, other people can look at your food diary to if you let them to help.0 -
I count carbs and calories...but don't freak out if I go over on either. I have days where I hit nowhere near my 1550 calories, and other days where I am WAY over. I figure as long as my net carbs are in check (mostly) I'll do fine. My last attempt at this I was great at guilt tripping myself for craving something I shouldn't have...this time around, I'm allowing myself small indulgences. Yesterday I ate french fries. And honestly, they were not as good as I remembered them
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Jonny Bowden’s “Living Low Carb” includes a review of a study where Penelope Greene looked at three groups of dieters: A. low-fat (1500 calories), B. low-carb (1800 calories), and C. low-carb (1500 calories).
Group C lost the most weight, followed by B. He concludes that calories aren’t the entire story, but that they matter.0 -
Jonny Bowden’s “Living Low Carb” includes a review of a study where Penelope Greene looked at three groups of dieters: A. low-fat (1500 calories), B. low-carb (1800 calories), and C. low-carb (1500 calories).
Group C lost the most weight, followed by B. He concludes that calories aren’t the entire story, but that they matter.
Thank you.0 -
I think both matter and track both of them!
There is a huge misconception that atkins is an all protein diet, however when proteins are overly consumed they are converted to glycogen which would delay you going into ketosis if that is your plan.
I use the following calculator and adjust my goals on MFP accordingly.
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
Good luck!0 -
Jonny Bowden’s “Living Low Carb” includes a review of a study where Penelope Greene looked at three groups of dieters: A. low-fat (1500 calories), B. low-carb (1800 calories), and C. low-carb (1500 calories).
Group C lost the most weight, followed by B. He concludes that calories aren’t the entire story, but that they matter.
Thank you for this! I like hearing actual scientific studies done, though arguably "statistics" can be made to say almost anything we want them to say depending on how we skew mean, median, mode and average. But I still want to learn the science and not just the opinion. Thank you.0 -
Also enjoyed Living Low Carb, and What we get fat. While full-on Atkins seems too severe to me, I've been having good results just restricting my carbs to about 75-100g per day. That's enough to allow for the banana my doctor wants me to eat, some berries at some meals, and veggies like carrots once in a while. More important to me to adopt something maintainable than to lose quickly.
But yeah, I count carbs and calories, easy to do on MFP.0
