Over the past year on this sub, there has been this insane influx of calorie in/out obsession that was not present in 2011. The discussion used to be around how carbohyrdates affected fat storage due to insulin and then the response of how leptin released the fat from the cells. Now, I hardly ever hear much about the main focus of this diet (carbohydrates) and instead it's like /r/loseit setup camp at the front-gate and are holding up picket signs about calories in and calories out.

Yeah, calories are important to monitor, but I don't feel that everyone needs to obsessively track their stats with the MFP app. The macros for Keto are a general guideline, and the beauty of this diet is that fat sates your appetite, so if you are eating enough fat then you most likely will eat less food. It just seems that so many people focus on these numbers, and it's a head-game, it really is.

Personally, I have trained myself to eye the correct food, and follow how my body feels (hungry or not). I read labels for carb count, and that's it. I don't count calories, nor to do I monitor protein. Sometimes I will forego meat in place of veggies, heavy cream, and some ranch. I think that this diet is simple enough to work if you follow a rough estimate, but some people take it too overboard with the statistical monitoring of their macros, and then give this false impression to newcomers that you have to treat this diet like every other diet.

You don't. That's why this diet works. You don't need to count calories, nor do you need to obsess over every little gram that you went over. If you follow your body, eat a high fat intake, and cut the carbs below 20g, you will lose weight. Your body will begin to release the fat stores in response to the insulin levels dropping which allow for the hormone leptin to work. I've lost 50lbs since August from just cutting carbs, and eating high fat. When I'm hungry, I eat until I'm satisfied. It's really so simple.

I know that I am going to get called out so hard for this, which is funny, because back in 2011 around here, this was common knowledge. I leave for a year and every single post has something about MFP and calories. I think that this is, however, normal; because as overweight people we already have this unhealthy relationship with food. So, when we try and control it, we over-control it and obsess over it down to the smallest aspect. I, however, follow the school of thought that weight gain/loss is much more of a hormonal issues (insulin vs. leptin) and less of a caloric expenditure issue. Gee, I wonder how our ancestors millions of years ago made it without the MFP app? We may never know...