LCHF ...calories getting scared!
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mand19hartley
Posts: 8 Member
Hi all, I don't post often but I'm am in here often reading other discussions.
I have been "doing" LCHF for about 2 weeks and have lost about 4lbs so am happy. My question is, I am freaking out about my calories, they seem really high.
After 30 years of calorie counting, psychologically it's really scary and Im struggling.
I need to log my food to keep an eye on the carbs, but then I see the calories and really worry. How do other people get over this?
I have been "doing" LCHF for about 2 weeks and have lost about 4lbs so am happy. My question is, I am freaking out about my calories, they seem really high.
After 30 years of calorie counting, psychologically it's really scary and Im struggling.
I need to log my food to keep an eye on the carbs, but then I see the calories and really worry. How do other people get over this?
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Replies
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initial weight loss will be water weight , in the end if weight loss is your goal it is always calories eaten should be a bit less than calories required to maintain weight. but the main advantage of low carb is you inherently dont feel that hungry and you know when you are full due to dietary fat consumed. i.e It is very easy NOT to overeat unlike while eating carbs .2
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I have to watch my calories or I don't lose. I am generally around 1500 per day and lose 1-4 lbs per week.1
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Same here. I have to restrict both carbs AND calories in order to lose. Right now I'm doing a limit of 50 g. carbs and 1300 calories daily, with 30 minutes of exercise most days. Losing at a steady rate with this combination so far.2
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Are you only eating when hungry?1
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that is odd because my calorie count is lower on LCHF. i am full with fewer cals.3
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i've always been of the thought that calories matter. don't they? today is my day 1 and didn't quite make it to 1200 so I need to tweek a bit tomorrow. don't want body to think it's starving right? good luck.0
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that is odd because my calorie count is lower on LCHF. i am full with fewer cals.
This is why people say you don't have to count calories on LCHF. It's not because they don't matter, it's because it's common to naturally eat less food because your body is satisfied more easily and also is able to finally access the onboard pantry on our bodies between meals.3 -
I counted calories as well and lost on about 1350/day (plus I ate back 1/2-2/3 of exercise calories).0
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I didn't actually count calories when I moved to LCHF but the weight came off at a much higher rate than it ever did when I was on the standard MFP calorie reduction diet. There is no way that I'd have been losing at that rate with the calories being eaten on a higher carb diet. It was quite disconcerting, after a few years of calorie counting.
I started low carbing around April and have shed enough weight to easily pass my target, and it's been so much easier than calorie counting. It didn't seem "right" to me at first: after so many years of struggling with my weight to adopt this style of eating but the scales don't lie.
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I didn't count calories, until I had to. Around the 3 month mark I stalled. So I dusted off my MFP account. I have counted 99% since. I did a month-long stint of lazy keto again once while here. Stalled for awhile. Of course my satiety reflex is soooo lazy. It can't be trusted.2
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Amen to that!
I find that if I start thinking I've finally gotten my portion-size guesstimator refined to within 0.001%, then >FAIL!< I'm underestimating by, well, waaayyy too much.0 -
baconslave wrote: »I didn't count calories, until I had to. Around the 3 month mark I stalled. So I dusted off my MFP account. I have counted 99% since. I did a month-long stint of lazy keto again once while here. Stalled for awhile. Of course my satiety reflex is soooo lazy. It can't be trusted.
I've been lazy about it for...basically 7 months now (go me). The good news, hangry is still gone and no weight has been gained. I guess this means good things for when I'm really in maintenance, but as I still have a good 50-70 pounds to lose, I need to get off my duff and get back to tracking.1 -
Calories matter to me. While many of the experts (books, videos, articles, podcasts) dance around calories and talk about the shortfalls of calorie counting, I have yet to hear any of them say calories DON'T matter and have heard most say that calories DO matter.
I counted calories all through weight loss and it was effective. I counted calories all through keto during maintenance and personally found weighing and measuring food necessary (for me) due to the high calories in fat, a macro that I was not accustomed to eating a high volume of-pre keto.
Now, my 4th year into maintenance, I still monitor calories and macros since I still eat LCHF. Cups, spoons and food scales are far more accurate and consistent than my "internal monitors and estimators" will ever be in regards to portions. Today, I don't weigh and measure every single item that I eat but I also don't "eyeball" everything either. My hunger cues aren't all that great either when I have too much time on my hand and/or am procrastinating...2 -
Amen to that!
I find that if I start thinking I've finally gotten my portion-size guesstimator refined to within 0.001%, then >FAIL!< I'm underestimating by, well, waaayyy too much.
The more I guesstimate the bigger my portions becomes, and the easier it is to put something extra in my mouth without even thinking about it.2