Do you find it necessary to count calories. I know it can be frustrating to always be counting calories. I find that if I am eating the right foods and in good quantities that I do not need to worry so much about counting each calorie. It seems to come out at a good count at the end of the day.

I don't think it is necessary if you eat a balanced diet and do regular exercise, but I did find it an extremely effective way to lose weight when required.

Agree with you. I don't count calories, life is too short to count calories. I simply focus on eating nutrient dense food with lots of protein and good quality fats. Many of the foods I eat are rich in calories, so I don't need to worry about insufficient calorie intake.

I agree with these guys to an extent. I recommend you count your calories for the first 2-4 weeks. After that you will remember the calories and macros in almost everything you eat. Within the past few years I have never recorded my calories, I do it all in my head believe it or not.

I think you should have a rough estimate of how much you are eating.

It's fine if you are a few under or a few over, I mean unless you are in a profession where it matters, it's fine to be off by a bit.

People who take it too seriously end up getting tired out in a few days. Counting until the very last calorie is absurd!

Do it for 1-2 weeks. The point is to get an idea how much calories you are consuming so you have a rough idea of where you stand with each meal/day. After that just use the general estimation you got before to plan your meals.

Counting calories and nutrients every day is time consuming.

I use FitDay.com to track my calories. They have a huge database of foods, but I usually add my foods manually (based on their nutrition labels).it's helpful for some, but definitely not necessary. you can make gains or lose fat without doing so.

There are even some useful apps that allow you to count calories, if you wish to do so.

I have seen people that count calories have great results and people who don't count calories have great results.

If you can make that general estimate, you should be fine.

I do think it is necessary. You can estimate, but I have found after actually keeping track, that you can be WAY OFF! Make is easy for yourself. I downloaded spark people on my iPhone and can easily search for what I am eating and with one touch it tracks it for me. I was eating between 500 and 1000 more calories that I actually thought I was.

It depends on your goals and how important they are to you. If it's vital to you that you need to lose or gain a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time, then counting calories will make it that much easier. If you have a basic idea of what you're caloric intake and output is, then counting the exact number of calories might not be necessary.