I've never counted calories....

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I heard somewhere that we only absorb 30 % of what we eat, that's everything right? I mean like if I ingest 100 calories only 30 of them stay with me? I've been concentrating on getting protien and haven't counted that either. Have I been really lax? Let the flames roll guys, maybe this is what I need to kick me in the ya-ya! I'm wondering if I'm just a poor example or what. I eat tons of protien, like jerky, cheese and shrimp. I eat chicken once in a while because I'm terrified it'll block me up and I don't eat steak at all because I had three bad episodes with it. You know, I tried it got blocked, waited and tried again and got blocked. I had to get kicked in the teeth three times for me to learn that STEAK IS EVIL! Any how, I haven't been counting or exercising really for that matter.l My DH and I go for walks which is something we never did before and I do walk a lot more than I used to.... my energy is up, my weight is down and I feel better than I have since I can't remember when. So is this just one of those things that's individualistic or should I be counting and weighing???? Let me have it guys if you think I need it, I just need to hear what others think because my sis is gonna get the surgery and I want to be able to give her good advice and not just tell her to walk in my shoes.... Love and Hugs, and Happy Holiday Season, Gayle

Hi Gayle, I keep a rough idea in my head of what I am consuming, but I am not a calorie counter either. Those are my doctor's instructions though. I have an eating plan, to get my protein, veggies & carbs in, and my supplemental protein in the form of two shakes a day. I have said all along though that my doctor has a different outlook that some others. He puts the emphasis on the protein (and the supplemental protein) and is intent on our building muscle and changing our body composition and metabolism that way. I am sure you will get a lot of very differing opinions based on what kind of follow up each of us has. Each of us has a different plan, according to our doctor. My doctor has a bariatric practice. This is all he does and he follows his patients' progress monthly for the first year, then quarterly, etc. Hugs, Mo

I do not count calories either. As a matter of fact, I am not actually counting anything. I know protein is first, I pay attn as to the amount of meat or cheese or eggs I eat and go from there. Some foods I can eat more than others. The other night I only got in 3 shrimp but I also had a 1/2 baked potato and a tossed salad with bleu cheese dressing. I can usually eat almost all of a chicken breast. And I can eat about 3 oz of steak. I do half and half on veggies and carbs. Most of my carbs come from pasta or potatoes. (I never eat more than 1/2 of a baked potato) Tonight I had a Wendy's cheese burger and took off the bottom of the bun. And about 10 fries. (I seldom eat fries). I was suprised I ate the burger. My weight loss has slowed down but that is ok too as I am very close to goal and I do not want to look anerexic. Some medical issues stopped my walking and I have not gotten back to it. So exercise is normal walking at the office and getting my liquids in. Again, my doctor has a follow up program too and I am scheduled to go back next week.

i"ve found out that heavier meats like turkey and beef are not my friends. I get that middle chest blocked feeling after eating turkey and beef. I'm not really counting calories jus****ching it. I pretty much know what is high in protein and what isn't which is the same with calories. Regarding exercise it depends on what's going on in my life. As of right now I'm working over time everyday plus working weekends, so just walking around is exercise. I'm not to caught up in weighing myself since my weight has been static but my inches keep going down plus my clothing size is going down.

i"ve found out that heavier meats like turkey and beef are not my friends. I get that middle chest blocked feeling after eating turkey and beef. I'm not really counting calories jus****ching it. I pretty much know what is high in protein and what isn't which is the same with calories. Regarding exercise it depends on what's going on in my life. As of right now I'm working over time everyday plus working weekends, so just walking around is exercise. I'm not to caught up in weighing myself since my weight has been static but my inches keep going down plus my clothing size is going down.

I think that you are off on the 30% absorption. If that was true, we would all be malnourished! I think it reduces absorption by about 30%, that is, you absorb 70% of what you eat. I was told not to count on this part at all, but to focus on getting in protein first, then veges and carbs last. I don't count things either, but I try to pay attention to protein intake. Hope this helps... Joy

Hi Gayle I dont think the 30% theory is correct. I think we absorb alot more but mostly we still absorb the fat and stuff like that... I think its the vitamins and such in the composition of the food that we dont absorb as much of as it takes longer to break that down. Don't quote me on that for sure though! I wish that were true though! You should count your protein and even calories. I only say that because I GAINED 5 POUNDS!!! as I am sure you saw from my pittiful post I stopped counting calories and protein and well also was testing the carby sugar waters!! I was bad and desereve every pound gained... but MAN am I back with fitday.com counting every single thing! It just keeps me on track and in line so I can see where I am going wrong. Wishing you the best!!! ((hugs)) Elizabeth M

Gayle, here is what I have been told: you body can not handle more than 30 GRAMS of protein at one time. So, if you have a protein shake with more than 30 grams of protein, you should not drink all of it at the same time. You should split it and only do 1/2 with an hour in between. I do not count calories, I just do protein, veggies and carbs in that order. Good Luck!

I think we absorb more than 80% of what we eat, calorie-wise. Vitamins and meds - potentially to definitely less, depending on the area of the intestine that is optimized for the absorption. (ie, vitamin B, not happening, that's the part we bypass.) I count the calories sometimes and sometimes not. If your weight loss slows I'd advise starting to count them. When we hit maintenance we're going to have to count them, because the only way to maintain is to burn what you take in. REAL REAL EASY way to count cals is to go on fitday dot com's website. It's free and so easy. Example - you look up chicken, broiled, without skin and you can guesstimate ounces, or cups, or even I think breast is an option, and I enter 0.5, and the website calculates how much protein you got from the half breast, how many cals, how much fat, how much sodium.. basically everything. It also has a fitness tracker so you can enter in your 30 minute walks and see how many calories you burned, and it calculates your basal metabolic rate (calories you burn to exist at your current weight) and adds that in too so you get the whole day's picture. They have a software version for sale that you can load on your pc, I think it has more bells and whistles, but I PREFER the free web version so I can log in to it from home, work, whereever - so I don't write anything down, I just enter it before I forget. My priority list would be: calorie counting (lowest), protein counting (I know I am good here), and then excercise (highest). Just because we're getting skinnier doesn't make us automatically healthier. We've got to use this opportunity to improve our health - we weigh less now so there's no reason we can't move, and we have GOT to move if we're going to live. So, the only thing I strongly encourage is that you get a real excercise program going. Good luck, Jen 266/160.5/145?

Wow! and here I was expecting flames galore and what I got was FRIENDS GALORE! I love you guys! Thanks for the corrections and info.... Valuable just like your support!