Anyone else here hate counting every single calorie?
Replies
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maeganostergaard157 wrote: »i use iifym and dont track calories. for me its easier to "count" my macros that are set. its basically the same as counting calories as you do count still. i think its easier to do macros because it shows you the nutrients you are getting from each food, not just calories.
I couldn't agree more! I think it's very informative when you know whether your calories are coming from carbs, protein, fat, or alcohol. If I may please ask, how have you felt since doing IIFYM? Any changes in energy levels, body composition, etc.?0 -
MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Ok cool. Ill have my husband who can easily palm a basketball do all the measuring and meal prep... no way jose.
No thanks! This is a recipe for vast inconsistency.
Counting calories is not consistent either. Consuming 100 calories from protein will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from carbohydrates. Consuming 100 calories from cookies will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from vegetables. Fiber and TEF change the amount of calories absorbed by the body. That being said, you ARE correct that the above is a recipe for inconsistency, AND so is counting calories. The trick is to be consistently inconsistent with whichever method you choose!
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if u have a regiment daily then u dont have to log because ur eating the same stuff. sooo yea do you . take opinions with a grain of salt.0
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I hated my weight more
So win, win situation0 -
MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Ok cool. Ill have my husband who can easily palm a basketball do all the measuring and meal prep... no way jose.
No thanks! This is a recipe for vast inconsistency.
Has someone been reading precision nutrition? 0 -
overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Has someone been reading precision nutrition? 0 -
To MommyMeggo, my apologies. That precision nutrition response was intended for overw8gosk8.0
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MynameisChester wrote: »MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Ok cool. Ill have my husband who can easily palm a basketball do all the measuring and meal prep... no way jose.
No thanks! This is a recipe for vast inconsistency.
Counting calories is not consistent either. Consuming 100 calories from protein will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from carbohydrates. Consuming 100 calories from cookies will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from vegetables. Fiber and TEF change the amount of calories absorbed by the body. That being said, you ARE correct that the above is a recipe for inconsistency, AND so is counting calories. The trick is to be consistently inconsistent with whichever method you choose!
The difference is infinitesimal and to the effect of a couple dozen calories per day. We call this majoring in the minors. Not to mention, diets that are exclusively one item don't actually exist, so.1 -
I did some math on myself yesterday. I gained 45 pounds over a 10-year period, getting me from 125 to 170 pounds. (I'm short, so that's a lot on me) Doing the math, that's an average of overeating only about 43 calories a day. That's it.
Counting calories is a must for me because it's really not hard to overeat 43 calories per day. If I don't weigh my food, that's less than 1/2 tbsp of mayo or only a small amount more than a weighed-out serving of ice cream, which isn't a lot to begin with.0 -
overw8gosk8 wrote: »MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Ok cool. Ill have my husband who can easily palm a basketball do all the measuring and meal prep... no way jose.
Haha! The actual size of your fist/hand, not what you think you can try to fit in it...
LOL! I know.
How would you "thumb" olive oil I wonder.
Common sense prevails in any given situation. But, 1 oz is about the size of your thumb for solid fats, ie cheese, nuts, etc. For liquid fats one 1 oz of liquid fats would be slightly over 2 tbsp.
You must have a pretty big thumb.0 -
I used to hate it, i mean really didn't want to do it but you know what? It's the only thing working for me at this point. I never knew exactly how much i was eating until i started logging. I hope i don't have to do it forever but i'm sticking with anything that works. I have the App on my phone so logging isn't so much of a chore anymore. The bar code label scan feature is AWESOME! No excuses really1
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MynameisChester wrote: »maeganostergaard157 wrote: »i use iifym and dont track calories. for me its easier to "count" my macros that are set. its basically the same as counting calories as you do count still. i think its easier to do macros because it shows you the nutrients you are getting from each food, not just calories.
