Is Counting Needed

#1

I have never counted a single Macro, Never tested my blood or urine. Have eaten far to many calories for my body size every single day. As of today in 10 months have reduced my weight by 22%. This entire process does not have to be hard in fact it is very simple.

It is this simple, eat fat, (but the more you eat the slower fat will burn) , protein (meat) need not be feared eat lots, eat butter covered veggies if you like. and limit your feeding window to under 6 hours in a day. Stop eating sugar and grains!!! Take in lots and lots of salt.

Extra stuff
More time that passes the less I think we need veggies and the more liver, marrow and brains we should be eating. I do remove skin and seeds from all nightshades. Also think eating most raw veggies is not the best for you.

This is one mans opinions and is only that, purpose of this post is to try and make life and this life style much simpler and stop with the petty details.

#2

I think a lot of folks already do this, including myself. - Iā€™ve simply tried to keep carbs to 15 or so a day since I started, and pretty much donā€™t worry about anything else. I also usually do OMAD, but with the occasional second meal thrown in here and there just to keep it from becoming too repetitive. ā€¦ But there are those who do enjoy ā€˜countingā€™, keeping track of everything, and thereā€™s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Some like seeing all that data and crunching numbers, and I say whatever helps you enjoy this WOE/WOL, go with it. :slight_smile:

#3

I agree with you, however i also think the macro obsession turns many off from trying this WOL

(Janelle) #4

Youā€™re very lucky that it works for you. This kind of thread makes me want to leave this forum but not this WOE. I did not get to weight I am because I could control what was going into my body. I need to track and you can have all of my brains and offal.

#5

Agreed, it doesnā€™t have to be hard but the reality is many people canā€™t eat intuitively whether theyā€™re fat adapted or not. I lost my first hundred pounds without tracking and swore by that vs macro tracking. Then I starting hitting the weights heavy and realized that I was considerably weaker than I was prior, meaning a year prior, and I determined that I was WAY under eating to both maintain and gain muscle mass. When I started tracking I started eating a descent amount more, had better energy and was able to bump up the metabolism. These days when I want to take weight off Iā€™m a lot more sensitive to my intake than I was when I had a lot more to loose, which seems to be the case for most people the closer they get to their goal / normal weight for their body type.

#6

donā€™t leave, I am very happy to leave, You need this more than i do, and for sure identify with almost no one here, so keep it chilled

#7

Yep, I understand what your saying, and do agree that it would be nice if everyone could do Keto and keep things simple. But those who do track and crunch numbers probably do this because it is easier/simpler for them or is simply a necessity to help them along the way. ā€¦ I think there are many options for folks with this WOE, and they pretty much have to find what works best for them.

#8

Because somebody has a difference of opinion? If we all walked around agreeing with each other and repeating the same viewpoints than weā€™d be the cult that the ā€œnormalā€ people think we are.

#9

Iā€™ve been told this by many others as well, and have always said that though this is working for me presently, there may be a time when I have to start tracking, for similar reasons you posted about. And agree that this is probably needed more-so when someone gets down closer to their maintenance weight and has less to loose.

But can see Alleyā€™s point, that for some, coming into this WOE/WOL can get overwhelmed when they start seeing everyone posting all these crazy numbers, stats, etc. - But they also need to do some research themselves and they will see that there are many ways to do Keto, and thereā€™s not one set standard.

(Janelle) #10

Itā€™s the veracity and ā€œthis way is rightā€ presentation. Itā€™s not that I donā€™t realize that not counting works for some. Do you know how frustrating it is to not be able to fall back on what seems natural to others? It is. ā€œJust do keto. Donā€™t count. Eat all the keto things. It will work for you.ā€

I donā€™t weigh 800lbs. I am almost 50. I need to lose the 70lbs that contributed to high bp and worsening arthritis. I am following Dr. Westmanā€™s plan as prescribed by my obesity specialist physician. I am not ā€œcheatingā€. The weight loss is slow - itā€™s happening - so Iā€™ll stick with it. By the way - for me, if I donā€™t track, I am often calorie restricting. See - not the same for everyone.

#11

My intent of this thread was to have a place for conversation with non counters. It is the same diet just without the details, the details will not be fun for the long haul. I also agree if you have current medical issues (mine are gone) then it is important to follow the details.

I did not want to attract the attention of the hatters or offend anyone just wanted a conversation i desire to take part in, but maybe that is not possible. Long term i think all is solved by stop eating sugar, fake sugar and grains.

(Allie) #12

I count nothing and track nothing, but some people need to and thatā€™s their choice.

#13

agree there choice, but they have 300 threads to talk in, want one for us non counters.

