Does calorie counting work??

hannahxx

Full Member
Hi guys! Iv tried every diet possible ww, sw, cAmbridge etc all to lose weight and gain more but this time I'm determined! I have 7 weeks till I go on holiday. I'm 24 and currently 13.5 and wanna be 12 for my holiday. Iv been on my fitness pal and it says I should be on 1200 a day. I'm planning on doing 2 gym sessions and 2 spin classes a week. Does everyone find they have good weight losses on calorie counting and any good tips on low cal food is greatly appreciated! Thanx guys :)
 
Yes, it definitely works!

It's dieting at its most fundamental - if the calories you eat are less than the calories you burn, your body has to turn to itself to top itself up and burns fat/muscle to keep itself going.

As a former low carber, I found that my weight loss had stalled after losing about 3 stone. I switched to cal counting last month and have since lost about 4lb (though I'm only aiming for 1lb per week/1600 cals per day).

Do you use MyFitnessPal? I've found it's really easy to over/under estimate the amount of cals I eat -it's excellent for keeping you on the straight and narrow!

Good luck.
 
Well this time round I've lost a stone in 5 weeks and am a similar weight? And I've not been horribly strict or particularly exercised a lot :) once you start remembering the cal counts it gets to be a very simple way to diet.

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It may not drop off of you like with CD but by sticking with it, it seems to have worked for me. x
 
The first diet I ever did, many many years ago (about 20 years eeek!!), was the Cambridge Diet. It worked and I lost loads but the minute I went back to normal eating I put it back on again (and more)

I think the best thing with calorie counting is is re-educates you a bit. You automatically opt for the lower calorie choices which are, by nature, healthier.
 
The first diet I ever did, many many years ago (about 20 years eeek!!), was the Cambridge Diet. It worked and I lost loads but the minute I went back to normal eating I put it back on again (and more)

I think the best thing with calorie counting is is re-educates you a bit. You automatically opt for the lower calorie choices which are, by nature, healthier.

That's so true. Calorie counting has made me totally re-evaluate how I view food - in a good way.
 
I think it's the one sure way - if only I could blankety blank stick to my 1200!!! :badmood: :eek:
 
I think its fab and that all other diets are pointless! except cambridge etc can work for some people who want fast weight loss. Great name by the way! all the best people are called hannah ;)
 
Calorie counting is old school! Less calories in than calories out = weight loss! Simple!

I think the trickiest part is deciding upon a practical, healthy calorie intake per day, and sticking to it. It's very easy to set it too low and then go on a crazy food munch two weeks down the line.
 
I do think there are good calories and bad calories. eg biscuits. If you are following cc the majority of your food should be healthy or if you are like me you yo-yo
 
I have been back on track for 2 weeks now and i have lost 3lbs 2oz, my clothes are now feeling looser and got into a pair of trousers i couldn't get into 3 weeks ago :D The best thing is i can eat what i fancy as long as i stay within my calories.
 
I do think there are good calories and bad calories. eg biscuits. If you are following cc the majority of your food should be healthy or if you are like me you yo-yo

I think anything that contains sugar is a bad calorie, what makes it worse is that there is a lot of hidden sugar in foods. I find myself reading ingredients labels - sometimes with a magnifying glass.. :argh:
 
I am kinda following RC and CC at same time.... sticking to 1200 calories a day and tracking them on MFP and last week I lost 4lbs :)
 
I use my fitness pal quite successfully. In the least it's shown me how my calorie intake differs at the weekend!! I had success with ww but didn't like paying for it and find my fitness pal excellent for calorie counting. To reduce my calorie intake I use grated courgette, carrot or finely chopped mushrooms to bulk out mince. I make a lot of non creamy soups to fill me up throughout the day and to boost my intake of veg. I trynot to but the treats that I like to eat then there's no temptation ;) I eat wholemeal everything to try to stay fuller for longer. On a really good week I'll try to avoid diet coke because I think it gives me sweet cravings. I drink a lot of green tea. I try to exercise every day if I can, just 30minutes of jogging, zumba or body combat (from DVD) as I find it keeps me on track and in any case it's good for general health. I don't eat anything fried. Saying all this, I am stuck in a bit if a plateau after losing 3 stone and nearing my goal weight!! Never mind, I feel great for doing it and hopefully those scales will budge soon :-D
 
happyhippo said:
I have been back on track for 2 weeks now and i have lost 3lbs 2oz, my clothes are now feeling looser and got into a pair of trousers i couldn't get into 3 weeks ago :D The best thing is i can eat what i fancy as long as i stay within my calories.

Seconded, I've lost 34lb CCing. I can have a biscuit (not too many!) and alcohol. It's good because you learn what foods are surprisingly calorie-dense (salad dressing, cream cheese, etc) so you're teaching yourself how to make better choices and keep eating healthily.

And the science behind it is 100% solid :D no weird guff about only eating green food, or not eating wheat if you've got blue eyes and were born on a Tuesday, etc.
 
And the science behind it is 100% solid :D no weird guff about only eating green food, or not eating wheat if you've got blue eyes and were born on a Tuesday, etc.[/QUOTE]

Lmao! That is so true and it must be easy cos I've lost 15 lbs so far without too much grief and now hubby is thinking of trying it.
 
I agree with everyone here - I love love love calorie counting. These other diets like WW/SW are just sexed up versions of calorie counting and they charge you 4 a week for the privilege. Lots of people can't get their head around the maths, that's why counting 'syns' or points is much easier for them. Instead of keeping tallies of 1000's in thier heads like us CC'ers, all the need is to is remember a free syns, superspeeds and speeds (SW) or propoints (ww).

I've you're a person of basic health, you will defiantly lose weight on calorie counting. It's foolproof :D
 
personally I keep expecting the magic to end. I've lost as much in the last 6/7 weeks as I did in the previous 10 months or so!
As mentioned, it's amazing that some 'heathly', 'diet' foods are SO high in calories, yet unsatisfying. One of my regular dinners since starting cc is a whole 8" pizza, with massive salad! Leaves me stuffed for hours, no temptation to snack and is well within my cals for the day! Whoda thunk it?!

EDIT - Seven, nearly eight weeks, sorry, and 11lbs down :)
 
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