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Count WHAT???Count WHAT???
MommaTo4 said: "Okay... carbs? calories? or fat grams? Do I count them all together? I have read so many conflicting theories... I'd rather hear from other's experiences what works best! :confused:
Thanks!!!"
ciao said: "I don't remember who recommended fitday.com first, but I've just started using it for about a week now, and it's great! (Thank you whoever posted a recommendation of fitday.com by the way!) It's really easy to keep track of calories that way- which is what I'm doing right now ;)"
shrkntz said: "I eat 1600 calories a day. 4 of 591 ml bottles of ice water daily. I eat 3 meals a day, 2 snacks daily, eating more fibre and watching out for the white label on all foods. The white label will give you an idea of what you are eating. My recommendation is, if there is no white label on a packaged food, find out before you eat it. Try not to eat over 800 calories at a mealtime, stick to around 450 calories per meal. If you can, 2 snacks that include fruits,and or vegetables. Have them cut up and in the fridge in some water, helps those fridge raids. Drink a glass of water before dinner, keeps you from eating too fast or overeating. Keep to one medium sized plate, your vegetables the largest serving, starches to a medium and meat to smallest. Careful of anything white , usually it is high in calories and only small amounts take up a lot of your calorie count for the day. I walk nightly with the dog, 8 pm every night. It enables you to walk off dinner and feel well rested. I avoid places that get me thinking about junkfood and deserts. If you have to, send someone else to get the food if you cannot control the impulses to buy treats or extras. Keep count of calories, be aware of the rest."
shrkntz said: "Counting your calories gives you a more indepth look into what you eat in a total day. It also creates control and management over food intake.
Say for example, if you are allready at 1300 calories come dinner time, you have 200-400 calories left. It must mean that maybe those chips you ate early on in the day that came to 400 calories took up a large chunk of your proper food intake. This tells you that maybe the chips is not a good idea. Maybe allowing only so much calories per meal will allow you to remember what you should eat and what to avoid instead.
I splurged once in march, bought kfc. I ate 2 white breast and one dark skin drum stick, 1 cup fries, 1/2 cup gravy, and 8 0z pop. Want to take a guess on calorie count, keeping in mind my total count for a day was 1600. It was a count of 800 calories. Ummmm, that is a bit much for one meal alone. I had that for lunch and come dinner time I was real limited. It made me realize that counting might be a good awareness for me.
I work out 6 days a week and have 1600 calories a day. I walk every day with my dog and bike to the gym and back. I also bike around the city, lots of hills.
I lost 12 inches in one month, march 28 to april 28, also lost 6 lbs. That is from counting calories. I started counting in February and I got off of the plateau I was stuck on. There are lots of food that sabatoge what we eat, so if we watch everything that goes into our mouths, there will be success. There will be weight loss, there will be control over eating. Then when you reach a situation where there is opportunity to indulge, you won't absolutely gorge out on what is offered, you will be able to take one piece or take a small handful compared to what you would eat if there was not control. It is what creates will power."
helplesscase said: "I prefer just counting calories..."
UniqueMystique said: "My grandfather has come down with throat cancer and he starts radiation treatment on the 10th of May. He has to get a feeding tube put in his stomach on the 5th because the radiation treatments will make his throat too sore to eat. But this is not what this post is about....it's about calorie counting. Anyhow...the doc said that he could live on Ensure alone but that my mom would have to figure out the right caloric intake for him. Well...I did that this weekend for her and researched some other soft and liquid foods. He would need 8 cans of Ensure to sustain his current weight. That's a lot of high priced Ensure! Anyhow....she had asked me to look up the caloric content on brown and white gravies. The content on the brown gravy was over 1,700!!!!!! That's for a package that you just add water to and heat up...I think it makes about 1 cup. 1,700 calories!!!!! Can you believe that????? I think of all the times I've had brown gravy over the years and I just felt sick! The sodium content was sky high too!"
UniqueMystique said: "*Falling out of my chair, laughing*
No...but I did joke with my mom that she could put gravy on everything and make him gain weight since he is dwindling some. He has slightly elevated blood pressure so he doesn't need the excess sodium.
I'm not sure how he's going to handle all of this. He's almost 77 and never had anything wrong with him besides a common cold. 8 weeks of radiation...5 days a week, it's gonna take it's toll on him."
Leah20 said: "Yeah I started using fitday 3 weeks ago, and before that I thought I could never count calories because it would be such a pain. Fitday does make it really easy though. You can enter your custom foods that you eat all the time, and then you don't ever have to enter them again, you can just click on them. By accounting for your calories this way, you feel more obligated to keep them in check.
Anyways, this is the best method that has ever worked for me. I tried the south beach diet before this, but I could not stand cutting out all that food i love. And now I am losing weight and still eating bread and potatoes. After I went off the south beach I gained way more back. I started on the southbeach at 132 and made it down to 126, but when I stopped, I went all the way up to 143! Not to say low carb is bad, you just have to stick with it...
One more thing that works great for me is making sure I eat all the reqd servings of fruit and veggies everyday. I NEVER used to eat them really at all, and now that I have I am able to eat way less calories and still feel satisfied. I try to keep my calorie count pretty low throughout the workday (around 500-700) and then when I get home I have enough left for a nice supper and even a small snack later on.
Good Luck!"
spectrachic311 said: "I count calories, because that is what ultimately leads to weight loss. It really doesn't matter too much what form they come in. I don't follow a strict low-carb diet, but when it makes sense to have the low-carb versions of food, I have those. I like whole wheat pasta, sugarfree yogurt, sugar free beverages, etc."
Holly said: "I think the best answer is...do what is right for you!!!!!
I know what you mean, though. Ok, I need to watch this and this and this, oh and make sure to exercise. Good grief!!!
From my experience (I used to be heavier), counting calories is what worked best for me. I like keeping it basic. I need to consume less calories and burn more of them. You lose weight when you have a calorie deficit at the end of the day and week.
However, I know that others on here have had wonderful success watching their carb intake. I know of other people (not on the forum) who just watch fat grams. I think the key to watching either fat grams and/or carbs is to also eat healthy food. Those on here going low carb and losing weight are eating lean protein and vegetables. Those that have lost weight counting fat grams have not dove into a bag of sugar filled (but fat free) candy.
Another thing you can do is count servings. Give yourself a limit on grain servings, fruit servings, etc. So, that is why I say do what is best for you.
What are you going to be able to continue doing? I tried counting carbs and hated it. So, I am watching my calories now. I ordered a fun little gadget in the mail (Richard Simmons' foodmover) so I can switch to just watching my serving size.
Good luck!!!! Do something simple and fun!
;)"
Holly said: "I don't think I need to ask this...but, you're not going to put Grandpa on a gravy diet are you?
I'm betting that will just be a small part of it, right?"
Holly said: "Sounds like it will be tough. I think I would try to keep his mind as busy as possible and off of medical issues. Funny movies, interesting books, stuff like that.
Glad to hear the gravy issue is getting resolved. ;)"
lotusleaf said: "i tend to watch the fat content, it really worked for me before and i find it easy to use aswell, counting calories is just too fiddly for me!"
whateverhobb said: "GREAT ADVICE everyone. It is wonderful. Thank you so much. ;)"
loobe said: "Its true you have to do what works for you.
I am counting calories and watching my carb intake, I could not cut out carbs I like them too much. When I had gestational diabetes I had to watch my carb intake and because of this I hardly gained weight.
I am hoping that by lowering carb and calorie intake I will lose the excess weight."