Anyone NOT count calories?

I don't count calories at all. I have to count my carbohydrates to know how much insulin to take, so counting calories is just adding another huge layer on. A girl's got to live, so I don't ever pay much attention to the calorie count!

Of course, I *do* pay a ton of attention to the calorie count on my HRM... because it's a nice way to impress people!!! }( }( I told my mom one morning that my calorie count was currently at 1825 (2 hours of running for bootcamp classes) and she started talking about me bingeing... until I told her that was calories BURNED, not calories consumed!!! :7
 
Nice to read this thread... MUCH HEALTHIER outlook :)

The other thread with so many folks knowing the calorie count had me concerned the forum was going back that way.

THANKS Kathryn for starting this thread.

I use to be a MAJOR calorie counter.
 
I can honestly say that I don't count calories, but I do pay attention to calorie count of food items. I have had a weight problem my whole life and have been doing Weight Watchers for the last 20 months, therefore I count points (which factors fiber, calories and fat). My biggest issue is portion control (Doritos come in a single serving bag, right? Just Girl Scout cookies come in single serving boxes?). WW helps me to manage that problem without becoming obsessed with calorie counting.
After joining this forum, I have become very conscientious about clean eating and whether or not what I want to eat (baked cheetos) will give my body the biggest nutritional bang for the point value. I am starting to also explore other eating habits as well (coconut cream/oil, cashew butter, almond butter, raw food, etc) and it's helping me break through a 6 month plateau.

Sorry for the rambling, but I am finding this topic very interesting. Especially since the majority of the people who do not have a weight problem, don't count calories.
 
I don't count either - makes me too obsessive. Because I *have* been obsessive in the past I have a general idea of how much is in what, but I rarely, if ever, look at the calorie count on something. I eat when I'm hungry, treat myself when I want, and get plenty of exercise and movement in my day. Seems to do the trick.

Sparrow


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
I'm not a calorie counter either. BUT, I have done it. LOL! I tried Fitday and was fasinated for a couple of months with calories. I never had a clue how many calories food had in it. It was fun for awhile. Then it got annoying(sp?) But, it did help me learn portion control and serving sizes, and what not to eat of foods I never concidered high calorie! Then, to continue my story, my daughter is in school to be a dietitian(sp?) and they have to learn to use a "Diet analysis" program (basically calorie tracking) so, I'm useing that for a few weeks to help her out. It's been really keeping me on track because I personally CAN'T cheat, and I'm lazy, so I don't eat something because I'm to lazy to enter it (I'll enter 1 chip for example :+) in the program. She, on the other hand, says she cheats and eats something but won't let the program know she ate something bad. LOL! It's a game at this point.

In my real life :p , I just try to eat good healthy food when I'm hungry and eat "junk" food in moderation. I'm not a perfect eater and have no desire to be one. I've never been more than 10lbs over weight.
 
I don't count calories! Life is too short! Of course I could stand to loose 15 lbs, but my DH loves me just the way I am. I"m fit! I found if I really try to count I would binge. I "m happy with me! Very vulumptuous! Renaissance (sp?) woman!
JEn
 
I don't count calories, carbs, or proteins. I eat when I'm hungry, and I eat what my body tells me it wants. Oh, sometimes my body wants something I'm not willing to give it, but that's because of YEARS of eating the wrong foods while I was growing up. The body got used to it, so I've been re-training it for a while now. :7

I was watching a show on FitTV today about a guy who wanted to live his dream of boxing again. He'd gotten way over weight. He worked with a nutritionist and a couple of trainers, exercising about 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. At any rate, the nutritionist had him eating 5-6 big meals per day rather than restrict his calories to lose weight. She said, "Another nutritionist would probably come in here and say, 'Oh, I want to create a calorie deficit to make him lose weight', but that's not how I want to do it." She went on to say that she wanted to feed his metabolic rate by feeding it with lots of veggies, low-sugar fruits, and protein. He was eating something like 8 eggs per day on her diet. AND THE POUNDS LITERALLY MELTED OFF. She was feeding him more food than before, but it was different food, and he ended up losing 31 pounds in 2 months. WOW! He said that he felt like he was eating all the time, and he was never hungry.

I've always said that you need to eat to lose weight, but you've got to eat the good stuff. It's like putting high octane fuel in your car's gas tank. Put high octane food in your own gas tank, so that your body's engine runs at optimum levels of performance!
 
I don't count calories either, however I have kept a food journal for brief periods in the past, like a week or so, when my eating habits have been not-so-good and I needed a baseline to improve them.
 
I go back and forth. But something Kathryn said really struck a chord with me. I went vegetarian for Lent, and made a point of eating only unprocessed for the most part (had an occasional bit of something bad for me, but those were few and far between). I was counting calories at the time. I found I had to eat more, as in a lot more, calories to keep my weight loss under control (it was melting off of me). I stopped counting calories, Lent ended and I went back to my old eating habits. I ate well, but it was more things like Lean Cuisine, etc. Easy to cook, but containing crap. And the weight came back. Well, it shouldn't take a genius (I am a little slow at times) to figure out what I should be doing. So, I'm back to a mostly vegetarian diet. My family eats meat, so I have to cook it and occasionally I will have some, but it's not the main focus of my diet.
 
> I am starting to also explore other
>eating habits as well (coconut cream/oil, cashew butter,
>almond butter, raw food, etc) and it's helping me break
>through a 6 month plateau.

Sounds like we're doing some of the same things!
This summer, I added coconut cream to my diet (just about to make a strawberry/mango plate with a glob of it on! www.livingtreecommunity.com has some delicious stuff!). I'm also trying to stick to high raw (80% or more) for the summer---easy to do with all the fresh foods available), and just picked up some almond butter (raw) and raw tahini. It's helped me change my body composition a bit.
 
> Oh,
>sometimes my body wants something I'm not willing to give it,
>but that's because of YEARS of eating the wrong foods while I
>was growing up. The body got used to it, so I've been
>re-training it for a while now. :7

Yup, when your body says it wants a bag of chips or a half dozen chocolate/mint cookies, that might be time for the mind to come in and exert some discipline (speaking for myself!).
 
>>> It's like putting high
>octane fuel in your car's gas tank. Put high octane food in
>your own gas tank, so that your body's engine runs at optimum
>levels of performance!

I like to think of my body as a Ferrari, a Mercedes, some car you wouldn't put crap fuel in, rather than a junker that you don't care what you put in.
 
I don't. I eat what I want when I want. Most days are healthy, some days might involve a margarita and/or piece of cheesecake. Yesterday was one of those days so today I will more inclined to stick to the healthier foods. I tend to avoid processed foods mainly because of the jacked up sodium content.
 
Me too Melody! I quit drinking coke and started drinking water in January. I exercise to eat what I want. I love food way to much and for the most part we eat decent. I only get weighed once a year at my doctors office. Do not own a scale. I have not had a body fat test done nor do I use a HRM.

beth6395
 
The only time I have ever kept track of my food each day was when I had gestational diabetes with my second DD. It was a lot of work and I want none of that now!!! I just eat (as healthy as I can) when I get hungry and sometimes eat junk. I think one of the main reasons I exercise is so I don't have to count calories!

Mary
 
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