And how did you learn?
One of the biggest reasons I urge people to count their calories is because most don't have a freakin' clue what they're eating, they don't know where most of their calories are coming from and they just seem to have the mantra such as "more protein" or "fat is bad for you" etc.
Identifying what they're actually eating usually makes things clearer for people rather than more complicated.
How can you be on a 'calorie controlled diet' if you don't know how many calories you're attempting to control? Many people end up reducing portions or whatever without realising they're already consuming too few calories and that's their problem.
I agree if you've counted for awhile you get to know different foods and can roughly judge, same as if you've been driving for awhile you get to know your speed without having to look at the speedo. Saying "speed doesn't matter" or "you don't have to look, you'll get the hang of it" for a learner driver is not helpful. Speedometers are there for a reason, calories are labelled for a reason, both are useful tools and worth using until you don't have to.
B.