Weighing in on calorie counting

After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing all the
advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to put in my 2
cents.
Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure for me and
I'm guessing many others over the years. I came to Atkins and lo-carb
dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost in 1997. At that
time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost it quickly and what for
me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone down to 210, regained 20 and
had settled in at 230 for quite a few years. The lion's share of what I
regained all came back over the past year or so. The reason I regained it is
two-fold. First, I had to stop excercising the way I had been. That way
being 6 days a week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery put
an abrupt end to it. The second reason is that I began indulging in what had
become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and increase
green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will lose some weight.
Even with no other changes. After induction, counting every little carb or
counting the calories in roasted chicken all seems like a collosal waste of
time to me. The beauty of the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss
easy for someone like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.
A plateau is normal. I know I've freaked over a stall and done so on this
NG. On thinking about it, it's because the last time I lost a lot of weight
I lost 5-8 pounds every week with no stalls. It was phenomenal. The other
man in the group and I were losing like that while the women were struggling
to lose 2 pounds. So I became spoiled.
I'm still stuck on this plateau, but I know that's all it is. A plateau. If
I continue to resist the junk, I will lose the weight. No calorie counting,
no fitday. Whether the reason for the weight loss is lower calories or
something to do with insulin resistance, is not improtant to me. I believe
that's why Atkins came out with a simplified version of the book that goes
light on the science.
I'm writing this to offer support for all of those who post and are told to
go to fitday and track calories, but like me are not interested in doing
that. Try cutting back on what you KNOW are the wrong foods. Eat when you're
hungry, stop when you're full. Re-read the forbidden food list if you're on
Atkins. It really is very simple and, on Atkins, very satisfying.
Just MHO.
--
Bear
Grrrrrrrrrrrr )
297/271/210
Highest weight 353
http://home.earthlink.net/~polarbear50/index.html

In article .net,
"Bear" wrote:

After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing all the
advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to put in my 2
cents.
Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure for me and
I'm guessing many others over the years. I came to Atkins and lo-carb
dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost in 1997. At that
time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost it quickly and what for
me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone down to 210, regained 20 and
had settled in at 230 for quite a few years. The lion's share of what I
regained all came back over the past year or so. The reason I regained it is
two-fold. First, I had to stop excercising the way I had been. That way
being 6 days a week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery put
an abrupt end to it. The second reason is that I began indulging in what had
become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and increase
green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will lose some weight.
Even with no other changes. After induction, counting every little carb or
counting the calories in roasted chicken all seems like a collosal waste of
time to me. The beauty of the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss
easy for someone like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.
A plateau is normal. I know I've freaked over a stall and done so on this
NG. On thinking about it, it's because the last time I lost a lot of weight
I lost 5-8 pounds every week with no stalls. It was phenomenal. The other
man in the group and I were losing like that while the women were struggling
to lose 2 pounds. So I became spoiled.
I'm still stuck on this plateau, but I know that's all it is. A plateau. If
I continue to resist the junk, I will lose the weight. No calorie counting,
no fitday. Whether the reason for the weight loss is lower calories or
something to do with insulin resistance, is not improtant to me. I believe
that's why Atkins came out with a simplified version of the book that goes
light on the science.
I'm writing this to offer support for all of those who post and are told to
go to fitday and track calories, but like me are not interested in doing
that. Try cutting back on what you KNOW are the wrong foods. Eat when you're
hungry, stop when you're full. Re-read the forbidden food list if you're on
Atkins. It really is very simple and, on Atkins, very satisfying.
Just MHO.

Your plateau - how long has it lasted? If I stall for a month or so, no
biggie. In fact, I'm in a little stall right now. But if it continues for
a few more months, you damn well bet I'm going to eat fewer calories. If
you don't want to count calories, that is okey dokey, but for people who
have been stuck for several months, are already exercising regularly,
getting enough water, etc, do you think that "ignore calories" would still
be good advice?

Also, calorie counting is not just a tool to lose weight, it can also be a
reality check. If, say, someone is at 120 pounds and they want to weigh
110, and they find that the only way the scale moves is if they go
ultra-low-calorie, like 500 a day, then maybe that will be a wake-up call
that 110 pounds is unrealistic and unhealthy for their body.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

Bear wrote:
:: After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing
:: all the advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to
:: put in my 2 cents.

