Tracking Calories...a diet killer

I don't find tracking calories difficult using this site, so I certainly wouldn't call it a diet killer and it's easier for me than doing something like WW. I don't intend to count calories everyday for the rest of my life, but I feel like after a year or do of doing it I will know what an average day of calories looks like to me. I'm sure there will be days you go over if not counting, but I do feel tracking this way helps you to learn the calorie content of foods you eat regularly and also what the real portion size is. Before I starting using this site I'd really didn't realise how many calories were in some foods, or realise that I was eating 3 or 4 times the portion size!

I don't agree at all...I agree that it can be frustrating when you're trying to gauge just how many calories are in things (like you're aunt's homemade pie, for instance). But for me, calories are the biggest part of losing weight. And this site helps SO MUCH for everything. But hey, if it doesn't work for you, you could try something like the special K plan, the slim fast plan, or weight watchers. I know a lot of people have success doing that, just be careful when you switch from losing weight to maintaining your weight loss, unless you want to have to stay on those plans forever. Good luck

seems i am frustrated when I am over..
happy as a clam as long as i am under !!
I need to track to keep losing..besides..
then I can have a look at how everyone else is going ...!!

I've tried to wing it with eating and cut down on portion sizes but failed miserably because I didn't know how many calories was in what or I couldn't control myself. Now that I track calories it helps me to focus and keep myself balanced out. I've been doing pretty good with it so far. If I stopped I would probably fall way off the wagon at this point. I'm a very visual person and I have to see things laid out in front of me and dissect it or else I get distracted. MFP helps me to stay organized and on track.

BTW: I eat avocados just about every other day and I'm losing weight just fine!

One thing I always think about before I begin a new diet is whether or not I should track calories to make sure I am eating a certain limit. But by the 2nd or third day, I become so annoyed and can't stand to do it anymore.

Would anyone else agree with me that tracking calories can be a diet killer by frustrating you? Most people have enough to worry about already. The way I go about it is I just know what a decent portion is and I know what is much less than what I use to eat, so I eat that amount. I think calorie counting is a way that people psych themselves out of staying on a diet because its one more hassle weighing and measuring food makes it even worse.

Anyone agree or disagree?

That's where your problem lies - "every time I start a new diet"...... Most people here don't do diets - we live lives.....

That's where your problem lies - "every time I start a new diet"...... Most people here don't do diets - we live lives.....

This! You don't weigh and measure food forever but do it enough so you realise what a serving is and how much you're putting into your body. You begin more aware of portion sizes. You can also make more educated calorie choices. As someone previously said, not all calorie-dense food is bad for you. And this isn't about eliminating 'bad' foods - it's about learning to live life better

Not much point being on this site if you're not going to count calories ...

counting calories with MFP is super easy so I have no problems

counting calories with MFP is super easy so I have no problems

Precisely.

If you're too lazy to count calories, you're certainly too lazy to exercise regularly and live any sort of a healthy lifestyle. Counting calories is the easiest part of trying to get into better shape.

I eat what I eat and eye ball it. If I go over oh well. It isn't like I am going over by eating 5 candy bars and pizza. I go over usually eating healthy stuff. Like a lot of people said it is a lifestyle change. Obsessing or worrying about calories is actually not healthy. But I don't think you are doing that, as you said it is more frustrating. I eat right and exercise and call it good.

Great post! I agree.

Until I was in my mid-thirty's, I could lose weight just about anytime I thought that I needed to, just like you. Work out a bit, lay off the obviously fattening foods for a few weeks and 15-20lbs would be gone (but I'd be a little heavier each time). I took up mountaineering and climbed a number of 17,000'+ peaks at 40, and noticed that even though I felt healthy, I was 70lbs heavier (at 235) than when I graduated High School. In photos, I looked "thick". So I got the "Eye of the Tiger" and dropped 20 lbs in a year by doing exactly what you have suggested in your multiple posts. I kept at it for another year and lost nothing overall, just + or - 5-10 pounds off then on, no net loss. Then I started Weight Watchers, not calorie counting, but logging all of your food. I lost 28 pounds in 12 weeks. Proud that I had changed my life and learned everything that I needed to know about my diet, I relaxed. 9 months later, I was up 14 pounds, and headed back to WW Online. This time it was 20 lbs in 12 weeks. Did this one more time almost 2 years later with the same results. No food was off limits, just track what you eat. I gravitated to "cleaner" food like you have mentioned. Then I got laid off, and thought "now I can really get in shape!". Without a structured plan, it didn't happen, however i did gain a bit of weight back.

