Getting carried away without thinking of the consequences. (running before I can walk)

ickihun said:

Has anyone made the same mistake as me? I've lost weight on lchf diet with calorie counting on myfitnesspal and jumped into restricting my calories too quickly and has confused me and took me off my successful path by the too strenuous low calorie target.
My swimming regime is unaffected but I reduced to 1345 calories too soon. 1650 it is again for me. I still lose so I'll settle into this 1650 calorie for a while. Running before I can walk?

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I think it's good to go into weight loss gently rather than reducing calories too fast. One risk with rapid weight loss is gallstones. It can cause all sorts of other problems and I think it can also increase the chances of regaining weight. Enjoying walking and then you can enjoy running later

I only count carbs ..letting the calories take care of them selves

ickihun said:

Has anyone made the same mistake as me? I've lost weight on lchf diet with calorie counting on myfitnesspal and jumped into restricting my calories too quickly and has confused me and took me off my successful path by the too strenuous low calorie target.
My swimming regime is unaffected but I reduced to 1345 calories too soon. 1650 it is again for me. I still lose so I'll settle into this 1650 calorie for a while. Running before I can walk?

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We all have to decide the best way forward for ourselves, but as a matter of interest, could you tell me what makes you think you went too far, too fast? A bit more detail might also help others.

Enclave said:

I only count carbs ..letting the calories take care of them selves

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I agree. Can't see why counting calories is needed when lowering carbs & increasing fats done right does the job.

Paul59 said:

I agree. Can't see why counting calories is needed when lowering carbs & increasing fats done right does the job.

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I think that very much depends how much the individual is reducing their carbs to and by. I make no reference to the OP here, but if the person concerned lowers their carb intake from 200gr per day to 100gr, that's a significant drop in carb intake, but if they then up the fats and add cream, I would doubt there would be much weight loss.

If the carb reduction is to a significantly lower level, then calories become less critical,

Paul59 said:

I agree. Can't see why counting calories is needed when lowering carbs & increasing fats done right does the job.

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Everyone is different and there will be situations where calorie counting is helpful for certain people.

AndBreathe said:

I think that very much depends how much the individual is reducing their carbs to and by. I make no reference to the OP here, but if the person concerned lowers their carb intake from 200gr per day to 100gr, that's a significant drop in carb intake, but if they then up the fats and add cream, I would doubt there would be much weight loss.
,

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@AndBreathe: I can personally vouch for this! I usually eat well under 50g carbs a day, often around 20-30, but am a bit too heavy with the fats and cream. I lost a lot of weight initially, but then it was static for a while, and went up a bit after Christmas, without any obvious changes in my diet. When I finally checked what I was actually eating calorie wise I was sightly surprised at the amount of calories that can be guzzled in apparently fairly small quantities of cream/fat. It's made me a little more calorie concious with my diet.

@ickihun One thing I've realised is that you definitely have to be realistic in what you can cope with (not) eating particularly if you want to be able to stick with your diet longish term. It's better IMO to go slower and steadier than rushing at it and falling after the first fence, so to speak. I've seen a fair number of people ending up doing that, and becoming demoralized. So to misquote Bob Dylan slightly "Go at your own chosen speed..." but you must make it an achievable one.

Robbity

Paul59 said:

I agree. Can't see why counting calories is needed when lowering carbs & increasing fats done right does the job.

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Some of us need more help with "doing it right", especially if we have longstanding issues with overeating and excess weight. It is incredibly easy for me to keep eating cream and butter all day. Without some awareness of calories, I would not be losing the unnecessary weight even on LCHF.

@ickihun , my only advice on calorie counting is not to be a stickler; feel free to eat more on certain days and less on the others, based on how you feel. As long as the weekly average is about right, it will be fine. Keep up the good work!