Everyone is entitled, imo.

:: Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure
:: for me and I'm guessing many others over the years.

IMO, diets don't fail. The people following them do. Most any reasonable
diet plan will yield results, but the main reason for failure, is people
stop following them. For me, LF was simply hard to follow forever because I
had a huge appetite and the food was relatively tasteless and obviosly high
carb.


I came to Atkins
:: and lo-carb dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost
:: in 1997. At that time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost
:: it quickly and what for me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone
:: down to 210, regained 20 and had settled in at 230 for quite a few
:: years. The lion's share of what I regained all came back over the
:: past year or so. The reason I regained it is two-fold. First, I had
:: to stop excercising the way I had been. That way being 6 days a
:: week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery put an
:: abrupt end to it.

Yep. IMO, the main reason you planed worked is because 1) you were heavy,
and 2) you exercised a lot. Hence, your plan was heavily based on burning
calories via exercise. IME, the best plan is to learn to control intake
first, and use exercise as a boost. That way, if you have to stop
exercising, you can still maintain a reasonable eating plan. Hence, you
should be able to maintain weight WITHOUT exercise, even though that is far
from an optimal situation (it may still be the best thing to do)

The second reason is that I began indulging in
:: what had become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
:: If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and
:: increase green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will
:: lose some weight. Even with no other changes. After induction,
:: counting every little carb or counting the calories in roasted
:: chicken all seems like a collosal waste of time to me.

It's your cup of tea. Enjoy it as you see fit.

The beauty of
:: the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss easy for someone
:: like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.

Sure, but you can still overeat other, approved-list foods. The fact is,
people like to eat. I know I do. And where high fat food is concerned, it
is easy to consume a lot of calories in a very short time.

:: A plateau is normal. I know I've freaked over a stall and done so on
:: this NG. On thinking about it, it's because the last time I lost a
:: lot of weight I lost 5-8 pounds every week with no stalls.

Yep...and you regained it. Fast weight loss typically leads to that very
result.

It was
:: phenomenal. The other man in the group and I were losing like that
:: while the women were struggling to lose 2 pounds. So I became
:: spoiled.
:: I'm still stuck on this plateau, but I know that's all it is. A
:: plateau. If I continue to resist the junk, I will lose the weight.

How do you know that for sure?

:: No calorie counting, no fitday.

Well, I can tell you how to lose weight without counting and using fitday.
Just make sure you're hungry before every meal (speaking in term of being on
LC now). That means you wake up hungry, you're hungry before lunch, and
your hungry before dinner. You can even do several smaller means per day as
long as you make sure you get hungry before eating again. You won't have to
count anything. The problem is though, you may get really really hungry if
you undereat by too much. That can make you end up on a binge (the obvious
solution is to have another small meal). By associating calories in with
what you weigh and how your body reacts to that calorie level, you can
better clue in on what how much to eat.

Whether the reason for the weight
:: loss is lower calories or something to do with insulin resistance,
:: is not improtant to me.

okay....but understanding what's needed to lose weight ought to be.

I believe that's why Atkins came out with a
:: simplified version of the book that goes light on the science.

Well, he realized it had to be simple. But that doesn't mean it was
perfect.

:: I'm writing this to offer support for all of those who post and are
:: told to go to fitday and track calories, but like me are not
:: interested in doing that. Try cutting back on what you KNOW are the
:: wrong foods.

But many of these people report, over and over, that they are eating the
right foods. And many of them are exercising too. So if all they are doing
is eating the right foods and limiting carbs, they perhaps they feel they
can wolf down as much steak as they like.

:: Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full.

But what does full mean? Does it have the same meaning for you as it does
for me? And what if I eat faster than you? Will I notice that I'm full
before you do?

The bottom line comes down to this: if you weight loss has stopped and
you're unhappy about that, then you have to take things to the next level.

The reason I started counting everything is because I got tired of
"hit-and-miss" weight loss.


