Anyone calorie counted and been successful?

[molly29]

Hi All,
I have hit my limit! I am about 5 stone over weight! Its stopping me do so much.
I have tried slimming world and weight watchers.
I find it really difficult to stay motivated. But am planning on calorie counting.
Has anyone done this successfully? I am particularly interested in hearing in people who have lost alot. I don't mind if its slow but i really need to do it.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated....x

I wanted to reply to your post as I am currently calorie counting but feel like I am the only one who does it this "old-fashioned way" rather than some new-fangled diet way.

I had 8 stone to lose and have lost a little over a stone so far. So it is successful but I have to say I am currently feeling quite fed up as it is daunting to have to lose SO MUCH weight.

I worked out that my currently daily calories to maintain this weight is approx 2300 so I am limiting myself to around 1500 each day for a slow but steady weight loss.

I strictly weigh everything and basically keep a running total of calories on a bit of paper through the day.

I eat chocolate pretty much every day but make sure I allow for it in my calories. I eat sugar free jelly and have lots of coffee with sweetener and a splash of skimmed milk as they are basically no calorie options. I bulk out meals with plain steamed veg too.

I try and make sure that my lunch and dinner each have no more than 400 calories in them so this gives me plenty of calories for snacks through the day and in the evening when the kids are in bed.

Personally I think it is the best way to lose weight as you can eat anything and just make adjustments the rest of the day to factor in the calories of what you want. It is totally flexible. Some days I eat healthily all day and others I give in to temptation and have to save calories on the mean meals I have.

I am confident that I will lose the wieght eventually, and I wanted to do calorie counting as I think it is the most sustainable for the future. I have lost weight before and then put it all back on because the way I was eating wasn't a realistic way to live forever. But I can actually see myself counting calories forever as it gives me the freedom to chop and change, eat out, and do what i want as long as I think about the calories in everything. This feels less like "being on a diet" than juct changing how I eat and being careful, which is how I need to be forever.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

I agree with Sticky, it's what I do now and apart from the results, I am far happier for it because I am a foodie and I get miserable if I have a list of things I can't have!

If you can, it's really worth reading "Escape the Diet Trap" by Dr John Briffa, who explains very well why - in the longer term - calorie counting doesn't work.

Here's a bit from his blog which is interesting

I use an app callled myfitnesspal on my phone. It records all calories plus it works out how much you can eat per day in order to loose weight. I'm nearly at 2 and half stone lost. Could do with 4 stone in total so over half way now.

Yes, I am doing thing the slow and steady, old fashioned 'calorie counting and more exercise' way of getting healthy.

I have lost 84 lbs aka six stone over the last two years (plus an healthy pregnancy) and have a further 28 lbs to go.

Like PP said www.myfitnesspal.com is a great free website and phone app to calorie count for you.

I lost 2.5 stones by calorie counting (used the guardianeatright website to help me - it costs but really helped me through the first 6-9 months, then I got fed up). Am not at "ideal" weight but am finding it easy to maintain a healthy BMI by 5:2ing (use MFP for that).
Good luck with it. It is a fantastic feeling to see and feel yourself transformed

Hello! I started 2012 at 210 lbs. I really didn't want to do any diet where I had to exclude or reduce any foods as I hate feeling deprived . I joined (for free) MyFitnessPal and downloaded its app to my phone but I hated the thought of eating MFP's recommended (for me) 1200 calories. So I worked out (via this site) how many calories it took to maintain my 210 lbs and I simply ate at 10-15% of that. So I began eating around 1900 calories. And I started losing - sometimes a lb, then nothing, then 4lbs... I ate whatever I liked including ice dream and crisps - so long as I logged it in MFP and so long as eating them didn't take me over my total allowed calories then I either lost or maintained. By 2013 I was 164lbs. No exercise!

I'm now doing 5:2 intermittent fasting for the health benefits (and exercising) and have lost a further 8lbs. Just 10 more lbs to go. I still use MFP to ensure I don't overshoot my daily calories which are now 500 cals twice a week and my normal 2200 cals the rest of the time.

Calorie counting has worked for me where low-carbing and other diets have failed. It's also taught me healthy, normal portions.

Go for it!

By the way, I no longer eat much junk - generally full fat healthy whole foods cooked at home - my taste buds have shifted. And apart from my fasting days, I'm not starving hungry (how can I be on over 2000 cals a day!). Not sure Biffra had me in mind when he wrote his blog post.

I lost 3 stone by calorie counting. The best bit was when my weight had stayed the same for a couple of weeks and it turned out I wasn't having enough calories. I ate more and the weight loss started again.

