Which would be better for me: counting calories or only eating healthy foods?!


Question: Which would be better for me: counting calories or only eating healthy foods?
I have decided to dramatically change my eating habits for the better for the next few months. My reasons are 1. To create a healthy body to be happier living in for hopefully a very long time, and 2. Superficially, because I want to be skinnier and look better when I go to the beach at Easter.

First, a little about me. I am 14 years old, female, 5'6"ish, around 140 lbs. I work out about 3 or 4 days a week playing soccer, lifting, and conditioning. My health philosophy was always eat when you're hungry and burn it off later. Recenlty, I have decided this won't be good enough if i want to look hot in my bikini (vain, yes I know.)

So this is the "diet" I have been working on the last few days:
No drinking calories (i.e. no drinking anything but water, and lots and lots of water)
No meat or cheese (I haven't eaten meat in 4 months, and the cheese thing is really hard for me. Its more like I've been lessening my cheese consumption.)
No snacks between meals (except water)
Eat when I am hungry (I mean honestly hungry becasue my body needs fuel. I don't eat becasue I'm sad or bored, and I think I can tell the difference)
More vegetables
No packaged foods (mostly)
Nothing obviously unhealthy (i.e. cake, candy, french fries, junk food)
And I do 30 second planks and side planks every day in addition to soccer workouts to make my abs leaner

My question is, do you think all of this is worth it if I don't count the calories I take in? They are healthy calories in my opinion and I didn't want to be on a legit "diet" because I don't think I need to be. I am a growing teenager and I have to factor in the excercizing I do. However, sometimes I worry I'm still eating too much. Like for lunch today, I had some pasta (boiled barilla plus penne noodles with my mom's homemade sauce: boiled tomatoes, sataued green peppers and onions), an orange, a handful of raw almonds, a banana, some grapes, and about three cups of water.

What do you think about all of this? Count calories or continue what I'm doing? any other suggestions are also very much appreciated! Thank you all so much! <3

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

In other countries where they live past 100? They are programmed to eat all the healthy foods from Mother Nature, they don't know what's in their foods, how much sodium, how many calories, none of those. Only in the USA they are required the Food & Drug regulate foods we eat, because that's their job to monitor our intake.

If you're fixing all the foods you eat, and cutting down on processed foods, you KNOW you'll be eating healthier.

The idea is to eat as much as you want, as long as it's not double helpings of everything and you can have an occasional sweets, but the main thing is 3-5 fresh fruits & vegetables daily. When your plate's empty don't go for seconds. If it's over the top, then you're overeating!

Go to pyramid food group dot gov for daily food requirements.



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That's an excellent plan.

As healthy as fruit may be, it's natural sugars do not only not promote fat loss, they actually promote fat storage (fructose is the most lipogenic carb). Fructose, the sugar in most fruits (as well as table sugar, honey, high fructose corn syrup) creates triglycerides which "trap" fat in fat cells. Watch for corn syrup, corn sugar, sugar (anything ending in -ose) in commercial products (ketchup, pasta sauce, etc.)

Studies have shown that some people can gain fat stores even on a semi starvation diet of 1000 calories a day - if it's composition is high carb, low fat. So obviously, calories aren't the key to fat loss.

I am adamantly opposed to low calorie dieting because most people lose a good portion of lean tissue (including vital organs like the heart) along with fat stores. There is no nutrition in fat stores, only energy.

Most people get impatient and lower their calories and increase their exercise to a point where they lose so much lean tissue that when they return to what was maintenance level eating they are now accumulating more fat stores because their caloric needs have dropped due to the loss of this tissue as well as their metabolism slowing down to work more efficiently on fewer calories & it becomes a vicious cycle of dieting and more loss (including vital organs like the heart). This stress to the vital organs cannot be healthy.

I recommend to lose weight, cut out all sugars & starches. No sodas, juices, cookies, candy, cakes, etc. Make sure half your meals are green non starchy vegs & eat lots of protein & good fats, limit your complex carb portions to no more than your protein portion.



Quick answer:

Both

Eat healthy and count your calories.

Work out your BMR (Basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (Total daily energy expendature) here:
http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/caloriecalculator.htm

Then count all the calories you consume, avoid drinking your calories, teaspoon of sugar contains 25 kcal for example, which is added to a lot of hot beverages and become 'hidden calories'




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