Counting calories..Does it work?

[PrettyLady1]

Hello,

 

So ive been counting all of my calories lately, every sing thing that i eat i record it in this amazing app on my phone. I recently started doing this, no more than a week ago. Has anyone done this and did it work for you? Did you loose a decent amount of weight by just counting calories? And if you could let me know what foods you were eating. I'm only trying to loose about 12-15 pounds. Soon i will be exercising to ensure i really loose the weight, just concerned whether counting calories will be a big help or a waste of time?..

 

Thanks.

[USCGAviator]

I'm in pretty decent shape and I don't waste my time counting calories. I can share some tips with you that may help.

 

1. Never eat till your full but eat a hearty breakfast. I go by the rule: at like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a peasant for dinner.

2. Eat small meals throughout the day (keeps the furnace burning hot)

3. Eat healthy foods (you know whats healthy and what isn't)

4. Find workouts and exercises that work with your schedule whether its at a gym or home. Your more likely to stick to a routine if its convenient and fun.

 

 

Good luck!

[shadowofman]

Problem with counting calories is that not all calories are created equal. It's how your body treats those calories that matters. If your insulin response to a particular food source is to hoard, then you just made fat. Such things like sugar prompt this response.

 

The same number of calories from fat might not provoke such an insulin response. Therefore, those calories will be available for you to use immediately and will not be hoarded.

 

So counting calories might be an interesting exercise in reducing overall intake, but understanding metabolism is more important if you want to eat healthy and regulate intake.

[tman666]

Problem with counting calories is that not all calories are created equal. It's how your body treats those calories that matters. If your insulin response to a particular food source is to hoard, then you just made fat. Such things like sugar prompt this response.

 

All calories ARE equal, once metabolized. A calorie is a constant unit that measures heat energy. You are correct in saying that the metabolizing mechanisms are different for each macronutrient, but painting insulin spiking foods as "fat generating" is not necessarily accurate. As you probably know, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is then stored in muscle tissue and within the liver as glycogen. If muscle and liver glycogen are depleted, then glucose will be "shuttled" to fill those stores first, resulting in no increased fat storage.

 

The same number of calories from fat might not provoke such an insulin response. Therefore, those calories will be available for you to use immediately and will not be hoarded.

 

Fat does not cause an insulin spike. However, dietary fat can easily be stored as adipose tissue when the energy demand for those calories is not present. Dietary fat, once ingested is broken down into free fatty acids within the bloodstream. Since the body's preferred source of energy is carbohydrates, if blood sugar is low (as a result if diminished or depleted glycogen stores), fatty acids can be be used for maintaining energy demands. If the energy demands are not present, then free fatty acids are stored. Blood triglycerides do not rise indefinitely. Therefore, the logic that dietary fat intake can be taken ad libitum without fat gain is false.

 

So counting calories might be an interesting exercise in reducing overall intake, but understanding metabolism is more important if you want to eat healthy and regulate intake.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you here. Hopefully the above comments also illustrate the importance of exercise within the context of optimizing fat loss and other body recomposition goals.

[tman666]

I'm in pretty decent shape and I don't waste my time counting calories. I can share some tips with you that may help.

 

1. Never eat till your full but eat a hearty breakfast. I go by the rule: at like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a peasant for dinner.

2. Eat small meals throughout the day (keeps the furnace burning hot)

3. Eat healthy foods (you know whats healthy and what isn't)

4. Find workouts and exercises that work with your schedule whether its at a gym or home. Your more likely to stick to a routine if its convenient and fun.

 

 

Good luck!

 

Please read this: http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

[USCGAviator]

I don't know tman I'm not convinced. I'm happy, feel good and I'm in great shape. To each his own I guess.

[gaius]

Hello,

 

So ive been counting all of my calories lately, every sing thing that i eat i record it in this amazing app on my phone. I recently started doing this, no more than a week ago. Has anyone done this and did it work for you? Did you loose a decent amount of weight by just counting calories? And if you could let me know what foods you were eating. I'm only trying to loose about 12-15 pounds. Soon i will be exercising to ensure i really loose the weight, just concerned whether counting calories will be a big help or a waste of time?..

 

Thanks.

My buddy Richard lost a ton of weight with the phone app and has been pretty successful in keeping it off. I heard it worked wonders for sarah silverman as well. If you manage to stick to your calorie goals you will start dropping weight.

[Feelin Frisky]

Counting calories will definitely work if you keep within the range of your diet and eat your meals at sensible hours and not close to bed. It's a way to definitely manage yourself if you have weight issues (like my good self).

[ivalm]

Since January I've been working out and "roughly" calorie counting (ie, I restrict total calorie intake without paying attention to calorie sources). I'm a little over 6' and went from 185lb to 162lb. In the first 3 months (ie from beginning January to beginning of April) I went from 185lb to 167lb. The reason I lost only ~5lb in the past month and a half is that I have been steadily increasing the amount of food I'm eating (again, without much paying attention to what I eat), as I want to plateau at 160lb.

