6 stone to lose- Do you just calorie count?

DeannaKarla
DeannaKarla Posts: 5 Member
edited June 2016 in Getting Started
Hi I'm fairly new to this app still and I have a long journey ahead of me.

Was wondering if some of the successful members on here could help me .

Using this app did you just take notice of the calorie counting or did you take into account the other nutritional factors such as the sugar and carbohydrate goals which appear on your food diary.

I'm still way under my calorie counting for today, but have passed my sugar abd carbohydrate allowance.

Ive mostly had fruit today anf a sensible chicken and noodle dinner.

Will this affect my weightloss?

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,930 Member
    No it will not. For weight loss all you need is a calorie deficit :smile: You could only be eating candy and lose weight if you were in a deficit. That there aren't many essential nutrients in those is a different matter, but specifically for weight loss? Nope.

    Mind you, I lost the 40lbs I set to lose (well, I started out with 12 and was surprised how easy it was) by eating lots of carbs and few fats and protein simply because I have some digestive problems. No problem at all.

    One important thing though that cannot be stressed enough: do get a digital food scale and weigh everything. Don't use data base entries for
    cups: you can't measure most things in cups. A cup of very small pasta is more than a cup of coarse pasta. And often a 'cup' mentioned on packaging is not up to the rim but somewhere 1/2 to 3/4 of the cup.
    complete fruits, eggs, slices, etc: you don't know how heavy the medium sized banana really is. I found my 'medium sized bananas to contain about 30-50kcal more than the data base
    I also found deep freeze pizza to be much heavier than what is mentioned on the packaging, resulting in far more calories than I thought
    complete meals: everyone can enter food into the database and you don't know what the definition of 1 serving of fried egg or pasta napolitana is, nor what is in it.
    condiments: especially weight those! They tend to be very high in calories, and a table spoon of cooking oil might easily contain 100kcal more than you thought.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Calories for weight loss - macros (protein, fat, carbs) for nutrition, feeling satiated, body composition.

    For now, just focus on calories. Then tweak your macros as time goes on. Protein, fat & fiber are all filling. If you feel hungry focus more on meeting these. I look at the protein goal as a minimum, it's so essential. Sugar in MFP (I don't even track it)....added fiber tracking instead. But sugar in MFP includes ALL sugar, natural & added. I'm trying to reduce my added sugar intake, but other than that, I don't care.

    Sticking to a calorie deficit is the most important thing, but too big a deficit isn't a good thing. You want to stay the course and feel energetic. Try to MEET your daily calories.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Great posts above.

    I want to add: don't deprive yourself.

    If you starve and deprive yourself of treats, you'll never be able to stick to your plan long enough to lose the weight.

    I've lost 6 stone, and I've eaten whatever I most love, within my calorie limit.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Calories matter for weight loss.

    Other stuff matters for health and to a degree compliance but if you only focus on one thing it should be calories.
  • shaquana_dai
    shaquana_dai Posts: 1 Member
    This post is very helpful. Thanks
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    I've been here for a year and a half, 73 pounds down at this point. I have been through a *lot* of plateaus in that time. I used to watch calories before anything else, which worked well for a while. When I hit my first plateau, though, I realized I wasn't getting nearly enough protein, so I wasn't building much muscle mass. Now I pay attention to overall calories and protein. I generally don't worry much about fat and carbs because I've found that if I get enough protein and stay within my calorie range, I'm usually also within my fat/carb ranges as well, but your food choices might work differently.

    If you're snacking on a lot of fruit, try swapping some of it out for veggies that are lower in natural sugars. Hummus or peanut butter on veggies will add a bit of protein too.

    I wouldn't recommend consistently going under your calorie goal, especially if your goal is very low. You'll run the risk of feeling hungry and deprived, and you might not get enough of the nutrients your body needs. All of those things make it harder to stick with new habits for the long run.
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
    Count calories (1200), carb (130g), protein (50g) and fat (33g).
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    johnnylakis wrote: »
    Count calories (1200), carb (130g), protein (50g) and fat (33g).

    1200 is the default minimum for women. OP may have chosen a less aggressive route.

    I hope these aren't your stats........not enough for a man.

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