I didn't realize you could post polls on this site until John pointed it out to me after i requested for him to add a poll feature. I think it could be really helpful tool if everyone took a second to vote. Feel free to add any comments to the thread if you wish to do so, but I'd appreciate if you voted.

You'd need to set the poll up first.............

Andrew.

I didn't realize you could post polls on this site until John pointed it out to me after i requested for him to add a poll feature. I think it could be really helpful tool if everyone took a second to vote. Feel free to add any comments to the thread if you wish to do so, but I'd appreciate if you voted.

Color me blonde ( no offense to the blonde's here lol) but I can't figure out how to vote. :o

You'd need to set the poll up first.............

Andrew.


Color me blonde ( no offense to the blonde's here lol) but I can't figure out how to vote.


You only have the option of setting up the poll after the thread has been posted for some weird reason.

You'd need to set the poll up first.............

Andrew.

shewwwwww so it wasn't me lol

I'm "lazy" So what i did was get my diet as close to perfect as i could, now I eat pretty much the same thing everday.

I don't count my calories day to day but i can tell you (within a 100 or so) how many i have eaten.

the biggest thing for me was to start thinking of food as something i need to fuel my body instead of looking at it like something that will give me pleasure for 30 seconds.

Seems I jumped the gun a bit, sorry about that.

There isn't a poll option which I fit into. I don't count calories, but not for any other reason than choosing not too. During the past, calorie counting was very helpful in getting some excess flab off me, so it can be very successful in my hands. However, the act of totting up my intake wasn't the reason I met my goals at that point, the frame of mind I was in at the time was the crux.

Andrew.

Its really easy for me. I figured out what I want to eat calorie wise...2000. Then I sat down and looked at nutrional values of food I liked. It took me about 2 hours to make a diet plan that I put into excel and I follow it everyday. Then when I want something different I replace what I am tired of and go from there. Took me about 2 hours to get started, and 5 minutes to change when I need to. If you can spend 15 minutes a day reading posts here, you can definetly do this.

I exactly echo Andrew's statement. I don't count calories, but it's not because it's too hard or because I can't be bothered, it's because I don't think it's the most important factor in body transformtion and increased health. I trust my body to know what to eat. Some days I need more calories than others, and that's okay with me. I've checked my daily calories a few times, but I've always been MUCH more successful in meeting my goals when I've concentrated on eating healthy foods rather than focusing on consuming an exact number of calories.

. I trust my body to know what to eat. Some days I need more calories than others, and that's okay with me. I've checked my daily calories a few times, but I've always been MUCH more successful in meeting my goals when I've concentrated on eating healthy foods rather than focusing on consuming an exact number of calories.

Absolutely, but you don't need to follow an exact plan to count calories.

I count evey day, but while a have an aproximate goal for the day, if I need to eat, I eat. I have the attitude that is is more important to know what I ate that what I'm going to eat, so I can see if/how it affected my progress than planning each meal in advance. I think that can cause health problems becuse one tends eat the same thing day-in day-out.

Obviously there are 6-10 meals which I rely on as my 'basics' but I change them slightly almost every day. I just enter what I ate into a spreadsheet I came up with, which gives me the apropriate macros. Then I can look back and say - my average weight dropped over that 10 day period, what did I do differently, etc..

I like to track calories and macros as closely as I can to see the effects of any changes. Also, I find scheduling meals helps me avoid boredom eating.

Since this is a lifestyle change and not a diet, I have decided not to count calories. The way I am eating now is the way I want to be eating years from now. If I was counting calories, then I would feel like I am on a short term diet. I want to learn and adapt to eating healthly without having to plan my calories for the day/week. (Although I do generally plan my meals)

I think it is just all about whatever works for each individual. For me, counting calories is more of a hassle than a benefit.

It depends on my goals. During a cut or a bulk I will count everything, calories, protein, fat, carbs, etc. When I set a goal I make pretty accurate tracking a part of achieving the goal. That way if I need to tweak it's much easier to look back at what I've been doing and adjust (less carbs here, or more protein here, or less fat after the cardio, whatever).

But it's not a life-long thing I want to do by any means. I'll coast through a few months during the year where I have no goals set and a lot more going on in my life, where I'll of course still work out regularly and all that but I will just do more of a portion rule than anything and generally "eat to support activities." I'll guess on protein and carb portion sizes, still run PWO nutrition shakes, still abide by pro/fat post-cardio or whatever, I just won't count every calorie and gram.

I found that NOT counting was leading me to eating too little, so now I use John Stone's Excel file with my own additions to the food list.

I'm not super-strict about it but I do like to see what my patterns are, and some days I'm just not interested in eating despite some data telling me there's 900 more calories to force down. bluh. today is one of those days.

I found that NOT counting was leading me to eating too little, so now I use John Stone's Excel file with my own additions to the food list.

I'm not super-strict about it but I do like to see what my patterns are, and some days I'm just not interested in eating despite some data telling me there's 900 more calories to force down. bluh. today is one of those days.
Today is one of those days for me too man. Don't know why, just getting really sick of eating now. I'm eating steak sometimes 2 times a day right now....never thought I'd miss cutting but I sure as hell do right now.

I'm not sure where I fit in that poll. I used to count calories very precisely, but now I'm at a point where I can judge the amount of calories in a meal fairly accurately. So while I still make sure I know how many calories I'm eating, I'm not counting per se.

I used to count, now I don't anymore.

Being all obsessive about dieting was hurting my progress. Now I just look at portion sizes.

i strictly count calories and stick to a meal plan, it works really well..... although its REALLY limited my social life, going out with friends and stuff
i've developed an obsession with diet and exercise, now its going to be an uphill battle to stop needing to count calories, or at least be less strict with my diet, i simply dont trust myself to "eat when im hungry" and "stop when im full"

also i feel i wont get "optimal" results if i dont count everything, im worried about getting too much of this, or too little of that (usually too many carbs and too little protein as protein is a little harder to prepare, carbs are usually pretty easy!)

I count everyday and record everything. Not really a big deal because I love the clean food's (and lots of it) I eat. It seriously takes me... 5 minutes to record on fitday. I don't weigh my chicken, steak, pork, fish, and other meats though. I use my brain, and the package it comes in :D I may get a scale, but I've been counting for a year now, and never used one, so I don't see a reason to now.

Thanks everyone for responding to the poll.. i was just trying to get a feel for what most members on the board do. I'm impressed that over half actually count all their calories. That takes a lot of dedication. As for me, most of the year I pretty much keep calories in the back of my mind, but don't obsess to much about it. I like to drink and i like to eat out, and when i eat out i like to get what looks good on the menu, not what is the healthiest. Sometimes I keep a strict diet, but only for a finite time. Its all about proiritizing and fitness isn't my #1 priority 12 months out of the year.

In response to:

I I don't weigh my chicken, steak, pork, fish, and other meats though. I use my brain, and the package it comes in :D I may get a scale, but I've been counting for a year now, and never used one, so I don't see a reason to now.

Just a heads up about counting on the package for weight. This may sound obvious, so i apologize in advance if you already were aware. After you cook meat, the weight of it goes down to anywhere between a half and 2/3's of what it weighed before you cooked it(what the weight on the package says). Maybe you calculate calories based on what the raw weight is, but i use numbers that are based on # of oz. of cooked meat, so weighing the meat after i cook it is essential if i am going for a strict calorie diet.