Motivation

i've decided to stop counting calories.  i hate it.  it takes all the enjoyment out of eating for me.  and it also gets rid of something i believe to be very important when it comes to healthy eating: LISTENING to your body and PAYING ATTENTION to the way your body feels. 

i've been counting calories for the past few months and, since that time, i've completely stopped paying attention to whether or not i feel full.  all i do is obsess about knowing (or not knowing) how many calories are in what i'm eating.  or trying to figure out how i'm going log that little bite of something i just ate.  that wasn't packaged.  i can't stand it.

i'm not posting this to discourage anyone from counting calories because i really do think it's useful to know what's in the food you're eating.  i've certainly learned a lot of valuable information from this website.  however, i don't want to be afraid of a dab of butter or a slice of bread or an avocado.  just because i know i could eat something with fewer calories.  i want to eat what i want to eat.  and stop when i feel full.  because that's what i truly believe will keep me happy and at a healthy weight.  which, in turn, will get be to a healthy place with food. 

good luck to everyone, but this is the end of calcount for me.  :)

Well being obsessive is never good...but I used this site last year and it opened my eyes to how many calories are in the things I ate...after using it for a year I can pretty much know an estimate of how many calories are in certain things without logging on here. I don't log my foods anymore, I've started keeping a food diary in my journal based on the label information of the food I eat. I think the PURPOSE of this site is a support group for people and so that we are more knowledgeable of our calories. The one problem (well it could be a good thing i guess) is that I can't bring myself to eat certain foods I used to love because I'm afraid of the calories. Like onion rings or muffins for example...sometimes I am with my friends buying candy for a movie and I'm obsessively reading the nutrition labels trying to buy the less caloric one.

It does change your life :/

but to be healthy I think it's worth it! It's your choice though, as long as you eat healthy and exercise you'll be ok. Just don't fall off the wagon....or you may be back!! haha this site does that to you :)

Original Post by durgy:

Getting in touch with the numbers of calories is good for me. I would not have known otherwise, and may not have been able to shed these last 20 and hopefully the last 10 or so. It hasn't taught me when I'm full or not. It has helped me to figure out that eating some foods will tend to keep me fat, so I can put that into my personal equation.

I am counting my calories right now. I am trying to lose weight. When I get to a weight my body and eyes like, I will switch to maintenance. While maintining, as long as I exercise and my weight stays within a comfortable range, I won't need to look at the calories. If my weight drifts out of that range (and I have a scale, a mirror and some new "DO NOT GET FATTER THAN THESE CLOTHES" clothes to give me easy feedback) then I will go back to counting my calories.

But to each his own. So long and good luck!

 Oh wow durgy I have those DO NOT GET FATTER THAN THESE CLOTHES clothes too...as well as the ones that seem to stretch to my weight. Haha, the $150 jeans, the cache dress...yeahh....

Original Post by misspriss316:

Original Post by durgy:

Getting in touch with the numbers of calories is good for me. I would not have known otherwise, and may not have been able to shed these last 20 and hopefully the last 10 or so. It hasn't taught me when I'm full or not. It has helped me to figure out that eating some foods will tend to keep me fat, so I can put that into my personal equation.

I am counting my calories right now. I am trying to lose weight. When I get to a weight my body and eyes like, I will switch to maintenance. While maintining, as long as I exercise and my weight stays within a comfortable range, I won't need to look at the calories. If my weight drifts out of that range (and I have a scale, a mirror and some new "DO NOT GET FATTER THAN THESE CLOTHES" clothes to give me easy feedback) then I will go back to counting my calories.

But to each his own. So long and good luck!

 Oh wow durgy I have those DO NOT GET FATTER THAN THESE CLOTHES clothes too...as well as the ones that seem to stretch to my weight. Haha, the $150 jeans, the cache dress...yeahh....

 Geez, I hope my new suits don't stretch. But it would be hard to fake out a large T-shirt if I am slipping back over to XL. I mean if it's too small I'd be sure to get that unfomfortable "stuffed sausage" feeling (and look!).

I'm having the same problem!  I'm also considering stopping counting, but I'm a little worried about undereating in terms of calories if I continue to eat healthy and possibly overdo myself in eating too many veggies and fruits and feeling full before I get a chance to eat the more calorie-dense foods.   Although I guess limiting veggies and fruits may help...but I'm still a bit worried ^^;

I am not saying you should or should not count calories. But for anyone else reading this, I started in 2006 and I have gone on and off counting calories.

