Counting Calories

[Deleted]

Aug 16, 2012 17:06:21 GMT -5 flopsy said:

Aug 16, 2012 15:00:44 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

I have to cut back on my wine too? Not sure life is worth living right now.

Less beers, more vodka tonics

Exactly!

[chiver78]

I'm with MM, if I count calories (and/or whatever else) I end up making myself crazy. I totally recognize this is partly from being raised by a woman who took some sort of perverse pleasure in seeing how little she could eat in a day, but it still freaks me out when I find myself doing the same thing. so, Tuesday I'm going to start on "paleo" eating. Tuesday, because I've got an out-of-town guest staying through Monday, and our weekend adventures will be decidedly UN-paleo.

anyway, what caught my attention about paleo was something I read in a "beginner's guide to paleo" by someone that had gone through it and was still eating that way as a lifestyle - he didn't have to count calories. he ate when he was hungry, didn't eat when he wasn't, and as long as he stayed paleo, it was fine. that's the sort of thing that is going to work the best for me, with the really poor habits my mom taught me as a kid. YMMV

[weltschmerz]

Angel, I'm short, too. Yep, 5'1".
Weight shows a lot more on us than the tall gals. I keep mine down by eating small portions, LOTS of fruit and veggies and walking, walking, walking.
Counting calories or carbs or points just makes me crazy.

[Jaguar]

Aug 16, 2012 18:33:10 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Angel, I'm short, too. Yep, 5'1".
Weight shows a lot more on us than the tall gals. I keep mine down by eating small portions, LOTS of fruit and veggies and walking, walking, walking.
Counting calories or carbs or points just makes me crazy.

So ~ I'm 4'6

[Deleted]

Chiver but what do you do if you feel hungry all the time? I don't think I could do the Paleo lifestyle. I like pasta, bread, and grains too much.

[chiver78]

this is going to sound a lot more flip that I want it to, but can you ask me that in about a week?

I know that when I cut out or even just cut down on grains in my diet, I am hungry all day long for the first couple days. usually, I end up snacking on fruit to kind of deal with it, but that's one of the things that needs to be limited on paleo b/c of the natural sugars. I think what I'm going to do for next week is to pretty much carry a bag of snap peas around with me and just munch on those. even if I ate the whole bag (which would make me ill.....) it's about 150 calories. they are crunchy and fibrous, so hopefully they do the trick.

I guess the big thing is to make sure you have healthy snacks more easily accessible than junky ones.

FWIW, I wouldn't ever try to eat paleo where you are. that would just be unnecessary torture!

[Deleted]

Aug 12, 2012 0:44:16 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

When you need to lose weight, do you count calories? I need to lose 15 pounds and decided to start tracking my food intake on Livestrong. It says in order to lose 2 pounds a week I can only consume 1080 Calories. That doesn't sound like very much at all!
Yesterday was my first day and I had 1142 Calories. I did also jog/walk/ and burned approx. 88 calories. So I am within the 1080 they said.

I try to watch my portions, eat healthy, etc...but apparently when you eat small portions all day long and you drink wine....you gain weight! Ok in my defense I only gained 5 pounds here. The other 10 I gained in Kansas!

very very bad advice. you should never net below 1200 calories (which means if you eat 1200 and then exercise, you need to eat the calories you burned). also, with only 15 pounds to lose you should be aiming for no more than 1/2 lb per week. At 1080 calories you will be losing lean muscle mass, not fat.

[Deleted]

1/2 pound per week will take me a long time to lose the weight!!!!

As I have stated in the rest of the thread, I have upped my calories to 1200.

[flopsy]

Aug 17, 2012 1:21:21 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

Chiver but what do you do if you feel hungry all the time?

Drink a glass of water and ask yourself if you are really hungry?

[Jaguar]

Aug 17, 2012 11:16:59 GMT -5 flopsy said:

Aug 17, 2012 1:21:21 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

Chiver but what do you do if you feel hungry all the time?

