Anyone else here hate counting every single calorie?
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Christine_72 wrote: »happyheart15 wrote: »Calorie counting doesn't work for everyone. Calorie counting can make some people obsessive. It can make some people binge. That's what it does for me sometimes. Counting and obsessing over every little morsel you put in your mouth, denying yourself something you don't know the calories of, but then binging on it later because you can't stop thinking about it, tracking every calorie you burn so you can eat the exercise calories, or exercise off something bad you're eaten, etc.
Some people on here at like calorie counting is the end all, be all to obesity, but it's not. It's great, but it's not the solution for everyone.
You're right, millions of people lose weight without manually logging a single calorie.
For me, calorie counting is like a security blanket. As long as I'm counting and logging there's no second guessing, and I know I'm on the right track. This could also be achieved by regularly weighing myself, I guess. But I'd rather not have to deal with calorie/weight creep.
I'll keep weighing and logging everything as long as I'm enjoying it, and I do at the moment. Pre-logging my day is the very first thing I do after I turn the computer on in the morning, I still look forward to it.
ETA: I have my fitbit synced with MFP, and I get a thrill watching my calories increase throughout the day. The whole experience (logging my food and earning calories) makes me happy :bigsmile:
X2!0 -
. (Thanks for the definition, Sunnybeach.)
LOL I love that crap, too, beautiful Jane. I feel like a research scientist in my own kitchen! I've added several recipes to MFP. Anything I can control makes me feel good, it's the gray area that makes me nervous. My husband love buffets like Golden Coral and I come home from them feeling either hungry because I was overly careful in my estimations, or feeling guilty because I'm just not sure what all happened.0 -
I don't mind weighing and tracking easy stuff like an apple or banana or piece of bread. However I cook almost all meals for a large family from scratch. That's what gets me is the homemade recipes and weighing all ingredients before cooking vs after cooking and trying to get the weighed portion sizes accurate.
haha yeah... Having to weigh every single thing and dealing with the horrible recipe tool makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. I still do it because otherwise I'm WAY off in my estimations, but still.0 -
i love it. i think its super easy really. and when i go out to eat at places that i dont have control over i just do my best guess.0
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Yes, I agree! I don't care for counting the calories! I have counted calories off and on over 25 years. When I was doing it long before these apps, I did it in a notebook and it helped a lot. Once we are trained on what we need to do, it really is not needed. I did it for years with the log and stopped when I was satisfied with results. I put some weight back on and started working out again 10 years ago, our fitness trainer at my job, gave me log sheets to track food intake and that helped to see my bad habits. I am currently not logging at all, try to eat healthy but slack sometimes. I got on here to see how much help it would be to see my daily intake since it calculates for you. I will try to log to see how it looks! I also agree with your comment about stocking good food choices and I occasionally buy other items when I get a taste for something but don't normally keep them around!0
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endlessfall16 wrote: »happyheart15 wrote: »Calorie counting doesn't work for everyone. Calorie counting can make some people obsessive. It can make some people binge. That's what it does for me sometimes. Counting and obsessing over every little morsel you put in your mouth, denying yourself something you don't know the calories of, but then binging on it later because you can't stop thinking about it, tracking every calorie you burn so you can eat the exercise calories, or exercise off something bad you're eaten, etc.
Some people on here at like calorie counting is the end all, be all to obesity, but it's not. It's great, but it's not the solution for everyone.
Good point (the bolded part)!
I wonder how the 100% counters deal with eating at mom and pop restaurants. Don't go there at all?
I actually only go to local restaurants. Usually I pick items that are simple to count although the weight has to be estimated, by now I should have a pretty good eye. For instance, yesterday I ate out twice. Lunch was a salad that only had crab, avocado & mango. Dinner was a burger with 1/2 the bun and a pint of beer. Logged every bite - no prob!0 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »happyheart15 wrote: »Calorie counting doesn't work for everyone. Calorie counting can make some people obsessive. It can make some people binge. That's what it does for me sometimes. Counting and obsessing over every little morsel you put in your mouth, denying yourself something you don't know the calories of, but then binging on it later because you can't stop thinking about it, tracking every calorie you burn so you can eat the exercise calories, or exercise off something bad you're eaten, etc.
Some people on here at like calorie counting is the end all, be all to obesity, but it's not. It's great, but it's not the solution for everyone.
Good point (the bolded part)!
I wonder how the 100% counters deal with eating at mom and pop restaurants. Don't go there at all?
I use a best guess, either by using a chain restaurant's nutritional info for the same food or breaking down the meal into individual parts. Tonight I'm having a sammich on a bakery roll that has no info, so I'm using the Wonder Bread hot dog bun entry. Another trick is to only eat half of what you order.0 -
I really don't mind logging my food. Partly because I like the data and also because I know that logging my intake is helping me achieve CI<CO and getting to my target weight, a place I haven't been before (I've been overweight/obese since childhood).
