Counting Calories is an eating disorder?

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Replies

  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
    But those who give no thought what so ever to what they eat or to exercise and are overweight...they're okay? no disorder there?
  • virginia65us
    virginia65us Posts: 106 Member
    This is nonsense. One of the root causes of the obesity epidemic is people NOT putting any thought into their eating habits.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    Probably written by an over-weight, or out of shape American.

    It's not a disorder to care what you put into your body if it doesn't effect your quality of life. You see a guy on the streets with a nice car and he can tell you the mi's, last oil change, type of tires ect. Ask them if they're how much fiber they're in-taking, how's their blood pressure, do they watch their cholesterol...they'll have no clue.

    Something's wrong

    I disagree, I think it was written by an over-weight or out-of-shape Macedonian.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Using these behaviors as tools to get healthy is a good thing. Obsessing over it, being totally preoccupied with it...yeah, that COULD be an eating disorder.
  • mammakat0830
    mammakat0830 Posts: 117 Member
    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.

    I have severe allergy to being overweight, :bigsmile:

    ...In all seriousness, I guess it could turn into a disorder if the obsession interferes with the rest of your life and you are unable to function, but otherwise, the article sounds like rubbish :huh:
  • LennineHooper
    LennineHooper Posts: 32 Member
    i count my calories and fire burns in my belly to achieve my goals.... if thats a disorder then I have a serious one :D

    ^^ Completely agree :)
  • Lawngirl296
    Lawngirl296 Posts: 46 Member
    Any time something takes over your life it means you are in disorder for sure. My daughter started counting calories and exercising them off and it turned into Anorexia nervosa an eating disorder characterized by immoderate food restriction and irrational fear of gaining weight.
    Life is meant to be enjoyed and yes she enjoyed being thin but it wasn't about the weight any more it was about the restriction and the control she had over the food.
    We need to count calories and we need to exercise but we also need to be mindful of who and what is in control of OUR lives.
  • moontyrant
    moontyrant Posts: 160 Member
    The biggest issue here is the use of the term "disorder." If you do something regularly that interrupts your life, makes daily tasks difficult/impossible, or wreaks catastrophic damage to your personal well being, then it is a disorder. Counting calories? Not a disorder. Spending hours mapping out your meals for the next day, bursting into tears at the grocery store, developing bleeding ulcers from the stress of deciding whether to eat this or that, that's a disorder.

    Psychology is a science, not a buzzword.
  • KELSIeZ96
    KELSIeZ96 Posts: 5
    I do not think its an eating disorder but Ido think people can it obsessd wirh it. When I first started my calories goal was 1200 and thy was so hard for me. Id only eat about 800 calories but burn over 1000 working out and my body was so tiredd. Theny calories count was 1550. That one i would eat 1000 calories but burn over 800 caloroes. I became obsesed and thats why im taki a break from it and when i come back im gonna raise my caloroeie count to 1800 since i burn so much. Just be careful
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
    Personally, it's NOT thinking about what I'm eating that got me into the mess I had to reverse! Everyone is different and some people don't have to be as concerned and thus don't understand the challenge others face. Yes, you can obsess about anything, but if it makes you healthier...be aware of food choices but don't let it rule your life completely.
  • AJinBirmingham
    AJinBirmingham Posts: 497
    Not counting calories or paying attention to your diet and exercise and getting fat is an eating disorder.
  • hpilon27
    hpilon27 Posts: 43
    Disorder: An ailment that affects the function of mind or body.

    If you have made a conscious decision to make healthy lifestyle choices, I don't believe you have an ailment.

    BTW, I didn't even finish reading the second sentence of that article... I can spot crap when I see it and life's too short :-)
  • hurley89
    hurley89 Posts: 3 Member
    it's better to be healthy and count - with apps etc now it only takes a few minutes a day and helps to keep you on track. Might as well use the tools available to keep healthy.
  • deadmittens
    deadmittens Posts: 536 Member
    I can see how it can turn into one, but not everyone who does it has a disorder.
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    Lol, I'd be quite worried if it were... Seeing as how many people are on this site :p
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    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 log 98% of my days and count absolutely everything. While I see where you are coming from, don't lump it all together as concerning obsessive habits. I see nothing concerning about my habits.

