Calories in, Calories out... really the way to go?

Weightloss is counting calories and making a deficit. Do that and you will lose weight. Stop that and go back to eating to many calories and you will gain weight. You need a life style change not a temp diet. That is why you yo yo.

I'm not going to beat myself up if I go over in my daily calorie intake for, lets say 100 cal. worth of broccoli. However I will kick myself if I go over because I just had to have that 100 cal worth of chocolate pudding. I think it just has to do with the mindset that I want to be healthy, not just lose weight. But that is my opinion.

Counting calories is how one loses weight. How those calories are divided up is Macros. In terms of importance for weight loss, calories are king. In terms of body composition and performance Macros come next, but remember, those Macros are what make up your total calories so count Macros is basically counting calories. Personally I have done a couple of programs, most notably the Zone. Then I looked more carefully at what I was eating, and while the Macro breakdown was 40% Carb, 30% Protein, 30% Fat, the same breakdown I use here but don't follow religiously, the reason I was losing weight was not the Macro breakdown, but that I was eating at a calorie deficit. Once I realized that I realized I didn't have to obsess over meeting the 40-30-30 and just concentrate on calories. Success was the same.

http://comfortpit.com/the-truth-about-calories/
this is a great article with a lot of unbiased information! he's got great links with more info on there as well. Also, make sure to read the comments at the bottom a lot of people tried to tear apart everything he was saying but he had answers for every one of them! lots of good info

CICO is great. I'm a compulsive eater who has been trying (and failing) for half a decade to lose weight. I've been counting calories for two months now and it's been a complete game changer; lost 17 pounds so far, exercising more, making amazing leaps and bounds in eating better (gone from high fat, processed, deep fried foods to fruits and veggies and loving every second of it. Never though that i could get excited over a home made fruit platter with yogurt dip but guess what!!), and even (bonus!!) Practising better house cleaning habits. Total lifestyle overhaul with this diet and very easy.

I wouldn't obsess too much over the macros, especially at first, unless you have real health concerns or a specific nutrient goal like lowering your cholesterol or getting more protein. Just focus on getting used to the new calorie goal and watching your portions for now.

Also, if you fall of the wagon, don't freak out. Going over your goal is not the end of the world, it won't destroy you, your life won't be ruined. Just take a deep breath, accept your mistakes, and get back to it TODAY. NOT TOMORROW. Don't get into the habit of thinking that a little mess up in the afternoon means that you have to give up for the night.

CICO + Intermittent Fasting + IIFYM = how I lost all my weight.

Definitely the way to go. CICO is a change of mindset, a lifestyle change. Calories can be adjusted to lose, gain or maintain as needed. There is no magic food, pill or diet that will get the weight off and keep it off. It all boils down to CICO. You can still eat what you like, just track it and make sure it fits into your calories. I find that pre-logging most of my day helps, I know what I have to look forward to, and I level a few hundred spare calories for a treat or snack. If I go over by a bit, the sky won't fall, unless I go way over my calories I still lose nicely.

I eat a low carb diet in order to have a normal appetite. What I mean by normal appetite is I get hungry, I eat until I'm full and satisfied and then I forget about food until I'm hungry again. But a normal appetite only gets me so far. I also need good food habits in conjunction with low carb to avoid overeating. Good food habits for me include no snacking, preparing balanced meals (as much as low carb can be balanced) from primarily whole foods and fasting occasionally.

What works and is sustainable is highly individual. Think about what you like, where your problems are and cobble together some strategies to deal with them and eventually you'll come up with an enjoyable diet and food habits you want to maintain. It takes time to work it all out -- just don't stop and you'll get there. Best wishes.

When you boil down ANY diet plan, it comes down to consuming more calories than you burn.

The difference between diet plans and doing it yourself is that diet plans do all the work for you. Yes, they're easier and sometimes faster (though, faster isn't healthier!), but when the goal is achieved, you'll go back to eating what you consider normally and that's why the weight comes back. By counting the calories yourself, you're not really dieting. You're changing your eating habits to help you relearn what proper portions are, which will help you KEEP the weight off in the future.

How you do it is up to you, though. Everyone has different methods, and it's perfectly ok to try different things, but you have to find what works for YOU. The key is to find something that's SUSTAINABLE after you hit your goal. If you try some method someone suggests, after about a week, ask yourself "Do I want to eat like this the rest of my life?" If the answer is no, it's not for you. Which is why a lot of people here will tell you not to remove foods you like, simply learn how to work them into your day. You'll need to eat LESS of said food if it's in the high calorie/low nutrient category, but no food is forbidden. No food is bad. Sugar and carbs aren't evil, you do need some of certain types of fats for your body to function, and one cookie isn't going to sabotage you. You simply need to learn what a single portion is of the foods you like, and then plan them into your day.

Yes, it's slow! But what do you want, fast and probably unhealthy weight loss that you'll gain right back, or a slow and steady weight loss that trains you how to KEEP it off once you hit your goal? You're the only one that can answer that question for yourself.


Other advice:
- It's ok to start slow and build. What I did was weigh and log EVERYTHING for a week before I cut anything, just to see where my patterns were. That let me see what times of the day I was eating, and gave me ideas for what to cut down on. Then, I picked one thing to change, and gave myself a couple weeks to get used to it. Then, changed something else. Start slow and create a foundation to build on. It takes longer, but you'll feel better the entire time instead of being hungry and desperately craving favorite foods.

- Exercise IS NOT required for weight loss. It's good for many other things, and if you can exercise, make sure to add it. But don't rely on it for weight loss. Focus on calories in for now, and if you're not exercising, add that in slowly when you can. It will help you get you body healthy, and learning to lift will help you tone muscles, which will make your body composition better, but if you don't relearn eating habits, it's not going to help that much.

- Don't rely on others for your motivation. External motivation and support is great, but sporadic. You're not going to have someone call you up 2-3 times a day to offer encouragement unless you pay them. So you need to learn to motivate yourself. The way to do that is to take a good, honest look at why YOU want to lose weight. It doesn't have to be 'to get healthy' either. Find that reason and make it your motivation. Mine was I didn't like that I looked fat in my wedding pictures. And since it's on my work desk, that means I was constantly looking at it. Now that I've lost weight, it's also a reminder of where I was and to not let myself get there again. So find your own reason and motivation, and you'll always be able to pick yourself back up when make mistakes.

- And you WILL make mistakes. Days you go over by accident, celebrations and holidays, sick days, etc. EVERYONE has off days. It doesn't make you a failure and won't sabotage your progress unless you let it. When you make a mistake, learn from it, log it, and start fresh next meal/day. It's a lesson that's hard for a lot of people to learn, including me, but once you internalize it, things become MUCH easier!

down 70+ pounds through CICO. yup id say it works

#proofisinthepudding

Start with counting calories (CICO) and then go from there to tweaks. Get used to the process before going to the next step.

I have been a yo yo dieter for most of my adult life (I'm 35 now). I tried all the fads, and would lose some, then gain it all back and then some within a fairly short amount of time. It wasn't until I dropped my excuses, dropped my previous "all or nothing" approach, and adopted the CICO mentality and started working on teaching myself moderation that I really found success. (I also worked hard on getting over my issues with emotional eating). I've lost over 94lbs in the last year while still having things like cookies, ice cream, etc here and there. I don't feel restricted or deprived.