Confused about low carbs

[Rockyroads]

Hey all, Just started this low carb thing. Wondering, if anyone counts calories. If not Why ?????????? Some diets require you to count points, some say calories, now this carbs.

[CindyCRNA]

Oh, I count calories. I think most people do at some point. I think in the beginning it's not as important but as you get closer to your goal, calories do count.

[scandalouslyglam]

I count calories every other day. I am on the alternate day diet, so on my Low days I have to count.

[kissesfromaudra]

I don't count calories. I know I am eating less than I did before the diet. In fact, I might be eating less calories then I should be getting since I have added in exercise. This is the only reason why I would count; to make sure I am getting enough and not messing up my metabolism by going too low. Best thing you can do though is get the book and read it! It will answer so many questions and will help you make your own decisions about counting calories and other little low carb related stuff. Everyone who does their own thing have read the book and have decided from there what was right for them, I think this would be a good thing for you to do as well.

[peanutte]

Best thing you can do though is get the book and read it! It will answer so many questions and will help you make your own decisions about counting calories and other little low carb related stuff.

I agree. It's so much easier and more effective if you are following a particular plan.

[Rick-g]

We all start at a different place, most of us who are/where 100+lbs over weight weren't too concerned with calorie counting, almost any thing would be better than what we did before! As you approach your goal or you stall you might consider the math of eating, intake vs exhaust, in the beginning your main concern should be switching your body to a glycogen/sugar burning machine. Here is a hint sheet I use for newbies. JMO

-As close to zero carbs as you can for 28 days
-Read the lables! If a serving isn't less than 2 carbs-don't eat it!
-Watch your total intake-don't eat more than you need
-Stop eating when your no longer hungry
-If your not losing-stop snacking
- Don't be afraid of fat, it keeps your appetite down
-No sugar-bread-pasta-rice-potato of any kind for 28 days
-No juice or fruits, only green vegetables(except peas)
-Prepare your meals ahead or prepare to fail
-Don't eat ANYTHING after 8:00pm
-Don't cheat! Your only cheating yourself!
-Salads are great but eat a great salad! greens-cheese-
nuts- ham/chicken-sliced boiled egg, make it a meal!
-Make a menu and look forward to it
-Always eat breakfast! If time is a problem bake eggs the night before
and nuke them or have pre-boiled eggs ready (PLAN)
- make the no-noodle lasagna and shepherds pie
and freeze individual portions for a great lunch!
-Cook up some skinless boneless chicken breasts, they freeze and
thaw great.
-Fry up a lb of bacon(cut in small strips) it makes a great add/on to
eggs or salad or in chicken salad.
-Have the food you need to eat in the house and toss the stuff you can't eat!
-Have a bag of pre-shredded cheese in the fridge ready to garnish your meal.

[JuliaL]

If you're doing Atkins there is no need to count calories during induction. Most people do need to count calories eventually. You can't lose weight on a low carb diet if you eat too much - even if what you eat is low carb.

The beauty of low carb is that you can eat more calories on a low carb diet and still lose weight than you can on a typical low fat diet. This is because of the metabolic advantage of ketosis. A recent Duke University study estimated that people on a low carb diet lost weight eating about 300 calories per day more than people on a low fat diet.

Ketosis also helps to control appetite, so most people actually eat less on a low carb diet, even though they are eating higher fat or more calorie-dense foods.

[johnny31]

Originally Posted by Rockyroads

Hey all, Just started this low carb thing. Wondering, if anyone counts calories. If not Why ?????????? Some diets require you to count points, some say calories, now this carbs.

There's really no science behind counting points, is just that having only a certain number of points you can use each day places a limit on the amount of food you are allowed to eat. Counting calories is just the same. You are taking in less calories than you are burning, so the energy deficit should be supplied from somewhere other than your diet and that "somewhere" is fat or muscle or whatever from your body.

Back to Atkins, because I see that's what you're doing. Dr. Atkins told us it is not necessary to count calories. Yet, this does not mean calories don't count. On any diet, if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. However, you have two advantages on Atkins: (1) you are in ketosis, which suppresses your appetite and (2) you have a metabolic advantage, meaning you can eat a few hundred calories more than you could on a high carb diet and still lose weight. Since our appetite is in control and we also have a metabolic advantage, counting calories does not need to be done.

This is the theory at least. I've seen low carbers eating 10 chicken legs for lunch or using 1/2 cup of dressing on 1 cup of salad. I also saw low carbers who keep their daily calories below 800-1000, and then wonder why they feel light-headed, weak and/or don't lose weight. Plus, we are all "taught" to count calories and many of us feel comfortable "knowing" we'll lose weight if we consume less than xyzw calories per day. And, after all, counting calories is easy to do, because they appear on every label and on all (well... most) restaurant menus.