I couldn't agree more! I think it's very informative when you know whether your calories are coming from carbs, protein, fat, or alcohol. If I may please ask, how have you felt since doing IIFYM? Any changes in energy levels, body composition, etc.?
honestly i feel a huge difference! i look and feel leaner after a week of using IIFYM. i have lots of energy. a definite benefit for me is, on heavier workout days, i can eat lots of carbs to help fuel my workout. but still not go over my macros for the day. i love being able to see what food has what nutrients!0 -
(see below)0
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maeganostergaard157 wrote: »MynameisChester wrote: »maeganostergaard157 wrote: »i use iifym and dont track calories. for me its easier to "count" my macros that are set. its basically the same as counting calories as you do count still. i think its easier to do macros because it shows you the nutrients you are getting from each food, not just calories.
I couldn't agree more! I think it's very informative when you know whether your calories are coming from carbs, protein, fat, or alcohol. If I may please ask, how have you felt since doing IIFYM? Any changes in energy levels, body composition, etc.?
honestly i feel a huge difference! i look and feel leaner after a week of using IIFYM. i have lots of energy. a definite benefit for me is, on heavier workout days, i can eat lots of carbs to help fuel my workout. but still not go over my macros for the day. i love being able to see what food has what nutrients!
Thanks for sharing! I can attest to the feeling! On days I workout, I up the carbs, and the pump is unbelievable!0 -
MynameisChester wrote: »MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Ok cool. Ill have my husband who can easily palm a basketball do all the measuring and meal prep... no way jose.
No thanks! This is a recipe for vast inconsistency.
Counting calories is not consistent either. Consuming 100 calories from protein will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from carbohydrates. Consuming 100 calories from cookies will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from vegetables. Fiber and TEF change the amount of calories absorbed by the body. That being said, you ARE correct that the above is a recipe for inconsistency, AND so is counting calories. The trick is to be consistently inconsistent with whichever method you choose!
The difference is infinitesimal and to the effect of a couple dozen calories per day. We call this majoring in the minors. Not to mention, diets that are exclusively one item don't actually exist, so.
If you would please, explain the meaning "majoring in the minors," I would appreciate it!=)
In regards to the rest of your comment, I respectfully and highly disagree that the difference is infinitesimal. The direct effect of consuming " a couple dozen calories per day" multiplies over a course of a couple years. I believe this is significantly important especially for the folks who meticulously count every calorie. Weight gain at times can be very insidious until you wake up one day 15 pounds heavier.
In regards to your "diets are exclusively one item don't actually exist comment," I was delivering a simplified example to illustrate real food (foods high in fiber like vegetables) vs. processed food (cookie). Processed food delivers more metabolizeable energy than foods high in fiber. In addition, fiber may play a role in blocking the absorption of nutrients. Not only do these factors help tremendously with weight loss, but it may also manage metabolic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, or diabetes,
The cornerstone of every weight loss diet includes fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, lean protein, quality dairy sources, and good fats (diet that is high in fiber and contains protein). Additionally, the INDIRECT effect that this type of diet has is that it's more satiating. Physiologically speaking, it adds more bulk to your food, expands your stomach, and helps people feel FULL, which may cause you to eat to eat less.
In the end it is calories in vs. calories out. There's just more factors that contribute to the "calories out" when you follow a diet high in protein and fiber. Once again JaneIR36, I appreciate your insight!
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MynameisChester wrote: »
If you would please, explain the meaning "majoring in the minors," I would appreciate it!=)
In regards to the rest of your comment, I respectfully and highly disagree that the difference is infinitesimal. The direct effect of consuming " a couple dozen calories per day" multiplies over a course of a couple years. I believe this is significantly important especially for the folks who meticulously count every calorie. Weight gain at times can be very insidious until you wake up one day 15 pounds heavier.
I don't think anyone wakes up one day 15 pounds heavier. It takes a long time and well within any person's awareness that he/she's gaining. If you don't have the discipline to starve off hundreds of calories a day or two in a week or be a little more active to cancel out "a couple dozen calories per day" you only have yourself to blame.
To me it's very extreme to allow yourself to gain 100+ lbs and then one day turn around and count every single calorie!
