Do you think counting calories is important?
In your efforts to lose weight, do you count calories? If so, how often and why?
If not, why not?
Inquiring minds want to know..................:)
If not, why not?
Inquiring minds want to know..................:)
Tags: calories, food, weight_loss
Views: 3
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sugar and Sprouts on -
I do. When dieting (and I am trying, trying to simply change my lifestyle to eat more healthy whole foods and hopefully save the trouble) I become obsessive. When it was carbs (and I can't believe I ate that way - luckily it only lasted a few months, but twice) I was the same way. Hmmmm, when I run I always do a couple end loops to make sure I got every half second, every tenth of a mile in. I am seeing patterns of OCD in me.
Anyway, back to calorie counting. While I definitely think it is ALSO 9and very importabtly) the quality of the calories, you also can't eat mountains of any one thing and expect to be healthy, balanced and lose weight. So yeah, a reasonable amount is good. But THAT is where I differ from most. I really think everyone is different here. For some they can maintain (or lose) at 2000 calories (depends on metabolism, exercise, etc.) for other (like me) it needs to be cut way down.
I think patience and a little encouragement and support from friends is what you need most. If interested simply in "jump starting" a weight loss program (and remember folks, PLEASE do this in a healthy way - no crash diets to win a coffee pot please!!!!) you can join the 30-Day Challenge a friend of mine is doing. It really is up to you to 1. be honest with your result, and 2. DO NOT do anything extreme. Hey! You could make new friends too!
You can also check out MY progress as I waddle, erhem, I mean jog, no, I mean RUN my way through my marathon training (and by necessity, healthier eating habits.
Back to obsessively counting how many calories in my daughter's potty treat (M&M's) which incidentally, I steal when she isn't looking. HA!
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Permalink Reply by Jill N on
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I think that it's more important to pay attention to the food that you eat rather than count calories. If you mostly choose real foods and eat moderate portions, you don't need to count calories. Just my opinion.
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Permalink Reply by David on -
I agree. I have never ever counted calories but focus on what, how much, and how my body is feeling--i.e. if I'm hungry or eating just to eat.
I've found that eating three regular meals with the main food groups, exercising, not drinking, and avoiding sweets, always keeps my weight under control.
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Permalink Reply by SpinDiva on -
I think it depends on how much control one wants to have over each meal. I honestly don't have time to count anything and find that to be a waste of time when I have had the time.
I have counted calories and points and found that both took over my thinking about food as if they were nothing but a number instead of finding the nutrition in each food item. So I would look at a bowl of fruit with yogurt and not see that it was filled with antioxidants, calcium, protein, and calories needed to function, instead I would see that the bowl was worth 5 points and that's all I could have because I had a total of 8 points left that day. There were times when I ate something with less points and less nutrition just so I could have the remaining points to eat my dinner or lunch, etc.
So instead of counting I started reading and found that when we learn what is in what we eat we make better food choices because we know how that food item will react with our body. When we choose to eat those sweet or salty temptations we know what the reaction will be, we better understand the sugar high or the bloated feeling from eating too much salt.
Now I love to read about food and nutrients are in them, why its good for me or why something may not be good for me. This in turn is helping my children do the same. It really makes me feel so happy and proud when my kids choose fruit over junk food (of course that could be because we don't really have much junk to choose from) but they don't complain, there's excitement in their voice when they see me coming home with strawberries, grapes, apples, etc....Even their friends think of me as health nut and they are OK with that--they think it's kind of cool! Amazing!
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Newton on -
I think people need a basic understanding of food and the number of calories it. So many people are just clueless when it comes to what they are actually putting into their bodies.
A few days ago, I was talking to a young girl I know, who is just getting ready to graduate high school. She was proudly telling me that she enjoyed drinking a caramel macchiato and had just learned how to make one where she works. Now, she drinks a couple a day. I told her that was great, but did she know how many calories were in it? (about 200, by the way) She said no, that didn't concern her.
I'm afraid many people look at food like this.
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Permalink Reply by Eve on
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I learned the diabetic exchange as a teen-ager, because my mom was diabetic and that's how she taught us to think about meal-planning. I find it much easier to use an exchange list than to count calories, fats, or carbs. Like the SpinDiva said counting calories, etc. makes food the number one focus in your life, and I don't think that is a good thing.
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Permalink Reply by SpinDiva on
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LisaN That's how it is with most teens as well. My daughter (14) thinks she's "fat". She isn't but does have a little pooch on her belly that could potentially become a big pooch if she's not careful, particularly because she's not exercising as much as she should (that will soon change). I have been teaching them how to read labels and identify foods with empty calories vs. foods that are nutritious. She has made some serious changes in her diet, all by herself, just because she's is more aware and has more knowledge about what's good and bad for her. I think we could avoid a lot of the obesity problems with kids if we teach them at home not to become dependent on food to feel good about themselves or to celebrate anything.
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Permalink Reply by David on
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I agree with both of your comments--at some point counting becomes a chore in and itself and can easily become the end-all be-all of how a person understands their dietary requirements. OTOH, I think that there must be critical thinking taught and required of children--and adults--as to what types of foods they are eating and the kinds of high fats, high calorie impact/s they will have; so that they are better informed to take better control of their decision making which will, in turn, help them to be healthier individuals and have better overall weight-management. I think Lisa's example is a perfect one where some kids are not taught the basics about diet and calories. But if they are, I think they would act a lot differently with respect to what they consume.
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Permalink Reply by SpinDiva on
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That's exactly right David--so we're talking about learning to read nutrition labels and understanding what is good and what is not on that label. Understanding how much one should consume based on one's own body.
Like I said, I do noticed my kids make such awesome choices even when faced with tempting food items. I'm sure that's in part because we discuss nutrition on a regular basis and they have a basic knowledge so they are able to make wise choices.
Knowledge is power.
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Permalink Reply by David on
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Exactly. By getting your kids to learn and start to critically think about what food labels mean, and how it impacts them and their diet, will last the rest of their lives. I'm happy for you and for them.
Too many other children, and indeed, adults, aren't taught these basics. That makes decision making hard b/c they don't have the ability to reason and to understand the choices that they make.
This could go on well beyond the issues of food, too.
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Permalink Reply by MamaMaven on
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The times I have been successful in losing weight I've used weight watchers and counted points which is similar to counting calories. I think either way keeping track of what I am eating is the key for me. All those little mindless things add up!
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