For me, when I count calories I end up eating healthier, exercise more, lose weight and feel better. Then I get agrivated and bored with a low cal diet, so I stop counting. So then I end up gaining weight, stop exercising, eat McDonald's more often, and then I get sick of feeling tired and gaining weight.

Luckily this cycle has only happened 3 times since 2006. But I am in a counting cycle now and have lost 8 pounds in 8 weeks. I feel great and I am now at my lowest of 182 Lbs since I started in 2006 when I was 205.

I am trying to stay more motivated this time and my wife has joined me since seeing my changes. I want to stay in my cycle of eating well and exercise. And when I reach my goal weight of 175 Lbs, will increase my cals for weight maintaining and focus more on weight lifting for muscle building.

I know everyone is different, which is why I am sharing my experience. For me, counting calories and using all the features of Calorie Count Plus helps me to stay focused on my body and what it needs. Which includes calories, exercise, and forcing myself to keep logging.

If you can do all these things without counting calories directly or logging, etc; then that is great too. But for some of us, the act of logging calories and exercise makes us more aware and generally pushes us to make better choices for food and activities.

I used to just sit in the office during lunch. Now I eat for 5-15mins and then walk and/or jog around town the rest of the hour. I used to just eat anything when ever I felt hungry, and now I don't eat based solely on hunger. I watch my vitamin intake, my fiber, water, and I even pay attention to my body waste for changes and overall body health. I have never been more aware of my body's health than my most motivated time here while counting calories and activities.

It's just a tool and I hope that no matter what online or offline method we use, that we can all stay motivated to take care of our body.

I know im just a kid

but  i need to count calories.

I'm a full time soccer player but i only play 3 times a week

and 2 of those are 1 1/2 practises every other time I just sit all day and do nothing.

I'm overweight because of my hight and im not going to grow any bigger because im already 15 and thats appx your adult hight.

I tried the, "I'll just eat untill I'm full." but the thing is, I can't do that, and I know a lot of other people can, thats prob why your trying to lose weight.

If I eat 'till I'm full (which I normally do) I will eat exessivly and I canno't stop.

I have a very big stomach and I could eat a lot untill I'm full.

When I started counting, I felt comfortably full, not the I'm-So-Bloated-I-Can't-move full, but the I think i could take a nap  full.

So good luck on your weight loss. But remeber, it doesn't hurt to count.

I count during the week when I'm at work and have access to a computer all day...but on the weekends I don't log things in, though I still try to make healthy choices. this works for me because it gives me a break from the monotony of logging (I realllllly don't like it, but it works!). Before joining CC I had made significant progress on my own...first from 227 on down to about 170...then a couple years later, after somewhat falling off the wagon, coupled with quitting smoking...I started again last sept...and went from 207 to 195 in about 6 months...then joined CC and dropped almost another 15lb in about 4 months...which is a little better! I'm on a plateau now...but I'm not gaining...which is the most important! to each their own...do whatever works for you :)

At first I found calorie counting to be a godsend, finally I could see where and when I was getting too many calories and I was able to lose about 5 pounds quite easily. But then I began to find myself thinking about food and its caloric content constantly... and I started to hardcore binge on the weekends -- something I never did before joining calorie count!

Thanks to those binges -- episodes in which I seem to try to damage my body and self-esteem with overeating -- I have gained 7 pounds. I'm heavier than when I started. I am so ashamed.

I am still trying to find a balance by not restricting too many calories during the week and being gentle with myself when I eat "badly". It's so hard. I think calorie counting has triggered an ED I had in HS -- I used to binge and purge, but that was 20 years ago! I have had the urge to purge lately but - thankfully - have not done it.

I am not overweight - 5'9" and 145, but I want to get back down to 136, where I was last summer. I know already being in a healthy BMI zone makes it harder to lose, but it's really getting me depressed. Sometimes I feel hideouoly fat, it's not right. My husband is a little freaked out about my attitude toward my body these days, jokingly calling me "Mary-Kate".

I think some of us tend to be obesessive and have underlying issues with food that strict calore counting can trigger.

Anybody else feel like this?

Original Post by nikidust:

I don't understand why people post things like this on calorie-count.com

 The reason is that at times people just get tired! I understand what mkclipp
 is saying because I have fel the same way many many times before. It's not CC.com's fault is just that at times  I just get tired of having to count every single calorie that I eat. I still continue to to count calories and will probably do it for a while longer, however, at times I just get tired of having to plan all the things I eat. I get tired of having to decided over ice cream or a cookie because both will not fit into my daily calories.

Havig said all of that, I think that calorie counting is a very useful tool to use when losing weight. However, it is not something I want to do for the rest of my life... I refuse too!!! lol