Calorie Counting vs Eat What You Want page

[Chorlton]

Hi everyone,

So it turns out I have some visceral fat to lose... I was wondering if there was value in counting my daily calories using "myfitnesspal" app (it has a good UK database) to create a weekly caloric deficit or if I should just continue to keep carbs in the sweet spot and eat till Im full?

Here's my rough weekly routine:

2x lifting heavy
2-3 30min yoga sessions
7x 1hr walks

No sugar, minimal fruit. No starchy veg. Eating yogurt and some cream.

Not done any sprints yet. Im 2wks into going primal. Im hoping to do my first next week.

Advice most appreciated!

[cayla29s]

you'll get different answers on here about counting calories. I say eat what you want for now if you're not losing then count calories.

I myself count calories when I'm trying to lose body fat. I tend to overestimate servings and I eat a lot more than I should be hence I know that i'm eating at a maintenance calories for my activity level and weight. Once I start counting I drop a lb a week consistently without having to do any extra exercise.

[jakey]

it depends where you're at in terms of bodyweight, and it depends on whether 'listening to your appetite' has gotten you in trouble in the past (i.e. too fat!).

you're going full keto, some people feel a diminished appetite in ketosis (i never did), and are able to auto-restrict calories. also, the more overweight you are, the less carefully you have to track. almost any conscious intervention into the SAD will yield benefits.

[Chorlton]

Thanks Cayla,

Jakey, Im not really overweight per se, but I have discovered I have internal fat pushing out my abdomen from just below the sternum downward. I think that is what's termed "skinny fat" round here right?

[catholicchick]

7
I myself count calories when I'm trying to lose body fat. I tend to overestimate servings and I eat a lot more than I should be hence I know that i'm eating at a maintenance calories for my activity level and weight. Once I start counting I drop a lb a week consistently without having to do any extra exercise.

+1 - I use myfitnesspal too and use it to see how I am doing on my carb/protein/fat counts rather than looking for a calorie deficit, but I gotta tell you, just there mere fact that I enter my calories each day really keeps me honest.

[sbhikes]

I track now and then but don't really see a lot of correlation between caloires and whether or not I lose weight. I do seem to lose more weight if I am both more physically active AND more hungry, regardless of the actual calorie content. So I guess that would indicate that my hunger does work as an appropriate tool, it's just that I have to understand what it's telling me.

[Chorlton]

Yeh, it certainly makes you think about all those little "unreportables"

[Owly]

That works for me even when I don't count. I find that simply writing down my food makes me far more conscious about my choices and more likely to really consider whether I really want to eat a particular food.

[paleo-bunny]

This seems to depend a lot upon personality type, outlook on life and goals.

Generally, I would say just ballpark calories to give you an awareness, but don't stick to a rigid regime of a set number of calories per day, in order to avoid obsessive behaviour, plus a rigid regime is totally artificial and it is not in the spirit of primal to count exactly.

I believe it is valuable to ballpark to ensure that you are not eating a calorie deficit chronically. i.e. Ensure that you eat a clear surplus at least 1-2 days a week, to keep your metabolic rate up. I find it much easier to lose weight being in deficit 2-4 days a week than being in deficit chronically.

However, experience shows that as you get closer to your goal it is likely that you will have to get stricter about counting calories.

[Owly]

I haven't needed to count but I do need to consider portions and not feed myself the same amount of food as my much larger male partner who needs about double the food in a day as I eat (and I eat a lot for a woman).