GrannyMayOz wrote: »

I often wonder why people of that time period seemed to eat multi-course dinners every day, go for a brief and definitely non-aerobic stroll around the nearest park and always remain reed slim. Though I suppose they couldn't eat much in those corsets! And there were no processed foods.

Sorry - please return to the actual topic

True! Though from what I've read the course were light, and probably smaller portioned. And then some fool went and invented the corset. I'm sure that answered a lot of "weight" issues, lol.

Reasons I count:

1) I eat the number of calories for the weight I want to be. If I exercise, I eat more, but I still have to be careful because I get REALLY hungry after exercise.

2) I'm OCD and a data analyst. Counting keeps me mindful and on track.

3) My body's satiety signaling system is still messed up. If I don't count, I will eat too much and then feel very icky.

4) I'm retraining myself on realistic volume/sizing.

My main set back with trying to drop the lbs is emotional eating. I will recognize when I'm not hungry, but I will still want to eat something. Counting keeps me in check. If I have to log it, and I see how many calories it is, it helps me to stop the emotional eating. In the moment of the craving, it's very hard to stop the behavior of eating. Having to log it keeps me honest. I need to answer to something for this behavior so I can work on it to make it better.

I'm also a science minded person (High School Biology Teacher), so knowing numbers and seeing results is kinda one of my things. My body is my experiment, and I need numbers to compare for my results.

GaleHawkins wrote: »

I think the one last night knocked me out of ketosis and all I had was fried chicken, green beans, lima beans and green peas and unsweetened ice tea.

This was a surprise?

First, if anybody buys the book, be prepared for fairly rational arguments against most of the low-carb beliefs. They're presented with scientific backing, but IMHO, the author cherry-picks his studies and uses a pretty vitriolic tone which will turn off many people.

The main premise can probably be summed up as: insulin isn't evil, it just signals the body that glucose is available. Industrialized society is evil for making the stuff we eat. Our brain dictates what we eat, and it hasn't evolved for the world we live in.

The studies presented are mostly those that show low-carb and low-fat diet results are similar when the calorie deficit is similar.

In the end, the recommendations aren't that much different than, say, Bailor, Paleo, etc.

But the difference is that they go into the brain/behavioral aspects, like:

• The reward value of food. Beware of pleasure!
• Food variety. Boring can be good for you.
• Avoid micronutrient deficiencies, but not with supplements. Getting this right may boost your metabolism.
• Protein = high-satiety = good weight-loss food.
• Eat lots of plants.
• Metabolic health = avoid constant low-cal, low-carb diets. Sleep well, etc.
• Sustainability.

Similar to other books, they suggest ways to address these points, but the implication is that if you're on a low-carb diet, it'll work as long as you're in a calorie deficit, and lots of protein will make that easier.

Counting calories may be a method for people to feel in control of what they are eating. Particularly when paired with a LCHF woe. The CICO that we've all be taught implies that if we are overweight then we have lost control aka "willpower".

LCHF can satiate people so that they are eating at a lower calorie intake. Seeing those results may provide a sense of achievement and belief in self which would further assist in being able to continue to their LCHF plan. Particularly if it's proving easier than if they were eating high carb.

I don't restrict due to calories. I might change things up for less carbs but if I'm hungry I'm gonna eat!!

I'm trying to slowly slide up to maintenance. I'm finding the calorie count useful as I adjust input to weight loss/gain. Especially since my burn rate has changed due to a different body composition than the one I started the diet with.

At the same time, I'm finding it hard to eat more due to being pretty satiated, so I could probably do this on ad libitum cruise-control. Just glad I don't have to do this on faith alone.

I am amazed and inspired by everyone that does their research. I learn a lot from all of you. The basic reason I log my food is that I easily forget what I have already eaten and can talk myself into poor habits ( I feel ya JennyToy). Logging keeps me focused and in control of what I put into my mouth. It has been a lesson hard learned (and still learning).