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

innerhottie wrote: »

I am loving all of the advice and information. Thank you!
I logged all day today and I am about 35 calories over right now (and had a big dinner... LOL)
Definitely see ways to fine tune and plan. Thanks again!

Great job...as cold as it is I'm sure a little shivering will burn off that 35 extra! lol. Just keep at it and when you fall off get back up and do it again. I'm back here now trying to do it again, for good

Thanks for a the responses too guys. Good info. I have been at this 35 days and I'm down 8.5 pounds. I never realized how much I was eating before. I had all of my day calories in at breakfast. Making better choices now.

From your original post it appears that you tend to go on a diet, lose weight, then regain. I think you could benefit from calorie counting for a few reasons: if your diet is not too different from what you are already eating you might feel like it's more of a modification than a complete overhaul of your eating habits, which makes sticking to it easier. Weighing and measuring your food will also help you understand how certain foods look for certain calories and use that information later to help you maintain your weight. For example, what does an 800 calorie pizza meal look like? For my choice of pizza that's 3 slices + a diet drink. Even when I'm not dieting I have learned that eating any more than that in pizza is pushing it. Same for any meals that you have often. If you pick up this information during your dieting phase and use it when you reach your goal, you are less likely to regain much.

Shesaleo18 wrote: »

I was genuinely interested what people thought of the article I thought it was quite interesting. And then I got marked as spam...what tha???

For the record I didn't mark your post as spam. To get it removed, you can click the "Flag" --> "Report" link, choose the "other" category and ask the mods to remove. We sometimes get people randomly promote websites in discussion topics, so it looks like a couple of people thought that's what you were doing

As for your link and feedback you were seeking, you may wish to start your own thread

What is CICO? I have been trying to follow along with everyone's comments. In the deficit, what does that mean? Should I eat or not eat back the calories I get from working out? Also, how do I figure out what my actual daily calories should be. 6 days a week I workout - Either MMAxout workouts for 45 mins or kickboxing/bag workouts for 45 mins. I am at a standstill and can't figure out what the heck is going on? I was doing weightwatchers in Dec, but recently stopped (lost on average about 1lb a week). Since I have stopped, I have not lost. Any suggestions or help, thanks.

@innerhottie

CICO/energy balance applies to all types of eating and can't be denied. It is what changes our body weights, even if it's much more complex than simple math and influenced by many things.


Really I think calorie counting can be done with or without apps, logging, scales, or paying attention to macros. It can be as easy as occasionally getting on a (human) scale, or as complex as logging every crumb and movement and tracking it. Gaining or losing weight will happen based on energy balance either way, with or without exercise.

The trick is to find the method that works for you and your goals. Apps like this work great for a lot of people, some find them restrictive. Some people never give it a thought and control their weight. Others have to work hard at it and find various tools that keep them in line. No matter how or what you eat only you can decide what helps you make long term changes, and how easy or hard that is for you.

For me, losing weight wasn't hard at all. I lost at almost the same rate before I used MFP, and the change was probably only really due to setting a specific goal for loss vs just winging it before MFP use. Though the app has helped me find some useful tools as far as what keeps me full longer, making sure I eat the right things for recovery and nutrition, etc... I don't need it to lose weight. I find it useful for tracking certain things, and will continue using it for that reason. But overall, I've have to say using the app was more of a pain in the tail than it was worth it for me, but ONLY as it applies to the weight loss. For the other reasons I use it the app has been very useful.



BUT rather than assume that what works for me will work for you, all I can suggest is to use the app and forums, experiment some, and find what works for you. From being on here I've seen people be successful a hundred different ways, and fail using the same number of ways. I think the driving force is just using the proven and simple science that applies (energy balance/CICO/avoid extremes in diet composition for most) and find your proper fit in the mix of all that. If you get the results you want, only you can decide if the things you used to meet that goal were time well spent, made you more confident, stressed you out, etc. I would probably struggle to go to extremes of limiting any food groups, but for some that helps them. I have never weighed food, but for many that more precise information is very useful and helps them. I love to exercise, but many can control weight without it.

So my best advice, don't make it too hard, use the simple rules that apply, and figure out what the best thing for YOU is. Because all the rest of us can't use our method to help YOU control weight, other than provide it as input for things you could try.

Shesaleo18 wrote: »

I was genuinely interested what people thought of the article I thought it was quite interesting. And then I got marked as spam...what tha???

I didn't get that either. Some people are quick to report anything for reasons only they know. Must have been someone assuming spam, it happens.