counting everything for food...when is it necessary?

RoundDoz
RoundDoz Posts: 72 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
ok so I am just not a fan of counting everything. It feels like bondage. You cant just eat. However I think it may be necessary when tweaking your body to reach very specific detailed goals. What about lifting weights? im getting into heavy lifting...next week actually. How specific do I need to be with my food at this point? im mostly plant-based with my eating and incorporating raw meals/snacks. Do I need to gain weight as well? eating a surplus? Im 5'6 and 150lbs. So... hit me up. whats the reality of it all...

Replies

  • JonKinarthy
    JonKinarthy Posts: 44 Member
    It depends on what your goal is. The more you want to lose fat in conjunction with any other goals you have, the more counting calories will improve your chances of doing that.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    ah...are you trying to lose weight? maintain? gain? Build muscle? Lose fat?

    I see by your profile it's not lose weight....

    If you are lifting heavy you need to watch your macros to ensure you are getting enough protein for muscle repair, enough carbs for energy and fat to ensure absorption of vitamins and minerals. Enough calories to sustain the exercise.

    How specific do you have to be...without counting and logging...good question. I haven't been able to know when I get enough protein based on anything but my diary....now keep in mind I haven't really tried either because it's not that hard and doesn't take that much time.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    I am supposed to be eating 200 calories over maintenance on weights days, 200 calories below on non-weights days, with the goal of adding muscle, losing fat, and maintaining weight. This does require accurate logging, however.
  • 70chevellegsp
    70chevellegsp Posts: 50 Member
    I've been counting for over a year now, and believe that I would be gaining back what I've lost if I were to stop. If I get hungry in the evening now, I check my count to see if I can snack, if I'm not counting, I'll probably just eat, regardless of going over or not. I used to eat out of complacency, boredom, ?, now I have goals and a reason which works with my personality type. I can also make up for overages by watching the next day or so. You may be different, but the bottom line is, calories and macros are important. If you can regulate and know where you are without counting then you will be fine.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited April 2015
    You can skip counting calories but it will be like baking a new recipe without measuring the ingredients.

    You might put in too much salt and not enough baking soda but you won't know until the cookies come out of the oven and are inedible. You might eat too little to maintain your weight or too little to build muscle but you won't know until you've done it long enough to reasonably be able to gauge your results or lack thereof.

    Or you might be one of the rare bakers who can estimate measurements right on the nose and your cookies could be fantastic. You might be one of the rare people who actually estimate portions and calories correctly and can balance everything and get results without any measuring whatsoever.

    I can't say that you can or can't do it without counting or that you counting because my crystal ball is currently out for repairs. But I will say that measuring your food and counting calories will make it easier for you to nail down problems in the process should they occur.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    70chevellegsp wrote: »
    I've been counting for over a year now, and believe that I would be gaining back what I've lost if I were to stop. If I get hungry in the evening now, I check my count to see if I can snack, if I'm not counting, I'll probably just eat, regardless of going over or not. I used to eat out of complacency, boredom, ?, now I have goals and a reason which works with my personality type. I can also make up for overages by watching the next day or so. You may be different, but the bottom line is, calories and macros are important. If you can regulate and know where you are without counting then you will be fine.

    @70chevellegsp have you tried prelogging? Works great for me and then I know from day to day how much I have up or down from goal.
  • RoundDoz
    RoundDoz Posts: 72 Member
    So you all are saying that i wouldnt really know what i needed and what i didnt...and how to adjust and eat for my goal unless i counted (or at least counting would be the best). does that also mean i should consider percents and grams of macros and so forth? weighing food too? *sigh*. And then Im not sure where I am now to know what I need. you get what I mean? and from what I can tell, these websites that calculate what you need such as BF% or TDEE arent really accurate. So what do I do? Im willing to start with the counting just as long as it gets me closer to knowing my body well enough not to have to. I cant live like that. Should I get a trainer or something? is there a cheaper way to go about it? trainers are costly lol
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    You need to pay attention to your protein macros, as you will need protein to build muscle. If you are tracking accurately, you will know if your maintenance calories are correct if your weight does what you expect. (If you calculate that you are in a surplus and gain the matching amount, or if you calculate that you are in a deficit and lose the equivalent amount)
  • RoundDoz
    RoundDoz Posts: 72 Member
    what do you mean "if youre in a surplus and gain the matching amount..." and so forth? If I add or cut 200 calories I should gain or lose 200lbs? lol i know thats not what youre saying entirely but...something like that?
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    What I'm saying is that if you set MFP at maintenance and eat the number of calories it says exactly, then you should maintain over a week. If over the week you are +200 every day, then that would be a 1400 calorie surplus over the week and you would expect to gain approx .4 of a pound. If you were -200 on each of those days, you would expect to lose .4. If you went crazy one day and binged on a box of donuts and was +2000 one day, and the other 6 days were +300 you would expect to be up a pound.

    It's all math, most people don't hit their number bang on each day. You average it out over time and see if your actual results match your expectations over the long run.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. Lift hard following an established plan. Tracking isn't mandatory, but you may want to do so for a few days just to get a feel for where you are. 80-100 grams of protein should be sufficient. Adjust the rest as needed.

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