Opinions on calorie counting?

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  • beachgirl172723
    beachgirl172723 Posts: 151 Member
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    It's a great informational gathering tool. Once you get an idea of the cals you will probably know by eyeballing or feel of satiety levels. You probably won't do it for a lifetime but just as a means to get from point a to b and then maybe afterwards to touch base here and there and see where you are at. I love it because I'm an information/ numbers kind of person.
  • jbjb9001
    jbjb9001 Posts: 4
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    I thought I was doing fine by eating the right foods but calorie counting has shown me proper portion control. By logging everything you eat, you can easily see just what adjustments to your eating and activity level are necessary to lose the weight. It has never been easier, especially having the ability to scan items and recipes. No math equations involved.
  • kurotoshiro
    kurotoshiro Posts: 7 Member
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    I think it's a good idea to find out roughly how many caloies are in things you regularly eat, and based off of that you can make estimates of how much you're eating. That's what I do. I usually only check on fMFP if I've eaten somehing unhealthy and want to know how much I've consumed approximately. I think when you're eating well, you don't really need to count calories as much because you're giving yourself good fuel and as long as you aren't going overboard you should be able to stay within your limits.

    It's up to you though, everyone is different! There's no right or wrong :)
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    This is a calorie counting site- there is going to be a great deal of pro-calorie counting- so I'm honestly not sure where you were looking for in terms of answers.
    I disagree with that.
    You're welcome to- but if you aren't big on calorie counting- why ARE you here??
    I tried calorie counting for 20 years. No one can do that for the rest of thier lives.
    I don't understand how- if you did it for 20 years you should have gotten to a very stable point with it- and 20 years is a long time- so proof you can do it for long stretches. I fail to see the hang up
    Talk about eating disorders,
    what eating disorder?
    obsessing over every little thing you put in your mouth,
    I don't obsesses- I'm diligent and thorough but that isn't "obsessive".
    how many calories in it, can I afford to eat it,
    these questions are answered with counting- that's why it's a useful tool for many people.
    every single day for ever (yes, forever. if you stop, you will go back to eating like you did before, and get fat again.
    WRONG.
    If I stopped I'm sure I would be perfectly fine- I was never fat- and have never been fat- but I am counting calories to get the most out of my food and move forward on my strength and fitness gains.
    truth is if you restrict your calories, by the time you're at goal weight, you'll have to stay on a restricted amount for ever to maintain that weight).
    that's true for any weight- you have to exercise some self control in order to maintain the body you have- not matter if you are 100 pounds or 400 pounds- if you eat more than your current maintenance requirements you will gain weight.

    You MUST use some sort of restriction/moderation to maintain your body. Period- at any weight.
    I no longer have to count calories,
    how is that working for you
    ??
    or obsess over what I eat.
    you shouldn't have been obsessing if you were counting either.
    I don't weigh everything,
    neither do I- I weigh certain things- but not EVERYTHING.... and I still count.... still looking fabulous and getting it done. it's not always the way I want- but it's happening.
    I don't spend half the day dreaming of my next meal,
    I do that counting or not- because I'm ALWAYS hungry- counting or not.
    And I also don't spend half my day tracking- which is another complaint people have "I don't have time for that" It takes me all of 5 min to log my food for the whole day. easy peasy.
    and doing mental math to work out what I can eat.
    meh- it's not that overwhelming to have some forsight on what you are planning to eat.
    I'm the least obsessed with food that I've ever been, and I'm actually losing weight consistently like I've never done before, without always feeling I'm about to slip, cheat, fall off the wagon.
    glad you're moving forward- but you put way to much thought into all of this- it's not that complicated.
    You decide. You want to weigh and measure and record your food, you go for it, but it seems to me the very definition of an eating disorder.
    you have a very strange definition of "eating disorder"

    it's a tool.
    no more.
    no less.
    it allows you to accurately and with great knowledge make decisions.

    If you don't know what numbers you are working with- how can you eat "more" or eat "less"

    eat more than what- or eat less than what? You don't know if you aren't tracking.

    There are many paths- it is not right or wrong. But using logic and science and the right tools can REALLY REALLY make it easy.

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