why do calories not count on low carb?
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I am so glad that I was finally able to catch up reading on this post. There is SO much food for thought here.
I particularly loved @FIT_Goat's and @Dragonwolf's phrasing about how if this isn't working for you, something is wrong - you're eating something wrong or in the wrong combinations to heal and nourish your body.
Overall, I've been doing pretty well with the whole not counting, listening to your body stuff. What I have discovered, though, is what one of them mentioned - once sweeteners and such enter the picture, my body turns of it's internal logic centers and allows me to eat emotionally and strictly on a cravings basis...
Definitely time to go back to the drawing board on this one.
Thank you to every single person who took the time to read, post, and share here... This is honestly one of the best posts I think I've EVER seen within this group. So much good stuff about how to get to the roots of it all....
Thank you.2 -
I agree. This is a great read.
I'm still new to keto and eating at a deficit but I am loving how easy it is to ignore a hunger cue when it comes up. They are so small and insubstantial now... I get a real kick out of waiting an hour for the next meal, with ease, instead of opening a bottle of coke or something.
Hunger isn't than common now either. I feel like I am eating enough even though I am losing. To be honest, I am nervous about adding more calories on in a few months when I reach my goal. An extra few hundred calories a day almost seems like it will be too much. LOL
Ketosis is also great for handling stress. We had some company and I had a kiddie birthday party the other day for a dozen kids. I was tired and slightly stressed as I iced a cake with butter cream icing. Normally, that is a recipe for disaster for me but I didn't eat any. I didn't even lick a spoon. Instead I ate a couple of pepperoni sticks. Pepperoni sticks has become my new confort food. Yeah!
Thanks all. Your honesty is really helpful to a newbie like me! 0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »I am so glad that I was finally able to catch up reading on this post. There is SO much food for thought here.
I particularly loved @FIT_Goat's and @Dragonwolf's phrasing about how if this isn't working for you, something is wrong - you're eating something wrong or in the wrong combinations to heal and nourish your body.
Overall, I've been doing pretty well with the whole not counting, listening to your body stuff. What I have discovered, though, is what one of them mentioned - once sweeteners and such enter the picture, my body turns of it's internal logic centers and allows me to eat emotionally and strictly on a cravings basis...
Definitely time to go back to the drawing board on this one.
Thank you to every single person who took the time to read, post, and share here... This is honestly one of the best posts I think I've EVER seen within this group. So much good stuff about how to get to the roots of it all....
Thank you.
I'm finding the same thing. It's summer and so I've made low carb ice cream, and other snacks, plus cool alcoholic treats with lime and mint and so forth, and I've been seeing the benefits of my previous 5 months start to slip away. I had just gotten my stomach nice and flat, too! So I need to resist the urge to keep making things with sweeteners, and that Tito's vodka gets pricey anyway. Maybe my husband will decide I don't even need to make the sweet things for him if I'm not going to eat it with him (we are very much a herd mentality pair so the risk is if he does eat it, I'll end up joining him). Last night we skipped our evening decaf coffee to see if he could sleep better, and he did, so maybe we'll start cutting out that (purely emotionally driven) treat.
The highest I've managed to go in a day was around 2900 calories. And I don't usually see negative side effects of that. I tried cutting back on calories in the last week, and I went up almost two pounds. So back to not stressing the calories. I know, for me, I need to focus on not going for the sweet treats.. like KnitOrMiss says, it turns off my ability to hear my hunger signals. I haven't been above 35g carbs in a day (that's total, not net) since February, but the effect seems to be very similar to having my burgers on a pretzel roll with large steak fries.0 -
I can't say it's everyone's experience, but for me as I aged it became harder and harder to ignore the connection between good and my health. It's obvious (painfully at times) how foods affect me and that forces a reckoning to deal with food.1
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This post reminds us that many out there think that simply because we don't count calories, we believe they don't matter. The bulk of the mythology around controlled carb eating (whatever that means to each of us) revolves around the notion that we stuff ourselves with sausages etc. It's propaganda, but it's pervasive.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »This post reminds us that many out there think that simply because we don't count calories, we believe they don't matter. The bulk of the mythology around controlled carb eating (whatever that means to each of us) revolves around the notion that we stuff ourselves with sausages etc. It's propaganda, but it's pervasive.
