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Is counting calories/macros destroying our enjoyment of food?
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Not really. Weighing out food while I'm cooking and jotting down the measurement is an extra step and feels a bit like a science experiment and it's all very geeky, and that's okay.
As always, I still enjoy cooking and looking for new recipes or recipe ideas, it's just that what I look for now has slightly different parameters than what I used to look for or I make tweaks to make it work for me.4 -
I would say if it lessened anything, it lessened my enjoyment of convenience and fast foods which is no great loss.
For example, last weekend we were driving around looking at land to purchase and got hungry. Stopped at an In-And-Out, but I didn't have many cals left if I wanted to eat a decent dinner. So I ate just the patty and it did the trick and tasted fine. Had a nice dinner later. Would I have liked eating the whole sandwich more? Of course. But it wasn't a big disappointment, either.
Mostly, I like that it forces me to put together more balanced meals - I tend to get in eating ruts otherwise.
I don't bother counting fine dining experiences where point of going is to have a great experience, not to eat a perfectly balanced and calorically restrained meal. What happens at The French Room stays at The French Room. Figuratively speaking, of course.6 -
Now that I know how much i need to eat a day to lose and i have measuring tools, i'm eating more food! I eat 3 meals a day and i'm not gaining weight. I can eat any food i crave and i'm still not gaining weight. It's all estimates and some days i probably overestimate but i don't stress about it because i can just exercise more that day. Counting calories almost feels like i'm cheating but CICO is the law of physics and i'm taking advantage of it.4
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I find that when I work something like a burger into my calories for the day, I enjoy the burger more. It is something special now, whereas before I could eat a Juicy Lucy anytime I wanted and even multiple times a week if I wanted so there was nothing special about it. In theory I could still do that now, it would just suck to balance the calories and I would feel awful.
I also spent so many days prior to limiting myself to 1280(ish) calories a day being like, "why did I just eat this whole box of bagel bites or this whole bag of Doritos?" They were not even that good and then I'd be annoyed with myself. Now I don't have those days because I pre-measure out servings and stick to the one serving that fits in my daily goal.
We use Hello Fresh and I am discovering so many new types of food and new food combinations that I am now enjoying cooking and eating way more than before.0 -
I don't feel it takes away from the enjoyment of food, but rather helps me enjoy it more. It helps me learn to make better choices and makes me think twice about what I am choosing to eat. Then I enjoy eating and don't feel guilty or bloated after. I even find it helps when going out to eat or at church meals. I plan ahead so I know about what I can eat and quantities. When I go out, I order well, portion out (put rest aside to go if needed) and then enjoy. Of course it helps that I love fruits and vegetables and I try to choose restaurants that I know offer healthier options or smaller portions. And if I know that I will want dessert or something else high calorie, I use the app to figure out what portion size to eat and then plan the rest of the meals for that day around the calories remaining. But I don't do that often. Again, planning ahead rather than counting the calories on the spot or after allows me to enjoy what I do eat.4
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I don't enjoy eating a can of tuna at night because I didn't pay attention earlier in the day to getting more enjoyable forms of protein. That motivates me to pay attention and enjoy eating. Counting macros improves my enjoyment of food.4
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I've been counting calories/macros for 6+ years. I still enjoy food. A lot.
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For me, I think of it like balancing my budget (my calorie budget in this case).
I can still budget and enjoy going shopping or buying things I like. But it gives me the data I need to do it responsibly, spend money on things that are worth it, and still meeting my financial goals.6 -
What I've learned from MFP - no...quite the opposite. Learning about budgeting has pushed me to try new dishes and expanded my palette. I already knew that most of what the diet/fitness industry was pushing had no evidence to back it up. The habits developed through this process taught me to slow down and savor.5
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I find I can taste my food better since I cut out all the processed stuff ! I'm enjoying more variety and finding the challenge of eating within my calorie goal great ! I hope this feeling lasts ....fingers crossed !2
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My constant obsession with calorie counting, hitting protein grams, and avoiding things I feel are not part of a "healthy" diet, are *borderline* unhealthy, and borderline ruin eating for me.
Only borderline. It's a little obsessive but it's nothing that's not controllable and definitely not damaging to me. But it definitely removes a lot if not all of the enjoyment of eating.