Drink a glass of water and ask yourself if you are really hungry?

~ I drink a 17 oz glass of warm water when I get a craving, it does works to kill the cravings.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2012 11:12:36 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

1/2 pound per week will take me a long time to lose the weight!!!!

As I have stated in the rest of the thread, I have upped my calories to 1200.

yeah, but the slower you lose it, the more chance you have of keeping it off....plus if you lose muscle instead of fat, your metabolism will slow down and the next time you want to lose weight it will be even harder

[chiver78]

Aug 17, 2012 11:16:59 GMT -5 flopsy said:

Aug 17, 2012 1:21:21 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

Chiver but what do you do if you feel hungry all the time?

Drink a glass of water and ask yourself if you are really hungry?

yeah, that too. I forgot that, because I drink close to 2L of water every day anyway.

today, I'm sort of front-loading my calories. I had a veggie-loaded breakfast burrito when I got to work (the caf is pretty decent here, actually) that kept me stuffed for the morning. "lunch" is about a cup and a half of cut up cantaloupe and strawberries. dinner will probably be a bowl of baby spinach with vinaigrette.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2012 11:32:47 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Aug 17, 2012 11:16:59 GMT -5 flopsy said:

Drink a glass of water and ask yourself if you are really hungry?

yeah, that too. I forgot that, because I drink close to 2L of water every day anyway.

today, I'm sort of front-loading my calories. I had a veggie-loaded breakfast burrito when I got to work (the caf is pretty decent here, actually) that kept me stuffed for the morning. "lunch" is about a cup and a half of cut up cantaloupe and strawberries. dinner will probably be a bowl of baby spinach with vinaigrette.

where is your protein?

[chiver78]

the egg and cheese in the burrito, and I might add some grated parm cheese to the spinach "salad". if I opt for Caesar dressing, there is cheese in that too.

I'm not a big meat eater in general, most of my protein comes in dairy or fish. paleo is going to be challenging, but what I'm doing now clearly isn't working. it's time to change it up.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2012 11:37:58 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

the egg and cheese in the burrito, and I might add some grated parm cheese to the spinach "salad". if I opt for Caesar dressing, there is cheese in that too.

I'm not a big meat eater in general, most of my protein comes in dairy or fish. paleo is going to be challenging, but what I'm doing now clearly isn't working. it's time to change it up.

have you tried my fitness pal?

[chiver78]

not that one, but I've tried other tracking sites. I said in my first post that those places make me crazy from the rather unhealthy relationship with food that I was taught as a kid. I know people that have gotten great results from tracking, but to me it's not worth the head trip it sends me on. it takes me longer to recover from the minimalist eating patterns that I end up in than it is worth for whatever weight I might lose.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2012 11:45:47 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

not that one, but I've tried other tracking sites. I said in my first post that those places make me crazy from the rather unhealthy relationship with food that I was taught as a kid. I know people that have gotten great results from tracking, but to me it's not worth the head trip it sends me on. it takes me longer to recover from the minimalist eating patterns that I end up in than it is worth for whatever weight I might lose.

well I think maybe your minimalist eating pattern is the problem. MFP also lets your track your macros so you can make sure you're getting enough protein and fat and whatever else you want to look at. It could also help you with making sure you are eating enough.

[chiver78]

well, I don't start out that way. but when I start tracking, my brain starts wandering into the "how little can I get away with eating today?" mentality my mother still follows. like I said, I know that's not healthy, so I'm finding another option to follow so that I don't think that way. YMMV

[thyme4change]

Less beers, more vodka tonics

Bud light has 110 calories. Tonic has 125 calories. So, skip the tonic - just straight shots of vodka.

Actually, we use the Arrowhead Sparkling water to make tonic drinks. I like the taste better.

[Deleted]

I will skip the beer and vodka tonics and just stick with wine.