    While I am at my goal weight, I may have other goals that require me to track still. I know there are quite a few others in the same boat.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    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.

    This. I will probably be on here for life.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    No.

    I never counted calories or even thought about calories. I ate healthy, plentiful, and kept physically fit. Even through my pregnancies.

    I'm in my mid thirties now and chose to try a new tool for maintaining and continuing to improve my fitness. I don't obsess over what I eat. I make sure I am getting good nutrition to prevent problems further down the road. Doing this means I will never get caught in a yo-yo diet cycle (which is much more disordered and bad for health). It's a simple, little thing, that is fun, and contributes to me eating very well. I probably eat more on a regular basis because I count my calories, protein and calcium, than if I did not. I choose to go over my calories in the interest of meeting my nutrition if needed. Nutrition is first priority. I just stay within a steady amount now. Natural eating (without calories counting) means overeating some days and under eating other days and it all balances out to maintenance at the end of the week.

    I've never had a weight problem. And have not used this site for dieting and restriction the way a lot of people do. People doing that are going to have a different experience and view and maybe lack understanding of how this site works for maintenance because they view everything from a dieting and restriction mentality, coming back from overeating. So, sometimes they see disorder where there is absolutely none. I'm not talking about everyone, just the few that say this site should not be used by maintainers.

    This site is also helpful for people to recover from various types of disordered eating (whether they under or overeat).
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    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 am at goal weight and have been nearly the entire 990 some odd days on MFP. I border on disordered eating to be sure BUT I use MFP as much to keep me healthy as I do to restrict. There are days/weeks when MFP has allowed me to feel like ice cream is OK because I can see how it fits in my target goals for the day/week. I can have MFP logging remind me that a few pieces of fruit and a handful carrots is not a solid day's food. There fore by logging I keep my responsible to not over restrict. It also helps be from going the other direction. On the occasional day where I say "F it..I am not logging...I either eat considerably too much or considerably too little...and thus I feel super guilty about either" I may be disordered but counting calories and logging helps keep me balanced.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    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.

    I'm maintaining and I still plan, log, and count. I've had an eating disorder, and while I'm not the person to judge whether I'm still affected by it, I can say that what I do now is a lot healthier. I'm at a healthy weight, I'm happy with my body, and I haven't starved, binged or purged in nearly 30 years. I'm sometimes tempted to do those things, but the temptation has become less and less over the years. I judge myself by my actions, my objectively healthy body composition, and my contentment, not by whether I can live up to the impossible standard of staying at a normal weight without doing the things I need to do to stay there.
  • jwalworth
    jwalworth Posts: 32 Member
    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.

    This + 1
  • 777twist
    777twist Posts: 75 Member
    First off the guy/gal who did the website F'itdiet.com where the OP got the article doesn't say he/she is having any success not worrying about dieting. So I'm not sure why anyone would quote anything from that site.

    The site is basically Atheism for food. But although I agree (and post often about it) with the point on stress, it's moronic to think not thinking about food, calories, diet, exercise is more healthy and a better way to lose weight. Most people are in the fat-boat they are in because of not thinking about food, diet, exercise.

    So the website is ridiculous and has barely any merit. Anyone who listens to it, has very flawed logic. At least force the website creator to post his/her journey to see how they did it by saying F'-it.

    Oh, and when the website creator said they went through all the diets out there... that just shows me they didn't count calories, they just looked for the magic bullet of fat loss.

    Counting calories is about figuring out when, what, and how much you can eat given your current lifestyle. And then making adjustments to everything based on how you are doing weight/health wise.

