should you count calories eating primal? page

[btownshreds]

I notice at the end of the day my cals can be over but sometimes really low......

What do you guys think?

[jaysond]

i would say if you have a pretty good idea of what your eating and what it contains maybe look. i dont think its 100% primal to count, i did at first then stopped 6 months in because by habit i knew what i was eating. do what ever works for you. my advice

[weird fish]

If you are trying to lose weight but aren't extremely overweight then you should probably figure out a range to shoot for. Weight loss won't occur without a caloric deficit. Chances are you aren't going to achieve a caloric deficit without reducing your caloric intake.

[loafingcactus]

I'm never going to knock more data. It's not the counting, it's what you are going to do witb the data. If you are going to obsess and be nuts, don't count. If you can look at the data to find trends and make your life better, do count.

[kitana]

I used to be an obsessive calorie-counter. That's how I kept my weight down, but I would grow frustrated that I was incapable of maintaining my weight by listening to my body. It seemed the second I stopped the weight would immediately start creeping back on. I hated that I had to watch, weigh and measure every bite of food that crossed my lips and it made me feel like I was constantly on a diet.

Now I can't help it to a certain extent. I just know how many calories are in a lot of foods and what a serving is so I have a rough idea. However to me the beauty of primal is that I don't have to keep count. I eat when I'm hungry, and when I'm not hungry I don't eat and, the weight has been constant. I no longer have to monitor it and that feels like victory to me. It feels like I can just eat and it's no big deal - just one of those things you do everyday. It's definitely one of those things that keeps me feeling like I'm on the right path. This is how is should be.

I can see where counting would be helpful if one had weight goals and wasn't reaching them, or if you needed to analyze your food for some reason. Additionally a lot of folks really don't know what a serving looks like these days and it can be very helpful for that. I'm glad I have the little calorie dictionary in my head, but I'm just as glad that I no longer have to be hyper vigilant about it.

Is there something you need to accomplish that calorie counting would help with?

[btownshreds]

Awesome feedback guys. My problem is, is when I add my calories it shows my daily fat and carbs and cholesterol and protein intake etc etc and effing.crap man after two eggs I'm negative -200 on cholesterol. Everything goes negative on that calorie site when.I eat primal. Pisses me off because I am.2 weeks in going primal and that stuff makes me scared ill have a heart attack Or some problem....

[DFH]

Do Primal first and get settled in.

Don't follow calorie requirements. Listen to your body. If you want to lose weight and hit a plateau, worry about it then.

[loafingcactus]

I use sparkpeople.com and at the end of the day when it shows my macronutrients chart next to their recommended levels chart I feel VERY satisfied by how different they are. When I was piling on the fattage, those charts matched nicely!

[btownshreds]

I use sparkpeople.com and at the end of the day when it shows my macronutrients chart next to their recommended levels chart I feel VERY satisfied by how different they are. When I was piling on the fattage, those charts matched nicely!

Hmm sounds cool. Isn't eatinf too much fat bad tho?

[loafingcactus]

Hmm sounds cool. Isn't eatinf too much fat bad tho?

No, absolutely not. I would suggest reading the "start here" above. If you want to get knocked over by science, get a book by Gary Taube called Good Calories, Bad Calories for all the science you would ever want to see.