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endlessfall16 wrote: »MynameisChester wrote: »
If you would please, explain the meaning "majoring in the minors," I would appreciate it!=)
In regards to the rest of your comment, I respectfully and highly disagree that the difference is infinitesimal. The direct effect of consuming " a couple dozen calories per day" multiplies over a course of a couple years. I believe this is significantly important especially for the folks who meticulously count every calorie. Weight gain at times can be very insidious until you wake up one day 15 pounds heavier.
I don't think anyone wakes up one day 15 pounds heavier. It takes a long time and well within any person's awareness that he/she's gaining. If you don't have the discipline to starve off hundreds of calories a day or two in a week or be a little more active to cancel out "a couple dozen calories per day" you only have yourself to blame.
To me it's very extreme to allow yourself to gain 100+ lbs and then one day turn around and count every single calorie!
I'll clarify. i could have worded that part better. I stated "a dozen calories a per day multiplies over a course of a couple years." Weight gain can be insidious until you "realize" you're 15 pounds heavier. You''d be surprised how often this happens to a lot of people. They may be in denial or just too busy to notice. Sometimes it takes a kid telling them they're fat or just seeing that one unflattering angle in the mirror that makes you say, "Man, I really gained weight!"0 -
You have to be unemployed, a total couch potato in loose clothing all the time, isolated from everyone then you might miss a 15 lbs gain. If you have a job, putting on work pants every morning is a good reminder. Knowing/being aware is one thing, an easy thing -- usually insignificant, irrelevant to people -- it's being passive and procrastinating about taking action that's usually the problem. 2
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MynameisChester wrote: »MynameisChester wrote: »MommyMeggo wrote: »overw8gosk8 wrote: »I don't know if this had been said, but have you tried the rule of the fist? Use your hand to measure your foods.
For men:
2 fists of protein for each meal
2 fists of veggies for each meal
2 cupped hands of carbs for each meal
2 thumbs of fats for each meal
For women:
1 fist of protein for each meal
1 fists of veggies for each meal
1 cupped hand of carbs for each meal
1 thumb of fats for each meal
It's not the same as weighing or counting calories, but it a good rule of "thumb" for eating
Ok cool. Ill have my husband who can easily palm a basketball do all the measuring and meal prep... no way jose.
No thanks! This is a recipe for vast inconsistency.
Counting calories is not consistent either. Consuming 100 calories from protein will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from carbohydrates. Consuming 100 calories from cookies will not have the same effect as consuming 100 calories from vegetables. Fiber and TEF change the amount of calories absorbed by the body. That being said, you ARE correct that the above is a recipe for inconsistency, AND so is counting calories. The trick is to be consistently inconsistent with whichever method you choose!
The difference is infinitesimal and to the effect of a couple dozen calories per day. We call this majoring in the minors. Not to mention, diets that are exclusively one item don't actually exist, so.
If you would please, explain the meaning "majoring in the minors," I would appreciate it!=)
In regards to the rest of your comment, I respectfully and highly disagree that the difference is infinitesimal. The direct effect of consuming " a couple dozen calories per day" multiplies over a course of a couple years. I believe this is significantly important especially for the folks who meticulously count every calorie. Weight gain at times can be very insidious until you wake up one day 15 pounds heavier.
In regards to your "diets are exclusively one item don't actually exist comment," I was delivering a simplified example to illustrate real food (foods high in fiber like vegetables) vs. processed food (cookie). Processed food delivers more metabolizeable energy than foods high in fiber. In addition, fiber may play a role in blocking the absorption of nutrients. Not only do these factors help tremendously with weight loss, but it may also manage metabolic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, or diabetes,
The cornerstone of every weight loss diet includes fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, lean protein, quality dairy sources, and good fats (diet that is high in fiber and contains protein). Additionally, the INDIRECT effect that this type of diet has is that it's more satiating. Physiologically speaking, it adds more bulk to your food, expands your stomach, and helps people feel FULL, which may cause you to eat to eat less.
In the end it is calories in vs. calories out. There's just more factors that contribute to the "calories out" when you follow a diet high in protein and fiber. Once again JaneIR36, I appreciate your insight!
Majoring in the minors means you're concentrating too much on something that has little to no importance, ignoring the big picture like in this case the handful of calories TEF changes. Like a student putting all their studying efforts in A single class for his minor while ignoring his major.
