Do you HAVE TO count calories?

(deactivated member)
on 7/11/17 11:00 am

I was told by my dietician to eat in moderation and about 4 ounces at a time ( i have 4 ounce containers ( when I am eating fully still on liquids for now)

But it seems people are saying if you do not count all your calories you will not lose as fast, but i wanted to step away from the counting cals diet as i can get obsessed.

I was going to do the protein first and eating healthy with veggies.

So is it true i wont have success if i dont weigh food? does everyone do this?

Gwen M.
on 7/11/17 11:19 am
VSG on 03/13/14

I get obsessed easily with numbers so I opted not to track. I weigh everything so that I make sure I avoid portion-creep, and I log what I eat, but just in a journal and not with calorie/macro tracking. This is healthiest for me. I did promise myself that if my weight loss stopped/slowed and I "didn't know why" that I would start counting calories then. But that has never happened.

I've lost ~170 pounds and consider myself successful, so I think this is clearly working well for me.

I definitely encourage people who are trying to get back on track to weigh/track everything. But that's a different scenario.

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

Gwen M.
on 7/11/17 11:21 am
VSG on 03/13/14

My plans requirements are 3 meals a day no snacks, 60+ grams of protein a day, no more than 4-6 ounces per meal. (Although now I aim for 100+ grams of protein due to plastic surgery recovery.)

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

(deactivated member)
on 7/11/17 11:43 am

That sounds like a good way to do it .

In my book it says this also

" Look at the amount of sugar and fat per 100grams

Keep what you eat low fat and low sugar..

Low sugar is 5g or less

Total fat per 100g 3g or less.

That does not seem alot of fat?

Erin T.
on 7/11/17 11:52 am
VSG on 01/17/17

I eat low sugar (and low carb in general), I track fat in the sense that it's listed in MFP...but I don't care how much fat I eat as long as I'm low-carb and within my calories. In my case, tracking calories has been very successful for me. Unlike Gwen, I do snack (though not all the time or even daily).

VSG: 1/17/17

5'7" HW: 283 SW: 229 CW: 135-140 GW: 145

Pre-op: 53 M1: 22 M2: 12 M3: 12 M4: 8 M5: 10 M6: 11 M7: 5 M8: 6 M9-M13: 15-ish

LBL/BL w/ Fat Transfer 1/29/18

Gwen M.
on 7/11/17 12:46 pm
VSG on 03/13/14

I have never cared about the amount of fat in my diet - fat doesn't make us fat. I avoid added sugars and I avoid refined and processed foods.

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

Amalilly
on 7/11/17 12:39 pm - Ottawa, Canada
VSG on 05/23/17

I started down the calorie counting road and quickly messed myself up... how many were from protein, fat, carbs??? how much fibre???

I stopped. I saw the dietician yesterday (first visit post-op at 7 weeks). She said I could reasonably expect to eat close to one cup per meal (total). Half of it to be protein, quarter each of carbs and veggie. They stress eating a fruit too, but what they mean by fruit is a quarter of an apple, banana, orange, or quarter of a cup of berries, etc.

My struggle is not the calories or the macro nutrient division, it is serving sizes. I'd gotten so used to thinking a mountain of food was 'normal' and that what I ate at fast food stores or restaurants was considered 'normal' servings.

Now post-operatively I'm really looking at the labels and realizing my 'helpings' have been totally out of whack with healthy.

So I've begun to measure (weigh) as much of my food as I can. As someone else mentioned to keep my portions appropriate. Often I can't eat that whole cup of food, at least not yet, and I don't fret about it... at least I know I didn't eat too much!

Cheers and best wishes.

Weights: HW 370, SW 336, GW 180 (fantasy 145), CW 268.1 (pre surgery -34, M1- 26, M2- 16)
Dates: Referral - Aug 26, 2015, Info Class - Dec 4, Optifast - May 2nd, 2017, Surgery - May 23rd

Surgeon: Dr. J.D. Yelle, Ottawa, ON

Sparklekitty, Science-Loving Derby Hag
on 7/11/17 1:00 pm
RNY on 08/05/19

You will most likely not be able to eat a full cup of food, especially at first. When I started "real" food, I could barely eat 1oz of protein.

Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!

Cathy H.
on 7/11/17 1:04 pm
VSG on 10/31/16

Me, too, Julie. When I completed my "healing phases" at 9 weeks, I was supposed to be able to eat a cup. I could barely manage half a cup lol

Livin' La KETO Loca!!
134 lbs lost since surgery, 195 overall!! Initial goal reached 9/15/17, (10.5 months)!
5'3", SW*: 299 GW: 175 HW 3/2015: 360 PSW* 5/2016: 330 *PSW=Prog Start Wt; SW=Surgery Wt

M1 -31, M2 -10, M3 -15, M4 -16, M5 -8, M6 -6, M7 -11, M8 -8, M9 -8, M10 -4, M10.5 -7 GOAL

(deactivated member)
on 7/11/17 12:42 pm, edited 7/11/17 5:46 am
VSG on 03/28/17

I think the most successful people choose one of two options and stick with it.

Option 1: track Cals and macros and log in MyFitnessPal or similar. Eat whatever and whenever as long as it fits your calorie and macro goals but make sure you track every bite.

Option 2: Eat no more than 4oz per meal and have only 3 meals per day, at mealtimes, no snacks. Mostly protein.

That said, I personally find it hard to stick with either option and am constantly switching between the two and being imperfect. The one thing I personally make sure to never mess up on is keeping my carbs under 20g.

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