    It's sad that many people will probably listen to the F'-it diet and balloon back up in weight. BTW, I follow the F'-it diet... it's call my CHEAT DAY!
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    For me, counting calories has helped me overcome my eating disorders! Simple as that. It's not for everybody, but it's for me and I will continue to do so until it suits me no more.
  • KarenLue
    KarenLue Posts: 94 Member
    I have heard this too. And I do love to eat and tend to over exercise. Whether it is or whether it isn't an eating disorder I don't care. For me it's necessary and it's what works. And I'm glad I am willing to put in the extra effort than let my weight and health decline get out of control. Don't worry about what "They say". Say you have an eating disorder. What would the answer be? Just quit having a disorder? No that won't work. Probably to consciously keep track of what you are doing...........which is what you are doing! Congratulations!!!
  • PortiaBentley
    PortiaBentley Posts: 381 Member
    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?
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Is it disordered? Probably, in the sense that is abnormal, and for some does become an all consuming obsession on the forefront of their mind every minute of the day.

    For others.. we can take breaks from it and stop altogether whenever we like without any mental repercussions, and there's nothing disordered about that - it's just a tool to further our goals.
  • DenialTwist33
    DenialTwist33 Posts: 10
    In some cases, I think it can be, I think.
    I've been told I have an eating disorder in the way I count mine.

    I'm not overweight, according to BMI, my weight is healthy but i'm not happy, so I want to lose some of it and tone up.. (I'm 18, by the way)
    However, I do count my calories. I won't go over 1,200 and If I do, or I feel like I've eaten too many in a meal, I will exercise some of it off.
    I'm very particular about this..

    I have been told the way i'm so fussy and so pedantic about the calories and then having to exercise them off classifies as part of an eating disorder.

    Yes, I can recognise I'm doing this.
    If I stop I will feel worse about myself, as stated in a previous post, it is a consuming thought in my mind all the time.


    Xxx
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    The biggest issue here is the use of the term "disorder." If you do something regularly that interrupts your life, makes daily tasks difficult/impossible, or wreaks catastrophic damage to your personal well being, then it is a disorder. Counting calories? Not a disorder. Spending hours mapping out your meals for the next day, bursting into tears at the grocery store, developing bleeding ulcers from the stress of deciding whether to eat this or that, that's a disorder.

    Psychology is a science, not a buzzword.

    Yeah...this. Calling the act of counting calories a disorder is ridiculous. Anything can become a disorder if taken to an extreme from drinking alcohol to brushing your teeth. However, only a trained mental health professional can make the determination of when it becomes a disorder.
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    In some cases, I think it can be, I think.
    I've been told I have an eating disorder in the way I count mine.

    I'm not overweight, according to BMI, my weight is healthy but i'm not happy, so I want to lose some of it and tone up.. (I'm 18, by the way)
    However, I do count my calories. I won't go over 1,200 and If I do, or I feel like I've eaten too many in a meal, I will exercise some of it off.
    I'm very particular about this..

    I have been told the way i'm so fussy and so pedantic about the calories and then having to exercise them off classifies as part of an eating disorder.

    Yes, I can recognise I'm doing this.
    If I stop I will feel worse about myself, as stated in a previous post, it is a consuming thought in my mind all the time.


    Xxx

    It sounds like you know you have disordered thinking as far as eating goes. MFP is probably not the first stop you should make. A doctor would be a good idea. Catch it and stop it NOW before it lands you in a health crisis down the road.
  • 1sisrat
    1sisrat Posts: 267 Member
    what she saying is that if it causes you serious distraction and distress from daily activities and that you feel you will FAIL without doing it, then, it is a disorder. Technically if anyone does ANYTHING that causes such an amount of guilt or distress it is a disorder... check it out in the DSM. true story. Typically an eating disorder, OCD disroder (the true sense of the diagnosis, not the one where people say 'oh man, I'm so OCD because I ...."), impulse control disorder (which is very similiar to OCD). The disorder was there BEFORE the calorie counting and the calorie counting/food obsessing is the manifestation.

    but

    if you are not kept from enjoying life, enjoying family, your hobbies, or whatever in addition to what you are doing to stay fit/healthy then you are fine. most people are fine while counting calories.... it's the people who can't sleep at night because they ate red meat at a restaurant instead of just a salad that are the disordered ones.

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