Re-read
:: the forbidden food list if you're on Atkins. It really is very
:: simple and, on Atkins, very satisfying.
:: Just MHO.
:: --
:: Bear
:: Grrrrrrrrrrrr )
:: 297/271/210
:: Highest weight 353
:: http://home.earthlink.net/~polarbear50/index.html

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
Bear wrote:
:: After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing
:: all the advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to
:: put in my 2 cents.

Everyone is entitled, imo.

Thanks.

:: Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure
:: for me and I'm guessing many others over the years.

IMO, diets don't fail. The people following them do. Most any reasonable
diet plan will yield results, but the main reason for failure, is people
stop following them. For me, LF was simply hard to follow forever because
I
had a huge appetite and the food was relatively tasteless and obviosly
high
carb.


I disagree. The diet industry has failed people.

I came to Atkins
:: and lo-carb dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost
:: in 1997. At that time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost
:: it quickly and what for me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone
:: down to 210, regained 20 and had settled in at 230 for quite a few
:: years. The lion's share of what I regained all came back over the
:: past year or so. The reason I regained it is two-fold. First, I had
:: to stop excercising the way I had been. That way being 6 days a
:: week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery put an
:: abrupt end to it.

Yep. IMO, the main reason you planed worked is because 1) you were heavy,
and 2) you exercised a lot. Hence, your plan was heavily based on burning
calories via exercise. IME, the best plan is to learn to control intake
first, and use exercise as a boost. That way, if you have to stop
exercising, you can still maintain a reasonable eating plan. Hence, you
should be able to maintain weight WITHOUT exercise, even though that is
far
from an optimal situation (it may still be the best thing to do)

Odd coming from you. You stress excercise more than anyone on this NG. Also,
I had to lose a lot of weight first. I was not even able to walk a block at
first. It was the combination of discontinuing the excercise and eating the
wrong foods.


The second reason is that I began indulging in
:: what had become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
:: If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and
:: increase green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will
:: lose some weight. Even with no other changes. After induction,
:: counting every little carb or counting the calories in roasted
:: chicken all seems like a collosal waste of time to me.

It's your cup of tea. Enjoy it as you see fit.

The beauty of
:: the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss easy for someone
:: like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.

Sure, but you can still overeat other, approved-list foods. The fact is,
people like to eat. I know I do. And where high fat food is concerned,
it
is easy to consume a lot of calories in a very short time.

Of course one can, but it's less likely. When was the last time you sat
around and ate a bag of steaks? How about potato chips? Which one is easier
to do?


:: A plateau is normal. I know I've freaked over a stall and done so on
:: this NG. On thinking about it, it's because the last time I lost a
:: lot of weight I lost 5-8 pounds every week with no stalls.

Yep...and you regained it. Fast weight loss typically leads to that very
result.


Unfair. I only gained a portion after keeping it off for 4+ years. Also, I
continued to lose after stopping the diet. When I stopped I weighed 250, the
next 40 were lost just watching what I ate. Settling in at 230 was fine for
me. I'm a big man. My wrists are 7.5 inches for god sake.

It was
:: phenomenal. The other man in the group and I were losing like that
:: while the women were struggling to lose 2 pounds. So I became
:: spoiled.
:: I'm still stuck on this plateau, but I know that's all it is. A
:: plateau. If I continue to resist the junk, I will lose the weight.

How do you know that for sure?


It's called common sense.

:: No calorie counting, no fitday.

Well, I can tell you how to lose weight without counting and using fitday.
Just make sure you're hungry before every meal (speaking in term of being
on
LC now). That means you wake up hungry, you're hungry before lunch, and
your hungry before dinner. You can even do several smaller means per day
as
long as you make sure you get hungry before eating again. You won't have
to
count anything. The problem is though, you may get really really hungry if
you undereat by too much. That can make you end up on a binge (the
obvious
solution is to have another small meal). By associating calories in with
what you weigh and how your body reacts to that calorie level, you can
better clue in on what how much to eat.

I eat plenty and I'm losing fine. I'm never hungry because I don't eat 3 big
meals but 6 smaller ones. I never binge and never have. I gained becuase I
ate and drank crap.


