+ Counting calories -

[g84]

In the past i never really payed much attention to the amount of calories that i was eating; i think i felt a bit happier doing that. I just focussed on the foods themselves and i read ingredient labels a lot.

 

I'm not sure, but sometimes i think that counting calories is part of what discourages me : [.

If i realize that i've eaten over a certain amount during the day, i feel a bit dissapointed and i think that feeling accumulates. I wonder if i should go back to the way i did it before, but i don't know if that would really be a practical thing to do at this point. I don't know if my metabolism has actually changed, but it seems like it's a bit more challenging to lose pounds than it was in the past.

 

My ideal would be to just eat healthy meals that taste good to me, without much measuring or calculating.

What do you guys think?

thanks for your thoughts!

[alli]

What I usually do is just buy foods that are low-calorie in the first place... soup, fruit (apples & grapes, whatever is in season), veggie burgers (I'm a vegetarian), skim milk. I also have triscuits, string cheese & almonds. Almonds aren't low-cal at all but I always am lightest when they are in my diet.

 

I never count calories. I just know that it's not super high because I don't buy foods that are very high! When I do buy food from a gas station or something, I check the calorie content. 400 calories in one food item is managable, 800 is not!

 

For dessert I get those 150- calorie sara lee microwavable cake things. They feel like such an indulgence but they really aren't a lot of calories. I also buy ice cream that is 150 calories or less, & just have a few spoonfuls out of the container when I feel like having some.

 

Also, my job requires being on my feet pretty much all day. I know if you have a desk job, that isn't really easy. But try to be up & moving around when you can, take the steps instead of the elevator.. it keeps you awake & is an unconscious way of burning calories.

 

Anyway, that's my suggestion. Just buy low calorie foods & make them the majority of your diet & you should be fine!

[tastytoothpaste]

I'm not big on counting calories. Although I am aware of a rough estimate of how many I've taken in, I do not let it dictate what I will or will not eat. I also don't go by the scale. I go by how I feel and how I look. For me, counting calories is very discouraging and too strict. I feel like if I don't allow myself to eat something every now and then that is jam packed with calories just because I want to, then I'll soon give up and not even try to eat healthily.

[d24]

As someone who's lost 10lbs in 5 weeks by just changing his diet, I recommend Slimming World. The group meeting and weigh ins really keep you in check.

 

My fianceé is eating exactly as I am, but sh'es included a LOT of exercise as well, and she's lost 18lbs in 5 weeks.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I'd have rather sat at home watching TV or gone to the gym with her (if it almost doubled her loss) but then I remembered.... I don't like the gym and I do like my Xbox.

[alli]

Sometimes I wonder if I'd have rather sat at home watching TV or gone to the gym with her (if it almost doubled her loss) but then I remembered.... I don't like the gym and I do like my Xbox.

 

Lol, my fiance & I both have a gym membership to the same gym & neither of us have been there in months!! I really need to cancel mine. I don't like that gym that much. No track, no pool. I just run outside when it's nice. And I just got a treadmill so I've been using that a lot. I exercise a lot more when it's convenient... I don't have to drive half an hour to get a workout, I can just go out onto my porch! And suprisingly my fiance has been using it a lot now too. I didn't really think he would. And I just got a pull up bar & put it in a door frame so he's been using that everyday too! Lol, I get all this stuff for me & he actually uses it, too!

 

I guess your story just reminded me of us, because we both have a gym membership (only neither of us use them!) and he also has an xbox he plays all the time. I would suggest playing the Wii instead of the Xbox for exercise but I now know the fundamental difference between Wii Sports & Modern Warfare

[Lecturer]

Common sense plays a big part. The unfortunate fact is our bodies weren't meant to chow down on sugary junk every day. Cakes, cookies, soda... tasty stuff but all hard for our body to deal with. The human body is an amazing machine, however, and can handle the occasional indulgence, but continuous abuse can't be overcome so easily. It's even worse for women, as your daily caloric limit is far less than that of men - you have a smaller 'buffer' beyond calories needed for the healthy food component of you daily diet.

 

BTW, yes, at 25 your metabolism will likely have slowed to the point where you'll start to notice more difficulty with keeping weight off. Metabolism slowly but steadily trends lower throughout our adult lives.

 

Basically, you don't need to count calories, but you should be conscientious about how often you indulge in 'junk' foods and how physically active you are being.

[sidehop]

You can do a ballpark figure, especially if you already know certain food has x-amount of calories you can estimate it.

 

It's more critical if you are seriously about toning and cutting for competition and just have to get that fat % down. Bodybuilders for example do this on a cutting phase. They'll count calories like lawyers charging for every penny.

 

The thing about counting calories is sure, you can have say 2,000 calorie meal and feel good that you're counting but it's going to depend on your activity level and know how much your body is going to burn.

 

Definitely enjoy your food and cheat once a week, it's not going to kill any healthy meal plan. I hate depriving my body, I love food too much. Every so often I'll eat big thing of ramen noodles jammed packed with vegies and meat as well as go to the local burger shop and get a buffalo burger with fries

[Cheeks18]

Eat healthy and workout....Works for me!!!