After 17 months off, I finally got a job 2.5 years ago. Recently, I noticed that I had crept back up to 218. Back on WW, i had vowed that I would never go over 200 again. Hmmmm..... So with a friend, we challenged ourselves to drop some weight and I knew that WW Online would do the trick. I set my goal for 18lbs in 3 months (it ends on July 16th) I started logging on WW, but another friend suggested MFP. I really enjoy MFP, I get much better information about my nutritional intake using this tool. Is logging sometimes a pain, sure it is. Is it worth the hassle, absolutely.

I've got more friends that have asked for my advice about staying fit and keeping the weight off. I've suggested WW and now MFP. Most find it to be too much trouble. They eat healthy and avoid "bad' foods just like you suggest, and they don't lose weight, I believe that some of them are not eating enough, but they don't really know, because they are just guessing.

Back to your original post. I believe that food tracking (calories, points, whatever) is a diet saver. It has been proven in study after study that logging your food increases your chances of losing weight and keeping it off. Is it the only way, nope. But it is a more effective weight control method for a greater number of people.

You can control your weight through whatever method you like. My guess is that by the time you hit 40, you'll be 50lbs overweight. If/when you find yourself in that position, I suggest that you bite the bullet and track your food. It is proven to be more effective. if you find that you're not overweight, then,congratulations, you won't need to resort to more drastic measures (no pun intended).

I can't say that I love tracking, but I can say that I do it gladly. And this tool is one of the easiest and most effective that I have found.

I believe that I've been where you are today, and I wish you luck with your weight and health over the course of your life.

You do realize this is a site to track calories, yes? Sounds to me like you're not committed to making necessary changes. If you're not weighing or measuring you're food, I question whether you really do know what a "decent sized portion" is.

I do not agree at all.

I came here because of a book on habits - The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. In it, it describes a psychological study where a group of students kept a food journal. That's the only change they made. What they found is that not only did they all eat healthier, lost more weight, they exercised more, drank less, smoked less, grades went up, had better study habits, ect. That one simple task rippled out into all bad habits. The book called it keystone habits.

I couldn't find the actual study online, but this article talks a bit about the book: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/27/147296743/how-you-can-harness-the-power-of-habit

I eat pretty healthy and exercised as much as a I could, but full time work at a computer and full time grad school limited things that led to a bit more than I'd like on my tummy.

What I found out though was on the days that I exercised, I ate far too little - by ~1,500 calories. The first week or so was a struggle getting enough down. On the days that I didn't work out, I ate too much by an average of ~1,000 calories. Correcting it has given me more energy, better concentration, sleep better, exercise became more of a priority, and I generally feel better.

Measure the food once and save the recipe or meal. Easy. If you go over your calorie limit, focus on what and when you eat and make little changes. More fruits and veg, less processed foods. This isn't a diet, diets have been proven time and time again that they don't work. It's a lifestyle change.

I think that if someone is unable to handle the diligence of tracking calories then maybe their mind is not in the right place to make an honest effort to be healthy. Eventually someone should be able to get by without tracking calories but just because it's hard or takes a while people shouldn't quit. As a society, yes people don't want to work at losing weight, they want the quick fix. So I think that someone who can't get healthy the hard but more correct way should stay fat/unhealthy. Nothing says that they shouldn't fail.

dont think so. It doesnt stress me out at all it actually is easy as i can scan the boxes and preplan which i love instead of spur of the moment. It has become habit