Counting Cals vs Body's Natural Instinct
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fat2fitaddict
Posts: 90 Member
So I have never really been a fan of counting calories..until recently..about 2 months ago. But something I read the other day hit me pretty good and so I wanted to get your take on it as well!
The article was long and detailed but it basically stated that we as humans have a natural "cut off" or "calorie counter" built into us and that we should eat until full and that our bodies will tell us when to cut off the feed! It went on to even say that counting cals in his opinion was a eater disorder within itself. The article concluded by stating that the problem with obesity isn't that our internal cut off alarm doesn't work, but rather that we fail to listen to it and adhere by it. He also stated that it's not always our faults as foods today (sugary, additive, etc) are basically hijacking and short circuiting our system. Causing us to continue eating after we have had enough.
What's your thoughts on this? Should we be "less conscience" on cals and MORE CONSCIENCE on our internal switch?
The article was long and detailed but it basically stated that we as humans have a natural "cut off" or "calorie counter" built into us and that we should eat until full and that our bodies will tell us when to cut off the feed! It went on to even say that counting cals in his opinion was a eater disorder within itself. The article concluded by stating that the problem with obesity isn't that our internal cut off alarm doesn't work, but rather that we fail to listen to it and adhere by it. He also stated that it's not always our faults as foods today (sugary, additive, etc) are basically hijacking and short circuiting our system. Causing us to continue eating after we have had enough.
What's your thoughts on this? Should we be "less conscience" on cals and MORE CONSCIENCE on our internal switch?
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Kind of like a conscience, our "internal switch" is only valuable if we listen to it. The problem is that we're taught not to.
How many of us were raised to "eat everything on your plate!" and in some cases, "Eat more, eat more!" Ever since we were kids, we've been trained to view foods as rewards, and the higher the sugar content, the more rewarding.
As adults, this is perpetuated. Only now, we are taught to eat away our stress and to drink to be sociable.
Most of us are now incapable of just listening to our body tell us when we've had enough. We have no clue how much and how often we're overeating. This is where calorie counting comes in.
Personally, I was shocked to find out how much I was overeating. I've only been tracking for three weeks, but I've lost 5 pounds and I feel amazing. And-big shocker-I'm satisfied with way less food. Ideally, I won't need to log my calories forever. But for now, I'm still way off base without the tracking system.0 -
I think if i was able to tell when i was naturally 'topped off' calorie wise....i wouldnt be on MFP to lose weight.
I'll stick to calorie counting so i KNOW how much i have consumed. Not hope Im interpreting my bodies signals correctly.0 -
I don't buy the premise that everyone has a functional hunger/satiety system. Yes, our bodies have evolved to regulate our weight by regulating our appetite, but our eyes also have evolved to correctly focus light, and yet how many people wear glasses or contacts?
Evolution is amazing but it's not perfect, particularly when circumstances have changed so much so quickly - we're far more sedentary and have access to far greater amounts of calories than ever before. A propensity to overeat would be an evolutionary advantage when famine and starvation were recurring threats, because those who stored excess fat in times of plenty would better weather the times of famine. Now we put the descendants of those people into a perpetual time of plenty.0 -
Kind of like a conscience, our "internal switch" is only valuable if we listen to it. The problem is that we're taught not to.
How many of us were raised to "eat everything on your plate!" and in some cases, "Eat more, eat more!" Ever since we were kids, we've been trained to view foods as rewards, and the higher the sugar content, the more rewarding.
As adults, this is perpetuated. Only now, we are taught to eat away our stress and to drink to be sociable.
Most of us are now incapable of just listening to our body tell us when we've had enough. We have no clue how much and how often we're overeating. This is where calorie counting comes in.
Personally, I was shocked to find out how much I was overeating. I've only been tracking for three weeks, but I've lost 5 pounds and I feel amazing. And-big shocker-I'm satisfied with way less food. Ideally, I won't need to log my calories forever. But for now, I'm still way off base without the tracking system.
Very insightful! And very much true.. As children we are indeed taught to eat all on our plates. I notice though how you have found calorie counting to be beneficial in that you're not needing as much food to be satisfied. And also how one day you won't need to count calories. I wonder if this means that your current calorie logging will help get your body back TO listening to your internal switch?
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If I listened to my body when I eat I will forever be fat. Plus, I like to know a good estimate of how much protein, fats, carbs I eat in a day. Counting helps me do that! I don't think it's an eating disorder (though I guess for others it could be if they became crazy about it).0
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Growing up in a poor-financial family, it has been ingrained in my mind not to waste any food. And it is always carb-heavy. So I always try to eat whatever's on the plate.
And nowadays if I wait till my body says full, I can eat a whole 6 pcs pizza, with close to 2000 calories. I log to avoid doing this again.0 -
fat2fitaddict wrote: »The article was long and detailed but
It was woo.
Also, what rankinsect said:rankinsect wrote: »I don't buy the premise that everyone has a functional hunger/satiety system. Yes, our bodies have evolved to regulate our weight by regulating our appetite, but our eyes also have evolved to correctly focus light, and yet how many people wear glasses or contacts?