Yep. Gotta love stupid fallacies.0 -
I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!0
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JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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<<I'm finding the same thing. It's summer and so I've made low carb ice cream, and other snacks, plus cool alcoholic treats with lime and mint and so forth, and I've been seeing the benefits of my previous 5 months start to slip away. I had just gotten my stomach nice and flat, too! So I need to resist the urge to keep making things with sweeteners, and that Tito's vodka gets pricey anyway. Maybe my husband will decide I don't even need to make the sweet things for him if I'm not going to eat it with him (we are very much a herd mentality pair so the risk is if he does eat it, I'll end up joining him). Last night we skipped our evening decaf coffee to see if he could sleep better, and he did, so maybe we'll start cutting out that (purely emotionally driven) treat.>>
There's something about recipes that my body doesn't love. I can't figure out why because if the ingredients are keto friendly, and i am calculating the recipe correctly, and measuring the portions...ingredients don't magically become more fattening becuase they are mixed together. but in my case, they kinda seem to. i have come to accept these need to be "treats" (yes even though they are "diet") and my body prefers SIMPLE food choices, but i cannot say why it matters. Perplexing. Perhaps it is the overall effect of hunger signals and generally eating "more" outside the recipe itself.
Jen
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KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.0 -
There as to be some counting of the carbs at least for me to stay in ketosis. If I over do the fat calories I do not lose weight but seem to just maintain. As my health improves so does the calories burned. Calories do count but in my case when the carbs are missing I do not seem to gain weight like when a carb burner.
I weight the results of what I eat because I refuse to lose weight using foods and methods that are different than I plan to use the rest of my life. I must stop the yo yo weight like for the past 40 years. If I eat after 5 PM I seem to maintain OK but I will not lose weight. <50 grams of carbs is now my eating lifestyle for life.1 -
JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.
We watched an interesting youtube video about diets, the doc called them "Will power diets" He said a person has a finite amount of will power. When its gone, the diet will fail.
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I like the muscle building aspect of low carb.
We can slowly drop fat and add muscle
The perfect WOE for body recomp.
Plus I like a slice of boars head turkey breast rolled with a slice of Swiss cheese as a snack
And that fits my LC strategy!0 -
KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.
We watched an interesting youtube video about diets, the doc called them "Will power diets" He said a person has a finite amount of will power. When its gone, the diet will fail.
Except the reason it works isn't willpower. It's type of food. Eating till satisfied is the key. It took months to learn, but that's really the key IMO. Learning not to eat mindlessly or because you're bored. For me eating every meal and not skipping. All these things play into my success. Not counting calories in the least. I've been low carb for months but only in the last week or so have I noticed myself starting to notice calories. And I'm pretty sure it's an unnecessary stress. I want to eat until satisfied, and eat 45 carbs a day. That's what I want to focus exclusively on. A personal goal, I know it's not everyone's.
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I did CICO for a year..... Counting calories got ingrained. I was doing 1200 a day, more if I worked out. Now I've set it to 1500, but I still can't stand seeing me go over. It's a psychological twitch I'm working on, /shrugs.
Funny thing is, most days I eat less than 1200 with no hunger. On CICO, I would have been starving eating that little each day. I'm rarely hungry now in fact. I have to remind myself to eat.
I've also decided I want a body like Ronda Rousey, so I'm about to start on the weights. Protein FTW!0 -
chaoticdreams wrote: »...Funny thing is, most days I eat less than 1200 with no hunger. On CICO, I would have been starving eating that little each day. I'm rarely hungry now in fact. I have to remind myself to eat....
!
Exactly.
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JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.
We watched an interesting youtube video about diets, the doc called them "Will power diets" He said a person has a finite amount of will power. When its gone, the diet will fail.
Except the reason it works isn't willpower. It's type of food. Eating till satisfied is the key. It took months to learn, but that's really the key IMO. Learning not to eat mindlessly or because you're bored. For me eating every meal and not skipping. All these things play into my success. Not counting calories in the least. I've been low carb for months but only in the last week or so have I noticed myself starting to notice calories. And I'm pretty sure it's an unnecessary stress. I want to eat until satisfied, and eat 45 carbs a day. That's what I want to focus exclusively on. A personal goal, I know it's not everyone's.
Please reread my post, the "will power diets" referred to low fat diets, not LCHF.
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KenSmith108 wrote: »
Please reread my post, the "will power diets" referred to low fat diets, not LCHF.