Whether the reason for the weight
:: loss is lower calories or something to do with insulin resistance,
:: is not improtant to me.

okay....but understanding what's needed to lose weight ought to be.

The common wisdom when I was growing up (thin by the way) was if you want to
lose weight, stop eating starches like bread, pasta, and stop eating sweets.
We didn't need to understand any more than that. It worked.


I believe that's why Atkins came out with a
:: simplified version of the book that goes light on the science.

Well, he realized it had to be simple. But that doesn't mean it was
perfect.

Nothing is perfect.


:: I'm writing this to offer support for all of those who post and are
:: told to go to fitday and track calories, but like me are not
:: interested in doing that. Try cutting back on what you KNOW are the
:: wrong foods.

But many of these people report, over and over, that they are eating the
right foods. And many of them are exercising too. So if all they are
doing
is eating the right foods and limiting carbs, they perhaps they feel they
can wolf down as much steak as they like.

If they're woofing down steak they are not following Atkins.


:: Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full.

But what does full mean? Does it have the same meaning for you as it does
for me? And what if I eat faster than you? Will I notice that I'm full
before you do?

Full is full. If you don't know when you feel full, seek medical help.


The bottom line comes down to this: if you weight loss has stopped and
you're unhappy about that, then you have to take things to the next level.

The reason I started counting everything is because I got tired of
"hit-and-miss" weight loss.


If you're unhappy about you're weight, and you are clearly overweight, you
must do something about it. If you're unhappy about you're weight because
you don't look like a model, you may not be overweight in the first place.
Body size's vary and always will. God doesn't use cookie cutters.
It all boils down to common sense. Once again, IMHO.

--
-Bear
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr : o)

297/271/210

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 16:57:03 GMT, Bear wrote:




"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
Bear wrote:
:: After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing
:: all the advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to
:: put in my 2 cents.

Everyone is entitled, imo.

Thanks.

:: Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure
:: for me and I'm guessing many others over the years.

IMO, diets don't fail. The people following them do. Most any
reasonable
diet plan will yield results, but the main reason for failure, is people
stop following them. For me, LF was simply hard to follow forever
because
I
had a huge appetite and the food was relatively tasteless and obviosly
high
carb.


I disagree. The diet industry has failed people.

I came to Atkins
:: and lo-carb dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost
:: in 1997. At that time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost
:: it quickly and what for me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone
:: down to 210, regained 20 and had settled in at 230 for quite a few
:: years. The lion's share of what I regained all came back over the
:: past year or so. The reason I regained it is two-fold. First, I had
:: to stop excercising the way I had been. That way being 6 days a
:: week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery put an
:: abrupt end to it.

Yep. IMO, the main reason you planed worked is because 1) you were
heavy,
and 2) you exercised a lot. Hence, your plan was heavily based on
burning
calories via exercise. IME, the best plan is to learn to control intake
first, and use exercise as a boost. That way, if you have to stop
exercising, you can still maintain a reasonable eating plan. Hence, you
should be able to maintain weight WITHOUT exercise, even though that is
far
from an optimal situation (it may still be the best thing to do)

Odd coming from you. You stress excercise more than anyone on this NG.
Also,
I had to lose a lot of weight first. I was not even able to walk a block
at
first. It was the combination of discontinuing the excercise and eating
the
wrong foods.


The second reason is that I began indulging in
:: what had become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
:: If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and
:: increase green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will
:: lose some weight. Even with no other changes. After induction,
:: counting every little carb or counting the calories in roasted
:: chicken all seems like a collosal waste of time to me.

It's your cup of tea. Enjoy it as you see fit.

The beauty of
:: the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss easy for someone
:: like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.

Sure, but you can still overeat other, approved-list foods. The fact is,
people like to eat. I know I do. And where high fat food is concerned,
it
is easy to consume a lot of calories in a very short time.

Of course one can, but it's less likely. When was the last time you sat
around and ate a bag of steaks? How about potato chips? Which one is
easier
to do?


Why is this, anyway? I used to eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's, along with
an entire pizza, both of which are loaded with fat. I understand the high
carb aspect of things, but it's strange to me that I can eat one thing
filled with fat and carbs and have cravings a short time later, yet eat
nuts (or something similar) with the same or more fat content but lower
carbs and not have any cravings later. It's because of this that I don't
believe "a calorie is a calorie is a calorie." However, I do believe that
calories count.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

Just to clarify what I'm saying: I believe that calories count. I'm not sure
we all need to count calories.