Evolution is amazing but it's not perfect, particularly when circumstances have changed so much so quickly - we're far more sedentary and have access to far greater amounts of calories than ever before. A propensity to overeat would be an evolutionary advantage when famine and starvation were recurring threats, because those who stored excess fat in times of plenty would better weather the times of famine. Now we put the descendants of those people into a perpetual time of plenty.
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People wouldn't over eat or under eat if this were truly the case. Not to mention we would have no need for excess storage for surplus calories.
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rankinsect wrote: »I don't buy the premise that everyone has a functional hunger/satiety system. Yes, our bodies have evolved to regulate our weight by regulating our appetite, but our eyes also have evolved to correctly focus light, and yet how many people wear glasses or contacts?
Evolution is amazing but it's not perfect, particularly when circumstances have changed so much so quickly - we're far more sedentary and have access to far greater amounts of calories than ever before. A propensity to overeat would be an evolutionary advantage when famine and starvation were recurring threats, because those who stored excess fat in times of plenty would better weather the times of famine. Now we put the descendants of those people into a perpetual time of plenty.
In light of the evidence (the epidemic of obesity virtually worldwide), that makes a lot more sense than postulating that humans have an endogenous cutoff mechanism.
It's typical clickbait, though - it's not your fault, you're just a victim of the evil foodz.0 -
i think it might be true for natural foods. I will never overeat on broccoli, but crisps..... I easily eat a family bag of those in one sitting.0
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I've never been a fan of counting calories either, but if I listened to my "internal calorie counter," I would never stop eating or gaining weight. I need to track everything I eat so I can interpret my body's signals correctly. Basically, I log and eat my meals, then wait about 15 minutes to see how I feel...hungry or satiated. Tracking helps me control how much I eat. As tedious as it is, it works.0
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Its very true, its what all the thin people you know do. The thin people i know have no problem starting a meal and leaving 2/3 of the food on the plate and saying I'm full. Me? I eat until the food has gone, engrained in me from a kid by parents.
I did try to kick the habit few years ago, and followed Paul Mckenna's i can make you thin, which teaches you how to re-sensatise yourself to this I'm full signal (and real hunger). It worked for me, i got down from 18 stone to 13 stone in about 8 months, just by feeling for this I'm full signal and not overriding it!
The issue was for 30 years of my life i had not been doing this, and had only corrected my self for 8 months, so when i had a few major things in life all hit me at once my old habits kicked in and i just could not tune into the full feeling properly, so i turned to MFP to stop me going back up and to get the final few stone off.
Once i get to the weight i want i intend to re-tune my self to the full feeling again and use that to maintain without calorie counting for the rest of my life.
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My guess is that the vast majority of people are born with a reliable switch but that early programming (clean your plate!) and living in a culture where we're absolutely surrounded with inexpensive, highly processed food full of fat and sugar that has been intentionally engineered to make us want to eat more and more short circuits that switch at a very early age. In most people anyway. As @ElkeKNJ said, very few people overeat broccoli.0
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quackers82 wrote: »Its very true, its what all the thin people you know do. The thin people i know have no problem starting a meal and leaving 2/3 of the food on the plate and saying I'm full. Me? I eat until the food has gone, engrained in me from a kid by parents.
I did try to kick the habit few years ago, and followed Paul Mckenna's i can make you thin, which teaches you how to re-sensatise yourself to this I'm full signal (and real hunger). It worked for me, i got down from 18 stone to 13 stone in about 8 months, just by feeling for this I'm full signal and not overriding it!
The issue was for 30 years of my life i had not been doing this, and had only corrected my self for 8 months, so when i had a few major things in life all hit me at once my old habits kicked in and i just could not tune into the full feeling properly, so i turned to MFP to stop me going back up and to get the final few stone off.
Once i get to the weight i want i intend to re-tune my self to the full feeling again and use that to maintain without calorie counting for the rest of my life.
If they're leaving 2/3 of a normal serving because they're full that's the same problem in the other direction.0 -
Doesn't it take someone typically about 20 minutes to process a feeling of being "full?" I can do a lot of damage in 20 minutes and become over full. That's a slow switch.0
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Nature vs nuture. We might all have it when we are born, but for some of us, it gets 'broken' when we grow up.
That's why there are naturally thin people with great self control and people who like to overeat on delicious foods. If you have a weight problem, it's fair to say that your 'natural satiety instinct' is FUBAR.0 -
I agree with most of the poster's that we have messed up our natural calorie cutoff indicator. I know for some strange reason with alcohol I never want more than one or two drinks, I have a natural cutoff satiety for it but others struggle horribly with alcohol problems. Now, I could eat a whole pizza, gallon of ice cream, package cookies or chocolate. Then 3-4 hours later my hormones and stomach would be asking for more calories.
As Franci127 posted "If you have a weight problem, it's fair to say that your 'natural satiety instinct' is FUBAR."0 -
fat2fitaddict wrote: »we as humans have a natural "cut off" or "calorie counter" built into us and that we should eat until full and that our bodies will tell us when to cut off the feed!
How did that work for you up to now?
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