An Interesting View of Counting Calories

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ManderMooo
ManderMooo Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I read on a few different articles that counting calories can be bad for someone who is food obsessed. This is because it makes them do the one thing they should not be doing, which is thinking about food. I used to think about food all of the time, and I still do. I just have a different attitude about it now, but I can really see the validity of this point. I think counting calories could be a bad thing for someone that doesn't have more of a plan than just counting calories; for people who don't think about WHAT they want to eat, just HOW MUCH. Thoughts?

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  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
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    I read on a few different articles that counting calories can be bad for someone who is food obsessed. This is because it makes them do the one thing they should not be doing, which is thinking about food. I used to think about food all of the time, and I still do. I just have a different attitude about it now, but I can really see the validity of this point. I think counting calories could be a bad thing for someone that doesn't have more of a plan than just counting calories; for people who don't think about WHAT they want to eat, just HOW MUCH. Thoughts?

    Then why are you here? this is a calorie counting website and as someone who has always been obsessed with food I can say that It would not matter what the plan was i would still be obsessed with food.

    to add to what I was saying, when i started that was my only plan, counting calories and eatting at a deficit, now that i have lost weight I am more into Macros and why it works and trying to get into better health and fitness but everyone has to start somewhere and counting calories is a pretty good place to start. Only by counting them can we learn what we were truly doing to ourselves.
  • radicalmom
    radicalmom Posts: 54 Member
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    Great question!! I think the key is to not "take it to the hilt" Mindfullness. Ha easier said than done. I was doing myfitnesspal for awhile just after the new year. Found myself feeling very crazy, so I quit. I gained more weight. I am going to try to approach it a little differently. Part of my issues are emotional eating I am hoping that by keeping track of things I can make better choices. We'll see..........I guess if it's start to feel crazy then stop and try a different approach.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
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    I say it all depends on the person. Maybe they'll learn something out of it.

    The first time I started counting calories, all I wanted was to lose weight via this method. I was uninformed and misinformed about nutrition, health, and fitness. Now, here I am, months later, I have a wealth of nutritional and health knowledge. I still have a lot to learn and I am always challenging and questioning what I learned. It's all about perception
  • MorbidMander
    MorbidMander Posts: 349 Member
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    I read on a few different articles that counting calories can be bad for someone who is food obsessed. This is because it makes them do the one thing they should not be doing, which is thinking about food. I used to think about food all of the time, and I still do. I just have a different attitude about it now, but I can really see the validity of this point. I think counting calories could be a bad thing for someone that doesn't have more of a plan than just counting calories; for people who don't think about WHAT they want to eat, just HOW MUCH. Thoughts?

    Then why are you here? this is a calorie counting website and as someone who has always been obsessed with food I can say that It would not matter what the plan was i would still be obsessed with food.

    to add to what I was saying, when i started that was my only plan, counting calories and eatting at a deficit, now that i have lost weight I am more into Macros and why it works and trying to get into better health and fitness but everyone has to start somewhere and counting calories is a pretty good place to start. Only by counting them can we learn what we were truly doing to ourselves.

    Uh, rude much? It's not JUST a calorie counting website. Not everyone uses this site to simply count the calories, it can be used as a support system as well.

    To OP, I don't count calories, I did too wrapped up in it and obsessed so I just focus on how much I am eating and stop when I am full/read labels/common sense, things of that nature. Works fine for me.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    When i was explaining to my brother in law about logging my food into MFP he thought it was extreme. I explained to him that extreme was eating so much food that i was over 200 pounds.. Extreme was polishing off a pint of ben and jerrys several times a week, eating most of a bag of salty snacks, eating out almost every night and making or choices because i was asking myself what i FELT like eating.. As if my feelings had anything to do with proper nutrition and food choices.
    What i am now realizing is most people, overweight or not, think about food, a lot! Apparently its normal.. So i say, if i am going to be thinking about it, i may as well be scheduling healthy snacks, keeping myself satiated to ward off binges and planing ahead so i dont become so "famished" i go out and Mindlessly inhale massive amounts of empty calories. I would certainly rather being MINDFUL about my eating then mindless... Again something that helped to get me to 204 pounds. MFP is working, holding myself accountable is working... Tats why i am here, been here for over 450 days... Not going anywhere anytime soon!
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
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    My abnormal psychology teacher and I talked about this in class a few weeks ago. She said that my particular obsession with counting calories was unhealthy, maybe dysfunctional. I think that if you have a tendency to overdo things, you will overdo them. If you told me exercise alone would solve my weight issues, eventually I would exercise to excess. I just have a tendency to do these things. That's why I have straight A's in college; I'm that kind of personality.
  • ManderMooo
    ManderMooo Posts: 10 Member
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    I read on a few different articles that counting calories can be bad for someone who is food obsessed. This is because it makes them do the one thing they should not be doing, which is thinking about food. I used to think about food all of the time, and I still do. I just have a different attitude about it now, but I can really see the validity of this point. I think counting calories could be a bad thing for someone that doesn't have more of a plan than just counting calories; for people who don't think about WHAT they want to eat, just HOW MUCH. Thoughts?