[Rearden Metal]

In my mid-twenties I was a competitive bodybuilder and counted everything religiously. I was pretty surprised to find that when I "retired" and started a more normal workout/excersize regimen that things didn't change too much to my physique.

 

As I got older, I got looser and looser with my diet. Sometimes I'll put on a few extra (20?) lbs and I'll have to reign it back in... but the part you said about enjoying yourself and your life when you were NOT counting is absolutely true for me.

 

Personally, I just cut out certain foods. I eat very little breads, cheeses and as little refined sugar as possible (I do have raw sugar and honey in beverages daily). I'll post what my diet would have looked like when I was competing (offseason, not contest diet) and what it's like now.

 

Competing-

 

5AM- 35g protein shake

Cardio

7AM- 12 egg whites, turkey breast, bagel w honey, 1 cup oatmeal

10AM- 30g protein shake

1PM- 12oz steamed chicken, white rice, soy sauce, broccoli

4PM- 8oz shrimp, olive oil, salad

5:30-7PM weight train

7PM- 4 plain rice cakes w honey, 2 low fat granola bars, gatorade mixed w 30g protein, 2 packets flavored instant oatmeal.

8:30PM- 10oz steak, baked potato, salad

11PM- 35g protein shake, 1 tbsp natural peanut butter.

 

Phew!!!

 

Ok, here's now-

 

8AM- 3 organic egg omelette full of veggies, sometimes a small bit of ham. 1/2 cup oatmeal w 1 tbsp brown sugar and a touch of maple syrup (real vermont syrup!), coffee (too much coffeeeeee)

 

1PM- Leftovers from night before. Might be fish and rice, steak, chile, but it's basically a protein source, some veggies and rice or potato

 

4PM- Muscle Milk or something equivalent.

 

5PM-6:30PM- gym (I don't train like I used to...but I try!)

 

7PM- something sugary to replenish glycogen. Sometimes its a soda, sometimes it's Tootsie pops, sometimes I skip it.

 

8PM- Normal dinner, similar to lunch.

 

I don't count calories at all, but I basically will stop eating cheese, bread and dessert if my fat level gets annoying. Oh, and I started doing cardio... which I don't hate as much as I used to! Probably because I have 25 lbs less muscle now and I can actually move!

[Lecturer]

Rearden Metal - I've got a couple questions (sorry to get a bit off topic OP)...

 

First, you had 130g/day of supplemented protein, beyond your dietary protein?! You must have been pretty big, or am I mistaken about this being a large amount?

 

Also, isn't white rice considered poor on the glycemic index? I was under the impression that body builders avoided high GI foods?

[k4ppa]

Eat as slowly as possible. Avoid sugary and high starch foods (ex. white bread, sweets). Avoid foods loaded with fats (most importantly saturated fats). Monosaturared fats (rich in Omega 3 fatty acids) are the healthiest.

 

If you're going to count.. cut 500 calories per day (take in mind 1 lb of fat = 3500 calories). I think counting is unecessary though.

 

Just eat fresh, healthy foods and exercise aerobically daily (20 min at least). You could also compliment that with weight training 3 times a week.

[Jd1983]

At one point, I used to write down everything I ate and the amount of calories it was (if I knew it). but then I realized that it was starting to get ridiculous and very time consuming. I stopped doing so and just focused on the amount of food I was eating.

 

At this point, I know I can do better on my weight loss, but I'm glad it's been pretty consistent, no gain or loss for the past few months. The only journal I make now is, how much I weigh daily and the exercises that I do for the day (not daily).

[g84]

Thanks for your replies.

I guess i'm going to take a little break from thinking about calories; i want to try to enjoy my meals a little more, and maybe eat them more peacefully.

Before i made this thread, i actually wanted to ask about how to learn to think of food as just fuel, but i found out about a book where the author writes about the opposite -eating with pleasure, but sensibly all at the same time. I guess i'd really like to be able to do that. I enjoy most of my meals, but something still feels a bit off. I guess i will try to relax and not go to bed adding up calories in my head lol.

[Jd1983]

Relax hun! Don't stress the small stuff and it's all small stuff. If you continuously count calories, it will consume all your thoughts. Just eat right, and monitor your eating habits rather than calories. It can actually ease you up, and who knows? You might even lose weight that way.

[g84]

^ thanks i'm gonna try to take it easy for now

[kvb10]

counting calories helped me a lot in losing some extra pounds but i also become obsessed with it. i also would feel bad if i ate too many calories and sometimes would avoid going to dinner with friends and stuff because of it. i say, if you are able to count calories and still enjoy life, then go for it... but if it is stressing you out too much, try to stop.

 

honestly, i dont practice what i preach.. i still count calories and plan my meals. i am pretty small already and actually shouldnt lose much more weight or else i'd go under weight... but i cant help it.

 

so word to the wise.. if you have an addictive or obsessive personality, maybe extreme calorie counting is not for you. i think making healthy choices by just buying lower calorie foods like explained by alli is a really good idea. Just buying the reduced fat versions of things and stuff like that.

 

Good luck!

[g84]

I wanted to mention that i've stopped counting calories for a while, and i've been feeling a bit better. I also haven't weighed myself in a a while, which seems to help me as well. I guess i'll keep going like this : ].