tracking calories? is it important?

[Mike ODonnell]

If you eat "real" foods....you don't need to track calories...go ahead and stuff yourself with veggies.

If you want "man made" foods/grains....then you need to track.

If you want an easy schedule, do Mon-Fri with REAL foods only, weekends with more options. Simple yet effective.

[Scott Kustes]

I find the answer is no. If you're eating real foods, as Mike said, you're going to fill up long before you overeat. Even meat, with its concentrated protein and fat, releases hormones that shunt appetite. Vegetables are very bulky for their amount of calories. Calories do matter, but you don't need to count them. Feed your body real foods and it'll handle the rest.

[Susie Rosenberg]

It may help you to construct a Paleo Pyramid in your mind:

The base level is vegetables, dotted with berries and melons.
Then comes fish, fowl, or meat.
Then nuts and needs, olives, avocados, good oils, nut butters, etc.

This is my usual diet, along with up to a half-cup of oatmeal, brown rice, barley, or quinoa a day, plus lowfat cottage cheese. (These are my personal 'tweaks'.)

I find I don't need to track if my weight is where I want it and my fitness is good. I track as needed to take off a few pounds now and then, which I'm doing now.

I eat up to 50% of my total calories as fat!

My typical breakfast consists of eggs, usually w/ leftover veggies, a piece of fruit, some nuts.
My typical lunch is a large salad w/ leftover meat, fish or chicken, or canned salmon, olive oil and avocado in the salad.
My typical dinner is a stir-fry, stew or soup, or a plate of veggies with a chop or fillet, and a salad. Again, added nuts and oils as needed for fat content.

It's a mood-lifter and energy-giver to eat this way. I honestly would suggest getting the quality of the diet right first, then worry about tracking on fitday.

Susie

[Mandy LaGreca]

Originally Posted by Susie Rosenberg

It may help you to construct a Paleo Pyramid in your mind:

The base level is vegetables, dotted with berries and melons.
Then comes fish, fowl, or meat.
Then nuts and needs, olives, avocados, good oils, nut butters, etc.

This is my usual diet, along with up to a half-cup of oatmeal, brown rice, barley, or quinoa a day, plus lowfat cottage cheese. (These are my personal 'tweaks'.)

I find I don't need to track if my weight is where I want it and my fitness is good. I track as needed to take off a few pounds now and then, which I'm doing now.

I eat up to 50% of my total calories as fat!

My typical breakfast consists of eggs, usually w/ leftover veggies, a piece of fruit, some nuts.
My typical lunch is a large salad w/ leftover meat, fish or chicken, or canned salmon, olive oil and avocado in the salad.
My typical dinner is a stir-fry, stew or soup, or a plate of veggies with a chop or fillet, and a salad. Again, added nuts and oils as needed for fat content.

It's a mood-lifter and energy-giver to eat this way. I honestly would suggest getting the quality of the diet right first, then worry about tracking on fitday.

Susie

Interesting...your diet is almost exactly the way Anne Louise Gittleman prescribes that people should eat....except her 2 week detox is alot stricter and lower in calories. But that may explain why the program always worked well for me.

Well, I am about 75% already there. I just need to loosen up on my fear of fat, and perhaps taht will stop or reduce the binge eating that is keeping me heavier. what happens is I try to cut carbs without adding fat, and then I end up bingeing at the end of the night. the flaxseed oil Ive added to my diet this week has worked wonders on my appeite and also really helped my skin shine.

I may consider buying the book too because I am anal like that........

[Susie Rosenberg]

[quote=Mandy LaGreca;43256]
Well, I am about 75% already there. I just need to loosen up on my fear of fat, and perhaps taht will stop or reduce the binge eating that is keeping me heavier. what happens is I try to cut carbs without adding fat, and then I end up bingeing at the end of the night. the flaxseed oil Ive added to my diet this week has worked wonders on my appeite and also really helped my skin shine.
QUOTE]


Mandy, my own experience supports that.

I'm 5'7" tall (was 5'8" before my spine surgery, damn!).

At my peak fitness, I was a really lean, low bodyfat 145 lbs. (I'm 53 years old). I ate really well.

I had extensive spine surgery seven months ago. Until very recently---the last couple of weeks---I was in constant pain, and my diet went to hell in a handbasket. I was eating a lot of carb-y comfort foods, and not exercising, and I gained 15 lbs.

It was very scary for me. I felt out of control around food. I ate sometimes 2 large bowls of sugary cold cereal, or several slices of bread and butter while watching TV, lying on the couch, fatigued out of my mind, sad, blue, discouraged.

Since cleaning up my diet and starting to move again on a regular basis, my mood and energy have just skyrocketed. I feel almost as good as I did when I was at my peak of fitness! And most importantly of all, I do not feel like I'm starving all the time, and I do not feel like bingeing. I'm content with some spiced hot tea at night.

It's so dramatic, this complete reversal of my constitution, it astonishes me. I think it's necessary to eat adequate fat in order to get satiated. Just cutting calories, or just cutting carbs won't do it. My .02 cents, anyway.

Susie

[Mandy LaGreca]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

If you eat "real" foods....you don't need to track calories...go ahead and stuff yourself with veggies.

If you want "man made" foods/grains....then you need to track.

If you want an easy schedule, do Mon-Fri with REAL foods only, weekends with more options. Simple yet effective.

I like that. Sunday - Thursday Paleo diet, Fri and Sat more non-Paleo foods. I ordered the paleo diet book, cant wait to learn more!