    Then why are you here? this is a calorie counting website and as someone who has always been obsessed with food I can say that It would not matter what the plan was i would still be obsessed with food.

    to add to what I was saying, when i started that was my only plan, counting calories and eatting at a deficit, now that i have lost weight I am more into Macros and why it works and trying to get into better health and fitness but everyone has to start somewhere and counting calories is a pretty good place to start. Only by counting them can we learn what we were truly doing to ourselves.

    Uh, rude much? It's not JUST a calorie counting website. Not everyone uses this site to simply count the calories, it can be used as a support system as well.

    To OP, I don't count calories, I did too wrapped up in it and obsessed so I just focus on how much I am eating and stop when I am full/read labels/common sense, things of that nature. Works fine for me.

    I agree, I do not think this is just a calorie counting website. I use it for tracking most everything about my health and nutrition. The best thing I like to use is the mobile app that helps me make sure I am getting all of my necessary vitamins. I have an eating plan that I try to stick to the best I can, but, when I stray, fitnesspal gives me an idea on how much damage I did before I even get on the scale.

    So much more, than a calorie counting app ...
  • ManderMooo
    ManderMooo Posts: 10 Member
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    My abnormal psychology teacher and I talked about this in class a few weeks ago. She said that my particular obsession with counting calories was unhealthy, maybe dysfunctional. I think that if you have a tendency to overdo things, you will overdo them. If you told me exercise alone would solve my weight issues, eventually I would exercise to excess. I just have a tendency to do these things. That's why I have straight A's in college; I'm that kind of personality.

    Sounds like you have a touch of the OCD. I didn't understand my own diagnosis of OCD for a long time. I'm a slob and I don't wash my hands obsessively. But what people do not understand about OCD is that it is mostly internal. Constant thoughts on any subject that you may or may not compulsively act on. Food became a focus for my OCD, so I am using that to my advantage and trying to shape my thinking. I can obsess about WHAT I eat, but try to change focus if I think about eating all of the time. Try to use that energy to plan my next meal that is within my plan. And I eat about every 3 hours so there is not much time left in between to just be thinking about it.
  • ManderMooo
    ManderMooo Posts: 10 Member
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    When i was explaining to my brother in law about logging my food into MFP he thought it was extreme. I explained to him that extreme was eating so much food that i was over 200 pounds.. Extreme was polishing off a pint of ben and jerrys several times a week, eating most of a bag of salty snacks, eating out almost every night and making or choices because i was asking myself what i FELT like eating.. As if my feelings had anything to do with proper nutrition and food choices.
    What i am now realizing is most people, overweight or not, think about food, a lot! Apparently its normal.. So i say, if i am going to be thinking about it, i may as well be scheduling healthy snacks, keeping myself satiated to ward off binges and planing ahead so i dont become so "famished" i go out and Mindlessly inhale massive amounts of empty calories. I would certainly rather being MINDFUL about my eating then mindless... Again something that helped to get me to 204 pounds. MFP is working, holding myself accountable is working... Tats why i am here, been here for over 450 days... Not going anywhere anytime soon!

    Mindfulness is a very important idea when approaching dieting. Mindfulness is kinda a Buddhist idea. My favorite story about the Buddha that I learned in Thailand actually really helps me when I think about food:

    There was a statue of Buddha emaciated from not eating and sitting under the Bodhi tree with an angel sitting next to him. I asked my guide what it was because I thought it was beautiful. He told me that when Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree and just meditating and starving himself, an angel appeared to him. She told him that you should NEVER do anything in excess, even if it is prayer and meditation. That EVERYTHING should be done in moderation.

