CC vs Not CC
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I lost my first 60ish pounds without counting calories at all...I just eliminated added sugar and reduced carbs in general. Then I started counting...not because I stalled, but because I wanted to start experimenting with different macros and needed the data.
Reducing the carbs made it easy for me to lose because it eliminated my cravings and kept me feeling full.
You can do it either way...but personally I have no desire to log every bite of food I eat for the rest of my life, so it's nice to know I can do it either way. Log when I want to gather data and tweak the diet, stop logging when I have a good grasp of the modified plan.0 -
honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
I'm a big whole foods most of the time advocate...I believe in eating healthfully (I also believe in having some pizza every now and then)...but you can still overeat healthy foods....if you overeat healthy foods, you still gain weight.
weight management is about energy balance, not what food you are eating. it is much easier to control your energy intake eating whole, nutrient dense foods...but you can still over eat...and keep in mind that there are any number of very healthful foods which are also calorie dense...caloric density has jack to do with nutritional quality.
I would also add that "eat whatever you want" is generally to suggest that you can have a slice of pizza now and then and not feel guilty about it but it often gets extrapolated out to suggest that one who is eating what they want is on a 100% junk food diet...and I've never actually seen that to be the case.
also, why would you consider a sandwich to be inherently unhealthy? you should probably do a little research on actual nutrition here...there's nothing inherently unhealthy about a sandwich...bread isn't the devil. my sandwich bread (Dave's Killer Bread) is packed with nutrients.
also, for what it's worth, I don't count calories or keep a log...I did for 9 months or so while I was losing and it was useful as a learning tool...I've found it completely unnecessary for over two years of maintenance.0 -
Oddly, if you counted calories correctly, even 1500 calories of "junk" food would still result in weight loss, and if you were enough overweight, it would probably improve some health markers.honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals. To add variety in his steady stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Haub munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos, too.
...
For a class project, Haub limited himself to less than 1,800 calories a day. A man of Haub's pre-dieting size usually consumes about 2,600 calories daily. So he followed a basic principle of weight loss: He consumed significantly fewer calories than he burned.
...
His body mass index went from 28.8, considered overweight, to 24.9, which is normal. He now weighs 174 pounds.
But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so.
Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.0 -
In my work, I always emphasize that it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms behind things. Often people will find some technique that works to solve a particular problem, but that isn't applicable to other problems because they don't understand the root cause of the issue.
Conservation of mass and energy are the underlying mechanisms behind weight loss or gain. If you understand that then you understand how changes in body weight work. Calorie counting is the best method to use to model these detailed physical processes.
Other approaches may work, but they are heuristic. Calorie counting is ideal because it's the closest match to reality.0 -
I personally can't limit myself that much and say "I can't have" it just doesn't work for me. Right now I am doing nutrisystem and while it balanced and generally healthy. It is still prepackaged and loaded with salt.
Eating too many Whole Foods will not make you lose weight. Food that is organic isn't always good for dieting. However, being healthy is a big part of my goal. Weight is one key piece, but generally it is about being strong and healthy so I can continue to enjoy life
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honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
@honeybee739 welcome to MFP forums and you are are so correct about conflicting info.
Counting calories is without question new on the horizon because until relatively recently we did not even know the calories in foods. Its long term value will be known in time as a tool for the masses.
The bottom line is if there is NO counting every how does know how much they are eating and are the calories fitting the macro they are testing?
A practicing MD by the name of William Davis last year published Wheat Belly Total Health. It it the best book I have found in a medical sense that cuts through a lot of the conflicting diet info out there today.
Best of success with whatever plan for good health you want to try. In the end I have to weigh myself to know when I am gaining, losing or maintaining my weight. We that start out obese know good health is NOT just about weight loss.
If I have 100 pounds to lose do I want it to be 91 pounds of fat and 9 pounds of muscle or 58 pounds of fat and 42 pounds of muscles?
Counting calories only can give one either of the results above.
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I calorie count; I dont worry about what I eat as long as I hit my calories (within reason, obviously I try and make good choices but I allow myself treats as well). I want this change to be sustainable- If I were to go low carb or something similar I'd be miserable, and I wouldn't continue to be low carb once I'd lost the weight. I'd rather choose to calorie count and be able to have freedom within my diet than be less accurate and stick to a certain 'diet plan' 0
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GaleHawkins wrote: »honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
@honeybee739 welcome to MFP forums and you are are so correct about conflicting info.
Counting calories is without question new on the horizon because until relatively recently we did not even know the calories in foods. Its long term value will be known in time as a tool for the masses.
The bottom line is if there is NO counting every how does know how much they are eating and are the calories fitting the macro they are testing?
A practicing MD by the name of William Davis last year published Wheat Belly Total Health. It it the best book I have found in a medical sense that cuts through a lot of the conflicting diet info out there today.
Best of success with whatever plan for good health you want to try. In the end I have to weigh myself to know when I am gaining, losing or maintaining my weight. We that start out obese know good health is NOT just about weight loss.
If I have 100 pounds to lose do I want it to be 91 pounds of fat and 9 pounds of muscle or 58 pounds of fat and 42 pounds of muscles?
Counting calories only can give one either of the results above.