As for restaurants, I rarely go (usually special occasions or planned in advance) and if I do, I tend to eat at a place where the nutritional info is available. I know, I'm sad
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endlessfall16 wrote: »happyheart15 wrote: »Calorie counting doesn't work for everyone. Calorie counting can make some people obsessive. It can make some people binge. That's what it does for me sometimes. Counting and obsessing over every little morsel you put in your mouth, denying yourself something you don't know the calories of, but then binging on it later because you can't stop thinking about it, tracking every calorie you burn so you can eat the exercise calories, or exercise off something bad you're eaten, etc.
Some people on here at like calorie counting is the end all, be all to obesity, but it's not. It's great, but it's not the solution for everyone.
Good point (the bolded part)!
I wonder how the 100% counters deal with eating at mom and pop restaurants. Don't go there at all?
No, I don't subscribe to "all or nothing" thinking like that. I just do the best I can, using my best guess as to portion sizes.
Unless you're eating at places like this (independent, non-chain restaurants with no nutrition info online) every day, it's really not a problem.0 -
For me it is about being close not 100 percent exact (for CI and CO). Could be why I am losing at 1.8 vs 2 lbs a month...but nit a concern for me...0
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A big PIA. I have not counted in weeks. Need to get back to it.0
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endlessfall16 wrote: »happyheart15 wrote: »Calorie counting doesn't work for everyone. Calorie counting can make some people obsessive. It can make some people binge. That's what it does for me sometimes. Counting and obsessing over every little morsel you put in your mouth, denying yourself something you don't know the calories of, but then binging on it later because you can't stop thinking about it, tracking every calorie you burn so you can eat the exercise calories, or exercise off something bad you're eaten, etc.
Some people on here at like calorie counting is the end all, be all to obesity, but it's not. It's great, but it's not the solution for everyone.
Good point (the bolded part)!
I wonder how the 100% counters deal with eating at mom and pop restaurants. Don't go there at all?
Haha I went to an all you can eat buffet on Saturday night... I just logged 2,000 calories and hoped I was in the ball park. It's a once every 3 or 4mths event, so not a big deal in the grand scheme of things0 -
I like it. It keeps me aware of what I'm eating.0
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I kind of love it for the data - I consider myself a research project, single-subject design, and it's interesting and rewarding over the long term. Although some days are not great, I don't sweat about it. I also just guesstimate when I can't measure and over time my success is good enough that I feel okay about that. It's so easy for me to log as much as I'm on a computer.0
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[kommodevaran wrote: »If you are tracking to hit all three macros, you are counting calories.
Thanks for the the great responses everyone! I appreciate them all! After giving it thought, I agree that logging macros would equate to logging calories by default. I read my initial comment and misstated what my intention was. I log in my calories, but not every single one of them. For example, I don't log in fruits and vegetables, and I've found that there are many people on MFP who don't log in their fruits and vegetables as well. If anything, as thunderztorm stated earlier in the thread, I use MFP as a rough guideline. I shifted from calorie/macro counting to more eyeballing food and being more generally "aware" of my consumption as opposed to meticulously counting.
Additionally, there are many people in MFP and others who have tracked calories before, had great success with it, but regained back all the weight because they stopped counting. This leads me to think that calorie counting in general is not sustainable for the majority of the population. Yes people can say they are "lazy" or "they just don't want it enough," but I would disagree. As I mentioned earlier, I think calorie counting is great initially for educational purposes, but I also think "leveling up" or shifting away to a more simpler effective strategy from calorie counting can be very beneficial.
Thanks all for keeping me honest!
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Well, there are things that are more fun, obviously, but it's not complicated. Counting macros sounds more inconvenient to me.0
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MynameisChester wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »If you are tracking to hit all three macros, you are counting calories.
Thanks for the the great responses everyone! I appreciate them all! After giving it thought, I agree that logging macros would equate to logging calories by default. I read my initial comment and misstated what my intention was. I log in my calories, but not every single one of them. For example, I don't log in fruits and vegetables, and I've found that there are many people on MFP who don't log in their fruits and vegetables as well. If anything, as thunderztorm stated earlier in the thread, I use MFP as a rough guideline. I shifted from calorie/macro counting to more eyeballing food and being more generally "aware" of my consumption as opposed to meticulously counting.
Additionally, there are many people in MFP and others who have tracked calories before, had great success with it, but regained back all the weight because they stopped counting. This leads me to think that calorie counting in general is not sustainable for the majority of the population. Yes people can say they are "lazy" or "they just don't want it enough," but I would disagree. As I mentioned earlier, I think calorie counting is great initially for educational purposes, but I also think "leveling up" or shifting away to a more simpler effective strategy from calorie counting can be very beneficial.