The problem I see with counting calories is that we are not learning how much we need to eat. We know how much we can eat (until our belly is ready to explode) and we know how much we should eat (not more than xyzw calories... while preferably also finishing everything on the plate, because it would be a shame to put that yummy food in the fridge and have it later), but we don't learn anything about what our bodies need.

Confession time: I used to count calories until about 5 weeks ago. I kept "hearing" 2Big and Megs saying it's better to listen to our hunger, but I thought counting calories is "safer". I also knew what Dr. Atkins said about counting calories and his strategies to help us relearn how to eat only to satisfy our hunger, but counting calories was comfy. Anyway, so 5 weeks ago I finally decided to do this calorie business the way it should be done and gave myself 4 weeks to see how it goes. I didn't use ****** (except one day, when a member here asked me how my carbs are spread throughout the day) and only counted net carbs using a (printed) carb counter. In the first days it felt pretty weird and I was worried that I'll "break my neck" in this "crazy" experiment. Then I became more relaxed about it, used the 1/2-plate rule several times, and just did whatever my body was telling me to do. My eating hours got to be all over the place (for e.g., one day I ate at 7 a.m., then at 10 a.m., then had a snack at 12 p.m., but then had to use the 6-hour rule at 6 p.m., and then my last meal was at 10 p.m.) and so did my calories (minimum was 1171 and maximum 2565). But you know what's the best part of this? Usually I lose weight/inches really slowly... but at the end of these 4 weeks I lost over 5 inches! So I'll keep calculating net carbs in my food diary instead of entering everything in ****** --- much easier. I don't know if I'll need to watch my calories as I get closer to goal or if my appetite will adjust naturally to my lower weight, but for the moment "ignoring" calories seems to work.

[Rockyroads]

Thanks all for your advice. Started today. Did pretty well on both carbs and calories. Hope I can keep it up.

[jacksmixedtape]

Depends on how much you have to lose, and how much of an emotional eater you are. I do best counting calories, but if you don't eat mindlessly, you may only need to count carbs.

[jezzie]

That was one of the big selling points of Atkins. Don't have to count calories.

[t_tom_LC]

Originally Posted by JuliaL

You can't lose weight on a low carb diet if you eat too much - even if what you eat is low carb.

B I N G O! Too bad you can't sticky this gem for anyone that wants to start a LC WOE. Calories count whether YOU count them or not

Tom

[Iwantlessofme]

I love not having to count while I am still in the major losing stage!

[hotmama_007]

I log all my food on ****** to better understand how many calories different foods have and get a good idea of how many calories I'm eating overall. I think it's good to be aware of what you're eating in general - I know in the past I have thought things were less caloric or carb heavy than they really are, and many times I thought things were more caloric or more carb heavy than they actually turned out to be. Also, if you're putting away 3500 or more calories a day, even on low carb, and not losing any weight, you know it's probably just too many calories.

[DaffodilSoup]

I do not count calories, and I have lost almost 35 pounds.

[fawn]

I don't count calories but I listen to my body. For me, in the absence of refined foods, my choices are self regulating.

[hotmama_007]

Originally Posted by fawn

I don't count calories but I listen to my body. For me, in the absence of refined foods, my choices are self regulating.

I agree with this wholeheartedly as well as what johnny31 says about listenening to your body and eating more intuitively. And while I think that should be the ultimate goal, I do though think that for many of us, years on the diet rollercoaster has created disbalance in our bodies and minds when it comes to food. So self regulation, for me at least, is difficult to achieve right away. I do think having some information (calories, carb counts) about what you're eating and how it's affecting you, does help create awareness about what you're putting in your mouth.

Fawn and Johnny - I look forward to the day when I can get to where you are but still feel like I have so much to learn about the food choices that I make (even healthy ones).

[sistertzu]

For me in the begining I could eat just low carb without restraint and lose. I am having to cut back on the calories now after 50+lb loss. It is important for me to keep it simple so I don't get burned out because I'm keeping low carb/whole food my life long way of eating. Before lowfat dieting had given me so many health problems. I was always hungry and felt like I was hanging by a thread. Now I am content and not obsessed.

Sis

[JustCallMeAmy]

Originally Posted by Canada_Bound

I do not count calories, and I have lost almost 35 pounds.

same here. i've lost 92lbs so far and haven't counted calories either. that said though, i don't eat huge portions of food either...i'm not witholding food/calories, i just don't have the appetite.

an example of dinner for me would be say:

8 chicken wings
cut up celery & cucumber and a few tbsp of blue cheese for dipping

i eat very calorie dense food, but i don't eat TONS of it. i also probably only eat twice a day with maybe a few nuts or some cheese in between if hunger happens to strike.