Counting Calories is an eating disorder?

RaggedyPond

I just read an article saying if you are preoccupied with food and have to plan what you eat and log everything you eat it is considered an eating disorder. If you feel the need to exercise off calories you over ate it is an eating disorder.

http://the****itdiet.com/2013/04/18/what-is-disordered-eating/

Opinions?

RaggedyPond

Any over-thinking or stress involved in choosing what to eat. Seriously, if you think about what you should eat today, or tomorrow, or for your upcoming meal, for any more than 1 minute, it is not normal* or healthy. *Well it might be NORMAL, because so many people do it for the Noble Cause of “Weight Management”, but it shouldn’t be. If you spend any extended amount of time thinking about, planning, or worrying about what to put in your mouth for fear that a wrong choice will ruin “something” (health, your hot bod, “the world”, whatever), then you are dealing with some disordered eating. Eating is not supposed to be this hard.
Fear of a specific food or food group. There are two times when this is not disordered: a legit allergy or genuine intolerance, or a general easy-going avoidance of a food because of a dislike or intuitive sense that it isn’t best for you at the time. But as soon as it becomes a fear, or something you think a lot or worry about, you have officially been brainwashed by “well-intentioned” diet gurus and a society that fears the moral failure of weight gain. If you are avoiding a food or food group because of an orthorexic-level desire to be pure and healthy, you are building your own cage. Sure, we care about ourselves and want to eat well and treat ourselves like a temple, but when fear and fixation get involved, that is a manifestation of control issues. And it is not a normal way to live or eat. *Again I refer to the definition above for “normal”.
Any exercise that is in direct correlation to something eaten. Food is not burned off like gasoline in a car. Well, I guess at times it is, but your body is more freaking complex than a car. And you can quote me on that. And, you can eat a rich, delicious meal without gaining any weight even if you don’t run it off “right afterward”. Also, on the flip side, and just for good measure: you can gain weight, for any reason, and still maintain your dignity, because you were not put on this earth to be as small as humanly possible. And you can quote me on that too.
Starving yourself now so you can eat a lot later. This is just bad practice. And there is a difference between saying: ”nah, I’m not gonna eat that cookie now because I really want to enjoy my dinner” or “nah, I’m hungry but I really don’t feel like a cookie now, I’d rather wait for dinner” as opposed to: “Omg I’m starving, but I promised I woudn’t eat in between meals. I might pass out, but I will thank myself later when _________”… You know what I mean.
Any preoccupation on what other peoples’ bodies look like and/or comparing them to your own. Technically this can be separate from eating, but I am adding it in here, because it also can be very linked with disordered eating. If you do that, ever, for more than a split second, than you are hyper-focusing on things that don’t really make life all that much better. Go out. Hang with your friends. Play. Dance. Sleep. Create Something. Go for a nature walk. Don’t focus on anybody else’s body or your own, because it won’t bring you any of the happiness you hope it will. Unless they are your lover I guess… again, you know what I meant.
Judging foods by their calories and/or counting up your calories as you go through the day. Maybe this is hard to unlearn for you, but unlearn as well as you can. Because, again, it is NOT NORMAL* or healthy or joyful or life-affirming to a. eat according to calories. Because calories know nothing about your body’s hunger hunger. And b. Eat the Smallest Amount possible. It is just not logical. Think about appetite and life and family and eating through the ages, up until very recently. nobody would eat as little as you do, with as much stress as you do about it. They had other problems, and thank god we don’t have them! Don’t replace their real problems with thinking that you ate too many Weight Watchers Bars. Your ancestors would be very upset with you if they could be!
Thinking and preaching that you have found “THE WAY TO EAT”. Whatever that may be, a diet plan, a “diet lifestyle”, a great cultish CSA, simple marathon training, goji berries and hoodia and green coffee extract, WHATEVER YOU THINK YOU HAVE FOUND… you probably haven’t. The closer your diet resembles a religion… or a cult, the more disordered it probably is.
Fear or fixation or guilt after you eat something “Bad”. Never fear, people will experience this a lot for a while after they start intuitively or mindfully eating, and moving away from disordered eating. There is a learning curve, and the more times you eat said food without ill effect, or the rapture happening, the easier it will be to eat it without fear or fixation or guilt. But, in general, if eating certain food causes guilt or constant thinking about it, or the need to talk about it constantly “guys I just ate a whole bag of chips”… it’s disordered! Fear, control, feelings of losing control, black and white, good and bad, all or nothing. Not. the. way. to. live.
Bingeing. Often a reaction to periods of restricted eating, or a general restricted mindset, sometimes as an emotional pacifier. Sometimes strictly emotional… but rarer.
Substituting Fake/Low/No calorie foods. Not 100% of the time disordered, but enough it is an indicator.
Believing “Without a diet I would __________”. Balloon up. Lose control. Have a breakdown. Lose my job. Eat the World. Never stop eating. It is not true.
And probably many more….

