Why Counting Calories?

For those who ask, I tell them:

Calorie tracking is considered a good choice (whether boring or not) because it tells you where you really are (just like your check register tells you your balance) - it helps you to be honest with yourself all the time. Ultimately, you will achieve that which you are seeking much sooner. And? 3500 cals = 1 pound. At the end of the day, it's math.

The internet is loaded with tips and tricks to lose weight and all against CICO.

This is because there's little to no money to be had by telling people about CICO. No product to hold? No money.

So, how would you tell someone who gives you the magical solution that counting calories is better?

It's better because it's free.

I count calories because I want to eat all of my favorite foods and not have to eat like a caveman (a pun directed at paleo). If you calorie count you can have all of your favorite foods in moderation and still lose weight, best diet ever.

You can do a diet like paleo and avoid all of your favorite sweets and treats and maybe even lose the weight you desire. Problem with diets like these is once you complete the diet what then? It's not sustainable for the average bear, most people will burn out before completing a tough diet program or just go back to what they were doing before. All of that hard work learning Paleo only to become useless once you go back to eating like a normal person again. Most people tend to gain all of the weight back and more after completing a tough diet program once they return to their old eating habits. No matter how healthy the food is or the diet you follow, you will only lose weight if you eat at a calorie deficit, there's no magic behind these fat diets.

If you just calorie count from the beginning, you learn healthy habits and how to enjoy your favorite foods in moderation for the rest of your life. I can still have pizza, ice cream, bacon, beer and etc etc and still lose weight. Best kind of diet.

So, how would you tell someone who gives you the magical solution that counting calories is better?

You don't. You just go back to counting your own.

The internet is loaded with tips and tricks to lose weight and all against CICO.

This is because there's little to no money to be had by telling people about CICO. No product to hold? No money.

So, how would you tell someone who gives you the magical solution that counting calories is better?

It's better because it's free.

Agreed with this. 100%.

I don't think counting calories is inherently better than anything else. Just hang around these parts long enough and you will see a multitude of individuals for whom counting calories has resulted in substantially disordered thinking at best and full on eating disorders at worst.

Any diet, including counting calories can be abused and become unhealthy...it really comes down to the individual. In large part, when someone is so obsessed with a number on the scale rather than general health and well being, they're going to do unhealthy things and abuse their diet and fitness.

Conversely, when people put a premium on actual health and well being, you tend to see them doing things with their diet and fitness that are overwhelmingly healthful regardless of whether they're low carbing, counting calories, paleo, etc....

So...counting calories in and of itself isn't inherently "better" than anything else...it can and often is just as abused as any other diet.

i haven't done any fad diets - i do calorie counting because it works for me. i like using MFP because it's easy to see at a glance how much protein, carbs and fat is in each meal and how much is eaten each day. that makes it very easy to adjust if i need more of something (usually protein). i also log in a notebook, but the actual calorie counting is SO much easier here...

The internet is loaded with tips and tricks to lose weight and all against CICO.

This is because there's little to no money to be had by telling people about CICO. No product to hold? No money.

So, how would you tell someone who gives you the magical solution that counting calories is better?

It's better because it's free.

Agreed with this. 100%.

There are a lot of free ways to lose weight. Counting calories is not the only one. You don't need any special supplements, shakes, or chocolate bars, etc. You don't need to pay for any special websites.

I just watched a documentary yesterday that explores the history of diets. It's pretty fascinating because fad diets began during a time where America was quite healthy and not going through an obesity epidemic. Here's the link if you're interested:

http://youtu.be/I-_LoAm_etU

I think there is a part two as well, but I didn't watch that one.

Edit: I feel I should throw in my opinion, while I'm at it.

I am now a strong believer in the slow, but sure way of counting calories and exercise. For me, being fat was not only a physical condition, but also a mental condition. Forcing myself to come to terms with my old eating habits taught me a lot about WHY I was eating so much and address those issues head on. I can now identify the patterns that precede a binge because I was paying attention while going at this slowly.

Also, I still make mistakes, now, so I reflect on how I made my mistake and what to do to avoid it later. For example, I used to waaaaaaaaay overeat at our monthly church potlucks. When I joined MFP, I learned that I needed to tone it down, if I wanted to lose weight. Now, I don't treat our potlucks as a free-for-all. Instead, I now step back, look at the spread of food, map a "game plan," and get only the foods I really want. If I was on a fad diet, I would not have noticed that about myself and I'd still pig out at the potlucks after getting to my goal weight with that diet.

Because the only way to lose weight is to have a calorific deficit, and after years of ****ty habits I can't eyeball correct serving sizes and ****.

