Counting calories is a great way to lose weight actually. Every time you go to eat something you think "Do I really want to record this in my food log?" Then you say no and don't eat it. I ate drastically less as a direct side effect of trying to count calories.

I wonder if can affect variety of the diet though? "I have no idea how many calories this salad is, let me eat that well measured donut instead and be done with the paperwork" would totally be my train of thought...

This never addresses the mentality of "eating better" instead of simply "eating less."

> "counting calories is just painful. Have you ever really tried to do this?"

Yes. It is (or at least was) the core mechanic of Weight Watchers (converted to a "points" scale), and it worked pretty damn well.

For me, it was a pain for about 2 weeks. By then, I'd figured out all of my common food items, and how to cook dishes with reduced calories but that were still plenty filling.

As a result, I now know how to structure my diet to get the same benefits without actually having to count.

I considered calorie counting too hard to do. Then smartphones and apps came to be. I've been using the myfitness app for several months, and it's definitely bearable.

In the past, most of the people didn't spend time watching TV while eating junk food.

And yes, I do count calories. I'm committed to staying fit, and counting is not an option.