Which one is easier?

I jst want to see how many here count calories and who finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Thanx,
glo

On 8/24/2004 1:10 PM, Gloria wrote:
I jst want to see how many here count calories and who finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Thanx,
glo

Glo, I think that it depends on how you count them. If I were writing
it all out longhand and totaling them up with a calculator, I would feel
that it was drudgery -- but that's just me, there is nothing *wrong*
with this method. I use my PDA and just log things as a matter of
course and it's not a big deal. I log my weight, bf%, exercise and
foods. It's just a 30 second click-click-click and I'm done. I suspect
that people who use other programs (spreadsheets, fitday, etc.) get
really fast at it and it can become a mindless task using those methods
as well. My point is, YMMV. If you find it to be a bad experience,
then don't do it. It's sort of like I think that I should enjoy the
exercise that I am doing and if I am starting to hate it I feel that I
need to make a change so that I like it again. One example is I don't
bike in the rain. It's not that I couldn't bike in the rain, it's that
it's that to me biking in the rain is not fun. I'd rather do indoor
exercises and listen to a nice MP3 mix on my PDA (that darn PDA again!)

FWIW, I made the decision to continue with the click-click-clicking away
at my PDA for the foreseeable future even though I've been maintaining
for a while now. Just like I wouldn't skip balancing my checkbook
because bad things could happen, I don't skip my food log because --
well -- bad things could happen ;-)

Have a good one!

--
jmk in NC

"Gloria" wrote in message
...
I jst want to see how many here count calories and who finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Instead of counting calories per se, I do better with counting portions (my
allowances are 5 portions of meat servings (200 cal each), 4 portions of grain
servings (80 cal each), 3 fruit servings (60 cal each), 2T of olive oil, unlimited
non-starchy vegetables a day). I find this to cut way down on junky stuff that can
easily fit into a calorie-only perspective, and it keeps my intake in better balance.
But I think the notion of just keeping *some* kind of track is important to
success -- as they say in "quality improvement" circles, "If you're not measuring it,
you can't improve it" -- because otherwise it's just a bit of a guessing game and I
was always very good at underestimating my intake. So maybe just write things down if
you don't want to really track them yet -- I have found that rather than keep my mind
on "dieting," it's actually freeing because I know I'm staying in my limits without
worrying about what I'm eating. Getting rid of some of the more detrimental mind
games has really helped me to take and keep weight off.

Mary

"Gloria" wrote in message
...
I jst want to see how many here count calories and who finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Instead of counting calories per se, I do better with counting portions (my
allowances are 5 portions of meat servings (200 cal each), 4 portions of grain
servings (80 cal each), 3 fruit servings (60 cal each), 2T of olive oil, unlimited
non-starchy vegetables a day). I find this to cut way down on junky stuff that can
easily fit into a calorie-only perspective, and it keeps my intake in better balance.
But I think the notion of just keeping *some* kind of track is important to
success -- as they say in "quality improvement" circles, "If you're not measuring it,
you can't improve it" -- because otherwise it's just a bit of a guessing game and I
was always very good at underestimating my intake. So maybe just write things down if
you don't want to really track them yet -- I have found that rather than keep my mind
on "dieting," it's actually freeing because I know I'm staying in my limits without
worrying about what I'm eating. Getting rid of some of the more detrimental mind
games has really helped me to take and keep weight off.

Mary

On 8/24/2004 2:45 PM, Mary M - Ohio wrote:

But I think the notion of just keeping *some* kind of track is important to
success -- as they say in "quality improvement" circles, "If you're not measuring it,
you can't improve it" -- because otherwise it's just a bit of a guessing game and I
was always very good at underestimating my intake.

Mary makes an excellent point here. I have read before that you should
"count something" and it may not make a difference overall if you count
calories or steps or portions or dietary exchanges or carbs or... the
import thing is to count.

Mary, I like the way that you bring quality improvement into this.
That's a nice way to look at it.

--
jmk in NC

On 8/24/2004 2:45 PM, Mary M - Ohio wrote:

But I think the notion of just keeping *some* kind of track is important to
success -- as they say in "quality improvement" circles, "If you're not measuring it,
you can't improve it" -- because otherwise it's just a bit of a guessing game and I
was always very good at underestimating my intake.

Mary makes an excellent point here. I have read before that you should
"count something" and it may not make a difference overall if you count
calories or steps or portions or dietary exchanges or carbs or... the
import thing is to count.

Mary, I like the way that you bring quality improvement into this.
That's a nice way to look at it.

