Is Calorie Counting healthy

Cattytobeginnings
Cattytobeginnings Posts: 6 Member
edited January 9 in Health and Weight Loss
Just musing and sharing thoughts...IS Calorie Counting healthy ??? OR is it the beginning of an obsession with food ultimately turning into a full blown ED.....running after a target number of calories every day...fanatically measuring, weighing food....shunning social occassions....Losing the delight and happiness of eating your food in the midst of this pursuit...!!!!What do you say folks!!:smokin:

Replies

  • ritoosh
    ritoosh Posts: 190
    i think it could be. at least in the beginining. ultimately its supposed to help you to learn portion control and to eventually know how to eat without having to do all that work.
  • djkshdfd
    djkshdfd Posts: 443 Member
    I think it is just a way to put your habits in perspective and come to realizations. Bringing it to a higher level than this is misuse.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    I don't shun social occasions, I just make better choices while there...like eating 2-3 jalapeño poppers instead of 10. I go above& below my calorie count, rarely am I on target, and it's not the most important aspect of my life. I enjoy my food much more knowing that I am striving for a healthier me. I did, for a while, care too much about the calories, and I stepped back and stopped counting for a few months. Now I'm back, I am focused but not obsessed. Because life is no fun without tiramisu cupcakes.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,365 Member
    Depends. Bell curve is a live and well.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Just musing and sharing thoughts...IS Calorie Counting healthy ??? OR is it the beginning of an obsession with food ultimately turning into a full blown ED.....running after a target number of calories every day...fanatically measuring, weighing food....shunning social occassions....Losing the delight and happiness of eating your food in the midst of this pursuit...!!!!What do you say folks!!:smokin:
    It can lead to ED. The problem is not with calorie counting. The problem is with the image of certain foods.
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    Not sure whether this is a serious post, since you seem to be going the way of hyperbole here...but I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as it is just part of one's life, not one's WHOLE life. If you're calorie counting/measuring/weighing etc to the exclusion of your normal activities and you're shunning social interaction ALL the time, yeah, maybe that's a problem.

    People prone to EDs are likely to show this obsessive behavior without the "help" of MyFitnessPal and other calorie trackers, as EDs have been around a long time. For someone who really does have an ED, this site could be an obsession, or it could be a way to work their way toward health.

    I've been using MFP off and on (mostly on with the exception of the past 3 months) for nearly 2 years, and I don't feel like I've lost the "delight and happiness" of eating my food...I'm just a lot more mindful of what and how much I'm eating. And if I want to eat out with friends, we either choose a place where we can make healthier choices, or I plan in advance to workout a little more or, quite honestly, sometimes I go over my daily calories and don't stress over it too much. It's possible to use MFP in a healthy way and not get obsessed.
  • ChrissieP80
    ChrissieP80 Posts: 112 Member
    It depends on what the goals are. I am certainly learning what an awful lot (calorie wise) I used to eat and what unbalanced macros before. But if you calorie count to get lower than the recommended minimum or you obsess over it then I guess it's unhealthy.

    And I don't shun social occasions either. It's just taught me to make better choices when I am out - I can still enjoy myself. In fact, speaking of social occasions, friends are coming over for a BBQ and cheese & wine tonight. :-)
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    shunning social occassions....Losing the delight and happiness of eating your food in the midst of this pursuit...!!!!What do you say folks!!:smokin:

    The people on MFP who are most successful at maintaining a healthy weight do none of these things though they do tend to do the rest (counting).

    I agree with the above also. Demonizing food can absolutely lead to a very unhealthy fixation on food. This is called orthorexia.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Is opening a beer the doorway to alcoholism?
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Is opening a beer the doorway to alcoholism?
    No but using an Ipad to take a picture is....
  • graveflower316
    graveflower316 Posts: 169 Member
    I'll be completely honest and say that calorie counting does heed results, but it definitely has led to my own obsession with calorie counting. If I'm not counting my calories, I immediately feel like I've gone over my suggested amount of calories (regardless if I'm actively dieting or not). It's an awful feeling, especially since I know when I don't count I also feel guilty. That's just me though.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    A knife can be used for many purposes... It can be used to cut food, cut a line, open up a seam or kill a person... it is all in how you use the tool... Anything can be misused.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
    It depends on the person.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    It depends on what the goals are. I am certainly learning what an awful lot (calorie wise) I used to eat and what unbalanced macros before. But if you calorie count to get lower than the recommended minimum or you obsess over it then I guess it's unhealthy.

    And I don't shun social occasions either. It's just taught me to make better choices when I am out - I can still enjoy myself. In fact, speaking of social occasions, friends are coming over for a BBQ and cheese & wine tonight. :-)

    UNRELATED: Chrissie, I LUV your graphic....
  • Cattytobeginnings
    Cattytobeginnings Posts: 6 Member
    Hey thx everyone...Wonderful replies... I suppose the bottomline is how you perceive it in the bigger scheme of things..Your health...your happiness...your primary motivation of why you are counting calories...
  • SabrinaJL
    SabrinaJL Posts: 1,579 Member
    It depends on the person.

    That. I never counted calories before and the most I ever lost was 20 lbs. Since I found MFP, I've lost 60 lbs, I've gotten off blood pressure medication and my cholesterol (which was fine before) is even better now. I'd say that's pretty healthy. I don't obsess over it and I take breaks when I feel I need to. I took a couple weeks off for the holidays and enjoyed myself. I've been at this for almost 2 years and it seems to be working just fine. My doctor is thrilled at any rate.
  • Janelle173
    Janelle173 Posts: 396 Member
    I used to have an ED when I was younger-didn't know it until people pointed it out to me. Sometimes, when I am trying to make counting a habit, I feel like it mimics my mind set of what I used to do-tearing food apart into small bites, counting bites, among other things (mimics the mind set i was in when doin those things, not that i am doing them now...). However, I am trying to have a much healthier view and relationship with food...and since I now know what I am like with an ED, I think being more aware of it being a possibility has allowed me to bypass it...thus far at least.

    It is probably more so about people's own perception, whether or not they have ever dealt with an ED, and if they have any current possible triggers in their life and chemical imbalances in their brain. For me it was a control/OCD thing manifesting because everything else in my life was complete chaos and not of my own making. But, a big thing to realize when you end up with an ED from lack of control else where in your life, that the ED gives you a SENSE of control, but it really ends up controlling you and your health.

    I think with calorie count, I feel more in control...if i am not within my calories or other limits, i will try something different tomorrow, or in a few days ;)
  • stonel94
    stonel94 Posts: 550 Member
    it depends how you do it. I put in before what I think I'll have for the day, cause I usually know, and i have a good idea now of what different foods nutritional makeup is, so like I don't avoid eating out and stuff because I just choose something healthy, and if I don't want to, I choose whatever I want. I don't weigh food, sometimes I measure it, if it's like countable i do count, and I know pretty well what 3 oz or 1 cup or whatever looks like so I can eyeball it pretty well and get a good portion size. That's what this is supposed to do, open your eyes, have you learn healthy portions, and healthy foods, and then use that, when i have the luxury of hand picking everything i eat and deciding really precisely i do that, but I don't stress too much when I can't.
    It can become an obession, but for most people probably it doesn't
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