I lost 4 stone calorie counting. I logged everything (and I mean everything - splash of milk in coffee, teaspoon of olive oil etc) on MFP. I also took up regular exercise and then kind of ate/ drank the extra calories (sometimes) over the period if a week - these are also recorded in MFP. So by the end of a week I had to 'break even' or be under my weekly target. If I was too high I'd eat less or run more.
It really wasn't miserable and I didn't feel deprived - you get so much motivation as you notice the weight loss. It took me a year and I've maintained it now for 6 months. For the first time in my life I can wear what I like (as in clothes I like not i can get away with anything- I certainly cant!) and I don't hate my body.

There is a fundamental point in the Briffa article that you linked to - the men in the study did lose weight but the problem arose when they went back to eating uncontrollably again.

Clearly those of us who are several stone overweight got here by eating uncontrollably, and eating more calories than we needed. Having achieved weight loss by calorie counting or any other means, if we go back to that level of over-eating then of course we will put weight back on.

It isn't calorie counting that is flawed, it is the notion of "going on a diet" and then "eating normally again" once you hit your target weight.

So basically any diet of any sort doesn't work in the longer term if you don't permanently change your habits.

Calorie counting will help you to lose weight, but then you have to decide how to keep the weight off. These are 2 separate issues to deal with.

I do agree with the point in that article that there is often a clash between food that is healthy and nutritious and food that is low calorie. Maintaining my low calorie diet currently means I choose options that are less nutritious because of the lower calorie count, but right now weight loss is my main focus. If I can lose the weight then it will be a challenge to improve my diet without upping the calories too much.

Ah yes, but the point is that the metabolic rates of those who had been calorie counting dropped disproportionately - so that it was even harder to keep weight off when adjusting to less restrictive calorie levels.

But I also absolutely agree with you. Any diet 'works' if you restrict your calories/carbs/fat - but if you return to eating what you were beforehand, which is what made you fat in the first place then you will re-gain the weight.

I'm currently following a British Heart Foundation programme that has me on 1600 calories a day, but you don't count calories per se, but you have portions of specific food groups you use as you want to feed yourself during the day. You're also encouraged to be active.
On weeks where I have followed it well and done exercise I've easily lost 2lb a week. I've lost 9 pounds so far which I'm pleased with, but there is more to do.
It is fundamental though to change and keep changed the bad diet habits that get you overweight in the first place.

Hi All,
Sorry for the late response! I haven't looked at my computer since original post.
Thank you all so much for your replys. You really have spurred me on!
I think calorie counting is the right way for me personally, but how did you stay motivated? How did you cope with bad days? I know some of you have already written about this and thanks, anyone else?
I really want to have another baby, have a very bad back and i know the weight will not help with another pregnancy, i feel torn between how long it will take to lose the weight and the age gap i will have between a new baby and my other children? Any advice on this? My children are 7 and 3.x

Hi OP. I think eyes on the prize is the biggest motivation and the support from others too. I'm also calorie counting and also on MFP. Logging everything is helping me understand my body and how different foods effect it. It may be the case for some that they can consume their cals in anything but not me everytime I've eaten junk I've gained regardless of if it fits with my goals calorie wise. With MFP you can look back at your diaries and then see where you may have slipped up. I'm not sure if MFP worked my cals out very well. 1680 is a lot so I tend to eat 1400. I'm trying to cut out white carbs & I rarely drink. (that's where my big gains came from) and eat as much protein as I can. Always over MFP goal on that. It's been slow for me. Started mid December but didn't discover MFP til later. I'm 7.5 kg down which isn't even a dress size yet. It's just been trial and error with me and I believe those that tell me slow and steady wins the race.

On this part of the board, visit the Chiefs thread or the MFP thread and you'll find lots of people doing it a similar way, and lots of support. It particularly helps to friend people on MFP as you'll get lots of support.

The way I see it, I got fat eating too much and not exercising enough, so I can't go back to eating that way again ever.

So I am not 'on a diet', diets don't work. I am trying to make better food choices and I have chosen to log my food on MFP which allows me to really look at what I eat. I find the simple act of logging my food intake, helps me think about my food before I eat it.

I aim to meet a weekly calorie goal not a daily one. So several days a week I might go 'over' my calorie guide but 'under' on the other days and I still lose weight.

If I feel the need to eat more one day, I do so with no guilt and make up for it over the following days. No type of food is off limits, though I am trying to reduce portion sizes of the more calorific options. I am also aiming to increase fruit and veg in my diet.

Simply said, I only alter my food intake in ways I know I can keep up forever. I would not last a week on the restrictive or low calorie plans I see around.

I followed my healthy eating plan throughout my last pregnancy with my midwife blessing. I only put on 8lbs and lost 2 stone within two weeks of giving birth.

Good luck OP :)

Thanks so much again everyone, really good advice. My downfall is working shifts and comfort eating, not passing the blame but they are my weak moments .x

As Double said come and join the Chiefs

We're all on MFP, all have different calorie goals, different amounts to lose and we're all losing at different speeds but we're getting there.

Absolutely agree that non judgemental support is the most underrated diet tool ever.

Come and join us, the more the merrier!