--
-Bear
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr : o)

297/271/210
"Bob in CT" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 16:57:03 GMT, Bear wrote:




"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
Bear wrote:
:: After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing
:: all the advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to
:: put in my 2 cents.

Everyone is entitled, imo.

Thanks.

:: Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure
:: for me and I'm guessing many others over the years.

IMO, diets don't fail. The people following them do. Most any
reasonable
diet plan will yield results, but the main reason for failure, is
people
stop following them. For me, LF was simply hard to follow forever
because
I
had a huge appetite and the food was relatively tasteless and obviosly
high
carb.


I disagree. The diet industry has failed people.

I came to Atkins
:: and lo-carb dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost
:: in 1997. At that time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost
:: it quickly and what for me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone
:: down to 210, regained 20 and had settled in at 230 for quite a few
:: years. The lion's share of what I regained all came back over the
:: past year or so. The reason I regained it is two-fold. First, I had
:: to stop excercising the way I had been. That way being 6 days a
:: week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery put an
:: abrupt end to it.

Yep. IMO, the main reason you planed worked is because 1) you were
heavy,
and 2) you exercised a lot. Hence, your plan was heavily based on
burning
calories via exercise. IME, the best plan is to learn to control
intake
first, and use exercise as a boost. That way, if you have to stop
exercising, you can still maintain a reasonable eating plan. Hence,
you
should be able to maintain weight WITHOUT exercise, even though that is
far
from an optimal situation (it may still be the best thing to do)

Odd coming from you. You stress excercise more than anyone on this NG.
Also,
I had to lose a lot of weight first. I was not even able to walk a block
at
first. It was the combination of discontinuing the excercise and eating
the
wrong foods.


The second reason is that I began indulging in
:: what had become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
:: If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and
:: increase green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will
:: lose some weight. Even with no other changes. After induction,
:: counting every little carb or counting the calories in roasted
:: chicken all seems like a collosal waste of time to me.

It's your cup of tea. Enjoy it as you see fit.

The beauty of
:: the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss easy for someone
:: like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.

Sure, but you can still overeat other, approved-list foods. The fact
is,
people like to eat. I know I do. And where high fat food is
concerned,
it
is easy to consume a lot of calories in a very short time.

Of course one can, but it's less likely. When was the last time you sat
around and ate a bag of steaks? How about potato chips? Which one is
easier
to do?


Why is this, anyway? I used to eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's, along with
an entire pizza, both of which are loaded with fat. I understand the high
carb aspect of things, but it's strange to me that I can eat one thing
filled with fat and carbs and have cravings a short time later, yet eat
nuts (or something similar) with the same or more fat content but lower
carbs and not have any cravings later. It's because of this that I don't
believe "a calorie is a calorie is a calorie." However, I do believe that
calories count.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

Bob in CT wrote:
:: On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 16:57:03 GMT, Bear
:: wrote:
::
:::
:::
:::
::: "Roger Zoul" wrote in message
::: ...
:::: Bear wrote:
:::::: After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and
:::::: seeing all the advice about about it and using fitday, I feel
:::::: compelled to put in my 2 cents.
::::
:::: Everyone is entitled, imo.
:::
::: Thanks.
::::
:::::: Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure
:::::: for me and I'm guessing many others over the years.
::::
:::: IMO, diets don't fail. The people following them do. Most any
:::: reasonable
:::: diet plan will yield results, but the main reason for failure, is
:::: people stop following them. For me, LF was simply hard to follow
:::: forever because
::: I
:::: had a huge appetite and the food was relatively tasteless and
:::: obviosly high carb.
::::
:::
::: I disagree. The diet industry has failed people.

Nope....no diet will work if it is not followed.

