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Is counting calories/macros destroying our enjoyment of food?
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leanitup123
Posts: 489 Member
in Debate Club
Interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
3
Replies
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The first thing that comes to mind on this is the growing demands for calorie counts at restaurants.
I love food, and have spent an appalling amount of money at some very, very high end restaurants. When I go out to eat, I want it to be an event, and I'm sure as hell not thinking about calories. But there are some people out there who believe that it should be mandatory for all restaurants to provide nutritional information, which I think would be the death of everything I love about fine dining.
I mean, I'm all for the chains and fast food places which operate a production line kitchen having nutritional info and when I am grabbing something while out (as opposed to going out for the purpose of eating out) I tend to pick the ones that do have the info so I can track.
But the restaurants I love, the ones where I don't even look at a menu and just let them bring us a parade of different food that the chef has whipped up for that morning's trip to the market, could never even try to give nutritional info without destroying that spontaneity.
So in that way, I despair of the calls for mandatory information at restaurants and believe it would destroy the soul of those places, and thus my enjoyment of them.37 -
It's messed me up a bit. I still enjoy my food. But not like I did when I was fat and didn't care. But I enjoy looking better.34
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Not for me. In fact it has enhanced my enjoyment of food (if that was possible lol) because I'm trying all kinds of new recipes that i never even thought of before.46
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I find that it's made me more creative and when I manage to make something really tasty, but still fairly healthy and low calorie, I actually enjoy it more.
Mostly what I've stopped is the mindless eating that I was never enjoying in the first place.
However there is that point when you go out and you look at a menu more with what's low calorie in mind that what you want to eat - I don't go out often so I tried not to do that last time and found it hard.14 -
Maybe eventually, but right now it's still new, so kind of fun.5
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Nope2
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Not at all. For me, I think it has just increased my awareness of what I eat and how much I need.
I don't worry too much about calories for eating out or special events, just try to be mindful of how much I am eating and not get too carried away. I don't eat out very often anyway.
Counting calories made me realise how many little "treats" I was slipping into my overall diet and how often that was happening. Now those treats are still there, but that are special, rare treats that I enjoy and appreciate a lot more.17 -
I've been using MFP consistently to count my calories for ~5 years now (I'm in maintenance). I agree with @cdkelly ... I think it's actually helped me enjoy my food more, not less. I only eat food that I like now. In reflecting on my past diet, I ate quite a bit of food that was mediocre at best. Calorie counting led me to think about whether I was wasting calories on food that I don't really like that much, but was convenient (some fast food, frozen pizza, etc.) I almost never eat to discomfort anymore either.
Also, there's nothing quite so satisfying as knowing that you can fit a reeses peanut butter cup cookie a la mode into your calories.27 -
I find it enhances my enjoyment, since I'm not stressing over whether or not eating that piece of birthday cake will cause me to start gaining weight again. I know exactly where I stand with my energy balance.13
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no not at all. i don't eat stuff i don't like. it's probably a good thing i like everything except canned lima beans and mackerel sushi.8
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I can't eat as much, which might be 'less' enjoyment. If that makes sense.9
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No. I enjoy my food first, then record the calories and macros after. It's meant to be a lifestyle change, not a tedious chore. It is quite possible to enjoy a new life that's different from the old.7
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Even if it does, it's something that I have to do. My choices are
A: count calories/macros
B: gain 10 or more pounds every year
I choose A.
My high weight was 320. I choose to take control now rather than being a My 600-Pound Life candidate later.
My highest enjoyment of food comes with high-calorie and high-volume meals. If I didn't have to deal with the consequences, I'd happily eat fast food 3-4 times a day at 800+ calories per meal. Right now I'd love to get a Dairy Queen 6-piece Chicken Strip Basket (1250 calories), a medium Coke (280 calories) and either a medium Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard (800 calories) or a Peanut Buster Parfait (710 calories). Another meal that I'd really enjoy would be half of a medium Meat Lover's Pan Pizza (1320 calories) from Pizza Hut.
My mouth is watering and I'm getting a bit of a rush just thinking about it.
However, I do have to deal with the consequences. Sigh. Every day that I don't gain weight is a victory.38 -
Food has been way more enjoyable for me since I've started logging! I'm more focused on my nutrition now, so I've been eating lots of new stuff9
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Love reading everyone's opinions on the subject. Though many of you are saying that counting calories has no negative influence on your enjoyment of food, do you think it has had an effect on your relationship with food (example: looking at 2 choices on a menu and seeing only numbers, choosing the lower calorie option, etc.)?1
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leanitup123 wrote: »Love reading everyone's opinions on the subject. Though many of you are saying that counting calories has no negative influence on your enjoyment of food, do you think it has had an effect on your relationship with food (example: looking at 2 choices on a menu and seeing only numbers, choosing the lower calorie option, etc.)?
Not really. I order what I want, eat the amount that fits into my calorie goal and take the rest home.13 -
leanitup123 wrote: »Love reading everyone's opinions on the subject. Though many of you are saying that counting calories has no negative influence on your enjoyment of food, do you think it has had an effect on your relationship with food (example: looking at 2 choices on a menu and seeing only numbers, choosing the lower calorie option, etc.)?
Not really. I order what I want, eat the amount that fits into my calorie goal and take the rest home.
great!1 -
I will admit, there is a Subway sandwich I love, and one I don't mind and I will often opt for the one I don't mind over the one I love because it fits my calories. It makes me a bit sad.8
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I've gone through some times of feeling like keeping track of every gram was making life a LOT harder than I wanted it to be. I work my *kitten* off at the gym/home and had an image of my future being where I just make "balanced" "wise" decisions about food and it will all fall into place. It hasn't been that easy. I'm not at my goal weight (after 18 months), so I've had to adjust my expectations and embrace that keeping track of macros might be my life. Maybe maintenance will be a little easier? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! In the meantime I can't say I love minding my macros, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to the finish line :-)8
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At times it does for me which is why I very seldom track my food.
I think it's hit or miss on an individual level. It's definitely NOT a good fit for some people long term.3
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