Counting Calories is Outdated?!

I don't think counting calories is necessarily outdated, it's just not the whole picture. You can eat 1200 calories worth of brownies and ice cream, and you may even lose weight, but you're body isn't going to love you for it - so what you eat definitely plays a part in being healthy and losing weight.

My food diary is open, if you want to see what I've been eating. I feel like I eat so much during the day, but it's mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. I love to cook so it's been easy to cut out most packaged foods from my diet.

But how are you going to know if youre eating less if you dont know where you started versus where youre at? Too much of anything isn't too great for you. Like potatoes, way to kill carbs for the day right there. Or nuts. Put yourself over in fat in a heart beat.
As to what YOU should eat, a lot of us have our diaries open, so hunt around!!

I need to count calories. If I don't, even if I'm eating the healthy stuff I will eat it ALL!

Seriously, a whole watermelon, half a loaf of whole grain wheat bread, 3 pounds of cherries, etc.... I don't think that just because those things are healthy, I'd lose weight by eating that much.

I HAVE TO count calories! :laugh:

I need to count calories. If I don't, even if I'm eating the healthy stuff I will eat it ALL!

Seriously, a whole watermelon, half a loaf of whole grain wheat bread, 3 pounds of cherries, etc.... I don't think that just because those things are healthy, I'd lose weight by eating that much.

I HAVE TO count calories! :laugh:

I agree with you--on MFP we're not just looking at calories, but proteins, fats & carbs--If it's outdated...I don't care because it's working. It's all about balance & making appropriate choices.
:flowerforyou:

I need to count calories. If I don't, even if I'm eating the healthy stuff I will eat it ALL!

Seriously, a whole watermelon, half a loaf of whole grain wheat bread, 3 pounds of cherries, etc.... I don't think that just because those things are healthy, I'd lose weight by eating that much.

I HAVE TO count calories! :laugh:

Oooh a whole watermelon...I could so do that!

For general health it's about your micronutrients.

To lose weight, it's about your caloires consumed versus the energy you put out, and about hitting your macros.

This is it exactly, you can and will lose weight eating 1200 calories of chocolate and crud and although some weight related issues may appear better other health issues would eventually surface. A combination of watching the calories and eating healthy is the best way to go

I too could eat fruit and fruit only and go over my calories

... I've done that! Killed my carbs long before calories though!

Another resource for you.

I count my calories on here to see my protein and sugar counts for education and accountability mainly.

http://www.eatcleandiet.com/

The whole premise with this is the hunger/fullness assessment and mindful eating

I think people are starting to realize that counting calories is only *part* of the solution. I counted calories for 20 years, worked hard, was very careful, and still gained weight. It was incredibly frustrating! So please, all those people who are judgmental about the obese, it is NOT always because we're lazy or undisciplined! Personally, I had to learn that my particular metabolism doesn't process certain foods well, and if I wanted to lose weight I would have to pay attention to what types of food I eat, not just the calories.

A sugar calorie and a protein calorie are processed quite differently in your body. If you know anything about chemistry, you know how easy it is to throw off a chemical reaction if you don't get your ingredients in the right proportions. And your body is just one great big sack of chemicals interacting with one another & influencing each other. For example, whether you've gotten enough sleep can affect your brain chemistry, and that in turn can affect the efficiency of your digestion & metabolism. And some people are genetically predisposed with metabolisms that process certain foods better than others.

Anyway... if you can lose weight *just* by counting calories, more power to ya. But for many people, it takes more than that. Under my doctor's orders, I limit my carbs to 30g or fewer each day, and I eat or drink something with at least 50g protein every 3 hrs while I'm awake. So my personal healthy ratio of carbs/fat/protein is 5%, 35%, 65%. I've discovered that I can go up to 500 calories above my "official" limit and still lose weight, as long as I'm eating in these proportions. But everyone has to figure out what works for them.