Check out this "expert" advise! "Counting calories is bad!"
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I love how people with psychological problems around food are so eager to tell the rest of us we're doing it wrong OMG DANGER.
Counting calories works. Counting calories is not incompatible with good nutrition (the "quality" of what I eat). Counting calories does not inevitably lead to obsessive behavior. Counting calories does not have to control me.
Counting calories is just a tool for helping me stay mindful of the quantity of my energy intake and balance.
Look, I can have compassion for your issues, but please don't insist you don't have a disorder and that your anxieties are not only perfectly normal but inevitable.0 -
I love how people with psychological problems around food are so eager to tell the rest of us we're doing it wrong OMG DANGER.
Counting calories works. Counting calories is not incompatible with good nutrition (the "quality" of what I eat). Counting calories does not inevitably lead to obsessive behavior. Counting calories does not have to control me.
Counting calories is just a tool for helping me stay mindful of the quantity of my energy intake and balance.
Look, I can have compassion for your issues, but please don't insist you don't have a disorder and that your anxieties are not only perfectly normal but inevitable.
Are you addressing me? Shifting from an ad libitum approach to eating to calorie counting - or, actually, any kind of monitoring of eating - requires learning and adjustment. Stress experienced along with that in no way reflects or presupposes any kind of psychological disorder. Also, no one said such stress was inevitable; only common.
Suggesting that the many people who experience strain with adjustment to monitoring intake (of quantity or quality) are psychologically disordered is not only ignorant, it's a massive d!ck move.-1 -
Lol I don't have any psychological disorders. And yes I do get a tad anxious when I see those red numbers.....
However I need to see them so I can correct the issues and make up for it over the coming days.
My deficit is a whole whole 320 calories, so it's not very hard to go in the Red.0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »
I don't view it as saying you were "naughty". It is just to make it clear that you were over your budget for the day...just like in finance, you were "in the red". It's a good thing to point this out, IMHO.amusedmonkey wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »I agree with the stress and anxiety it can cause when I see those red numbers that tell you you've gone over for the day....
That is a feature I wish MFP would GET RID OF. I don't know how it makes everyone else feel, but for myself having experienced a poor relationship with food in the past... it can sometimes make me feel anxious. I bet it's way worse for those with EDs or ED history
I agree. It would be nice if they set up a range to stay in instead of an exact number.
Do you use all the features on your phone? If not then why use everything on MFP. Just disregard the red because its not like being in red one day will outdo the rest of the week.
Well it depends on how much in the red you are.
Either way I'm very well aware that being over by a couple of calories isn't a big deal. The thing of it is that not everyone is ok with seeing big red numbers on their home screen when they log in.
LOL so my answer would be don't go in red. Don't overeat which is how 90% people gain excess fat.
Red is not necessarily overeating. You could be in the red and still in a deficit. If you eat 1 calorie over your budget you're "naughty" according to MFP.
Let's say you were over by what seems like a small amount...say 100 calories. Most people would look at that and say "I was very close...good enough. I'm basically on target and doing well." The problem is, if you do that every day, over the course of a week that is 700 calories. If you have a very small deficit...which many people strongly prefer...that could be the difference between losing and not losing.
And then at least some of these people will say they were sticking to their plan and not getting results. And they might give up because they think it doesn't work. I know it's not logical, but humans have a great capacity to not "notice" things they don't want to notice. The red just makes it impossible to ignore that you did actually eat more than your budget...so if becomes harder to forget that at the end of the week if you don't like your results.
Oh I don't mind the red. I was replying to the person who said being in the red is overeating and would make you gain weight when it isn't always the case. Personally, if I had my way I would make the app calculate a weekly deficit and only go red when you go over that in total (with a handly little budget number for reference). I don't mind either way, I have my own spreadsheet for that.0 -
I'm saying that the people who insist that calorie counting is wrong for everyone and that a way around it must be found because NO ONE should count calories -- those are the people with psychological problems.
Calorie counting a problem for you? Fine. Lots of people do. That's on you though. It's not fundamental to the human condition.0 -
I dislike the fact that the first article says there are "better ways of losing weight," but doesn't even mention what any of those might be. You would think they would want to at least share the options if they are superior.
Go to the original article in Health.com, not the Foxnews.com reprint. In that article she links to other things she's written, including generic ways to lose that don't just focus on counting calories; stuff like eating less processed foods. Nothing really new, IMO.
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MoiAussi93 wrote: »Counting calories is just one method. It is very good for some people and terrible for others.