:::
:::: I came to Atkins
:::::: and lo-carb dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I
:::::: lost in 1997. At that time I had lost all of the weight on a
:::::: PSMF. I lost it quickly and what for me was easily, in about 6
:::::: months. I had gone down to 210, regained 20 and had settled in
:::::: at 230 for quite a few years. The lion's share of what I
:::::: regained all came back over the past year or so. The reason I
:::::: regained it is two-fold. First, I had to stop excercising the
:::::: way I had been. That way being 6 days a week, aerobic and weight
:::::: training. I loved it but surgery put an abrupt end to it.
::::
:::: Yep. IMO, the main reason you planed worked is because 1) you were
:::: heavy,
:::: and 2) you exercised a lot. Hence, your plan was heavily based on
:::: burning
:::: calories via exercise. IME, the best plan is to learn to control
:::: intake first, and use exercise as a boost. That way, if you have
:::: to stop exercising, you can still maintain a reasonable eating
:::: plan. Hence, you should be able to maintain weight WITHOUT
:::: exercise, even though that is far from an optimal situation (it
:::: may still be the best thing to do)
:::
::: Odd coming from you. You stress excercise more than anyone on this
::: NG.

Exercise is important. Period. However, it is not the key thing for weight
loss. Diet is. I can easily out eat what I can exercise off.

Also,
::: I had to lose a lot of weight first. I was not even able to walk a
::: block at
::: first. It was the combination of discontinuing the excercise and
::: eating the
::: wrong foods.

Same thing happened to me. First, quit exercising, then stopped eating
well. I maintain that the reason for this is my whole weight control notion
at the time was based on exercise - being heavy I could burn a lot of
calories. If I did that, then I would eat properly. Now, I eat properly
first, and exercise for further benefit. The difference is in the way of
thinking about it, not in terms of what you do.


:::
::::
:::: The second reason is that I began indulging in
:::::: what had become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
:::::: If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and
:::::: increase green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one
:::::: will lose some weight. Even with no other changes. After
:::::: induction, counting every little carb or counting the calories
:::::: in roasted chicken all seems like a collosal waste of time to me.
::::
:::: It's your cup of tea. Enjoy it as you see fit.
::::
:::: The beauty of
:::::: the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight loss easy for
:::::: someone like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.
::::
:::: Sure, but you can still overeat other, approved-list foods. The
:::: fact is, people like to eat. I know I do. And where high fat
:::: food is concerned, it is easy to consume a lot of calories in a
:::: very short time.
:::
::: Of course one can, but it's less likely. When was the last time you
::: sat around and ate a bag of steaks? How about potato chips? Which
::: one is easier
::: to do?

It's less likely? What are you comparing to, here? You don't have to eat a
bag of steaks to prevent weight loss.....we're not talking about gaining
weight, we're talking about not losing weight. And beside, put up a large
bag of nuts and I'll show you how easy it is to pack away lots of low-carb
food quickly. And give me some tasty ribs that are cooked just right, and I
show you how to pack away some ribs very quickly.

:::
::
:: Why is this, anyway? I used to eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's, along
:: with an entire pizza, both of which are loaded with fat. I
:: understand the high carb aspect of things, but it's strange to me
:: that I can eat one thing filled with fat and carbs and have cravings
:: a short time later, yet eat nuts (or something similar) with the
:: same or more fat content but lower carbs and not have any cravings
:: later. It's because of this that I don't believe "a calorie is a
:: calorie is a calorie." However, I do believe that calories count.

Damn! I meant to reply to Bear's post, not your Bob. Crap...I ain't doing
this again.....


::
:: --
:: Bob in CT
:: Remove ".x" to reply

"Roger Zoul" writes:
Exercise is important. Period. However, it is not the key thing for weight
loss. Diet is. I can easily out eat what I can exercise off.

They give a good example of this in The Hackers Diet. They something
like "You can spend the next half hour on the treadmill, or just not
eat that Snickers bar. Your choice."

I think the key here is reasonability and functionality.

I use www.fitday.com as a tool to help me manage my controlled carbohydrate
eating.

I do this to use it as a training tool to teach me new eating habits.

My motto is "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it."

My goal is to develop and sustain a new way of eating, to develop
"automatic" "subconscious" healthy eating habits by re-enforcing "workable"
habits.

I do this using www.fitday.com to track calories, total fat, saturated fat,
carbohydrates, and protein.

