Do I HAVE to count calories?

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  • sharra199
    sharra199 Posts: 7
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    I know a lot of people have answered so far, so feel free to ignore me.

    For me, counting calories is not about the total number of calories at the end of the day. Just the act of keeping track of what exactly I ate every day, allows me to be a little more conscious of my daily food choices and helps with the weight loss.

    I don't feel bad if my numbers are over for a day, because I spent the day at Disneyland. Rather, the process of logging the food that I eat at every meal keeps my mind on the fact that I am currently trying to lose weight and that I should try to make healthier decisions.
  • TessMacc
    TessMacc Posts: 31
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    I know a lot of people have answered so far, so feel free to ignore me.

    For me, counting calories is not about the total number of calories at the end of the day. Just the act of keeping track of what exactly I ate every day, allows me to be a little more conscious of my daily food choices and helps with the weight loss.

    I don't feel bad if my numbers are over for a day, because I spent the day at Disneyland. Rather, the process of logging the food that I eat at every meal keeps my mind on the fact that I am currently trying to lose weight and that I should try to make healthier decisions.

    Yes, this is exactly how I feel.
  • bradXdale
    bradXdale Posts: 399
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    I'm just beginning to try to lose weight, and I think that counting calories might just be more effort/more destructive or discouraging...thoughts?

    You DO NOT NEED TO COUNT CALORIES. Eat as much as you can possibly stuff into yourself, just be sure that everything you eat is FOOD. You will be healthy beyond belief in several months. p.s. Doritos and Pepsi is not food. Stay out of bakeries, bakeries do not sell food. Candy stores do not sell food. 90% of your local supermarket shelves are filled with substances which are not food. People can never become obese by eating food.

    Yeah this is just plain dumb.

    You should count calories and macros here's why.

    1) Most people over / under estimate how much they actually are eating. Most people think they know what 3 ounces of french fries are but are sadly mistaken when they realize 3oz of french fries is between 8-12, not 20-25.

    2) It lets you know what you can have, i.e. you can eat "cheat" snacks & meals as long as they fit into your numbers. This is where Mr. "YOU DONT NEED TO COUNT CALORIES" is wrong. Say you have 50 carbs & 20 fats left for the day, you're not over your sugar intake, you have had enough protein and you want three mini doughnuts, then have them! A carb is a carb. A calorie is a calorie.

    3) This also takes another slash at Mr. "YOU DONT NEED TO COUNT CALORIES" because this is where his logic is wrong. You can get fat eating vegetables if you eat enough in surplus. It doesn't matter if you eat 1,000 calories excess of vegetables or 1,000 calories of candy in excess, excess calorie intake leads to weight gain. Given the amount of vegetables vs. the amount of candy would be substantially different and 1,000 calories of vegetables would give far more satiety than 1,000 calories of candy still the point is the same. Eating more calories than you burn will lead to weight gain.

    Eat to fill your numbers, basically.

    If you let MyFitnessPal setup your daily calorie goal & say if you workout and put the calories burned into your daily log you eat some or all of those back. You always want your NET calories to be the number for your DAILY goal if you let MyFitnessPal set things up for you.

    Hope this helps!

    -bxd
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    I'm just beginning to try to lose weight, and I think that counting calories might just be more effort/more destructive or discouraging...thoughts?

    You DO NOT NEED TO COUNT CALORIES. Eat as much as you can possibly stuff into yourself, just be sure that everything you eat is FOOD. You will be healthy beyond belief in several months. p.s. Doritos and Pepsi is not food. Stay out of bakeries, bakeries do not sell food. Candy stores do not sell food. 90% of your local supermarket shelves are filled with substances which are not food. People can never become obese by eating food.

    Seriously? No, this is WRONG. YES, you should be eating REAL food, but not "as much as you can possibly stuff into yourself". It is absurd to think you will not gain weight by eating unlimited amounts of anything. It is STILL calories in verses calories out!

    Seriously, when you nourish your body properly you will discover natural limitations on how much you can eat because your body will tell you when it has had enough. This does not happen with food-like substances from a bakery, candy store or Doritos bag. Contrary to popular belief, it is not calories in/calories out. Eating too little will put your body in starvation mode and slow your metabolism. Eating more will quite often help in losing weight as long as you only eat food. Chemicals which resemble food such as Doritos do not have this same effect and the calories in/calories out theory will indeed occur. Deprivation is an extremely idiotic and ineffective method of losing weight.
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    Do you balance your checkbook when trying to save money and get out of debt? Attempting to lose weight by eating without accurate understanding of how much you eating is kinda like trying to save money without an accurate understanding of how much $$ you are spending.

    If you eat real food which gives your body what it needs, it cannot harm you because your body will tell you when it has had enough. When you eat substances with no nourishment, your body constantly cries for food because it is not getting what it needs. WHAT YOU EAT is more important than HOW MUCH YOU EAT.
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    I'm just beginning to try to lose weight, and I think that counting calories might just be more effort/more destructive or discouraging...thoughts?