There are people who become obsessed and get stressed. I see it here all the time...people freak out if they go to a restaurant that doesn't list calories on the menu (which is basically all non-chain restaurants!). The spend time worrying about whether their zero calorie cooking spray is still zero calories if they spray for two seconds instead of one. This is not healthy behavior. However, just because some people are obsessive doesn't mean that the counting is to blame. People like this would just obsess over something else if they weren't counting calories.
I do think everyone should try to once in a while take a step back and assess whether they are getting close to the line where counting goes from being helpful to harmful.
Yes, but those people are likely going to take any method to unhealthy extremes.
My wife used to exercise until she literally passed out. Does that mean exercise is bad?
If they pick the flavor of the month low whatever diet, they will obsessively count whatever grams instead of calories.
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mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
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mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?
People that want to continue to use their bodies, never stop exercising. I haven't yet, and I don't ever plan to.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?
MFP is literally a collection of individuals who favor calorie counting as their preferred weight management method. I'd think I would be more surprised to see folks who actually aren't interested in calorie counting on this site - long term or not
I think someone had also asked about strapping a HRM around your chest every time you workout. Not everyone does this, but for me, it's like asking if you'd put on a pair of shoes forever when you work out. When I forget the freakin thing I am constantly checking my wrist to see my heart rate while exercising.
Did logging change how I eat? YES, yes it did! Frankly I will admit freely to only taking an interest in vegetables because they're low in calories and filling. Health benefits? Lovely side effect
I haven't done the whole pizza thing and other stuff I used to inhale prior to counting calories
I understand not everyone may be interested in permanent calorie counting, but the post I was responding to seemed to indicate incredulity towards the notion that some people might be
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mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
Do you think you will be tracking until you are dead. I mean that question literally. Are you going to be tracking intake for the rest of your life?
That is what baffles me. The number of people who believe they will be doing this until they are dead.
And it is not about "willing" as much as it's the idea that they are somehow NEVER going to acquire the necessary habits to maintain weight without logging.
I am not baffled that there are people who use calorie counting as a long term solution.
And yes it's quite obvious that sites dedicated to calorie counting will generate mass opinions about calorie counting.
Finally for the record I thought the original article was crap and I also think tracking intake is a great idea for most people. Most of my clients do it. I mention all of this because my arguments about this topic get strawmanned quite a bit -- people think I'm against calorie counting. I'm absolutely not against it. I'm against dogma.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?
People that want to continue to use their bodies, never stop exercising. I haven't yet, and I don't ever plan to.
Isn't that what everyone says then life happens and fitness is not a top priority anymore?0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?
People that want to continue to use their bodies, never stop exercising. I haven't yet, and I don't ever plan to.
Isn't that what everyone says then life happens and fitness is not a top priority anymore?
Um, I've been around 35 years and the only time I didn't exercise were the few weeks I was laid up in bed, once for an ankle injury, and once for an ACL knee repair. As soon as I was able, I was up again, doing my PT and whatever workouts I could. I don't see exercise as an addition to my life, I see it as a part of it. A permanent part.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?
People that want to continue to use their bodies, never stop exercising. I haven't yet, and I don't ever plan to.
Isn't that what everyone says then life happens and fitness is not a top priority anymore?
Um, I've been around 35 years and the only time I didn't exercise were the few weeks I was laid up in bed, once for an ankle injury, and once for an ACL knee repair. As soon as I was able, I was up again, doing my PT and whatever workouts I could. I don't see exercise as an addition to my life, I see it as a part of it. A permanent part.
I see exercise that way too and people have told me find someone who feels that way too.
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christinev297 wrote: »I agree with the stress and anxiety it can cause when I see those red numbers that tell you you've gone over for the day....
That is a feature I wish MFP would GET RID OF. I don't know how it makes everyone else feel, but for myself having experienced a poor relationship with food in the past... it can sometimes make me feel anxious. I bet it's way worse for those with EDs or ED history
I like the red numbers, it is a quick way to identify if something is going awry during the day. I don't like the passive-aggressive warnings, ie, something like "Your carb limit was XXX grams today" after you log something that puts you over. It's okay, MFP, you can just tell me "You exceeded your XXX carb grams limit for the day", I promise not to have a nervous breakdown if you tell me directly, lol0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »WalkingAlong wrote: »I read Cynthia Sass' book and liked it. I do think calorie counting is not ideal for long term weight maintenance, for many. You don't have to look far to see people all over this site with disordered relationships with food and the numbers.
What would you call a disordered relationship with food and the numbers and why is calorie counting long term not ideal?
