To count or not to count (calories)

[SleeverSk 635]

On 6/5/2022 at 7:16 AM, ms.sss said:

Hmmmm this would lead me to think that you may be experiencing head hunger. “Real” hunger persists and doesn’t go away via distraction. Well, at least that’s what I’ve read and personally experienced. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I thought the same and this applies to me too

[Bridge1967 42]

Haven't had surgery yet, but have been a "counter " for decades. I have found that following dietician reccomendation of eating 4 oz of meat, 1/2 c carb and 1/2 c veggies pre surgery. You can have as much salad as you want and fruits count as carbs. I lost 12 lbs in a few months.

[Tufflaw 465]

I don't plan on ever stopping tracking. It takes a few seconds and for me, personally, it's worth it. I know that after my sleeve surgery in 2016 I lost 120 lbs in about 7 months, then when I slowed and eventually stopped tracking I put almost all of it back on. I had the revision to bypass last November and I'm down about 90 lbs so far, still tracking everything, weighing what I can as well (including myself every morning). If it works, why stop?

[STLoser 1,099]

I don't plan on ever stopping tracking. It takes a few seconds and for me, personally, it's worth it. I know that after my sleeve surgery in 2016 I lost 120 lbs in about 7 months, then when I slowed and eventually stopped tracking I put almost all of it back on. I had the revision to bypass last November and I'm down about 90 lbs so far, still tracking everything, weighing what I can as well (including myself every morning). If it works, why stop?

I agree. I know it is too easy to get complacent if I don't track. A day off and then works for me, but I plan to track for life.

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[STLoser 1,099]

Now*

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

[learn2cook 597]

I wasn’t counting calories then my dietitian did and explained I wasn’t eating enough. I’m still not a stickler but she’s right, eating up to 2k does make me loose. I do track faithfully every thing I eat so I’m honest with myself.

[BigSue 1,396]

I've been tracking everything I eat in MyFitnessPal for over two years -- since about 5 months before my surgery. For me, this was key in changing my eating habits, both before and after surgery. I don't think it's counting calories, per se, that works, but the fact that it forces me to confront my food choices and get the most bang for the buck, calorie-wise. Constantly budgeting my calories has helped me to shift my food choices to low-calorie but satisfying foods. That's especially important now that I'm almost two years post-op and I can eat pretty decent portions (compared to the first several months post-op when I could only eat tiny quantities). If I weren't choosing low-calorie foods, I think I could easily get enough calories to start gaining the weight back.

A lot of people swear by "intuitive eating," and if that works for you, great, but I don't see it working for me. I think my intuition had to be pretty out of whack to get me to 341 pounds. I think it's possible that I've changed my eating habits enough at this point that I could stop tracking and be ok, but I don't want to put that to the test. I eat mostly the same things over and over, so if I stick to that, even without tracking, I would probably stay within the same calorie range.

I do have a hard time when traveling or eating at restaurants because it's difficult to guesstimate when someone else is preparing the food, but I very rarely eat at restaurants, so I try not to stress too much over the occasional meal that's not 100% accurate. I've also relaxed a little on weighing and measuring some things because I've gotten a good sense of portion sizes (e.g., half a small avocado is about 50 grams on average; 6 slices of thin-sliced turkey lunchmeat is about 75 grams), and some things are low enough in calories that it's not worth the trouble (e.g., I don't measure salad greens or cucumbers or tomatoes).

I like Dr. Weiner's approach of "a pound of cure" (which involves eating at least a pound of vegetables every day) because focusing on eating a lot of vegetables helps me to fill up on foods that are nutritious but low in calories. Every week, I meal prep daily veggie trays (carrots, celery, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and peppers), and that's my main snack for the day. I also add cauliflower rice to a lot of meals to make them more filling without adding a lot of calories.