(Wendy) #14

Alley I eat the same way and it works great for me. I personally donā€™t do well with tracking but thatā€™s me.
I do think counting macros can be intimidating for some so it can be nice for people to know that some of us have success just following guidelines of keto.
My personal rules are no grains, no sugar, no soy, artificial sweeteners are for ocasional treats, eat real food, donā€™t drink my calories, no diet soda, drink enough, add salt often, take magnesium, eat homemade bone broth frequently. Add fat to veggies eat real butter, Avocados and bacon are necessary :laughing: and read often about keto and nutrition and try to make wise decisions with the knowledge I gain.
Oh, and fast. Iā€™ve never done an extended fast but I do limit my window most days.
I also make exceptions to almost all of the above rules, but as rarely as I can.
I eat berries almost everyday with my full fat yogurt and Iā€™ve never found a sugar free bacon yet. I also frequently eat very dark chocolate that has sugar.
So this is my simple keto. Iā€™ve gotten to my goal weight in about 9 months and plan to continue this way of eating.
I hope there are others who find this as simple and effective as I have but also appreciate those who have found they like or need to track to help them reach their health goals.

(Bob) #15

I am a data nerd so all data all the timeā€¦the tracking got real simple for me once I got all the recipes and foods I eat loaded in the CarbManager app. I spend less than 10 minutes a day entering my food log. Its part of my process and motivates me.

The thing is you are very educated on the science and the nutritional aspects of foods in generalā€¦most are not and only struggle at the start due to simple mistakes made based on a lifetime of misinformation about dietary health. Tracking macros faithfully is a very powerful educational tool at the start and is very important in the short term, as one progresses it becomes increasingly less important.

(Ken) #16

I never tracked. Nor restricted calories. I just ate when hungry. I just ate two thirds meat to one third fat by weight. Which I still do.

(Ted) #17

Iā€™m currently not a ā€œcounterā€ but itā€™s been an evolution and a goal. For the first two years I logged everything virtually every day. As I found the feedback of the record keeping process reinforced good food choices. I also routinely checked my glucose and ketones using a meter. And, of course I stepped on the scale compulsively. In years 3 to 4 I gradually stopped tracking my food and blood as I had made good food choices my natural WOE and was also confident that my body was staying in ketosis as a result. Iā€™m now into year 7 and Iā€™ve been experimenting with dietary adjustments to achieve specific results without the hassle of counting. Iā€™ve managed to pass through a bout of keto rash, get constipation under control, and Iā€™m currently working on lowering my body weight another 20 to 30 lbs in addition to the 60+ Iā€™ve lost and kept off for the whole time. All this is to say, we each have our own path and sharing our path is how others can find theirs. Itā€™s the reason for this forum and why the 2dudes got all this going. So, if I may contribute to this thread some advice, please keep sharing, and if you find something that sounds useful, try it, and share it if it works, it may not help everyone but it may help someone. If not, continue seeking. That is the real way of living healthy.

(Frank) #18

Iā€™m thinking the reason that this went from 0 to 60 so quickly is the title itself ā€œstop countingā€. Just my thought. I could be wrong. Myself, I count when Iā€™m troubleshooting but otherwise I eat instinctually.

(Brian) #19

Iā€™m not a ā€œcounterā€ either. In the beginning, I looked things up a lot to see what kind of carbs or protein or fat they might have. Most of it has become intuitive at this point but I will occasionally still look something up just to see.

I came from a vegan/vegetarian background so I normally like veggies. I had to figure out which ones I had to leave behind. Potatoes were huge but it had to be done. Grains had to be left behind too. I was a bread baker and ground my own wheat so if you think that wasnā€™t hard, think again. But I had to let it go. Pasta, which I was also making, same thing. Rice or oats I never liked enough to care. Fortunately, many of the veggies I like are on the keto-friendly list. I eat less of them than I used to but still eat them.

I had to really make a conscious effort to get good protein. As a vegetarian and especially as a vegan, I was way underconsuming protein, for many years. It did not result in good things happening physically and I wish I had gotten whopped upside the head a lot sooner. So really, protein is the macro that I pay most attention to but I still donā€™t count anything. I just try to make sure I get a good satisfying serving of it at most meals.

I never even consider fat other than if I want some, I have it. When I tell people I eat all the butter I want, they get this idea that I eat sticks of it every day. Nope. Not even close. But I eat all I want. Sometimes thatā€™s only a little but I eat all I want. If I make a fatty piece of meat and the fat is easy to eat, I eat that, gravy/juices, too. If I have chicken and the skin is on it, I eat that. I donā€™t shy away from fat. I also donā€™t go out of my way to consume extra.

I suppose thatā€™s pretty lazy keto but it works for me. :slight_smile:

(less is more, more or less) #20

Iā€™m slowly converting to this, from full-on data nerd, tracking and counting every bloody thing, to simply living life, while sticking to Dr. Westmanā€™s Page 4. KCKO and KISS sounds right to me.

I do not see any untoward sentiments in your original post. Ironically, your post aligns with Dr. Westmanā€™s sentiments. He is a patient doctor and has been bemused by my data-nerdery. Again, I see the wisdom in this "less is moreā€ approach now.

When one was fighting on the CICO battlefield, you cannot ā€œdataā€ enough, since the data, and results, were so at odds, that the fix was surely more data, right? I mean, the experts are right, and Iā€™m wrong. I feared that my confirmation bias and denial prevent me from effective weight management.

No to all that.

The answer is as simple as Page 4. Well, and occasionally weighing and measuring. Just not hourly, or daily. Itā€™s rather liberating.