 

Moral of the story, I think as long as you do things without "pushing" too much (ie, don't loose more than a pound or two per week) you can do things effectively just through calorie restriction. My overall strength increased while my weight decreased and at no point did I feel uncomfortable/starving/seriously restricted.

Edited May 17, 2011 by ivalm

[D-Lish]

It works for me, and it's how I have managed to stay on the thin side. If I start to gain a little weight, I just restrict my calories and it comes right off again.

 

I am 41, female- and I restrict my calories to under 1200 a day.

[PrettyLady1]

USCGAviator - Thanks for the tips. I love #1 and i just started #4 today! Totally excited.

 

D-Lish - My limit is 1200 a day. I thought i wouldn't be able to handle only 1200 calories but i dont find myself starving or in bad moods or anything like that. Im also watching carbs, protein, sodium, sugar and a few other things. Im getting very used to it.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses. Any good tips or information on nutrition and exercise i can get i am totally loving right now.

[Els]

Please read this: http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

 

Awesome read, thanks! It's refreshing to read weight-loss articles that actually refer to scientific journals and controlled trials instead of perpetuating old folks' tales. Granted I haven't had time to actually check the references - it might be using them in a biased manner - but til I do so, I still see it as a step above the rest.

 

One thing I was always curious about - how long does it take to start seeing results? People always say it takes a couple of weeks for the weight loss to kick in.. but does that really make sense scientifically? Once the body is low on calories, wouldn't it start burning fat for energy relatively quickly?

[shadowofman]

As always tman, you further clarify my statements and correct my inaccuracies. Kudos my friend for the sound knowledge.

[sb129]

I count using a phone app too, and its the only way I have ever been able to successfully lose weight.

 

Exercise is really important- not just for the health benefits, but it gives you extra calories to burn, which I need, as I struggle to keep below 1200, 1400 works far better for me.

[tman666]

Awesome read, thanks! It's refreshing to read weight-loss articles that actually refer to scientific journals and controlled trials instead of perpetuating old folks' tales. Granted I haven't had time to actually check the references - it might be using them in a biased manner - but til I do so, I still see it as a step above the rest.

/QUOTE]

 

While the Martin Berkhan's big thing is his Leangains Intermittent Fasting approach, he, along with a small-ish handful of others have sort of "gone against the grain" of the general fitness industry by looking at the research objectively and utilizing it to dispel some of the dogma that exists within the fitness industry. Truth be told, the fitness/supplement industry tends to be one giant storm of BS.

 

While I would never go as far as to say that anyone (even Martin Berkhan) is above bias, I feel that he does a very good job of objectively presenting relevant and recent studies to support his assertions. He also has a large (and growing) body of anecdotal evidence supporting his assertions in the form of his clients and those who use his methods. He also never purports that his methods are the only way or the best way.

 

QUOTE=Elswyth;3406484]One thing I was always curious about - how long does it take to start seeing results? People always say it takes a couple of weeks for the weight loss to kick in.. but does that really make sense scientifically? Once the body is low on calories, wouldn't it start burning fat for energy relatively quickly?

 

While I'm still learning myself about the subtle intricacies of fat loss, I'll attempt to answer your question:

 

Fat loss (lipolysis) happens when the body has used up liver glycogen stores. Carbohydrates are the body's preferred energy source. Carbs are broken down into a simple sugar called glucose, which is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Once these are gone, the body has to switch fuel sources to maintain metabolic equilibrium. Without this mechanism, you would start experiencing cell death (and eventually, ya know, death) as soon as each cell's supply of energy in the form of glucose was depleted.

 

If this was the case, everyone would have to eat a fairly constant stream of carbohydrate laden food in order to keep from wilting over dead, which from an evolutionary perspective would mean that we would be extinct.

 

Anyway, once glucose is depleted, stored fat is released as free fatty acids into the blood stream. Fatty acids are broken down in a process known as beta oxidation, a side effect of which produces ketones. The liver also breaks down fatty acids into ketones through ketosis. Ketones can be used for energy. This is the process that Ketogentic Diets are based on.

 

As far as when a person might start to see results, it depends on many things. Off the top of my head, the level of energy deficit (either through caloric deficit, thermogenic help, and exercise), water retention, and hormones will have the biggest impacts on how fast one loses fat. When people don't notice changes for a couple of weeks, the likely culprit is water retention. I've personally noticed that fat loss is sort of up and down. Some days I'll look and feel soft, while other days I'll look comparatively shredded. Water weight fluctuations can account for a lot of "weirdness" in the process, which is why I prefer to use the scale sparingly. Periodic progress photos are, in my opinion, a better way to gauge progress in terms of fat loss.

 

It's also harder for women to lose fat because they have a much higher b2-receptors. Now I'm not even going to attempt to fumble my way through trying to explain how exactly that works, so here's another LeanGains article that elaborates: http://www.leangains.com/2010/06/intermittent-fasting-and-stubborn-body.html

 

Really though, the science behind it is fun and important, but the fact is that all the "lab-coating" in the world won't make a person leaner, stronger, or more muscular. Hard/smart work, proper diet strategies, time, and consistency are what account for real results.