Ok, gotcha. TY0 -
There's something about recipes that my body doesn't love. I can't figure out why because if the ingredients are keto friendly, and i am calculating the recipe correctly, and measuring the portions...ingredients don't magically become more fattening becuase they are mixed together. but in my case, they kinda seem to. i have come to accept these need to be "treats" (yes even though they are "diet") and my body prefers SIMPLE food choices, but i cannot say why it matters. Perplexing. Perhaps it is the overall effect of hunger signals and generally eating "more" outside the recipe itself.
Yep this is pretty much what I'm trying to do. "Sometimes Foods" that contain artificial sweeteners have to be far less frequent. Just because it's hot for a solid week is not a good reason to end the day with keto ice cream for a solid week.
As of this morning I'm back to animal products + 2 coffees max, per day. I already feel better.0 -
KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.
We watched an interesting youtube video about diets, the doc called them "Will power diets" He said a person has a finite amount of will power. When its gone, the diet will fail.
I downloaded an audio book from my library yesterday (I think anything using the app/site OverDrive should be able to access it somewhere). I think the title is "Change Anything." It talked about the Willpower Trap and how we blame it all on not having the willpower, when that can be something some are born with, but being taught coping strategies and workarounds can actually increase a non-strong-"willed" person to have incredible "willpower." I printed some worksheets to work through this weekend, because there are some definite areas I want to change and improve in my personal and professional life!0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.
We watched an interesting youtube video about diets, the doc called them "Will power diets" He said a person has a finite amount of will power. When its gone, the diet will fail.
I downloaded an audio book from my library yesterday (I think anything using the app/site OverDrive should be able to access it somewhere). I think the title is "Change Anything." It talked about the Willpower Trap and how we blame it all on not having the willpower, when that can be something some are born with, but being taught coping strategies and workarounds can actually increase a non-strong-"willed" person to have incredible "willpower." I printed some worksheets to work through this weekend, because there are some definite areas I want to change and improve in my personal and professional life!
You are so on top of life knit, really awesome that you're taking the initiative to do the hated worksheets of doom. I've known some of each kind of person, and the ones who didn't naturally have this massive amount of "willpower" were able to become more strong willed with practice and general self confidence. I'm blessed(or cursed, depends on the day) with a stubborn, willful/willpower streak about 10 miles wide.0 -
giftbouquets wrote: »Quite a newbie here but from my experience of losing weight on a lower (not keto) diet is that I do much better when not counting calories. Counting calories just makes me obsess about food, feel deprived and ultimately overeat. I do best when I just know what not to eat (bead, rice, potatoes, processed food, sugar) and then just listen to my body. I tried my first BPC the other day, it was horrible. After drinking I asked myself why I had done it? I would have preferred my usual 3 egg salami omelette cooked in coconut oil for breakfast, so why make myself feel deprived by just drinking coffee? As I say, I am a newbie to MFP and don't want to disagree with what works for other people, but for me keeping what I eat as 'normal' as possible and not thinking of it as a 'diet' works.
I am the same. I kept trying things I would read about and in the end it was not something I would normally eat and wasn't helping with weight loss. So I went back to keeping it simple.0 -
sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »KenSmith108 wrote: »JessicaLCHF wrote: »I do think I am starting to care too much. I never used to but since logging daily that banner at the top (cals eaten, cals left) is seeping into my brain. As does the note when I finish my day. I think I'm going to set my cal to 3000 just so it doesn't matter as much!!
If it were me I wouldn't, I'd continue losing the weight.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yeah. I have been having good success but I hate fixating on cals. Reminds me too much of my past and doctors screaming at me I was a liar cause I wasn't loosing on their low fat diets.
We watched an interesting youtube video about diets, the doc called them "Will power diets" He said a person has a finite amount of will power. When its gone, the diet will fail.
I downloaded an audio book from my library yesterday (I think anything using the app/site OverDrive should be able to access it somewhere). I think the title is "Change Anything." It talked about the Willpower Trap and how we blame it all on not having the willpower, when that can be something some are born with, but being taught coping strategies and workarounds can actually increase a non-strong-"willed" person to have incredible "willpower." I printed some worksheets to work through this weekend, because there are some definite areas I want to change and improve in my personal and professional life!
You are so on top of life knit, really awesome that you're taking the initiative to do the hated worksheets of doom. I've known some of each kind of person, and the ones who didn't naturally have this massive amount of "willpower" were able to become more strong willed with practice and general self confidence. I'm blessed(or cursed, depends on the day) with a stubborn, willful/willpower streak about 10 miles wide.