TEF is about 7 kcal extra per 10% protein per 1000 kcal eaten. Meaning, even the difference between "absolute Minimum to not become deficient" and "I want to be a Bodybuilder" is going to be 20-30 kcal.
That's just going to be noise among your other intake and expenditure that is 2 magnitudes higher.1 -
MynameisChester wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »MynameisChester wrote: »
If you would please, explain the meaning "majoring in the minors," I would appreciate it!=)
In regards to the rest of your comment, I respectfully and highly disagree that the difference is infinitesimal. The direct effect of consuming " a couple dozen calories per day" multiplies over a course of a couple years. I believe this is significantly important especially for the folks who meticulously count every calorie. Weight gain at times can be very insidious until you wake up one day 15 pounds heavier.
I don't think anyone wakes up one day 15 pounds heavier. It takes a long time and well within any person's awareness that he/she's gaining. If you don't have the discipline to starve off hundreds of calories a day or two in a week or be a little more active to cancel out "a couple dozen calories per day" you only have yourself to blame.
To me it's very extreme to allow yourself to gain 100+ lbs and then one day turn around and count every single calorie!
I'll clarify. i could have worded that part better. I stated "a dozen calories a per day multiplies over a course of a couple years." Weight gain can be insidious until you "realize" you're 15 pounds heavier. You''d be surprised how often this happens to a lot of people. They may be in denial or just too busy to notice. Sometimes it takes a kid telling them they're fat or just seeing that one unflattering angle in the mirror that makes you say, "Man, I really gained weight!"
Yep. Same way you don't always realize you're losing weight until one day you realize that one of your fat rolls is gone.0 -
I somewhat enjoy it. I think I'm new enough to it that it is still pretty interesting. I've never really paid attention to this stuff before, which has led me here, trying to lose weight. It's sort of fun planning out my meals for the day in the app, and seeing what I have to adjust from my plan to hit my calorie goal...or realizing that I need to do more excercise to account for what I have eaten, or want to eat. It keeps me pretty focused, and it's working so far - I'm down 10 pounds in just under a month. The results are there, so it's hard to say I hate it. It's almost like a puzzle, putting it all together, seeing what I need more or less of to make my calorie and macro targets, as much as I can.0
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MynameisChester wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »MynameisChester wrote: »
If you would please, explain the meaning "majoring in the minors," I would appreciate it!=)
In regards to the rest of your comment, I respectfully and highly disagree that the difference is infinitesimal. The direct effect of consuming " a couple dozen calories per day" multiplies over a course of a couple years. I believe this is significantly important especially for the folks who meticulously count every calorie. Weight gain at times can be very insidious until you wake up one day 15 pounds heavier.
I don't think anyone wakes up one day 15 pounds heavier. It takes a long time and well within any person's awareness that he/she's gaining. If you don't have the discipline to starve off hundreds of calories a day or two in a week or be a little more active to cancel out "a couple dozen calories per day" you only have yourself to blame.
To me it's very extreme to allow yourself to gain 100+ lbs and then one day turn around and count every single calorie!
I'll clarify. i could have worded that part better. I stated "a dozen calories a per day multiplies over a course of a couple years." Weight gain can be insidious until you "realize" you're 15 pounds heavier. You''d be surprised how often this happens to a lot of people. They may be in denial or just too busy to notice. Sometimes it takes a kid telling them they're fat or just seeing that one unflattering angle in the mirror that makes you say, "Man, I really gained weight!"
But if one is in maintenance and still weighing weekly like I do then you won't suddenly realise you have gained 15 lb.
You will see what is happening on a weekly basis - even a monthly basis would do.
As stated upthread I now practice what I call lazy logging - so I still log but lots of guestimates and most things are not weighed.
I also check my weight weekly - it has not varied by more than 3kg ( 1.5 kg either side of target) in over 2 years.
If it did I would change what I am doing.
But it isn't broke and if it has been fixed for over 2 years, it hadn't likely to break now - so I am not fixing it.
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This discussion has been closed.
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