The standard that I use is, I think, consistent with the Atkins advisories.

My statistics are 203/156/145

Calories: min - 1560 max 1872 (based upon min = 10 x current weight and max
= 12 x current weight)

Total fat: min 130 grams max 156 grams (based on fat intake being 75% of
caloric intake)

Saturated fat min 35 grams max 42 grams (based on saturated fat intake being
20% of total caloric intake)

net carbs min 20 grams max 24 grams (based on net carbs being 5 % of total
caloric intake)

protein min 78 grams max 94 grams (based on protein being 20% of total
caloric intake)

So you see ... my entire formula base ... my whole tracking system is based
on caloric intake ... which is based on current weight.

As my weight changes ... so does my parameters for calories, fat, saturated
fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

I noticed that it is important to keep protein input under control because
58% of protein converts to blood glucose (hope I said that right).

Anyway ... as you can see ... within the guidelines of eating THE WAY Atkins
recommends, I use calorie intake to measure and monitor my daily
performance.

Placid
203/156/145

P.S. My biggest problem is that my nightly medications make me hungry and it
is not uncommon for me to eat half of my caloric intake in the last two
hours of the day. I am trying desperately to correct this very bad
problem/habit.

Happy low-carbing!

Placid

"Bear" wrote in message
link.net...
After reading the threads dealing with counting calories and seeing all
the
advice about about it and using fitday, I feel compelled to put in my 2
cents.
Diets that rely on calorie counting have been a miserable failure for me
and
I'm guessing many others over the years. I came to Atkins and lo-carb
dieting after regaining 67 of the 143 pounds that I lost in 1997. At that
time I had lost all of the weight on a PSMF. I lost it quickly and what
for
me was easily, in about 6 months. I had gone down to 210, regained 20 and
had settled in at 230 for quite a few years. The lion's share of what I
regained all came back over the past year or so. The reason I regained it
is
two-fold. First, I had to stop excercising the way I had been. That way
being 6 days a week, aerobic and weight training. I loved it but surgery
put
an abrupt end to it. The second reason is that I began indulging in what
had
become (Let's Examine The Calorie Myth, pg 9, 1992 ed.)
If all one does is cut out the refined carbs, excess alcohol, and increase
green veggies and salad, it's almost certain that one will lose some
weight.
Even with no other changes. After induction, counting every little carb or
counting the calories in roasted chicken all seems like a collosal waste
of
time to me. The beauty of the Atkins diet to me is that it makes weight
loss
easy for someone like me. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no sweets.
A plateau is normal. I know I've freaked over a stall and done so on this
NG. On thinking about it, it's because the last time I lost a lot of
weight
I lost 5-8 pounds every week with no stalls. It was phenomenal. The other
man in the group and I were losing like that while the women were
struggling
to lose 2 pounds. So I became spoiled.
I'm still stuck on this plateau, but I know that's all it is. A plateau.
If
I continue to resist the junk, I will lose the weight. No calorie
counting,
no fitday. Whether the reason for the weight loss is lower calories or
something to do with insulin resistance, is not improtant to me. I believe
that's why Atkins came out with a simplified version of the book that goes
light on the science.
I'm writing this to offer support for all of those who post and are told
to
go to fitday and track calories, but like me are not interested in doing
that. Try cutting back on what you KNOW are the wrong foods. Eat when
you're
hungry, stop when you're full. Re-read the forbidden food list if you're
on
Atkins. It really is very simple and, on Atkins, very satisfying.
Just MHO.
--
Bear
Grrrrrrrrrrrr )
297/271/210
Highest weight 353
http://home.earthlink.net/~polarbear50/index.html

DJ Delorie wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" writes:
::: Exercise is important. Period. However, it is not the key thing
::: for weight loss. Diet is. I can easily out eat what I can
::: exercise off.
::
:: They give a good example of this in The Hackers Diet. They something
:: like "You can spend the next half hour on the treadmill, or just not
:: eat that Snickers bar. Your choice."

haha....good way to put it too....imagine, I can inhale a snicker bar in
mere seconds...just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

hmm....sometimes I really feel there is a very thin, fragle line between
diet control and diet disaster.