magerum

Tl:dr

Ridiculous.

traumaticthrash

i count my calories and fire burns in my belly to achieve my goals.... if thats a disorder then I have a serious one

trudijoy

no. if you're at goal weight and still counting obsessively then that would have some concerning elements but this is a learning process and while you're learning you need to keep track and be careful

shadow2soul

if you think about what you should eat today, or tomorrow, or for your upcoming meal, for any more than 1 minute, it is not normal* or healthy

:noway:

So people who can't make up their mind have an eating disorder now? :huh:

I have had plenty of times in my life (before I even started calorie counting), where I would debate between several food choices for a couple minutes. I don't think of it as an eating disorder, just indecisive.

kimosabe1

a balanced day is what it is and should be...........:happy:

Crazy4Healthy

no. if you're at goal weight and still counting obsessively then that would have some concerning elements but this is a learning process and while you're learning you need to keep track and be careful

I'm at goal and still here and counting and probably will for a long time to come. I got fat by not counting and eating whatever the h3ll I wanted. Don't consider it obsessive or an eating disorder, has just become my way of life. I still go out and enjoy myself.

djrn144

If counting my calories and paying attention to what i eat, trying to exercise and being healthier is a disorder well, i confess, i have it and am proud of it! Too bad I have other health issues due to my out of control eating that brought me here. Wonder what they say about that?

LiftAllThePizzas

I guess balancing your checkbook is a banking disorder.

Whomever wrote that article is an idiot. Their obsession with "it's not normal therefore it's a bad thing" is also stupid.

spectralmoon

Well... ****.

*throws everything in the air and walks out*

brower47

Sometimes I think about what shoes I'm going to wear the next day. Sometimes I even set out the next day's clothes the night before and (get ready) sometimes I change my mind after my morning shower. I think I may have a dressing disorder.

bodiva88

I had disordered eating when I DIDN'T count calories and I DIDN'T recognize there needed to be a balance between intake and burn.

LiftAllThePizzas

Sometimes I think about what shoes I'm going to wear the next day. Sometimes I even set out the next day's clothes the night before and (get ready) sometimes I change my mind after my morning shower. I think I may have a dressing disorder.

Definitely. Seek counseling before it's too late!

RaggedyPond

I feel like I would still count calories even at maintaining. Otherwise I would just start gaining again. But that must be the disorder talking. Hilarious that being fat is a disorder and now doing something about it is also a disorder.

trudijoy

no. if you're at goal weight and still counting obsessively then that would have some concerning elements but this is a learning process and while you're learning you need to keep track and be careful

I'm at goal and still here and counting and probably will for a long time to come. I got fat by not counting and eating whatever the h3ll I wanted. Don't consider it obsessive or an eating disorder, has just become my way of life. I still go out and enjoy myself.

I didn't say no counting, I said counting obsessively.... theres a difference. Keeping track is a great idea and I likely will myself once at GW. but i'll be more relaxed, because i'm confident in my new ability to balance well.

MyChocolateDiet

Okay? What if I count the money in my wallet? What if it takes me more than a minute to figure out whether I have enough for my next purchase once I calculate the other purchases that are non-negotiable?

What if I think about the fact that I have to put gas in my car at night before I go to bed to try to program my mind to remember that in the morning before I head out and run out of gas?

What if my cell phone has limited minutes and I hem and haw over whether to call a certain person because I really really should but they are chit chatty and might cause me to bust the bank on minutes?

What if I try to manage my time? What if I make a plan to do workouts for a certain percentage of my day, reading for another, tv for another and try to live a balanced life? Is all this obsessing and disordered? Or is it budgeting and resource management?

Wow if I just lived my life all willy nilly and not caring about anything, I'd be myself in the 90's. Running out of gas all the time. Migrainey and hangry all the time. And way hay hay over my phone usage all the time. With some days of doing a lot and other days of accomplishing so close to nothing it negates the other days. Not to mention missing appointments and being late everywhere.

I think life involves a certain level of paying attention, no?

