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I Don't Believe in Calorie Counting

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Replies

  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    by Tracey Anderson,
    http://motto.time.com/4315473/tracy-anderson-calorie-counting/?xid=newsletter-brief

    "People need to have the courage and the determination to understand food and to really reflect on their past relationships with food. It’s more about the awareness of the kinds of food people are eating, the amounts they’re eating...so much of our hunger is not even rooted in a real biological need to eat; a lot of it is rooted in emotion.

    "I think it’s just about having an ongoing dialogue with yourself where you try as often as possible to say, “How can I show up for myself and my body today through my food choices?”"

    I agree. Thoughts?

    The bolded is the kind of touchy feely mumbo jumbo that makes me throw up in my mouth.

    Actually, I ask myself with everything I eat whether it will help or harm me. Most athletes do the same. As do people who don't wind up on message boards having to count calories and needing to be encouraged to do the same, I would imagine.

    It really is all about one's relationship with food. Why we eat and how much control we have over what we consume.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    The last two sentences in the first paragraph pretty much sums up why I think this article is clickbait bumpkus.

    "I think picking a certain number that you’re going to limit yourself to each day will just lead to a bad relationship with food. I’ve never seen anything sustainable come out of it."

    Certainly there are people for whom calorie counting can have negative consequences, if people have disordered thinking about food or start to obsessively focus on their calorie counts. These people are probably in the minority. But to say that you have 17 years in the health and wellness industry and then essentially dismiss the concept of the CICO energy balance? Don't think it's important to have a basic understanding your TDEE and how many calories you need to maintain your activity level? She's never seen anything sustainable related to that? Highly unlikely.



  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
    msf74 wrote: »
    Tracey "no woman should lift more than 3lb ever" Anderson?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyvbm6qpQw4

    Why is she still even a thing?

    I don't know her. Which one is she -- the lithe blonde, the tall, thinner woman behind or the chunky one with the ponytail near the door?
  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
    edited May 2016
    25npgvu4i435.png

    Based on the previously posted picture, assuming she's not the chunky one near the door, she doesn't appear to be at all hideous.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    msf74 wrote: »
    Tracey "no woman should lift more than 3lb ever" Anderson?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyvbm6qpQw4

    Why is she still even a thing?

    I don't know her. Which one is she -- the lithe blonde, the tall, thinner woman behind or the chunky one with the ponytail near the door?

    She's the one who isn't Gwyneth Paltrow or the lady with the ponytail...
  • PiperGirl08
    PiperGirl08 Posts: 134 Member
    msf74 wrote: »
    msf74 wrote: »
    Tracey "no woman should lift more than 3lb ever" Anderson?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyvbm6qpQw4

    Why is she still even a thing?

    I don't know her. Which one is she -- the lithe blonde, the tall, thinner woman behind or the chunky one with the ponytail near the door?

    She's the one who isn't Gwyneth Paltrow or the lady with the ponytail...

    Ha ha, not sure which one is Paltrow, either, but neither of these closer women is hideous.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    Both of the ladies in black are Gwyneth Paltrow, they're working out in a mirrored room :)
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    edited May 2016
    She really does say in the video that no woman should never lift more than three pounds! Yet Gwyneth talks about lifting her 30 pound son!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    stealthq wrote: »
    Don't see what this approach has to do with whether you calorie count or not.

    Why does calorie counting prevent a person from reflecting on why they want to overeat? I'd think keeping that kind of food diary would be helpful for just that. I'd think logging in advance of eating would help with emotional eating. It gives you one more chance to distance yourself from the emotion before digging in, at least.

    I can tell you that if I cut out all the times I ate for reasons other than 'I'm hungry' I would probably still gain weight. Why? Because if I'm not aware, I'm reaching for higher calorie items than I should be. I'm eating more of lower calorie items than I should be. And I'm doing it because I have a sedentary job and very little margin for error.

    Exercise helps with that, but if I don't track it, I'll more than compensate for my activity.

    All that being said, obviously people are also successful without calorie counting. I just don't see where others' success without counting invalidates the success of everyone who did count.

    Thank you for the well-thought out reply. I agree that it doesn't have to be an either or other choice, but to the author's point, I can't count the number of posts I've seem on MFP with people berating themselves because they blew their budget. The stress and self-loathing she describes are real.

    Her point is that if people understand food better, then the problems that lead to weight gain can be much eliminated.

    Personally, apart from holidays and special occasions, I simply don't have "bad" food in the house. Only whole foods -- no chips, no crackers, no cakes, no pies, no cookies, no packaged meals. What I eat is filling and satisfying and I have to work hard to exceed my caloric range. To the degree that I log in MFP, is to get a look at the nutritional makeup of what I consume (Iron, Protein, Cholestrol and Potassium). Consequently, I don't need to count calories, and I've don't have and have never had a weight problem.

    Calorie counting does work for those who need it. But at the end of the day, we'd probably see fewer problems with weight gain afterwards if people learned how to eat to live, rather than lived to eat, which is what get folks in the position of needing to count calories in the first place.

    I do think you have to take some of these things with a grain of salt. I do agree that calorie counting can have a negative impact as I explained earlier...but prior to getting a little nutty with things, it actually taught me a lot about where I was at nutritionally speaking...where I was lacking and where I was going overboard and where to find some balance.

    I don't think I'd be where I am now had I not spent some time calorie counting...it's just unfortunate that I got overly obsessed with things in the latter stages of my weight loss. Fortunately, I've also never had an emotional type relationship with food either...my biggest issue was that I went from being a highly active individual to sitting behind a desk...but the food didn't change when I made that transition because I didn't really understand the energy equation...so counting calories definitely helped in that regard and it helped me to improve upon my nutrition.

    These days I focus on good livin' as I said earlier...but counting kind of got me there despite the rough patch.
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    "I think it’s just about having an ongoing dialogue with yourself where you try as often as possible to say, “How can I show up for myself and my body today through my food choices?”"

    If I have to constantly do that I would go bonkers!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    by Tracey Anderson,
    http://motto.time.com/4315473/tracy-anderson-calorie-counting/?xid=newsletter-brief

    "People need to have the courage and the determination to understand food and to really reflect on their past relationships with food. It’s more about the awareness of the kinds of food people are eating, the amounts they’re eating...so much of our hunger is not even rooted in a real biological need to eat; a lot of it is rooted in emotion.

    "I think it’s just about having an ongoing dialogue with yourself where you try as often as possible to say, “How can I show up for myself and my body today through my food choices?”"

    I agree. Thoughts?

    The bolded is the kind of touchy feely mumbo jumbo that makes me throw up in my mouth.

    I don't even know what that sentence is supposed to mean.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    I don't believe in Tracy Anderson.

    I do not think Tracy was working with people with eating disorders perhaps. If one does not count how are they going to learn if they are over eating or not.

    Yes we know humans with full health automatically know when to stop eating but until we learn how to eat to regain our natural health counting can be a good tool.

    What about people that have to take meds that screws up one's ability to automatically know when to stop eating to maintain weight? Some people count for entertainment perhaps?

    There is no reason to not count or to count but that can will not be the same for everyone. Most who visit MFP and stay have a desire to bring eating order into our lives. In my case when I found the right macro for my body the need to count was resolved but had I never counted I would have never known why I once had food cravings perhaps.

    Few show up here with perfect health already due to eating a perfect balanced macro i expect. While our goal is to regain our health and have no need to count calories that can take longer for some than others.