    You DO NOT NEED TO COUNT CALORIES. Eat as much as you can possibly stuff into yourself, just be sure that everything you eat is FOOD. You will be healthy beyond belief in several months. p.s. Doritos and Pepsi is not food. Stay out of bakeries, bakeries do not sell food. Candy stores do not sell food. 90% of your local supermarket shelves are filled with substances which are not food. People can never become obese by eating food.

    Yeah this is just plain dumb.





    3) This also takes another slash at Mr. "YOU DONT NEED TO COUNT CALORIES" because this is where his logic is wrong. You can get fat eating vegetables if you eat enough in surplus. It doesn't matter if you eat 1,000 calories excess of vegetables or 1,000 calories of candy in excess, excess calorie intake leads to weight gain. Given the amount of vegetables vs. the amount of candy would be substantially different and 1,000 calories of vegetables would give far more satiety than 1,000 calories of candy still the point is the same. Eating more calories than you burn will lead to weight gain.


    -bxd

    This is the worst kind of dangerous nonsense. There is a tremendous difference in how our bodies handle calories from food as opposed to calories from non-food substances. Calories from food are used for energy and anabolic processes but calories from non-foods are immediately stored as fat because the body has no use for them. Whenever you ingest something which your body cannot use, it is stored as fat because the body does not know what else to do with it. It is extremely difficult to get rid of this type of fat.
  • aqualeo1
    aqualeo1 Posts: 331 Member
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    You can totally over eat "real food". What do you even consider to be a "real" food? If it has calories it's food! Also, not everyone has a properly working shut-off valve like you are assuming. Telling someone to stuff their face all they want as long as the food isn't cake or Doritos is terrible advice for weight loss.

    And what's your beef with Doritos anyway? Did you have a bad experience with them or something?
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    If you eat real food which gives your body what it needs, it cannot harm you because your body will tell you when it has had enough.

    1zof3bm.jpg

    And what's your beef with Doritos anyway? Did you have a bad experience with them or something?

    Ya. What's up with that?
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    People can never become obese by eating food.

    That last statement is completely wrong. :noway:

    I am a obese vegetarian.

    Vegetarian just means that all the garbage is from vegetable sources without any animal products. Refined sugar, flour , margarine are all vegetarian but they can kill you.

    :
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    And what's your beef with Doritos anyway? Did you have a bad experience with them or something?

    The beef I have with Doritos is that they destroy people who eat them instead of eating food.
  • ToraChan2310
    ToraChan2310 Posts: 45
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    If you want to be in shape, yes. Yes, you do.

    Thats like your boss saying "Oh, I wont count how many hours you worked, but I'll just pay you this arbitrary amount on your check".

    You need to count to see what and how much you're eating and to make gradual progress.
  • aqualeo1
    aqualeo1 Posts: 331 Member
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    And what's your beef with Doritos anyway? Did you have a bad experience with them or something?

    The beef I have with Doritos is that they destroy people who eat them instead of eating food.

    You're right, Doritos have destroyed countless lives. So many people taken down in their prime...
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    You're right, Doritos have destroyed countless lives. So many people taken down in their prime...

    I once heard about an obese vegetarian. Doritos are completely vegetarian. Some people consider obesity to be DESTRUCTION OF LIFE because it is one of the leading health problems in the developed world.
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    If you want to be in shape, yes. Yes, you do.

    You do not need to count calories to be in great shape. Athletes 100 years ago did not even know what calories were.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    And what's your beef with Doritos anyway? Did you have a bad experience with them or something?

    The beef I have with Doritos is that they destroy people who eat them instead of eating food.

    Please explain what is 'food' and what is not.
  • bekahlou75
    bekahlou75 Posts: 304 Member
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    I'm just beginning to try to lose weight, and I think that counting calories might just be more effort/more destructive or discouraging...thoughts?

    how can something that helps you lose weight/be healthier be "destructive"

    LOL…troll much..?

    Based on their posts this looks like someone who was here before and asked about the eliptical was effective for weight loss 10x....

    ahhh yes, the elliptical, the magic fat burning machine…similar to the "mini trampoline"


    Are ellipticals bad? I like to switch out running with the elliptical because I get bored. Am I waisting my time?
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    [/quote]
    P.S. You can have junk, as long as it's within your calorie limit.
    [/quote]

    GOOD LUCK
  • NOMORECARS
    NOMORECARS Posts: 156
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    Please explain what is 'food' and what is not.

    Food nourishes the body and maintains it. Non-food tastes good and is heavily advertised.
    Non foods include anything with: sugar, flour, white rice, refined oil.
  • pammypurple
    pammypurple Posts: 27 Member
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    If you eat real food which gives your body what it needs, it cannot harm you because your body will tell you when it has had enough. When you eat substances with no nourishment, your body constantly cries for food because it is not getting what it needs. WHAT YOU EAT is more important than HOW MUCH YOU EAT.
    [/quote]

    I must be missing something because I can see very little "real food" in this poster's diary.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    you dont HAVE to do anything you dont want to do.

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