"You're beautiful, you don't need to watch calories."

Well this is what it's come to.

We have to count calories to survive in this overindulgent and greedy world (I'm speaking as an overindulgent and greedy person).

Also, speaking as a Dual nationality Brit/Yank, I can say that I am gobsmacked how bad things are in the states. Just walking through one of the slimmer airports (lax) is shocking. (Why choose white shorts...why???)

I think it's so ingrained in the states to pig out, we've been completely brainwashed.

It's maybe a small coincidence since I've banned tv and papers and mags in my life for 18 months now that I've been leaner and healthier than in my whole life. That and calorie counting and triathlon training:drinker:

I think the title is the problem. Three times in the last week people have noticed me logging food on my phone at a restaurant or on a plane. Yesterday I was recommending this awesome carrot cake to my mother-in-law and mentioned that I always split it with my husband because it has literally half the calories I get for the day.

All three times strangers have turned to me and said 'you don't need to watch your calories, you look great'.

Flattering. But that's the problem. I look fine because I do watch what I eat. If we did it right, we'd never have to 'lose' weight because we'd watch what we ate our whole life and just maintained.

For me, I did that fine until I got older and my metabolism slowed down faster than my eating.

Watching what you eat/calories shouldn't be associated with dieting. They should be associated with living - it's a prevention activity, not an intervention. Just like brushing your teeth prevents calories, it's not something you just do after you get cavities to make them go away.

End of rant.

Ughhhhh so much. What you eat is nobody else's business. I hate it when people make my food or lifestyle choices their business.

Also, a single slice of carrot cake has 1/2 your daily calories? HOLY *kitten*. That must be mass-produced cake. If you make your cake at home I promise it will not be that calorie-dense. I remember when NYC mandated that all fast-food restaurants post their calorie contents directly on the menu. While I don't eat McD's and all that, I did have Starbucks sometimes and I about crapped myself when I saw that a tiny Starbucks donut had 400 calories. How is it even physically possible to pack that many calories into such a tiny space? Is it made out of pure lard, or perhaps dark matter? I've noticed that all mass-produced cakes and pastries seem to have more fat in them than a homemade equivalent would have. Not that we should all be stuffing our pie holes with um, pie, all the time, but if you're gonna, then it's a good incentive to have homemade!

Some people manage to maintain without counting calories because they don't tend to eat foods which would be very calorie-dense. Or they are extremely active. Still, even if you're not counting calories it is important to choose healthy foods and limit unhealthy ones. But once healthy food choices, portion control, and activity becomes part of a lifestyle, it's more of a habit and you find you don't need to log all the calories all the time, it just happens naturally. Which is good, because logging all the time is a pain in the *kitten* and I think may contribute in some people to an unhealthy relationship with their food.

Also, a single slice of carrot cake has 1/2 your daily calories? HOLY *kitten*. That must be mass-produced cake. If you make your cake at home I promise it will not be that calorie-dense. I remember when NYC mandated that all fast-food restaurants post their calorie contents directly on the menu. While I don't eat McD's and all that, I did have Starbucks sometimes and I about crapped myself when I saw that a tiny Starbucks donut had 400 calories. How is it even physically possible to pack that many calories into such a tiny space? Is it made out of pure lard, or perhaps dark matter? I've noticed that all mass-produced cakes and pastries seem to have more fat in them than a homemade equivalent would have. Not that we should all be stuffing our pie holes with um, pie, all the time, but if you're gonna, then it's a good incentive to have homemade!

I remember when Starbucks started posting calorie counts and I learned that my beloved treat...the iced lemon pound cake had 480 calories. I haven't been able to bring myself to order it since.

I do think many Americans have become so accustomed to seeing overweight people that it has become the new normal. Not long ago, I was caught a few scenes from the old (1980) Dom Deluise movie "Fatso" on television...of course the whole story centered around the fact that his character was overweight. Fact is, if I walked into Walmart today, three out of five people would be bigger than he was in that movie. Even I looked at him and thought, he isn't THAT big.

And then there is vanity sizing. Which I am convinced exists partly so people can say they wear the same size they did in high school. That may be true, but the clothes have gotten bigger. When I was in high school (way back in the 1980s) size zero didn't exist. I wore a size 5 (juniors) and sometimes a 4 or 6 in misses sizes. Today I am the same size was in high school. After a quarter of a century and three babies, things may have shifted a bit, but overall I am probably in better shape now than then. And instead of wearing a 4/5/6 I am a 0...sometimes a 00. Yes I am small, but I am not "skinny" which makes me wonder where the really tiny girls shop.

I have wondered the same thing. Those that are very thin and are size 0 and not a vanity 0 where in the heck do they get their clothes?? The little girls section?? I'm sure vanity sizing has gotten to the little girls section as well though

I reached goal 3 months ago and I always enter everything in MFP or look up foods. People say the same thing to me -- you don't need to lose any more weight! Well, I'm a size 8, which I am thrilled with but that is not overly thin! And many people start a diet at size 8!

My daughter spent last summer in Europe and when she came home she said "wow, I never realized how overweight almost everyone here is".

I remember when I was a kid watching the Andy Griffith show and I used to think Aunt Bee was so big. I saw a rerun the other day and she didn't look that bad at all, she was overweight but not anything that abnormal. In addition, I thought she was really old, now when I saw her she didn't seem that old, in fact younger than I am now.

I agree with the great advice on here - just smile and say something like "I want to stay this way" or "I just love entering my food!"

This is so true. Although judging by the amount of snack food (particularly cookies and candy) everyone in my company's Shanghai office shoves down their throat while working, China looks like it might be confronting some of the same problems as the US in about 10 years. Sad, especially when food in China is unbelievably good and incredibly healthy (on the whole)

Yeah, I guess Chinese food *would* be healthy if it didn't have so many horrendous food safety issues. The way it's prepared is generally healthy but you cannot trust many (most, even) of the foods here, even fresh ones. We may not be getting fat from the food but god knows what is happening internally. Which terrifies me.

And you're right, Chinese people are getting fatter, but they've got a long way to go culturally before they get to the American level of consumption. They're well on their way, though.

Three times in the last week people have noticed me logging food on my phone at a restaurant or on a plane.

Yesterday I was recommending this awesome carrot cake to my mother-in-law and mentioned that I always split it with my husband because it has literally half the calories I get for the day.