Information overload - help!!!

[Montafoley]

I'm new here and I've been surfing around the site trying to collect the information so that I can apply it to my program. I'm a little confused by some of the things I'm reading and could use some clarification.

First - why is calorie deficiency a bad thing? Is this because it puts the body into starvation mode and holds on to the fat?

Second - I'm not calorie counting and am working out quite a bit. I've seen very little progress and I'm wondering if the above is why? When I say I'm not calorie counting, I mean that I'm eating healthy, just not tracking the calories. I try to eat every 2-3 hours which equates to smaller snacks like yogurt in between breakfast and lunch. Do I really need to pay more attention to the calories? The thought of it really turns me off as I'm quite busy and don't want to have to "think" that much when putting a meal together. It's hard enough just trying to get it balanced let alone totalling up to a certain calorie quota.

Someone please point me in the right direction! I'm struggling to see some results!

Thanks.

 

[NothinToLose]

Personally I think that counting calories really does help. Whenever I tried to loose weight without doing so, I failed because I could not track well enough the amount of food I ate. It looked like a small portion of something, but probably ended up being a lot of calories. Also, some healthy foods can pack a large amount of calories.

You not loosing weight could be eating too little and putting your body in starvation mode, BUT it could also be that you're eating more then you think you are, and not creating enough calorie deficit!

I understand being busy, but counting calories only takes a minute or so per meal. Join one of the free sites (spark people or fitday or others) and they will help you track and add up calories for you. After a while it becomes second nature, and you won't even notice it. Another thought on counting calories is that you probably won't need to count them forever. Just as long as it takes to educate yourself on the amounts of certain foods that will put you in your target calorie range. For healthy weight loss, I would not aim for calorie deficit of more then 500 calorie per day(the amount you burn via metabolism and activities minus amount you eat per day)

Another note on exercise... It takes a lot of exercise to burn significant amount of calories. You may burn only about 200 calories in a 40 minute cardio session, and that alone would not make that much difference in the calorie deficit. So the only way to know whether you're undereating or overeating is by counting calories. To me, it is very easy to put extra 200 calories worth of crackers and cheese throughout the day if I am not counting them. At the time it won't seem like anything, but it is unbelievably easy to undo all the calorie burning I've done on the workout.

Hope this helps and did not confuse you any further...

 

[Steve]

A calorie deficit is not a bad thing, and whoever told you that is wrong.

Your body can only lose so much fat at a given rate. Losing more weight beyond this given rate means you are losing more than just fat, i.e. muscle. Losing muscle is not a good thing, ever.

Do you need to count calories to lose weight? No.

Do I recommend you count calories to lose weight? Yes.

Why?

For the same reason why you can't seem to make progress right now. You say you are eating "healthy." I hear so many people say that. When I analyze their diet, I normally find one of two things. One, they have no idea what constitutes healthy. Two, they have no idea what a calorie really is and how quickly they can add up.

So, I doubt you are too busy. I work two jobs, take classes, own a home, have an active social life, and find time to help many people on here each and every day. Yet, I know my caloric intake and I take care of my health.

If you are that turned off by it, I would recommend keeping a food journal and tracking calories for at least a few weeks just so you get an understanding of what kind of intake you are experiencing on your average day. This way, you will have an idea of which direction you have to head in order to start seeing results.

Make sense?