But in the same breath I HAD to remove the enjoyment of eating. Enjoying eating is what got me fat. It was comfort, it was reprieve from emotional and sometimes physical distress. It's how I celebrated and how I grieved. It was emotion. I correlated enjoying food with happiness like a heroin junky associates heroin with being happy. I was literally killing myself thinking I was enjoying what I was eating. When I stepped back, and looked at how all that food made me "feel", I didn't actually ever enjoy it. It did nothing but hurt me in the most horrible ways.
I still splurge. I still fall off track. But if we apply the pareto rule, I've removed enjoyment from probably 80% of what I eat now. Some of that is intentional.5 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »My constant obsession with calorie counting, hitting protein grams, and avoiding things I feel are not part of a "healthy" diet, are *borderline* unhealthy, and borderline ruin eating for me.
Only borderline. It's a little obsessive but it's nothing that's not controllable and definitely not damaging to me. But it definitely removes a lot if not all of the enjoyment of eating.
But in the same breath I HAD to remove the enjoyment of eating. Enjoying eating is what got me fat. It was comfort, it was reprieve from emotional and sometimes physical distress. It's how I celebrated and how I grieved. It was emotion. I correlated enjoying food with happiness like a heroin junky associates heroin with being happy. I was literally killing myself thinking I was enjoying what I was eating. When I stepped back, and looked at how all that food made me "feel", I didn't actually ever enjoy it. It did nothing but hurt me in the most horrible ways.
I still splurge. I still fall off track. But if we apply the pareto rule, I've removed enjoyment from probably 80% of what I eat now. Some of that is intentional.
That's exactly what this post is getting at -- the obsessive nature of calorie counting.2 -
Nope, I still love food.
I will still go out and choose whatever I want without worrying about calories.2 -
leanitup123 wrote: »Geocitiesuser wrote: »My constant obsession with calorie counting, hitting protein grams, and avoiding things I feel are not part of a "healthy" diet, are *borderline* unhealthy, and borderline ruin eating for me.
Only borderline. It's a little obsessive but it's nothing that's not controllable and definitely not damaging to me. But it definitely removes a lot if not all of the enjoyment of eating.
But in the same breath I HAD to remove the enjoyment of eating. Enjoying eating is what got me fat. It was comfort, it was reprieve from emotional and sometimes physical distress. It's how I celebrated and how I grieved. It was emotion. I correlated enjoying food with happiness like a heroin junky associates heroin with being happy. I was literally killing myself thinking I was enjoying what I was eating. When I stepped back, and looked at how all that food made me "feel", I didn't actually ever enjoy it. It did nothing but hurt me in the most horrible ways.
I still splurge. I still fall off track. But if we apply the pareto rule, I've removed enjoyment from probably 80% of what I eat now. Some of that is intentional.
That's exactly what this post is getting at -- the obsessive nature of calorie counting.
Getting obsessive about a calorie deficit is a requirement to escape from morbid obesity. Staying obsessive about overall calorie intake/output is a requirement to avoid weight regain plus some extra. The 95% who regain lost weight aren't staying obsessive.
The simplest, most reliable way to maintain calorie control for many people is calorie counting. Obsession is what got me where I am (near my goal weight) and I don't want to lose that obsession. I want to nurture that obsession. I want to be buried in a normal-sized coffin when the time comes.7 -
leanitup123 wrote: »Geocitiesuser wrote: »My constant obsession with calorie counting, hitting protein grams, and avoiding things I feel are not part of a "healthy" diet, are *borderline* unhealthy, and borderline ruin eating for me.
Only borderline. It's a little obsessive but it's nothing that's not controllable and definitely not damaging to me. But it definitely removes a lot if not all of the enjoyment of eating.
But in the same breath I HAD to remove the enjoyment of eating. Enjoying eating is what got me fat. It was comfort, it was reprieve from emotional and sometimes physical distress. It's how I celebrated and how I grieved. It was emotion. I correlated enjoying food with happiness like a heroin junky associates heroin with being happy. I was literally killing myself thinking I was enjoying what I was eating. When I stepped back, and looked at how all that food made me "feel", I didn't actually ever enjoy it. It did nothing but hurt me in the most horrible ways.
