Quote Originally Posted by tulip View Post
The calorie counting is one aspect, important for weight loss, but I fear you might be losing something with all that math.
Eat well. Live well. Be active.
I am too much the other way... never count anything, just ride or hike when I feel like it (or the dog makes me) and really , at 46yrs have not hardly learned what true discipline is . It's not like I think counting calories will keep me from eating them, (I notice this seems to be some kind of a method with some?) but will allow me to be aware of what I'm taking in. Once I get my favorite foods, and proper portions down, I think that I will just 'get it' and I wont' have to count anymore. I think though, honestly, that just about every method incorporates calories, or points, or some such keeping track. I have never successfully done that before though, and i'ts difficult for me to brace myself for doing it now, too.

Eat an apple every day, and carrots and salads, preferably from local gardens and markets. Walk places. Eat whole grains-bread, pasta, rice...Eat local, humanely-raised meat (if you eat meat) and milk (if you drink milk). Your plate should be filled with color.
Honey, you're preaching to the choir...I couldn't agree more!

For me, personally, a more European approach is what works for me. I go to local markets frequently and buy what is fresh and in season. I love to cook, the freshest foods make the best meals. I eat slowly and enjoy a good meal. I stop when I've had enough--before I'm full.
So, count calories if you have to, but don't obsess about it. Change your lifestyle wholistically, not just the counting. Counting gets boring and boring isn't sustainable.
I live out in the boonies, so runs to the market must be more frugal, once a week I try to keep it. I have to learn to slow down that's for sure, but I am a manic frenzied person anyway, so that's tough. Maybe I need to drink a little wine before my dinner, maybe that will help (but more calories...oy) Learning where 80% full is, is a tough one for me. Leaving a little hunger, is wise, but just not me. The times when I was really fit though, and slender, I didn't need food to sedate me, so, like so many things, it's the law of inertia... it will gain momentum as it goes, jsut difficult to begin. Thanks a whole lot !