    Here is a picture I took. Sorry, my camera was kinda crappy. http://i.imgur.com/wmOVgQe.jpg?1
  • ManderMooo
    ManderMooo Posts: 10 Member
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    Great question!! I think the key is to not "take it to the hilt" Mindfullness. Ha easier said than done. I was doing myfitnesspal for awhile just after the new year. Found myself feeling very crazy, so I quit. I gained more weight. I am going to try to approach it a little differently. Part of my issues are emotional eating I am hoping that by keeping track of things I can make better choices. We'll see..........I guess if it's start to feel crazy then stop and try a different approach.

    I sent this as another reply to someone else, but I'm not 100% on how the message boards work here, and I wanted you to see this too:

    Mindfulness is a very important idea when approaching dieting. Mindfulness is kinda a Buddhist idea. My favorite story about the Buddha that I learned in Thailand actually really helps me when I think about food:

    There was a statue of Buddha emaciated from not eating and sitting under the Bodhi tree with an angel sitting next to him. I asked my guide what it was because I thought it was beautiful. He told me that when Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree and just meditating and starving himself, an angel appeared to him. She told him that you should NEVER do anything in excess, even if it is prayer and meditation. That EVERYTHING should be done in moderation.

    Here is a picture I took. Sorry, my camera was kinda crappy. http://i.imgur.com/wmOVgQe.jpg?1
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
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    Thoughts?

    1. I'm not hungry when I don't eat.
    2. Bean counting: things, not life.
  • katereed01
    katereed01 Posts: 1 Member
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    its a fact that you cant stop thinking about something by trying not to think about it!
  • Mamalea32
    Mamalea32 Posts: 134
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    I am very obssessive about calories. I find that logging online helps me plan my intake and make sure i am nutritionally on targt. I having an eating disorder and obssessing is bad, but right now if i cant't get a visual of my calories i assume i ate too much and then overcompensate for it. I liked ur post. Very thought provoking.
  • JessicaJoanJarvis
    JessicaJoanJarvis Posts: 80 Member
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    What have you tried to tackle your emotional eating? Any thoughts / ideas welcome!!
  • joe7880
    joe7880 Posts: 92 Member
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    I think most people are not really food obsessed or really have OCD, etc. A person is diagnosed with a mental disorder when, whatever it is they are doing is interfering in their ability to function on a daily basis. Is counting calories stopping you from caring for your personal needs, holding down a job, paying the bills? Probably not. Also, even if you are diagnosed with having OCD from a mental health professional (not some poster on a fitness site LOL), I don't know how sticking to a calorie budget in itself would be harmful to you. Having a laundry list of rituals that prevents you from holding down a job, etc. would be the problem. I guess calorie counting could be one of those rituals.
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
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    This site is also used by recovering anorexics, who struggle daily with food. Counting calories apparently helps with getting not only the right amount of calories in but also with overcoming the mental block.

    We all think about food, because food is essential for living. the problem I (and most other people who use this as an aid to lose the extra pounds) always had was that I'd think about food more in the moment, I didn't plan ahead, I didn't look at the consequences over the week or month. I just ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    What have you tried to tackle your emotional eating? Any thoughts / ideas welcome!!
    Turns out this was one of my main issues... I blogged about it during the early stages of my transformation if you want to check those out...
  • Saratini76
    Saratini76 Posts: 115 Member
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    This site is also used by recovering anorexics, who struggle daily with food. Counting calories apparently helps with getting not only the right amount of calories in but also with overcoming the mental block.

    We all think about food, because food is essential for living. the problem I (and most other people who use this as an aid to lose the extra pounds) always had was that I'd think about food more in the moment, I didn't plan ahead, I didn't look at the consequences over the week or month. I just ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.
    :happy:

    Isn't that the truth? I started out a diet program with my doctor and at first, I was completely obsessive. I weighed every day, tried to cut my calories too much, and pretty much had near anxiety attacks over it. MFP helped me because it kind of "scolds" me when I cut too much which will cause rebound gain. It has gotten so much easier after learning to plan ahead!!
  • Lyerin
    Lyerin Posts: 818 Member
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    I find that logging keeps me honest, and I'm much less likely to eat away my emotions when I'm writing everything down. For example, prior to getting back on track, I would drown a frustrating day in high fat/high calorie/fried foods. Now, I take a relaxing bubble bath or give myself an uninterrupted half hour or hour to read. I'm still allowing myself to do something because of the frustration, but I'm doing something that has no bad effect on my health.

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