[tman666]

As always tman, you further clarify my statements and correct my inaccuracies. Kudos my friend for the sound knowledge.

 

Thanks for letting my geek out on you. Erm.. sorry 'bout that.

[Els]

I've been going consistently below 1600 cal/day the past 3 wks or so and have not lost anything. I think I even gained 1 lb. http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_need_results.htm?start=1&pounds_100=100&pounds_10=20&pounds=5&dpounds_100=100&dpounds_10=10&dpounds=5&years=NaN&inches=61&years=23&page=4 claims I need 1800/day to reach my goal weight slowly without exercise. And I'm even doing some minimal exercise (brisk walking etc). Are calculators completely off the bat or something?

[tman666]

I've been going consistently below 1600 cal/day the past 3 wks or so and have not lost anything. I think I even gained 1 lb. http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_need_results.htm?start=1&pounds_100=100&pounds_10=20&pounds=5&dpounds_100=100&dpounds_10=10&dpounds=5&years=NaN&inches=61&years=23&page=4 claims I need 1800/day to reach my goal weight slowly without exercise. And I'm even doing some minimal exercise (brisk walking etc). Are calculators completely off the bat or something?

 

Do you know how much you were eating before? What's a typical week look like for you in terms of exercise?

 

There comes a point when going lower on calories is counterproductive, not only for health reasons, but also for weight loss. Your metabolism runs hotter with the more calories you take in. After consistently eating too little under your maintenance calories, your body enters sort of a "starvation mode" and slows down its metabolism. This is why it's not advised to make huge cuts to your normal diet when trying to lean out. If you were eating 2,500 calories before, dropping to 1,500 calories would be counterproductive.

 

Eating slightly under maintenance calories+sensible but hard training+time will equal the best results.

 

The best diet is one that you can stick to long term. Also, weight loss tends to happen in "chunks". Some call it the "whoosh" effect. For females, it can be an especially slow process. It's also possible that if you've been training harder lately that you've been gaining muscle. As muscle is more dense than fat, you might find yourself even GAINING scale weight. Check out thread:http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t271903/. Eerie ended up not losing a single pound of scale weight, yet she is finding that her clothes are fitting more loosely.

Edited May 18, 2011 by tman666

[Els]

Probably around 1900-2000 before. I am really small (5'1"), so the recommended intake for weight maintenance is 1800 for my frame.

[Chocolat]

I've been going consistently below 1600 cal/day the past 3 wks or so and have not lost anything. I think I even gained 1 lb. http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_need_results.htm?start=1&pounds_100=100&pounds_10=20&pounds=5&dpounds_100=100&dpounds_10=10&dpounds=5&years=NaN&inches=61&years=23&page=4 claims I need 1800/day to reach my goal weight slowly without exercise. And I'm even doing some minimal exercise (brisk walking etc). Are calculators completely off the bat or something?

 

A lot of the calculators are completely off the bat. I'd recommend logging everything you eat for a week into something like fitday or calorieking (both free). This will establish your actual maintenance level. From there, I'd recommend cutting no more than 20% of calories. Ideally, you'd add exercises (especially some sort of weight bearing exercises) into the mix rather than just cutting calories.

 

Also, many people grossly underestimate how much they are eating. I seem to recall reading a study that said that dieters tend to underestimate calories by as much as 30%. Not saying this is the case for you, but it can happen to some. Logging foods can be vey helpful (and eye-opening). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7730374/Dieters-underestimate-how-many-calories-they-are-eating.html

[Chocolat]

Eating slightly under maintenance calories+sensible but hard training+time will equal the best results.[/b]

 

As muscle is more dense than fat, you might find yourself even GAINING scale weight. Check out thread:http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t271903/. Eerie ended up not losing a single pound of scale weight, yet she is finding that her clothes are fitting more loosely.

 

I weigh more now than I have at any point in my life, but most people underestimate my weight by at least 10 pounds because I carry quite a bit of muscle. I can't say enough about the positive effects of weight-lifting -- it improves strength, bone density (especially important for women), and appearance. You can literally transform your body.

[Els]

Oh, I am keeping a mental count of the calories I am eating now, so that is probably accurate. It's not too difficult since I only eat 3 meals a day and don't snack. You're right in that I may be over/underestimating my calorie intake of before though. I am really eating the same amount, just sticking to less fatty/calorie-rich foods.

[tman666]

Hey, Chocolat! Good to see you sharing your thoughts.

 

Elswyth: Gotta do your resistance training yo!

[tadcrawford]

I would try this thing and see weather it is working with me and weather i m loosing some weight thanks for the information.

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[GrayClouds]

Counting calories will definitely work if you keep within the range of your diet and eat your meals at sensible hours and not close to bed. It's a way to definitely manage yourself if you have weight issues (like my good self).

 

Why does calories magic double the closer you are to a bed?