See, now that's a difference. I'm stubborn as all get out, but I have the willpower of a facial tissue. It (my willpower) has gotten stronger/more determined since going LC (seems to be another "muscle" that grows stronger the more you use it! LOL), but the worst thing I can to is tell myself I CANNOT have something. Then it becomes and obsession and compulsion to prove it wrong.
And despite what you see here, I'm definitely not on top of everything, but I finally feel like there is a point in trying to fight back, because things are possible now. My professional life is a mess because I find zero satisfaction in my job. I am a master procrastinator of the less enjoyable tasks, to the point of being 6 months or more behind on things that really should already be over and done. My house is a mess because I don't have/make the time to clean/declutter, etc. I have reasons (excuses) for just about anything, and I can justify anything a mile wide and a mile long... I'm working on cutting down on all of this because I know that more than anything, it is all just holding me back from what i have the potential to be.
My OH believes that EVERYTHING in the universe is hinged on willpower, because he can do just about anything, or more so, NOT do just about anything, just because his willpower is strong (except smoking/vaping and sugar, which he currently considers to be the joys he has in life - and there's a long story there I won't bother you with here, but I can follow his reasoning without agreeing with it - and as he's an adult and I'm an adult, I leave him to his rationalizations and focus on ME for a change! LOL)...
He believes that the reason I got fat (at 319 and 5'4", fat is a massive understatement) is because I had no willpower. We've had many debates on the subject, but he's finally realizing that it isn't as simple in my world as his - because of verifiable medical issues and other differences. He still argues that willpower is everything... I'm excited to continue this book and I'm really looking forward to digging into the worksheets (yes, I'm one of the annoying kids in HS who didn't hate homework - I just hated the requirement of stupid BS that was pointless except as busiwork...lol)...
This WOE and WOL (added to surviving a very unwanted divorce and flourishing in putting myself first sometimes) has shown me that there really is hope and possibility in the world. I'm waiting with bated breath and much anticipation to the day I can dream and fantasize and map out and plan a future again without just trying to survive the NOW...
But thank you for the compliment. I'm getting my ducks in a row, now, finally at 39 (this process started for me around 33-35) because I decided I didn't want to be old and miserable... I strongly encourage folks, especially those that are younger like you, to really take a hard look at life and see what matters and realize that things that seem WORLD ENDING or did to me when I was in my early 20's are things I barely remember now. I'm looking forward to being one of those old ladies like my grandmother who did not give a hootenany about what anyone else thought about her actions and behavior...
One my favorite readings lately was the "F" Off Fairy. Worth a google (using the actual cuss word, if you can tolerate it), because the writing and related writings are priceless.!!! Now to quit procrastinating doing an unwanted task that is on a definite timeline just because you tumbled into a topic on which I've very passionately involved. 1 -
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I think I may have just found out why I am not losing on keto! I thought cals didnt matter. I know sounds a little dumb when I actually say it but seriously I didnt know. I am going to try being more mindfull of the calories so ai can see what will now work for my body. For the past 4 weeks I have been doing keto but cheating at least 1 time a week. But on all keto days i was eating as much "keto food" as i wanted . I thiught more the merrier. So dumb. Now I know.0
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I just started this group a few days ago. I know Atkins says not to count calories but carbs. The first day they had me at 1500 calories. I lost two pounds ( I'm know it's just water) and the next day they dropped me to a little over 1300 calories a day. I have about 70 pounds to lose. I lost a lot of weight before on Atkins before. I am wondering if anyone else is having this done on their calorie chart, or if you just ignore that. I know they used to have or maybe still do a 1200 calorie fat fast. I am just wondering if too low of calories on a Low Carb diet is bad or not.2
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I just started this group a few days ago. I know Atkins says not to count calories but carbs. The first day they had me at 1500 calories. I lost two pounds ( I'm know it's just water) and the next day they dropped me to a little over 1300 calories a day. I have about 70 pounds to lose. I lost a lot of weight before on Atkins before. I am wondering if anyone else is having this done on their calorie chart, or if you just ignore that. I know they used to have or maybe still do a 1200 calorie fat fast. I am just wondering if too low of calories on a Low Carb diet is bad or not.
When you have that much to lose, it's only a problem if it results in inadequate protein intake, or micronutrient deficiencies.4 -
Thank you.1
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I am new here and read through Atkins book 1980's. What is TDEE and is there a ratio needed between protein and fat daily? And is that per body weight?
Thank you.1