Thanks all for keeping me honest!
I don't necessarily think they're lazy, but why do you extrapolate their failure to concluding that "calorie counting in general is not sustainable for the majority of the population"?0 -
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MynameisChester wrote: »I counted calories initially which I think is great for educational purposes. I just count macros now and focus on food quality....Anyone else feel the same?
Nope. I disagree
I use the scale to weigh myself every day. And I try to count the calories as best a I can.
Micro-management leads to long term macro success.
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You can easily lose weight without counting calories. However, the closer you are to your goal weight- the smaller your error margin is. For me, counting every calorie is easier than worrying about eating "perfect" so my intake guesstimate doesn't end up in maintenance0
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Logging my food honestly doesn't bother. It takes 1-2 minutes at most to log an entire meal. I usually log my meals for the next day so I know where I stand, instead of logging as I'm eating. My biggest frustration is when I make meals that have several servings so I have to weigh everything exactly to make sure each portion is the same. Example, the other night I made Lasagna rolls and I had to weigh the ricotta/cheese mixture for each roll instead of eyeballing. Then I had to do the same for the shredded cheese and sauce. It's definitely more time consuming, but I've gotten pretty good at it. It would be so much easier to just slap the ingredients on there, but Lord only knows how many calories I'd wind up eating.0
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MynameisChester wrote: »I counted calories initially which I think is great for educational purposes. I just count macros now and focus on food quality. Better adherence, lost 33 pounds so far (220-187) and much more manageable. Anyone else feel the same?
Not me. I spent 15 years trying to lose weight without counting calories.
I've had better and more consistant success just logging my food every day. I've been doing it for over a year now and will continue.
My dh has not counted a single calorie and has lost more than me. However, I think he is having a harder time maintaining at the weight he wants to be.0 -
Whatever works for you. Keep going. Don't forget to visualize your goal.0
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MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?
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mwinslow69 wrote: »MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?MynameisChester wrote: »I'm seeing the trend that it's either count calories or get fat. Part of also what I do is just make sure my pantry is stocked with whole food. Sure I may indulge in some processed foods once in a while but I don't keep it in my home too often. I'd say my fridge and pantry is stocked with like 85% whole nutrient dense foods, and 15% processed food (Doritos and chocolate sometimes as I enjoy these every one in a while). Anyone else consider this method instead?
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I do this too. My fridge is stocked with whole. Not processed foods. About 10% snacks.0
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Snacks like pretzels. Tortilla chips. Deluxe nuts. Pumpkin seeds.0
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MynameisChester wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »If you are tracking to hit all three macros, you are counting calories.
Thanks for the the great responses everyone! I appreciate them all! After giving it thought, I agree that logging macros would equate to logging calories by default. I read my initial comment and misstated what my intention was. I log in my calories, but not every single one of them. For example, I don't log in fruits and vegetables, and I've found that there are many people on MFP who don't log in their fruits and vegetables as well. If anything, as thunderztorm stated earlier in the thread, I use MFP as a rough guideline. I shifted from calorie/macro counting to more eyeballing food and being more generally "aware" of my consumption as opposed to meticulously counting.
Additionally, there are many people in MFP and others who have tracked calories before, had great success with it, but regained back all the weight because they stopped counting. This leads me to think that calorie counting in general is not sustainable for the majority of the population. Yes people can say they are "lazy" or "they just don't want it enough," but I would disagree. As I mentioned earlier, I think calorie counting is great initially for educational purposes, but I also think "leveling up" or shifting away to a more simpler effective strategy from calorie counting can be very beneficial.
Thanks all for keeping me honest!
I think the "awareness" (aka the more hype-y "mindfulness") is the central point - ok, some people need to be very accurate when margins become minuscule, but for most of us, the logging just keeps us generally reminded that every bite counts. Regaining doesn't happen because we stop counting, but because we start overeating again. Counting doesn't even stop overeating, but it can help us not overeat. Lots of other methods can help us not overeat. Maybe is "the best method" depending on what and how you eat, and definitely on personality - the most effective strategy is one that provides the wanted result (and no or few adverse effects) for the least (perceived) effort. For some people, counting calories IS the simplest and most effective strategy.0 -
I love counting calories. I pre-log my day because I pretty much eat the same things every day. That way I know what I can eat and time them accordingly without having to figure out if I will go over. It makes me happy knowing that I can eat and still lose weight if I stick to it.0
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I've incorporated it into my life such that it's part of my routine and doesn't bother me at all. I love it because it removes all the questions about whether I should eat something or not, all the info is right there in black and white.0
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