MyChocolateDiet

I feel like I would still count calories even at maintaining. Otherwise I would just start gaining again. But that must be the disorder talking. Hilarious that being fat is a disorder and now doing something about it is also a disorder.

inorite. can't win for losing. (pun intended)

Lunachic77

Well consider me fuct then...I'd rather be armed with responsibility, discipline and organization vs. eating aimlessly without care or regard to my health. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail...right?

brower47

Okay? What if I count the money in my wallet? What if it takes me more than a minute to figure out whether I have enough for my next purchase once I calculate the other purchases that are non-negotiable?

What if I think about the fact that I have to put gas in my car at night before I go to bed to try to program my mind to remember that in the morning before I head out and run out of gas?

What if my cell phone has limited minutes and I hem and haw over whether to call a certain person because I really really should but they are chit chatty and might cause me to bust the bank on minutes?

What if I try to manage my time? What if I make a plan to do workouts for a certain percentage of my day, reading for another, tv for another and try to live a balanced life? Is all this obsessing and disordered? Or is it budgeting and resource management?

Wow if I just lived my life all willy nilly and not caring about anything, I'd be myself in the 90's. Running out of gas all the time. Migrainey and hangry all the time. And way hay hay over my phone usage all the time. With some days of doing a lot and other days of accomplishing so close to nothing it negates the other days. Not to mention missing appointments and being late everywhere.

I think life involves a certain level of paying attention, no?

You have so many disorders that you might as well give up. Buy yourself a white jacket (the kind with all the cool buckels like Houdini used to wear) and check yourself in with the guys in the white coats. You are putting yourself and everyone around you at GRAVE risk.

annwyatt69

I just read an article saying if you are preoccupied with food and have to plan what you eat and log everything you eat it is considered an eating disorder. If you feel the need to exercise off calories you over ate it is an eating disorder.

http://the****itdiet.com/2013/04/18/what-is-disordered-eating/

Opinions?

As someone who suffered for years with both anorexia and bulimia, I can promise you that counting calories does not even come close to ED. ED's happen when the body image is seriously distorted and there are severe mental and emotional issues that coincide. Counting calories, carbs, fats, and logging on to MFP doesn't come close. As a Type I Diabetic, it is the best tool I have to keep my diabetes and insulin use under nearly perfect control. No obsession--just a great tool. If by chance, you are completely obsessed with it, have severe body image issues, starve yourself and purge several times a day, then you have a problem and need to seek medical and psychological help. As for MFP and logging food and exercise, it is a great fitness tool for those of us who wish to live a healthy lifestyle.

imondrugz

We're all ****ed lol.. Who cares lol ? They consider using caffeine some sort of addiction lol.

VeinsAndBones

Yay another disorder I have! Add it to the list! Soon I hope to build an entire house out of disorder plaques ^_^ Or at least a pillow fort...

magerum

magerum

Okay? What if I count the money in my wallet? What if it takes me more than a minute to figure out whether I have enough for my next purchase once I calculate the other purchases that are non-negotiable?

What if I think about the fact that I have to put gas in my car at night before I go to bed to try to program my mind to remember that in the morning before I head out and run out of gas?

What if my cell phone has limited minutes and I hem and haw over whether to call a certain person because I really really should but they are chit chatty and might cause me to bust the bank on minutes?

What if I try to manage my time? What if I make a plan to do workouts for a certain percentage of my day, reading for another, tv for another and try to live a balanced life? Is all this obsessing and disordered? Or is it budgeting and resource management?

Wow if I just lived my life all willy nilly and not caring about anything, I'd be myself in the 90's. Running out of gas all the time. Migrainey and hangry all the time. And way hay hay over my phone usage all the time. With some days of doing a lot and other days of accomplishing so close to nothing it negates the other days. Not to mention missing appointments and being late everywhere.

I think life involves a certain level of paying attention, no?

Give up

Carnivor0us

I like how MFP censored the URL.

RaggedyPond

lol I know right

corpusopus

Well if you think about it...if you are obese or overweight ,by definition, you have an eating disorder.

LovinDaNewLiz14

hahhaha this a disorder I LOVE, and I refuse to give up

annwyatt69

Well if you think about it...if you are obese or overweight ,by definition, you have an eating disorder.

Actually, by definition, disordered eating and eating disorders are very different things. Look it up in the book on Nutrition by Thompson and Manore.

LokiOfAsgard

Counting calories = good

Not wanting to eat that extra piece of food, even though you're hungry, because it'll put you twenty calories over and that's going to make me gain weight! = Not so good