So I count so I know that I'm getting a deficit.

It's like finances. Without counting every penny, I don't care how smart you are, you don't know things about your money and how it is being spent. People that balance their accounts and track every penny spent know very well where their money goes, and they immediately notice when bills don't seem right or their balance is off, or if a medical bill is wrong. Other people that don't track typically don't really know where their money is going and they are surprised when they dig in. I had a friend that discovered she had been paying for some kind of subscription for over a year without being aware of what it was. They were just taking money out of her account every month. She had no idea.

Food tracking is the same. Once you start tracking, you become aware of what you are eating and how it impacts you. One of the very first things that happen to people when they are new is they are completely shocked with how much they actually consume. The next thing is they are shocked at how many calories various foods have in them, like peanut butter, as an example. Even if someone is against tracking their food, I ask people that start dieting to at least do it for one month. 4 simple weeks, just to get a handle on it.

Oh, this really makes sense as to why calorie tracking has become easy for me! I just started tracking my finances 1 year ago and I have made leaps and bounds with my spending and saving! I agree that calorie tracking is basically the same idea.

I've noticed that a lot of the magic weight loss pills also come with a "recommended diet" to maximize your results. That "diet" is essentially the same thing we're doing here, CICO, but in a pretty package with some slick marketing.

Same thing with Weight Watchers, Bernstein, etc. You're just paying someone to do your work for you - they are calorie restricting, ergo, you will lose weight (if you're doing it right). Which is fine and dandy, except these programs are set up for repeat business, so they're never going to actually teach you how to take proper care of yourself for the long term.

In the end, if you follow the directions on the pill bottle and follow the WW and Bernstein plans, you will lose weight, because they are essentially CICO. The difference is that you're paying out the wazoo for it, when you can do it yourself for free with a bit of work and effort. Plus, by doing it yourself, you're setting yourself up for long term success by having an understanding of how you're treating your body, instead of just blindly doing what someone else tells you to do while handing over your hard-earned cash. You'll have similar results, but be broke.

Utimately I think most peope will start with the quick-fixes, pills, fads, etc. first because most of us would rather take the easy way, and let's face it, the marketing is pretty effective. This type of marketing, along with food package labelling (oh look, I can eat a whole pack of twizzlers because they're fat free, wahoooo!), drives me nuts. I think false marketing is a big contributor to the obesity epidemic.

Sorry for ranting....this topic hit a nerve with me.

I am not trying to stir the water, really.

Thing is, I've ran into several websites, ads, messages and people everywhere who are either:

- Burning out every nerve at the gym and not eating
- Eating so bad and not moving at all they are reaching the point of no return
- Doing every single diet they see
- Waiting for magical solutions

Doctors are calling me, telling me to go to X or Y diet, to take N or M pill or shake and to do whatever they saw on tv (they even suggested surgery since I was 15). The internet is loaded with tips and tricks to lose weight and all against CICO.

So, how would you tell someone who gives you the magical solution that counting calories is better?

I explain to them that - like everything else in the universe - our bodies operate based on certain laws of physics. Our body uses fuel for energy, much like a car. When you use up all of your fuel, your body switches to its reserves (body fat and muscle). So even though eating a varied diet with a healthy balance of carbs, fats and proteins for your lifestyle is ideal; if we're strictly talking weight loss, it's as simple as CICO. Even if you eat nothing but refined, table sugar for your source of calories, you WILL lose weight if you give your body less fuel than it needs. You just have to find out how many calories your body needs (everybody's metabolism is a bit different) to stay at its current weight, and eat LESS than that on a regular basis.

If I told people my gas tank will stay full forever if I fill it just once with premium gas, they would look at me like I was crazy. . . because that's not physically possible. . . but if you try to tell somebody they'll never be fat if they only eat "healthy" foods, no matter how much of it they consume, they will nod and agree that that makes perfect sense. Physics. PHYSICS ALL AROUND!

Because whatever they are doing, they are all essentially doing the exact same thing: calorie deficit.

Sure there are a zillion and one ways to do it...but why do the fads when simple works just as well?

Eat less, move more. It's not rocket science after all

Simple Answer: If there was a magical solution, there would be no overweight people.

Great response! If those pills worked, everyone would be in line for them. If that fad diet worked, everyone would eat it. There is no easy way out, not even surgery is a quick fix. It's all work and effort, but rewarding when you finally apply yourself. I know, I have been through the wringer with it all. Pills are a new addiction and fads are just that, fads. If you can eat 7 pounds of bacon a day, something is wrong, even if it has results.