Do you need to count calories?

cute that you post this on a calorie counting site...

not sure if you actually believe the article but I have counted calories to lose weight and continue to maintain...nothing wrong with it and nothing neurotic about it either...

Perhaps you are in the wrong spot?

I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with the articles OP linked to. I think each individual person needs to find what works best for them, some people fight find that counting calories works, but other people might find they need to keep an eye on their sodium, fat or carb intake. It is good to have a variety of perspectives.

Yet here you are on a calorie counting site.

I have found a weight loss trick that works, its free and has no physical side-effects (besides losing weight!) It is knowing how much of what is going into my mouth.

I think counting calories is amazing, insightful and it works - as long as a person does not become obsessive over it (fear of eating foods without a label, fear of going over calorie allowance for the day, avoiding others just to stay in calorie goal, etc) I think it is a very effective tool for weight loss.

It is a small price that I pay to keep my body healthy, something of which I plan to do for the rest of my life.

TrailBlazerMN wrote: »

An awesome article by Dani Shugart:

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/calories-should-you-be-counting

I would like to see some peer reviewed articles to back up the assertions on this website.

I personally NEED to count calories. Otherwise my portions sneak up and I gain weight again. That article is silly.

This article is a little harsh, so read at your own risk, but it goes over the adaptive thermo something or other that I forgot how to spell.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

TL;DR: CI vs CO is how to lose weight, and adaptive thermo-majigger is true but significant enough to actually STOP weight loss or cause weight gain.

There have also been studies of convenience store, or fast food diets where people just cut their calories but still ate "crap" and lost the weight. (I don't feel like finding the link to this one, took me forever to find the thermo-majigger one.)

Granted, calorie counting itself may not work for everyone. Especially those with legit eating disorders. But it will work for the vast majority. Just because something doesn't work of a minority doesn't mean everyone should shun it.

EDIT: "Are you going to carry a measuring cup and a scale with you everywhere you go for the rest of your life?" For every meal I prepare myself? Abso-freakin-lutely. If I go out to eat? It's not gonna hurt me to miss counting that day. You can have your cake and eat it too.

I find that logging is the most efficient way for me to cut. I maintain just fine without logging.