[femmefatale]

Message deleted by Femme Fatale.

[Artemis Windsong]

I consider this as helping myself with the available dietary supplements. I have appetite control issues and can be hungry one hour after eating. I had been taking Hoodia before each meal and have now switched to garcinia camboga in the morning. I don't have the need to eat something an hour into golf and have switched to a 100 calorie pack of jerky after 9 holes of golf if I'm golfing 18 holes.

I'm not wanting to gnaw the door handles off my car because I'm so hungry and I feel more relaxed and in control. A lot of times my after golf (or exercise) Silk coconut milk will tide me over until I get home. If I have errands, I bring a peanut butter/honey sandwich on 100% whole wheat 45 calorie bread.

Right now I am not tracking what I eat by logging. I just think about the calorie count before I eat it.

[Deleted]

Yesterday I went over my calories by a few hundred. I went for wine with some friends. 3 glasses of wine and salami on bread appetizer...well it put me over. Ohwell. It was still less than what I was eating before I started tracking.

I am frustrated though. 1 day I will get on the scale and it says 126. The next day I will get on at the same time...131. Next day 129, Next day 133. WTF? This morning it says 131. When is the best time to get an accurate weight? Is it normal for weight to fluctuate that much?

[cranberry49]

Aug 18, 2012 2:34:27 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

Yesterday I went over my calories by a few hundred. I went for wine with some friends. 3 glasses of wine and salami on bread appetizer...well it put me over. Ohwell. It was still less than what I was eating before I started tracking.

I am frustrated though. 1 day I will get on the scale and it says 126. The next day I will get on at the same time...131. Next day 129, Next day 133. WTF? This morning it says 131. When is the best time to get an accurate weight? Is it normal for weight to fluctuate that much?

Your weight will fluctuate throughout the day due to water retention. Ideally, you should weigh yourself no more than once a week-- and do it in the morning. (after you go to the bathroom first) You will drive yourself nuts weighing every day woman!

[Deleted]

I AM going nuts weighing myself! I weigh myself at the same time every morning. It should be going DOWN not all over the place!

So we are getting ready to go to the gym.

[Jaguar]

That's the problem Angel, your weighing yourself every day. Try relaxing and weighing yourself every Saturday morning instead.

[Deleted]

Aug 18, 2012 2:34:27 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

Yesterday I went over my calories by a few hundred. I went for wine with some friends. 3 glasses of wine and salami on bread appetizer...well it put me over. Ohwell. It was still less than what I was eating before I started tracking.

I am frustrated though. 1 day I will get on the scale and it says 126. The next day I will get on at the same time...131. Next day 129, Next day 133. WTF? This morning it says 131. When is the best time to get an accurate weight? Is it normal for weight to fluctuate that much?

once a week or once every 2 weeks. Pick a time, weigh yourself and then put the scale away for a week or 2. Your weight can flucuate up to 5 pounds in a given day.

[Deleted]

Your weight can flucuate up to 5 pounds in a given day.

UGH! But why? That doesn't seem fair!!!

So between breakfast and lunch I had 435 calories. I went to the gym and burned 235 calories between the treadmill and rowing machine. I also did leg lifts and crunches but have no clue how to calculate calories burned so I am only counting what was burned during cardio.

[steph08]

Aug 18, 2012 2:34:27 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

I am frustrated though. 1 day I will get on the scale and it says 126. The next day I will get on at the same time...131. Next day 129, Next day 133. WTF? This morning it says 131. When is the best time to get an accurate weight? Is it normal for weight to fluctuate that much?

You are like my DH. He weighs himself 20 times a day and then gives up on eating right and exercising because he doesn't see any change after two days and 570239 weigh-ins.

I weigh once a week, sometimes less.

[Deleted]

Well it IS frustrating! Not just for you but for us as well. When you are working hard and trying to eat right, it would be nice to see that it is working. When the scale doesn't move,it is frustrating.