If you have 100 pounds to lose you don't have 42 pounds of muscles that you could lose without, you know, dying.0 -
In the past I've done plenty of restricting foods while dieting. It always wound up failing because quite simply...I'm not going to live the rest of my life treating certain things as taboo (unless there's a legitimate health reason).
This time I'm just sticking to my calorie goal and choosing healthier foods. I'm losing weight just the same as when I had cut out all carbs, ect.
When it comes to weight loss it makes NO difference. BUT....we should all be striving to eat balanced diets.0 -
Most people end up on MFP because they couldn't eat intuitively and lose. If we could, we wouldn't need to be here in the first place. So imo most people should count calories while losing, and then loosen up on the counting in maintenance while monitoring their weight and measurements, and then start tracking again as needed.0
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OP -- I can understand the daunting task of not wanting to count calories for the rest of your life. It certainly doesn't appeal to me either. I personally counted calories when I was losing to help figure out how much I was eating and to adjust my micros (especially to hit my protein goals and watch my carbs). Once I got down to where I wanted to be, I don't tend to count calories unless I'm going through a very specific cut/bulk cycle.
The easiest way of eating I found that didn't require constant calorie counting was 5:2 (I've heard the same for keto and/or Paleo, but I prefer the flexibility of 5:2). When people get to maintenance, they tend to eat 6:1. I found that to be a very easy way to maintain and it really helped me to "retrain" myself on actual hunger, rather than habits, cravings, etc. So that may be one option for you when you're losing and/or in maintenance.0 -
As a short woman, I have little room for error. If I'm seriously committed to weight loss I count calories, calculate macros, weigh my food, and record everything. If my weight is under control and I want to do less, I eliminate sugar, fat, and unnecessary carbs.0
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
¿Qué?GaleHawkins wrote: »honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
@honeybee739 welcome to MFP forums and you are are so correct about conflicting info.
Counting calories is without question new on the horizon because until relatively recently we did not even know the calories in foods. Its long term value will be known in time as a tool for the masses.
The bottom line is if there is NO counting every how does know how much they are eating and are the calories fitting the macro they are testing?
A practicing MD by the name of William Davis last year published Wheat Belly Total Health. It it the best book I have found in a medical sense that cuts through a lot of the conflicting diet info out there today.
Best of success with whatever plan for good health you want to try. In the end I have to weigh myself to know when I am gaining, losing or maintaining my weight. We that start out obese know good health is NOT just about weight loss.
If I have 100 pounds to lose do I want it to be 91 pounds of fat and 9 pounds of muscle or 58 pounds of fat and 42 pounds of muscles?
Counting calories only can give one either of the results above.
"Only counting calories can give one either of the muscle loss %" may have been more clear.
@DeguelloTex and @stevencloser the math above can be found in the second paragraph in the link below. Where one is counting calories to eat at a 200 or 750 calorie deficit the % of fat/muscle loss ration can be very different. This means there may be more to successful diets than just counting calories based on the Rockefeller University research.
"Ironically, severe calorie restrictions are unnecessary. A recent study showed that a group that maintained a 200-calorie-per-day deficit lost as much weight in six months as a group that maintained a 750-calorie-per-day deficit. The bottom line: if you want to lose fat, not muscle, a moderate diet plan is the only way to go."
pacifichealthlabs.com/blog/could-you-be-losing-muscle-instead-of-fat-heres-how-not-to-do-that/0 -
honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
I've lost weight many times without calorie counting. When I am single, I naturally gravitate to lower calorie whole foods and rechannel my sexual energy into exercise.
Once I'm back in a relationship, it's Hello butter, sugar, flour; Goodbye gym. So I have to be more mindful. And that's where calorie counting is useful for me.0 -
I've done both. I started by just cleaning up my diet and lost about 40 pounds that way. Now I track calories and micros.
So, I eat healthy food and I watch my calories. I do both. 0 -
stevencloser wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »honeybee739 wrote: »There is so much conflicting info.
What is your opinion of losing weight by eating what you want within your calorie range vs whole foods eating/low carb/ etc without counting/tracking?
I don't mean filling your day full of junk food and eating 1500 calories of junk food. But if you want a sandwhich and you can "afford" it, you eat it. Also obviously eating fruits and veggies because they are healthy and lower in cals.
Has anyone tried both cc and then not and focusing on whole foods/low carb/paleo...etc basicall any lifestyle that doesnt focus on calories.
@honeybee739 welcome to MFP forums and you are are so correct about conflicting info.
Counting calories is without question new on the horizon because until relatively recently we did not even know the calories in foods. Its long term value will be known in time as a tool for the masses.
The bottom line is if there is NO counting every how does know how much they are eating and are the calories fitting the macro they are testing?
A practicing MD by the name of William Davis last year published Wheat Belly Total Health. It it the best book I have found in a medical sense that cuts through a lot of the conflicting diet info out there today.
Best of success with whatever plan for good health you want to try. In the end I have to weigh myself to know when I am gaining, losing or maintaining my weight. We that start out obese know good health is NOT just about weight loss.
If I have 100 pounds to lose do I want it to be 91 pounds of fat and 9 pounds of muscle or 58 pounds of fat and 42 pounds of muscles?
Counting calories only can give one either of the results above.
If you have 100 pounds to lose you don't have 42 pounds of muscles that you could lose without, you know, dying.
Maybe Gale read this in the book he is referencing. IDK
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