Calorie counting

**thrutch** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 10:13am

It's about 8 months. A good chunk of that 15lbs is definitely fat, and a (not-so) healthy portion of that fat is down to going back on the beer.

I find collar size is a decent gauge of how much muscle I'm carrying - fat tends to sit around my gut in a ring, but when I've been hitting the weights I notice my shirt collars get quite a bit more snug.

**Devil** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 10:35am

15 pounds of muscle and fat over 8 months. Makes sense.

**thrutch** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 11:08am

12st 7lbs was too light for me in the end - I found I was getting rag-dolled around by people of a similar size. Great for striking and being fast on the feet, no good when people are popping out of side control every two minutes.

***JohnnyCache*** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 12:09pm

calorie counting for a few weeks is a good exercise to find leaks in your diet - you'd be surprised where extra calories are. a triple decker club has 90 extra calories because of the extra slice of bread, for example. Some things you think are healthy (orange juice leaps to mind) might as well be soda

As a long term solution, if you have the personality to count calories all the time you probably aren't overweight - you're more likely to have an eating disorder - but as a way to spot your habits and get conscious of what you eat? It's a good short to medium term thing to do.

With a modern calorie counting app for your phone, you can also track your macronutrient ratio and your vitamin intake, things like that - you can learn a lot about your diet by doing it for a month or so. If you stick to it for a month, you'll know for yourself if you want/ need to continue.

**thrutch** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 12:16pm

Originally Posted by JohnnyCache

calorie counting for a few weeks is a good exercise to find leaks in your diet - you'd be surprised where extra calories are. a triple decker club has 90 extra calories because of the extra slice of bread, for example. Some things you think are healthy (orange juice leaps to mind) might as well be soda

As a long term solution, if you have the personality to count calories all the time you probably aren't overweight - you're more likely to have an eating disorder - but as a way to spot your habits and get conscious of what you eat? It's a good short to medium term thing to do.

With a modern calorie counting app for your phone, you can also track your macronutrient ratio and your vitamin intake, things like that - you can learn a lot about your diet by doing it for a month or so. If you stick to it for a month, you'll know for yourself if you want/ need to continue.

Perfectly put.

**PointyShinyBurn** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 12:25pm

Originally Posted by thrutch

Perfectly put.

Agreed, I did this and it helped me be a lot better able to estimate it by eye/in my head.

You do look like a bit of a berk pointing your smartphone at packs of instant noodles, mind.

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 3/13/2012 1:24pm

Snacking as Fightclubfreak and Syberia describe can be a case of sugar sensitivity. Sugar can be a physical and psychologically addictive substance. Some people are more sensitive than others and if you have sugar sensitivity and a house full of sugary snacks than you will not get it out of your system. A book I would recommend is "Potatos Not Prozac" http://www.amazon.com/Potatoes-Seven.../dp/0684850141

**fightclubfreak7** · Posted On: 3/15/2012 9:26pm

Originally Posted by JohnnyCache

calorie counting for a few weeks is a good exercise to find leaks in your diet - you'd be surprised where extra calories are. a triple decker club has 90 extra calories because of the extra slice of bread, for example. Some things you think are healthy (orange juice leaps to mind) might as well be soda

As a long term solution, if you have the personality to count calories all the time you probably aren't overweight - you're more likely to have an eating disorder - but as a way to spot your habits and get conscious of what you eat? It's a good short to medium term thing to do.

With a modern calorie counting app for your phone, you can also track your macronutrient ratio and your vitamin intake, things like that - you can learn a lot about your diet by doing it for a month or so. If you stick to it for a month, you'll know for yourself if you want/ need to continue.

Interesting that you mention it could increase your chances of having an eating disorder. I would almost consider myself having an eating disorder now. Over the last year I've learned a lot more about nutrition through calorie counting and research and started involving a lot of new healthy foods to my diet. However I have a much harder time resisting bad food than I did before.