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Sport I really need to know this answer
- Thread starter Ryofire
- Start date
Sport Fitness
in my opinion it is not necessary, but it is the best way to see what you are eating, and how you are eating. trust me, you dont want to do it at first because it seems time consuming, but its not more than a couple extra minutes to count the numbers, plug them in, or weigh the food.
It depends. I never counted them until the last month. Now, since I'm losing weight and I've got 40 more pounds to lose, I find it very helpful.
In my younger years, I usually only needed to lose 10 pounds or so. Well, I could eat really clean and restrict probably way too much for a week or two and lose the weight. Now that I've got such a long road to go down, it helps me do it the right way. I can reasonably restrict calories, exercise correctly and stay with it for the long haul.
So, I would say YES, at least for the first few weeks. Depending on your goals it may not be necessary to continue forever but it will give you really good insight at first. Hope this helps, Greg
In my younger years, I usually only needed to lose 10 pounds or so. Well, I could eat really clean and restrict probably way too much for a week or two and lose the weight. Now that I've got such a long road to go down, it helps me do it the right way. I can reasonably restrict calories, exercise correctly and stay with it for the long haul.
So, I would say YES, at least for the first few weeks. Depending on your goals it may not be necessary to continue forever but it will give you really good insight at first. Hope this helps, Greg
I've been doing it for a pretty long time taking in 2200 calories the main problem with me is that I tend to binge eat because I get such intense food cravings this is really bad I also read on bodybuilding.com that a restricted caloric diet can cause your metabolism to slow down and trust me I know the whole starvation mode thing
Personally, I don't "count" calories persay, as I can't in college. But I do have an idea of how many calories are in things, and try to estimate how many I am taking in during the day. This probably means somedays I am grossly underestimating the number of calories, and other days overestimating, but I at least try. You shouldn't lose all conception of how many you have consumed.
If you do it for a while, you'll get to know the approx cals of the foods you eat. After a while you can gauge things pretty well without counting, so if you don't want to/don't have time to count all the time you can manage without. In that case counting periodically to make sure you stay on track may be a good idea. I normally log everything into fitday, but there are days when I just can't be bothered, but i have a very good idea how many cals i've consumed.
I mean that after a few months of counting you know how to approixmate serving sizes (i.e. you know what a cup of rice looks like, or 150 gr of chicken breast) and you begin to memorize the calories they contain. This especially true if you eat clean and cook your own meals.
I do a rough count daily.
It keeps me on track and conscious of what I'm eating.
As has been suggested, start off with an accurate count until you're sure of the numbers. "The numbers" means proteins, fats and carb's.
You won't have any problem after getting off to a good start!
It doesn't hurt to pay attention to the details.
It keeps me on track and conscious of what I'm eating.
As has been suggested, start off with an accurate count until you're sure of the numbers. "The numbers" means proteins, fats and carb's.
You won't have any problem after getting off to a good start!
It doesn't hurt to pay attention to the details.
simple answer, no, as long as you have an idea of what your doing. If its not working count em.
I agree with Matt, when I started trying to gain weight I had to count calories as my judgement of what I was eating was so poor
Now I don't need to count, I've been regulating my intake for so long it's like second nature
So, if you're confident you know what you're doing then give it a try. If your results aren't what you expected then start counting them
You need to be in a certain calorie range to lose weight. The question is: Can you sort of subconsciously know when you reach that limit without actually weighing and measuring everything? ...or do you eat basically the same things every day and can pretty much tell how many calories you're eating? I suppose some people can. I'd rather rely on hard numbers.
I've been doing it for a pretty long time taking in 2200 calories the main problem with me is that I tend to binge eat because I get such intense food cravings this is really bad I also read on bodybuilding.com that a restricted caloric diet can cause your metabolism to slow down and trust me I know the whole starvation mode thing
Let me first say that I understand what you're going through. The problem with binge eating, and intense food cravings is because you're restricting your food intake. Food is probably on your mind constantly now, which was my problem a while back. And this behavior is perfectly normal, and very hard for someone who hasn't had it before to understand.
The problem is rather simple: you started off with good intentions, you want to lose weight, so you count calories, and it works for a while. After so long of this, you begin to have intense cravings, and begin binge eating behavior - the reason for this is such a drastic life change. I believe the facts state that this happens to about 2/3 of the population who tries to diet - thus the reason why diets (even good diets and not crash diets) have such high failure rates and can happen in a few days of the changed eating behavior or in a few years after the changed eating behavior. You might have already started ways to "burn" off the excess calories by eating less or intense exercise. This is a natural cycle of human. Your body likes what it had, and it's going to fight you to get it. Food is not only for the nourishment of your body, but it's also a method to ease your mind from thinking about it. Sort of a double edge sword: even though you just ate, your body may really want to favor something else.
The solution to this problem is rather simple: throw away your calorie counting behavior, and focus in on food you want to eat. At first, you might feel panic because you think without counting calories and eating the food you like will result in you becoming fat. That might be true initially, but over time, when you finally get a hold of yourself again, you'll find that you can balance eating healthy and eating the food you want. I highly recommend dropping the calories counting behavior before it turns into a serious problem such as a eating disorder.
I also highly recommend this book, which helped me greatly and after reading it, I never had any binges and I've felt better than ever: Intuitive Eating: A Recovery Book For The Chronic Dieter; Rediscover The Pleasures Of Eating And Rebuild Your Body Image by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. This book was recommended to me by another forum member right here. I found this book to be a real gem, but I think a lot of people misunderstand what this book is trying to say. But overall, I think if you read the book, and truly understand what it is trying to say, then you will feel at ease. I know I did and it's only been about 2 months since I've read it.