I still splurge. I still fall off track. But if we apply the pareto rule, I've removed enjoyment from probably 80% of what I eat now. Some of that is intentional.
That's exactly what this post is getting at -- the obsessive nature of calorie counting.
Getting obsessive about a calorie deficit is a requirement to escape from morbid obesity. Staying obsessive about overall calorie intake/output is a requirement to avoid weight regain plus some extra. The 95% who regain lost weight aren't staying obsessive.
The simplest, most reliable way to maintain calorie control for many people is calorie counting. Obsession is what got me where I am (near my goal weight) and I don't want to lose that obsession. I want to nurture that obsession. I want to be buried in a normal-sized coffin when the time comes.
I disagree.5 -
leanitup123 wrote: »leanitup123 wrote: »Geocitiesuser wrote: »My constant obsession with calorie counting, hitting protein grams, and avoiding things I feel are not part of a "healthy" diet, are *borderline* unhealthy, and borderline ruin eating for me.
Only borderline. It's a little obsessive but it's nothing that's not controllable and definitely not damaging to me. But it definitely removes a lot if not all of the enjoyment of eating.
But in the same breath I HAD to remove the enjoyment of eating. Enjoying eating is what got me fat. It was comfort, it was reprieve from emotional and sometimes physical distress. It's how I celebrated and how I grieved. It was emotion. I correlated enjoying food with happiness like a heroin junky associates heroin with being happy. I was literally killing myself thinking I was enjoying what I was eating. When I stepped back, and looked at how all that food made me "feel", I didn't actually ever enjoy it. It did nothing but hurt me in the most horrible ways.
I still splurge. I still fall off track. But if we apply the pareto rule, I've removed enjoyment from probably 80% of what I eat now. Some of that is intentional.
That's exactly what this post is getting at -- the obsessive nature of calorie counting.
Getting obsessive about a calorie deficit is a requirement to escape from morbid obesity. Staying obsessive about overall calorie intake/output is a requirement to avoid weight regain plus some extra. The 95% who regain lost weight aren't staying obsessive.
The simplest, most reliable way to maintain calorie control for many people is calorie counting. Obsession is what got me where I am (near my goal weight) and I don't want to lose that obsession. I want to nurture that obsession. I want to be buried in a normal-sized coffin when the time comes.
I disagree.
In what way?0 -
it has and it helped start and make a eating disorder worst, a lot of things are very high in calories and if i had the higher calorie things i may still be hungry but used up all my calories or have very few left for later. i try to eat lower calorie foods so i can eat more for the same amount which means i don`t eat a lot of different cereals because they go over 110 and i know thats silly but its what i go through with and i really don`t like to drink things with calories because i feel that i will not be full and that could of been used on food and there are a lot of other foods i can`t or will not eat because of the calorie count, just to sum it all up its not fun but i can`t stop and life just is not the same.3
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I find that I refuse to eat food that doesn't taste good. I eat less, but enjoy what I choose to eat. So, it's made my life better.11
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Not for me! When I have a dessert or eat something that's higher in calories I enjoy it so much! I also still eat fajitas, burgers, pizza, pastas, beer, wine, etc a lot. I find it soothing to get back into my normal meal routine when I've had an overindulgence on the weekend. I also have tried so many more foods now that I am aware of calories such as sweet potatoes, peanut butter, brussel sprouts, fish, hot sausage, etc.6
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I think assuming that you can't enjoy eating and not overeat is really sad. I think I enjoy eating even more now than when I'm less mindful (I do not always count calories strictly, although I am right now -- mostly at maintenance I do not). But like some have said, balancing a checkbook (or budgeting and keeping track of the budget) are similar, and to me they certainly don't make buying things less enjoyable. Indeed, I COULDN'T enjoy buying things if I were constantly worried that I might be overextending myself.
I don't have that reaction to eating (I'm probably too little concerned about the longer term effects), but still paying attention doesn't mean I cannot really appreciate what I do eat, and happily there's not a huge conflict in my mind between eating a healthy diet and a diet I enjoy (even if of course sometimes I wish I could eat way more calories than I can and still not gain).13
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