BuzzFeed article on calorie counting

Linzon
Linzon Posts: 294 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
The premise is that they had 5 people track their calories for a week (a whole week!) so that they could come up with tips and advice about tracking. They all concluded that it wasn't worth the effort.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/caseygueren/how-many-calories-are-in-life#.plkGeDklWe

Personally I've found the MFP forums a lot more helpful than this article.

Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Linzon wrote: »
    The premise is that they had 5 people track their calories for a week (a whole week!) so that they could come up with tips and advice about tracking. They all concluded that it wasn't worth the effort.

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/caseygueren/how-many-calories-are-in-life#.plkGeDklWe

    Personally I've found the MFP forums a lot more helpful than this article.

    You could have stopped after the bolded, and the article can be summarily dismissed as not worth the paper it was printed on.

    I think it sounds like you came to the same conclusion :)

  • MarcyKirkton
    MarcyKirkton Posts: 507 Member
    Kinda fun article there. I agree about the other factors, too. It's really huge to get enough sleep, for example.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    edited October 2015
    There's a difference between logging as a tool for losing weight and just logging for a week without any specific goal. Of course logging is going to be too much of a hassle if you have no need for it. It's useful for learning things about your eating habits and what nutrients are going into your body, but without a specific goal, there's not a real reason to do it long term.

    I personally need to keep logging, even with guesstimates (which is most of what I do now) because it helps me stay accountable to myself. I know my numbers aren't 100% accurate, but it's how I keep track of where my days are, and if I start to see overage for several days in a row, I know to adjust for it. Without even simple logging, I'm not always aware of just how much I eat. I don't obsess over it, and if I go over, oh well, but it's a tool that has it's use for me. Others might not feel that way.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    A lot of bunk in that article. I just had to delete someone for posting it and then getting aggressive with me when I pointed out the false information in there. Why does it seem that the wise ones have left MFP and its been taken over by the misinformed???
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    The article kept advising people to see a nutritionist - not to learn about nutrition themselves. I did identify with a few of the issues mentioned though, and it did conclude that it's worth doing for a week just to get a better feel for what you're eating.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    I'd be interested to know the dieting and weight histories of each of the contributors to that article...
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Eh, clickbait.

    I agree with dubird. There's a huge difference between how someone who is specifically looking for a tool feels about it vs. someone who is asked to give it a go just for the hell of it.

    I did agree with the bit about calorie counting night being right for everyone, but to portray it in the end as troublesome bothered me because it's not bothersome once you're used to it.

    The article was an exercise in silliness.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I wanted to see if the poor suckers were logging manually, but they weren't. MFP gets an honorable mention.
  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
    edited October 2015
    Can you imagine washing measuring cups and spoons all week for every little thing you ate? :D I would hate it, too!
    If you count and log for longer than a week you'll learn little tricks that make it easier and less "time consuming".
  • spatulamom
    spatulamom Posts: 158 Member
    I read the article earlier today, and man, if I weren't already here, I'd think calorie counting with MFP is super depressing!
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
    MsJulesRenee wrote: »
    Can you imagine washing measuring cups and spoons all week for every little thing you ate? :D I would hate it, too!
    If you count and log for longer than a week you'll learn little tricks that make it easier and less "time consuming".

    That's how I did it when I first used MFP a couple of years ago (and didn't last more than a month). Logging by weight is so much easier!
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    Linzon wrote: »
    The premise is that they had 5 people track their calories for a week (a whole week!) so that they could come up with tips and advice about tracking. They all concluded that it wasn't worth the effort.

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/caseygueren/how-many-calories-are-in-life#.plkGeDklWe

    Personally I've found the MFP forums a lot more helpful than this article.

    You could have stopped after the bolded, and the article can be summarily dismissed as not worth the paper it was printed on.

    I think it sounds like you came to the same conclusion :)

    I stopped at it being a buzzfeed article.

    Pure clickbait.
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
    I've been logging everything I eat for over 580 days now. It's so much a habit I don't even think of it as bother at all. I bet it takes me no longer than 5 total minutes per day. I plan on continuing the practice even once I reach my goal. I think whatever program, tips, strategies that someone finds that works for them...that's all that is important. If it works, work it.
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
    edited October 2015
    I wasn't aware that Buzzfeed was a respected source of medical and scientific news. [/sarcasm]
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Iron_Feline wrote: »
    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    Linzon wrote: »
    The premise is that they had 5 people track their calories for a week (a whole week!) so that they could come up with tips and advice about tracking. They all concluded that it wasn't worth the effort.

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/caseygueren/how-many-calories-are-in-life#.plkGeDklWe

    Personally I've found the MFP forums a lot more helpful than this article.

    You could have stopped after the bolded, and the article can be summarily dismissed as not worth the paper it was printed on.

    I think it sounds like you came to the same conclusion :)

    I stopped at it being a buzzfeed article.

    Pure clickbait.

    Yeah I was probably overly optimistic making it to line 2

Categories