Conflicted
jitterkitten
Posts: 3 Member
I have been conflicted with the idea of calorie counting. I don't want to become obsessed or fall into the diet industry's trap. I do need to lose weight just to feel better. But I have an issue with calorie counting. It feels a little bit like it's leaning toward an eating disorder.
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Replies
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How about the no "s" diet? No snacks, no sweets, no seconds except on Saturdays and Sundays.
http://nosdiet.com4 -
You know yourself best and I think if you have a general tendency to obsess and go overboard with it, then it probably isn't right for you. I really like the poster that mentioned the "no s" diet. That's really cool! But you could also just measure your portions without counting calories. If a healthy serving size is a cup of something, measure a cup and be done with it. No need to worry about keeping track of the numbers. Just make sure you're eating healthy portions.1
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I agree with you for the most part, however if you have a goal of losing weight, counting calories makes your goal more easily obtainable. I like to eat, and when I want to eat but will exceed my daily calorie goal for the day, I just pull out my little stationary bike or go on a run around the neighborhood for 10-20 minutes and I am back on track.3
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Does it somehow make more sense to fall into the diet industry's trap by trying various fad diets, buying bogus supplements or "diet foods", or doing cleanses/detoxes?
Any and every successful diet has one thing in common - one way or another, they cause you to consume less calories than you're burning. There's no other way you lose weight. No magic diet plan, no magic supplement, shake, pill or potion. Whether you're actively tracking your calories or not, your body knows how much you're taking in and how much you're expending, and it will react accordingly - by either losing, maintaining or gaining weight.
It's not a necessity to count calories. But it is a necessity to take in less calories than you're expending, by whatever means you accomplish that.6 -
The no s diet idea is great. I found the 80/20 diet is good too.0
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You know yourself best and I think if you have a general tendency to obsess and go overboard with it, then it probably isn't right for you. I really like the poster that mentioned the "no s" diet. That's really cool! But you could also just measure your portions without counting calories. If a healthy serving size is a cup of something, measure a cup and be done with it. No need to worry about keeping track of the numbers. Just make sure you're eating healthy portions.
I agree with this, calorie counting can be an awesome tool, or a complete disaster depending on the person. You know you best, so make a good decision for yourself.
I personally have found it to be very educational, it has changed the way I see "eating healthy" and helped me figure out what works for me so I could know tips and tricks that will carry on even when I stop counting. I don't plan to log forever, and I have taken breaks from logging without freaking out or worrying about it. I just monitor my weight and if I am seeing a gain go back for a while to get back on track. But, I am also a person who always wants to eat as much as I can (I just love food, hence how I got here), I have never had a tendency towards trying to eat a little as possible, and in general I am a pretty "chill" person. If you think it will consume your life or you may start playing the "how low can I go" game then I would absolutely not advise you do it.1 -
jitterkitten wrote: »I have been conflicted with the idea of calorie counting. I don't want to become obsessed or fall into the diet industry's trap. I do need to lose weight just to feel better. But I have an issue with calorie counting. It feels a little bit like it's leaning toward an eating disorder.
Many of us already have an eating disorder...it's called "over-eating". Just another way to look at it.3 -
I avoided counting calories for many, many years, and tried to lose weight by exercising and eating "healthy". I lost a little weight temporarily, but it came back. Now I've been calorie counting, eating at a deficit and exercising on this site for about 6 weeks, and I can tell you the calorie logging is an eye opener! You think you have a general idea of which are the calorie rich foods, but unless you see the numbers add up, you don't realize how much you eat. I way underestimated my calorie intake and overestimated my burn from exercises. Try it for a couple of weeks, and if it turns out it's just not for you, no harm done.0
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You might want to take a look at the DASH diet. Very healthy - focuses on servings per day vs counting calories. By doing this you are controling calories in, though might be a gentler aporoach for you since not actually "counting"0
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I don't really look at this as calorie counting. While I know it is. I don't measure and what not I "guess-ti-mate" haha but I look at it more for accountability. I have friends and we are all on here. Just keeping each other accountable.0
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Give a thought to weighing and measuring for just the first week of each month to develop and then keep your ability to "eyeball" portion sizes on track.0
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