Calorie Counting Dr Oz Show

He was a Paleo diet guy. Of course he would say that. Of course the stats for calorie counting is higher because it has been around much much longer. MFP is also different than most "diet" plans. You can and should stay on into maintenance (at least until you get the hang of it). Most other calorie counting plans (and yes I am including WW because counting points is the same thing) drop you once you hit your goal and don't do anything to help you eat at maintenance. They want you to regain so you can spend more money.

I think that MOST diets fail, and people end up gaining the weight back. Be it calorie counting, Atkins, Weight Watchers or even Paleo...

The think about Paleo is that they like to say you can eat whatever you want and NOT count calories. Simply eating all that meat and fat will satiate you. And for some people, that might be true. But, it isn't guaranteed. To lose weight you must be in a calorie deficit - it's simple math. People who do Atkins cut out a lot of carbs, which are energy dense. But when they come off Atkins, they put the weight back on because guess what? They start eating like they did before! People who count calories stop counting. People who eat paleo start adding "cheat" foods etc etc...

Further, there does seem to be some influence of fat levels on various hormones in the body. People who lose a lot of weight very fast tend to have slowered metabolisms because of it, so when they go back to their "normal" levels of eating, it is too much, so they gain back what they lost plus some more.

The key, therefore, is to watch what you eat (be it paleo, Atkins or IIFYM) but make it a change to your eating habits you can live with forever. And the simplest way to watch what you eat is to count the calories (simple yes, but not always easy!). Very low calorie diets, cutting out random food groups etc simply don't work for many people long term as they can't keep it up. Make small changes, eat at a reasonable calorie deficit and be consistent. It takes time, but then the weight didn't appear overnight either.

Oh, and stop watching Dr Oz! That'll be the best thing you can do for your (mental) health ;-)

And I counted every calorie in it.

best thing I have heard all day Amen

I think people who go on diets that completely eliminate food groups end up failing long before they have the chance to gain it all back..

I think people who go on diets end up failing. I try to avoid saying that. For me, a "diet" is a thing you do for a while. By definition, if you end your diet and go back to what you were doing before, you'll have the same result. Presumably, that's get fat again for most of us. I may not count calories as vigorously as I am now for the rest of my life, but I hope that if I do stop, I will have developed a sense of how many calories I'm actually eating. If that doesn't work, I'll be back to logging every bite. Not a diet - a healthy relationship with food.

Weight loss works by eating a calorie deficit, simple.

Once you've reached that goal you eat the calories needed ti maintain your weight

First off - Dr. Oz is a snake oil salesman - he will say anything, or get anyone on his show to make a buck. Anything he says should be taken as quackery.

Secondly, while there is a small kernel of truth in the statement "People who count calories tend to gain back their weight." That can be said of any diet - Atkins, Paleo, Southbeach, etc. - most people who pick a "diet" are really looking for a quick fix - i.e. it took me 12 years to gain 100lbs, but I want to lose it in the next 30 days. changing how you eat is a lifestyle change - you have to want to do it and stick to it.

The biggest point against this... Take alook at the tickers of people on MFP - virtually everyone on MFP counts calories - check out their join date, and pounds lost. I have lost 74 pounds in 10 months, and I am constantly amazed and impressed with the number of people who have lost 100, 125, 150+ pounds - or 10 lbs for that matter - all by counting calories.

Most people who lose weight gain it back with any diet gain it back. Period. If you count calories and then stop, you'll gain it back. If you eat Paleo or low carb or grapefruit or whatever and then stop, you'll gain it back.

You just have to be one of the ones who defy the statistics. For me calorie counting makes more sense than anything else, so that's what I'm doing...knowing that if I want to keep the weight off I'll have to pay attention to it for the rest of my life.

^^This is great

I can see his point in some ways.

PERSONALLY, I find that using MFP has made me aware of portion sizing and of amounts of food. If you rely on MFP to calculate your calories all the time then when you stop and just go willy nilly, that makes sense that you gain it back. but if you learn what size various portions are and how many portions of what you need throughout the day, I think that skill will help prevent the weight returning.

I do count calories, but sometimes I take weeks off and I just try to go off of what I've learned about portion control and how I feel with eating, and when I realize that 1. the world hasn't ended and 2. that I haven't gone out of control, I feel that calorie counting works. But sometimes, like lately, the accountability has kept me in check which is nice. But I know if my computer or phone crashed, I'd be okay without MFP.