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I swear by counting calories/fat. Check out dietwatch.com. For a small fee you get a really easily navigated food journal and calorie/nutrition counter. Plus there's a place to log your exercise and weight. And if you need to lose, they have several great diet plans to follow. I love that site!
Do any of you count calories to help control your weight?
Yes. But within parameters - no processed foods, no white flour or sugar, lots of fruits and vegetables, "clean" protein sources - chicken, lamb, beef, eggs, nuts, some whole grains and limited fats (fats come from the protein sources and some fruits such as avocados), just olive oil or a tiny touch of butter when needed for flavor. I stick to drinking water, coffee in the morning and milk, no juices. The point being a healthy, nutritious and well balanced diet - not "lo-cal" processed garbage full of chemicals that try to taste like fats.
It CAN get a little monotonous during weight loss but is easier for maintenance and there are more flexible options.
I started counting calories and being mindful of my portions in mid january. I did really well with things..keeping between 1300 and 1500 calories. I started adding some exercise into the mix at the end of march. by mid may, I was pleased to have lost 17 lbs. Of course, since I was so pleased, I stopped recording my food and tracking the calories and have re-gained 5 of the 17!!!! so, this week, i am back to recording my food and estimating the calories to the best of my ability. and I have discovered that I am one of those people who must weigh myself at least twice a week. If I think about cookies, I gain a pound!!!
If you want a helpful site that's free, try sparkpeople.com.
I've also read way too many dieting type books and diets just don't work. It's lifestyle changes that do.
I now just go for the smaller portion, drink a lot of water, exercise daily and things are changing for the better. It's just a slow process. Doesn't it seem like we put weight on so much easier than taking it off? It should be the opposite, but no such luck.
I really like the Nutrition Tracker on that site. Counting calories helped me lose about 20 lbs., then I reached a plateau and I realized that I was eating too many carbs and not enough protein. I like how the tracker on sparkpeople calculates calories,carbs, fat, and protein for me.
Do any of you keep a food journal? This seems to work because you have to count everything that goes in you mouth. I have taken off 36 lbs this way, but it did take a full year. Good Luck Everyone!
To say you have to count calories sounds so......boaring and time consuming. When I first began my regiment I would count calories.....like, hardcore however, now, that it's actually just my lifestyle I don't need to. I know what I can eat to maintain my DCI which is around 1200.
I wonder if just keeping a food journal would work? With listing portion sizes but without the counting calories part? It would be so much easier if it would still work...
Something that might give you a tremendous insight into your eating habits is keeping a journal including what you ate, portion size, what you were feeling at the time (happy sad tired depressed anxious whatever......) and then time of day. This will show you patterns of unhealthy eating....once you know what your doing wrong it's so easy to fix it.
Something that might give you a tremendous insight into your eating habits is keeping a journal including what you ate, portion size, what you were feeling at the time (happy sad tired depressed anxious whatever......) and then time of day. This will show you patterns of unhealthy eating....once you know what your doing wrong it's so easy to fix it.
I would be much more enthusiastic about keeping this type of journal instead of counting anything. Have you lost weight doing this?
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It's just a slow process. Doesn't it seem like we put weight on so much easier than taking it off? It should be the opposite, but no such luck. 
