What exactly is calorie counting?

[Chunkeymonkey]

Im going to swap to calorie counting after I finish on the Cambridge deit but what is calorie counting?

Just counting the calories you put in? Are there any rules to nutrition, e.g. 2000 calories of junk food versus 2000 of a heathly diet wont give you the sam results!

Thanks!

 

[Kaiku]

There has been research into this and people have proved you can loose weight on a diet of junk food if you stick to a caloire limit (which would depend on your weight and level of activities. There are links on the fourm to places to help you find this out and my fitness pal will also workout your calorie goal for you).

So basicly you can eat whatever you like as long as it is within your calore limit you should loose weight. That being said it would benefit you more to try to eat more healthy. I could eat 14 blue ribbon biscuits a day and loose weight but I wouldn't feel very good and I would be very hungry.

Personally I'm doing slimfast with my calorie counting as some days I feel like eating more than others. My dinner is very healthy and packed with veg and normally 1 or 2 of my snacks is fruit... sometimes all 3 snacks are chocolate though lol. Depends if its been a bad day. I guess what I'm saying is try to be good of the time but allow yourself the treats. If you want a 400 calorie muffin have it and count the calories. This is the reason I think CC is working for me

 

[Kaiku]

I can't link you to any of the research on my phone but if you Google something like junk food diet calories, something should pop up.

 

[tranquility]

Personally I find if I eat my daily calories as reduced carbs, protein with every meal I loose weight. When I swapped my system to the recommended healthy high carb low fat diet taking in the same amount of calories the weight piled back on in a matter of weeks.

You do need to base your diet around fruits, veg, protein and unrefined carbs rather than fast food. You still need to give your body the right nutrition to function correctly.

 

[LittleSis]

I've made the mistake of having to many empty calorie!! I have a very sweet tooth!!

Although I've lost weight it's not as steady as I'd like.. So things have to change. Healthier choices with the occasional treat not the other way around

A lot of us use My Fitness Pal. It works out the cals you need to lose weight and you can keep track of your food and exercise on there.

It's really not complicated. Good luck

 

[happyhippo]

I have a sweet tooth and have been having cereal bars from tesco (75cals)and ice poles from Aldi (20cals each) these have been my life saver

 

[Squeezyweezy]

For me I think calorie counting is a complete lifestyle choice. It is something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life, and it has taught me how my body reacts to all different food types.

I use myfitnesspal.com and so do alot of other ccers on here. You enter your stats and it works out how many calories you should be eating per day in order to loose weight. You simply use the food diary to enter all your food for the day, which helps you keep track of everything. You can change the settings to suit you, so it will also count sodium, sat fat, carbs etc too.
Also you can enter your exercise and MFP calculates how many cals you have burned.

It is completley up to you how you choose to eat your calories. That is why I love ccing, and also why I think so many people have so much success doing it. You are in complete control, and NOTHING is out of bounds. If you are having a really stressfull couple of days and need to be a little bit naughty, you can. You don't have to tell yourself that you CAN'T have something, which I find great, because the minute I deny myself something, I just crave it more and more, until I give in then feel utterly guilty!!!

I have been doing this for nearly 2 months now and have learned so much about how my body works, it's fantastic. I know that I am happier and have more energy if I eat my 5 a day.
I know that it's sometimes hard to eat all your calories (trust me on that one), so fruit juice and nuts are a great boost.
I know that you can make your own delicious pizza for under 400 calories.
I know that if I'm having a bad day, I come on minimins and get the most amazing support from my ccing buddies. I know that cadburys mousses (light) are only 60 cals and taste AMAZING!!!!
And, I know that if I want a kebab on a Saturday night, then I can have one, as long as I count it and am completley honest.

 

[Chunkeymonkey]

Thanks guys. I look forward to doing this in a few months!

So what about exercise? Can you eat those calories? If Im lucky I might reach my goal by the time I start so would be looking to maintain or lose weight over a longer period of time. e.g. cut out 100 calories a day.

Also, what if you dont know what calories are in your food, e.g restaurant or take aways.

 

[boggins]

Yes, you should eat back your exercise cals. E.g.

You eat 1200 cals. You burn 300. Your net intake is 900, which is way too low for your body to function normally (since you're not looking to be in ketosis). So you must eat back the 300 cals you burned.

I think of it as a free ticket to more food!

To lose weight slowly but consistently, which seems to be your aim, you want to look at a daily calorie deficit of 300 to 500 a day- ie, you eat 300 to 500 fewer than you need. There are websites which will help you work out your daily calorie burn (what you burn just by existing, if you sat in a chair all day!). You then aim to eat 300 to 500 cals less, taking into account exercise cals burned.

 

[LittleSis]

Caroline g wrote a very good thread regarding eating your exercise calories