do any of you count your calories

[huza78]

I'm just wondering if any of you count your calories. Because I have read if you consume to few calories for your body you can actually slow your metabolism down and thus slow your weightloss down. At the moment I haven't been counting my calories, but I am getting the feeling that I am slowing my metabolism down from not eating enough, or maybe I am having to much, but I wouldn't have a clue because i am just eating when i feel hungry. I'm getting frustrated because i am just hovering around the same weight, I feel really good from the exercise and that, but just wondering if I have to be more precise with my food measurements, to lose some more fat.

[talkingmountain]

Nope, no calorie counting here! Be patient, it is common to have "plateaus." I lost 30 lbs, hovered at the same wt (+- 2 lbs) for a few months, then lost another ten, hovered again for a couple of months, lost another ten, etc. As long as you are eating on-plan foods and not depriving yourself of food when you are hungry (and of course not overstuffing yourself) you will be okay!

[mlk58]

I'm counting my calories, because I am very vulnerable to "portion size creep" and at the end of the day I really am a believer in "calories in, calories out." I am a volume eater and have been eating as much as I want of MWL-legal foods and logging everything on www.fitday.com. Turns out I'm averaging just under 1300 calories a day, and I've lost 7 pounds in just over 3 weeks. I'm thrilled with that progress!

[Bambie113]

Hi Huza, I count calories just for fun and I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to food and stuff. I also eat out a couple times a week so I like to make sure that if I'm going to eat something off plan it needs to atleast be within the right calorie range. Have you tried doing MWL? Maybe that would help?? Good luck!

[Faith in DC]

Jeff Novick has a spot on this board, and he answered that concern once. Basically think about it. If we stopped losing weight by consuming too few of calories, then why do people starve?

Sometimes, you might have to vamp up the exercise, and build some muscle to get the metabolism going again. That's what I've been doing.

[Chumly]

I think you are doing the right thing by eating when you are hungry. If you need to lose more weight, increase the amount of non-starchy vegetables in your diet while decreasing some higher calorie foods and/or exercise more. I think if you force yourself to eat less than you really want, your body is more likely to slow its metabolism. If you are eating until full, there should be no reason for your metabolism to slow down other than the fact that you (hopefully) have less weight to move around.

Michael

[MichaelBluejay]

I believe Jeff Novick said in another thread that metabolism doesn't slow down from reduced calorie consumption, except in extreme deprivation situations (like where people are nearly dead).

I counted calories for the last two months, but not to control how much I was eating, only to monitor it. I'd like to write about weight loss some day so I needed some data. (I lost 16 lbs. in two months.) I ate whenever I was hungry and never limited myself, I simply recorded whatever it was that I was eating. My weight loss wasn't from going hungry, it was from concentrating on low calorically dense foods, like fruits and raw vegetables.

[MTeehan]

For me, McD didn't click until I stopped counting calories. I failed SO many times with McDougall by trying to do it in conjuction with Weight Watchers or by counting calories. As soon as I followed the good (GREAT) doctor's MWL guidelines the weight literally fell off. It actually took 11 years for me to finally 'get it'.

[talkingmountain]

I don't count calories. But I do occasionally write down every morsel of food/drink that goes in my mouth... usually when my weight loss stalls and I need to figure out where I've gotten sloppy. It's a way to stay "honest," if you will.

[Gweithgar]

I don't count calories. But I do occasionally write down every morsel of food/drink that goes in my mouth... usually when my weight loss stalls and I need to figure out where I've gotten sloppy. It's a way to stay "honest," if you will.

Yes, keeping a food diary is something that has worked for me on any plan I've followed. I use it more as a meal/menu planner rather than as an after-the-fact log. So I plan out what I'm eating for the day, and then make notations for any changes or deviations from what i planned. Definitely good for keeping you conscious of what you are eating.

[brianschmutz]

I count calories off and on. My non-McDougall girlfriend started doing it and challenged me. She claims she eats less calories than me, and she eats the low cal garbage. Turns out I eat around 1000-1400 per day, which is slightly less than her. She's aiming for my neck of the woods now. It's good to have the competition. I use a very basic iPhone app called MealCalc to keep track on the days I feel like it. I think it's good to have a general idea of what your average day of calorie consumption is, but I don't feel like this type of diet works well with limiting yourself to a certain amount of calories.

[MaryW]

I'm glad I don't have to count calories on this plan. My sister-in-law (who is not a a McD-er) uses a web site to track her calories. I forget what she called it...411diet.com or something like that. She said you punch in your food and it gives you a grade. Good choices (good according to the site) give you an "A" and poor choices make your grade go down. She mostly eats fruit for breakfast. She told me she can eat four cups of watermelon and it is only 140 calories. Yes, that is low in calories, but you NEED calories to operate. Can you imagine if people treated their cars the way they treat their bodies? Put in one gallon of gas and expect it to go 100 miles. But cars aren't like people...they just stop working. Our poor bodies have amazing coping mechanisms. If we don't feed them, they use up glycogen stores, and other tricks (even cannibalizing themselves!) to keep going.

My SIL also told me that she was low on protein one day (according to that website) so she boiled ONE DOZEN eggs. She threw away the yolks and ate the whites with hot sauce. Ick! But she said it made her "grade" go up. That doesn't sound healthy to me.

[WishIWasInBuffalo]

No calorie counting for me. It would throw my OCD into overdrive. Plus, I would need to weigh everything to try to come even close to being accurate. Was that apple 1 serving or was it big enough to be 2? It's easier on my mental state to just follow McDougall and not focus on calories and counting.

[gizmotcbc]

Ive been counting my calories and Ive lost nearly 20 pounds. Seems like the only thing that works for me any more, that and lots of hard work.

Lots of nice calorie counting sites, Personally I like using
this free calorie counter