--
jmk in NC

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 13:10:41 -0400, (Gloria) wrote:

I jst want to see how many here count calories and who finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Thanx,
glo

Glo - I base my WOE on staying within 1500 calories a day. I have
recently done a couple of months of tracking my food on diet software,
but I never have to do anything to adjust, as I've had so many years
of experience at managing my food intake. In other words, I eat the
same sort of meals each day, but with quite a variety of foods, and
just enter what I've eaten at the end of the day. I was pleased to
see when I did this that it always came out at somewhere between
around 1250 and 1500 maximum. This way, I keep an eye on my intake
but don't have to work very hard at all in thinking about it. I like
to spend as little time as possible thinking about food, while still
doing the right thing. This is why I'm not keen on journalling
although I know the majority of people here wouldn't agree with me on
this.

Some people do something like I do, but weigh their food and log it
for an odd day now and then, just to make sure they're still on the
right track with portion sizes, etc.

But do remember Glo, as always, what works for me may not work for
you. You need to find what suits you.


janice
233/179/133

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 13:10:41 -0400, (Gloria) wrote:

I jst want to see how many here count calories and who finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Thanx,
glo

Glo - I base my WOE on staying within 1500 calories a day. I have
recently done a couple of months of tracking my food on diet software,
but I never have to do anything to adjust, as I've had so many years
of experience at managing my food intake. In other words, I eat the
same sort of meals each day, but with quite a variety of foods, and
just enter what I've eaten at the end of the day. I was pleased to
see when I did this that it always came out at somewhere between
around 1250 and 1500 maximum. This way, I keep an eye on my intake
but don't have to work very hard at all in thinking about it. I like
to spend as little time as possible thinking about food, while still
doing the right thing. This is why I'm not keen on journalling
although I know the majority of people here wouldn't agree with me on
this.

Some people do something like I do, but weigh their food and log it
for an odd day now and then, just to make sure they're still on the
right track with portion sizes, etc.

But do remember Glo, as always, what works for me may not work for
you. You need to find what suits you.


janice
233/179/133

In article
,
(Gloria) wrote:

I jst want to see how many here count calories and who
finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just
made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to
not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I
wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Thanx,
glo


Hey glo!

I count using Fitday, but I'm not religious about it,
nor do I feel the need to be.

My weekday max is set at 1,200 calories. I don't count
on the weekends, they're my "free" days...though I
probably don't eat much more...but maybe I drink a
little more...

I also set rules: I can eat up to 1,500 calories a day
as long as I am exercising and burning that extra 300
cals.

I haven't been able to get to the gym for the last
month, so my exercise has been limited to quick
lunch-time walks/jogs or early morning walks with DH.
By keeping to my 1,200 calorie rule, I haven't gained a
pound (though I've probably lost my hard-earned
muscles).

And I don't feel like it's a diet. I eat whatever I
want, be it ice cream or beer or birthday cake. But it
has to fit into both my calorie limit and my carb limit
and my fat limit and my protein goal and my fiber goal,
and all that other jazz I have set up in Fitday--yeah,
it's complicated and sometimes it's a pain to feed that
stuff in the computer, but it helps me to stay on
track. I've been doing it so long now between Weight
Watchers and now Fitday that it's second nature.

Good luck,

Amy
168/115

In article
,
(Gloria) wrote:

I jst want to see how many here count calories and who
finds this the
better way? I sometimes have felt that counting just
made me feel like
I'm dieting and so I stopped doing this but it seems to
not change the
"diet" thing in my head. Does anyone see what I mean? I
wonder what YOUR
feelings are with this ?

Thanx,
glo


Hey glo!

I count using Fitday, but I'm not religious about it,
nor do I feel the need to be.

My weekday max is set at 1,200 calories. I don't count
on the weekends, they're my "free" days...though I
probably don't eat much more...but maybe I drink a
little more...

I also set rules: I can eat up to 1,500 calories a day
as long as I am exercising and burning that extra 300
cals.

I haven't been able to get to the gym for the last
month, so my exercise has been limited to quick
lunch-time walks/jogs or early morning walks with DH.
By keeping to my 1,200 calorie rule, I haven't gained a
pound (though I've probably lost my hard-earned
muscles).

And I don't feel like it's a diet. I eat whatever I
want, be it ice cream or beer or birthday cake. But it
has to fit into both my calorie limit and my carb limit
and my fat limit and my protein goal and my fiber goal,
and all that other jazz I have set up in Fitday--yeah,
it's complicated and sometimes it's a pain to feed that
stuff in the computer, but it helps me to stay on
track. I've been doing it so long now between Weight
Watchers and now Fitday that it's second nature.

Good luck,

Amy
168/115