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I should also say that binge eating behavior is exhibited in starving people as well as people who been away from home for a long time --- not just someone who is "trying to live a healthy life."
A good example, and I'm sure a lot of soldiers can relate to, is that return to home after a long deployment. You begin to miss the food you are accustom to and when you get home, you typically eat all the things you missed but haven't really thought of before. Also, people in post-WW2, who been POWs, employ this behavior due to lack of food - there are numerous researches in this field and the one thing scientists found was that whenever food is restricted or the same food is given daily that isn't part of the person's normal diet, binge eating occurs afterwards and typically food is a constant thought - and even in some cases non-food item is eaten (in those who are starving).
The bottom line is that you shouldn't force yourself not to eat, but don't force yourself to eat. This is a hard concept to master, and the more you think about it, the harder it becomes to do one or the other. Typically, the best way to overcome this, is to first enjoy the things you were once accustom to, and slowly work your way up and eventually you'll begin to follow an automatic 90-10 rule without even thinking about (90% of your diet will be good, healthy food, while the remaining 10% can be considered junk).
A good example, and I'm sure a lot of soldiers can relate to, is that return to home after a long deployment. You begin to miss the food you are accustom to and when you get home, you typically eat all the things you missed but haven't really thought of before. Also, people in post-WW2, who been POWs, employ this behavior due to lack of food - there are numerous researches in this field and the one thing scientists found was that whenever food is restricted or the same food is given daily that isn't part of the person's normal diet, binge eating occurs afterwards and typically food is a constant thought - and even in some cases non-food item is eaten (in those who are starving).
The bottom line is that you shouldn't force yourself not to eat, but don't force yourself to eat. This is a hard concept to master, and the more you think about it, the harder it becomes to do one or the other. Typically, the best way to overcome this, is to first enjoy the things you were once accustom to, and slowly work your way up and eventually you'll begin to follow an automatic 90-10 rule without even thinking about (90% of your diet will be good, healthy food, while the remaining 10% can be considered junk).
No, I'm saying you should enjoy food whenever you wish, however you wish, and for how ever many you wish. The key to weight lost – thus a healthy you - is to enjoy everything you want while keeping in mind of moderation, variety, and balance. When you start thinking stuff like, "Uh-oh, I can't eat this because it has fat in it." You begin to stress out about food and thus the cycle of diet and binge eating and all that other trouble you had resurfaces. You should throw away the method of calorie counting, weight lost, and so fort, and instead concern yourself with the values of health and happiness. When you can achieve this in its pure form, you can maintain your healthy weight, be happy, and enjoy the food you want to enjoy without worrying about how many calories it has, how many fat grams it has, how many of whatever it has.
When you eat something, and afterwards think like this: "Man, that was good and I'm completely satisfied and my hunger has been satisfied." Then you have achieved greatness; something many before you failed to see.
When you eat something, and afterwards (or before) think like this: “Man, I already ate two hours ago, I shouldn’t be hungry, and this has a lot of fat and calories and if I eat it I’m going to never be able to keep this weight off.” Then you have failed to see the truth in yourself, and your failure is the same failure millions before you failed to see.
When your list of good/bad food is: “Good Food: Any food I like. Bad Food: Any food that is rotten or don't like.” Then you have achieved what many could not, and you achieved true health in food.
When your list of good/bad food is: “Good Food: Fat-free, trans-fat free, low calories, etc. Bad: Oily food, candy, cookies, fast food, etc.” Then you have failed to see the truth in yourself, and your failure is the same failure millions before you failed to see.
Note: I’m not saying go crazy and eat every single thing in sight. I’m saying use yourself as a guide to eating, and use yourself to know when you had enough, and use yourself to know when you should or should not be satisfied. If you go to a store and see “fat-free” product and it has the same taste of the regular product you like, then by all means go with the fat free one (ex. Fat free milk vs regular milk). Don’t worry about calories and that deal. Concentrate on working out hard, enjoy eating while keeping in mind of moderation, variety, and balance, and you’ll lead a wonderful rich life happy with yourself, and happy with what you can do.
When you eat something, and afterwards think like this: "Man, that was good and I'm completely satisfied and my hunger has been satisfied." Then you have achieved greatness; something many before you failed to see.
When you eat something, and afterwards (or before) think like this: “Man, I already ate two hours ago, I shouldn’t be hungry, and this has a lot of fat and calories and if I eat it I’m going to never be able to keep this weight off.” Then you have failed to see the truth in yourself, and your failure is the same failure millions before you failed to see.
When your list of good/bad food is: “Good Food: Any food I like. Bad Food: Any food that is rotten or don't like.” Then you have achieved what many could not, and you achieved true health in food.
When your list of good/bad food is: “Good Food: Fat-free, trans-fat free, low calories, etc. Bad: Oily food, candy, cookies, fast food, etc.” Then you have failed to see the truth in yourself, and your failure is the same failure millions before you failed to see.
Note: I’m not saying go crazy and eat every single thing in sight. I’m saying use yourself as a guide to eating, and use yourself to know when you had enough, and use yourself to know when you should or should not be satisfied. If you go to a store and see “fat-free” product and it has the same taste of the regular product you like, then by all means go with the fat free one (ex. Fat free milk vs regular milk). Don’t worry about calories and that deal. Concentrate on working out hard, enjoy eating while keeping in mind of moderation, variety, and balance, and you’ll lead a wonderful rich life happy with yourself, and happy with what you can do.