Speaking from personal experience I got to a point where I started selecting foods strictly based on numbers and not based on other factors related to typical food selection processes (nutrient needs, palatability, etc). I started viewing foods as strings of numbers and not as food themselves. Furthermore, I disliked the amount of attention I needed to pay to energy values and I developed the feeling of severe restriction.
It's really not all that different from someone deciding to eliminate entire categories of foods and how, in SOME of those cases those people end up developing a less than ideal relationship with food (orthorexic type behaviors) because of their methods.
I've also had clients who have had issues with the relationships in their life because of their tracking behaviors.
I don't direct this at you (person I am quoting) but it baffles my mind how many people believe that since an issue or problem doesn't exist in their world, then it must not exist.
Ultimately, with any behavior you select you need to determine how that behavior effects the quality of your life. For SOME people, tracking intake is a net negative.
For many people it's perfectly fine, and for those who don't have issues with it, it's a powerful tool.
Oh, I don't question that it's problematic for some at all. I question that the site is rife with people with disordered relationships with food and numbers as the other poster asserted.
I also question the other poster's premise that for some people, long-term tracking is less than "ideal", whatever that is. "Ideal" maintenance is pretty much going to be an individual thing, who gets to do decide what works best for anyone? Why have a concept of what is and isn't ideal?
I see.
I agree that regardless of the prevalence of disordered eating on this site (I make no claims about it) you can't say that it was caused by tracking.
I do think that long term tracking probably isn't a great idea for many people. Most people are going to be better off using calorie tracking in the short term while they develop food habits that allow them to sustain a reasonable calorie intake so that the tracking piece can eventually (at some point) go away.
It baffles me how people believe that they will be 90 years old in a nursing home and logging the jello they eat through a straw.
Now, if someone enjoys calorie tracking then doing it long term is fine. I suspect most people aren't in this position.
Why would it baffle you to find numerous people on the MyFitnessPal calorie counting website that are willing to use calorie counting as a long term solution?
It's kind of like how some people stop exercising at some point in there life. I doubt everyone wants to keep logging foods forever and at that point did counting calories really change your eating lifestyle?
People that want to continue to use their bodies, never stop exercising. I haven't yet, and I don't ever plan to.
Isn't that what everyone says then life happens and fitness is not a top priority anymore?
Um, I've been around 35 years and the only time I didn't exercise were the few weeks I was laid up in bed, once for an ankle injury, and once for an ACL knee repair. As soon as I was able, I was up again, doing my PT and whatever workouts I could. I don't see exercise as an addition to my life, I see it as a part of it. A permanent part.
I see exercise that way too and people have told me find someone who feels that way too.
I've dated very active people, and complete slugs. Either way, I got my workouts in.0 -
Sorry double post0
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Know what I find stressful? Not fitting into my favorite pair of skinny jeans. Not knowing if that slice of cheesecake is going straight to my @ss or not. Looking like crap in a bikini, or watching the scale number climb.
Taking three whole minutes per meal to log what I've eaten and make sure I'm under goal?!? *Gasp!* Why isn't my hair falling out from the stress??!!??
I agree with what you say about stress. Counting calories is a tool that is meant to help, although for some it can cause stress. Depends on what one eats. I eat what I like, but with counting calories I just eat in moderation. Plus I do interval walking everyday, along with my giant ball for my situps. These things help me.
As you stated, stress comes when people worry about "other" things such as bills to pay, gas going up, not being able to fit into the clothes we want. Whether one chooses to count calories is like counting steps when walking. That is why I wear an activity tracker so it can count the steps for me. No stress there. Putting down what I eat everyday is not really counting calories, just seeing if I am over or not. After my interval walking, I always end up with more calories that I am supposed to eat.
As long as I consume the proper foods for my 1200 calories and do my exercise, I will continue on. It is what works for me. Eating in moderation along with some form of exercise is the key to losing weight, with more emphasis on moderate eating.
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I'm with you 100% otherwise but I'm curious what in the original article you thought was crap, besides her being against skipping meals? The other things she advocates are not overdoing alcohol, not eating "diet" foods, not shunning fat, not overeating on healthy food and not emotional eating. It all seems pretty non-controversial to me, besides the skipping meals thing (which I actually agree does help a lot of people avoid the night time overeating and bad choices, but that's neither here nor there)....
Finally for the record I thought the original article was crap and I also think tracking intake is a great idea for most people. Most of my clients do it. I mention all of this because my arguments about this topic get strawmanned quite a bit -- people think I'm against calorie counting. I'm absolutely not against it. I'm against dogma.
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