Counting vs. Not Counting

[KingLeonidas]

I was wondering exactly how many of my fellow atkins disciples actually COUNT carbs, and I don't mean a rough estimate, I mean keeping a diary, measuring portions, and counting down to the .1 gram. For me, this is simply not a realistic expectation, although for some I could see it being very helpful. ( I'm not the type to balance a checkbook, keep a diary, or other things of the sort so maybe it's just not my personality? ) In my first go-round, I found fast success not by counting but by PRIORITIZING my food choices, and eliminating certain foods entirely. I just wanted to approach it in a way I could use for life, and I know I'm just not a meticulous enough person to account for every last carb for the rest of my life.

another downfall, I feel, of the strict "counting" method is that it puts you into this spenders mindset ( i.e. I have "20" carbs to spend today, how can I do that ) which is very similar to a weight-watchers nutrisystem, deal a meal approach, which makes you think ALL carbs are equal. Well personally I disagree with that, I mean I suppose you could, drink 20 carbs worth of juice in the morning, and have no other carbs throughout the day and find success, but that defeats the whole point of this dietary APPROACH, which is to change the way you think about and prioritize different foods. I found that if I use this reverse pyramid approach, I'm rarely hungry and don't even crave carbs, wheras in the rare cases where I include small amounts of bad foods ( in small portions thus small carb amounts ) I feel deprived and hungry, even if I might be under some arbitray carb "limit"

Here is how it has ( and is ) working for me. 1. I don't count, ever 2. I eat my fill of all "acceptable" foods, protein, fat etc 3. I incorporate low-carbohydrate high fiber veggies as side portions but never as meals. 3. ELIMINATE all sugar, flour, corn syrup, and high-carb high-glycemic veggies and fruit

sorry for the rambling, but I'm just interested if any shares my "no-count but strict priority" method, or if you all are true "counters" and how it's worked for you, and how you think it might fit your personality

[callog]

I am not a strict counter of carbs either! I only eat what is legal and the only thing about my vegtables is that I eat the legal ones but like you said as side dishes I do and try to estimate 3 cups but I know its not exactly, more or less I don't just splurge on them becuase its ok to have them, only a little maybe mixed in an omlet then mostly protien for lunch them I will have a small serving and a small salad with my dinner.

[IrishSarahHB]

I do the same thing .. but then again my weight has been staying in the same place for quite a wile now .. up 3 lbs ..down 3 lbs .. but no significant weight 'loss'

This week i am going to start counting a using a journal of what i eat .. see if i can find where the problem lies ..

[SunnySmile501]

After years of weighing and measuring everything when I did low fat low calorie, I would never do a diet where I had to do that again. I ate way more processed, low nutrition foods since it was easy to keep track of everything. It was easy to measure out a cup of Cherrios and a half cup of skim milk and call that breakfast and be on my way. With Atkins, I wanted to move to whole, healthy foods--much harder to come up with the numbers.

At the very first, I weighed and measured salad veggies just to get in my head what two cups looked like. I weighed and measured cheese for the same reason. I have had a lot of practice with measuring and judging serving size, so I almost never measure or weigh anything, now.

I do, however, keep a food and drink journal. I write down everything I eat and drink before I consume it. There is no way to "forget" ingesting a food that way. By sticking with the rule of writing it down before I eat it, and not after, sometimes makes me change my mind about whether I really want or need to eat the food. When I am busy, if I forget to write it down, sometimes I can't remember what I ate just a few hours earlier. Old timers disease running rampant in my life!

I also weigh or measure problem foods like nuts. It's easy to over-indulge when they taste so good and you just guesstimate how many you've had.

Most of the fun with Atkins is not having to count calories or be afraid that you ate two lettuce leaves too much. I was very careful when I was in induction, but the rest of the way has been easy. As long as you follow the rules and move carefully up each rung, you should do fine.

Sunny!

[liv]

I count - religiously. It just work for me. I do not measure but I eyeball and record everything in fitday. If I do not do this I easily may eat too many carbs. It has been a good way for me to learn what kind of foods I need to reduce in what ways. Also because of the OWL climbing process, I think it is necessary to be aware how much 5 carb portions are and add them right at the the right time.
Personally I don't get caught up in any qouta dilamma. There is an allowed food list - I eat from it. I know veggies are supposed to most of the carbs I eat. And that is that,

[KingLeonidas]

Originally Posted by IrishSarahHB

I do the same thing .. but then again my weight has been staying in the same place for quite a wile now .. up 3 lbs ..down 3 lbs .. but no significant weight 'loss'

This week i am going to start counting a using a journal of what i eat .. see if i can find where the problem lies ..

I think that's definitely a great recourse, if a looser approach doesn't work, I'm definitely not against good record keeping, or truly objective measuring, I just know I'm not capable of it

[not2late]

I count. During Induction Phase, you can get away not counting carbs---just follow the Rules, eat off the List and you'll probably eat about 20 net carbs daily. BUT Induction isn't the entire Atkins Plan.

During On-Going Weight Loss Phase and Pre-Maintenance Phase, if you don't measure and don't count you can screw up big time. OWL and Pre-Maintenance isn't as mindless as Induction. Each food has a different volume for 5 or 10 net carbs. For example, 1/2 cup of blackberries is about 5 net carbs, but 1/4 cup of blueberries is about 5 net carbs. So if you don't measure or count, you'll have a difficult time finding your CCLL or CCML. And if you stop losing weight----that's another big headache because you won't know what you did wrong or right.

During Maintenance, you have to be mindful of amounts too. Perhaps not to the point of counting everything, but you have to be mindful.

Only a very small number of us cannot eat more than 20 net carbs daily. The rest of us can eat well above it for weight loss and weight maintenance.

[SugarFreeSheila]

I do not count carbs gram by gram per se - I just eat low-carb and it all works out. (Staying as low on the glycemic index as possible ensures this.) My carb tally is approximately 90-110 grams per day for maintenance.