Is counting calories disordered eating? Shouldn’t we be able to not overeat?
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fastfoodietofitcutie
Posts: 522 Member
I wish I could just eat like a “normal” person and not count calories.
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Replies
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Many or most so-called "normal" people have ways they control portions and cals even if not counting (also, increasingly the "normal" person is overweight, certainly the case in the US). Anyway, you may be able to transition to those kinds of ways. I think logging for a while and getting awareness about what you are eating and how caloric different choices are, as well as just learning to eat mindfully, can be extremely helpful in getting there.
Personally, I also found logging for a while (and occasionally since then) quite interesting and fun.27 -
I don't think counting calories is disordered eating, it's a tool to learn how not to overeat.
Having struggled with some disordered eating, I can say that it wasn't until I started counting calories I actually started to get a grip on my overeating. So whilst it can be a trigger for disordered eating in some people (particularly those suffering from anorexia) it can also help others.
It's very easy to gain weight over a long period by only slightly overeating. Overeat by 95 calories per day and that's 10lb gain in a year - that could be as simple as overpouring a teaspoon of oil when cooking.
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Especially with an American diet, people may have been eating too many calories their entire life, or empty/less nutritious calories, so they never developed that "instinct" for how to eat. I use calorie counting to counteract disordered eating (whether eating too much or too little, because I've swung back and forth between extremes). Getting the calorie goal in the app is really helpful to me because I make myself stick to it, even when part of my brain wants to go to either extreme. Although I do tend to look at my calories on a weekly basis too, because some days you might be over and some days under, so I like to just make sure it all shakes out to something reasonable by the week.17
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Define over-eating. I consider it over-eating to eat all the calories for the sake of using all the diary says I have remaining, especially when I am well over suggested minimum. I don't do it. Is over-eating having something conventional wisdom says you ought not have? I think that is denying yourself. Having an 8 oz slice of cake when 2 or 3 oz is just as good might over-eating . It's all judgement calls based on what you believe best works for you.2
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Here, reframe it like this:
"Is balancing my bank statement disordered financial management? Shouldn't I be able to manage my finances without balancing?"
Now, some people CAN manage their finances without balancing. But we don't consider those who do to have disordered practices.69 -
Some people can manage their checking account without keeping a detailed record. I cannot.
Some people can manage their calorie intake wi to our keeping a detailed record. I cannot.
There is sometimes the assumption that keeping a food log is somehow failing to “learn” how to eat. And that if you did it “right” then you wouldn’t need to log anymore.
I think some people simply have food preferences, appetites and activity levels that closely align with each other and some people don’t.
Just like some people’s expenses and spending habits closely align with their income and some peoples’ don’t.
It’s not a failure or a sign that you’re not doing it right. You’re doing what you need to do to manage your life. As am I.
Regarding overeating-well anything over TDEE is “over” eating. My TDEE on rest days is 1600. So, having a banana for a snack can be “over” eating.22 -
My husband doesn’t count calories and maintains his weight. How? He eats one meal a day every weekday and two on weekends (has done since we met, way before OMAD became a “thing” for weight management). He doesn’t eat what he doesn’t like and can stop eating when he’s had what he thinks is enough (not when he’s full). If he fees he’s getting too fluffy, he’ll cut out desserts or alcohol during the week for a while. Is that “normal”?
I count calories and log food to lose weight when my attempts to eat like a “normal person” inevitably result in a few pounds of weight creeping on over the course of a year. Is that “normal”?
I have no idea. Both hubs and I would look like “normal”, non overweight people but we have different ways of staying that way and neither of us just effortlessly maintain our weight without thinking about it/adjusting things at least every once in a while.
I was overweight for my much of my childhood and thought there were these people who never ever thought about their weight and just maintained. The older I get and the more people I talk to about fitness/weight, the more I realize that’s not normal. You may maintain in a range but it seems normal to butt up against the top of said range (jeans get tight, scale hits a certain number) and you make some changes to get comfortable again.22 -
fastfoodietofitcutie wrote: »I wish I could just eat like a “normal” person and not count calories.
Over 70% of the US population is overweight or obese. So I would say that the "normal person" for the most part is not very good at eating naturally and not overeating. Certainly some people are. But more are not.
Calorie counting is a tool. I do not believe it is inherently disordered. It is true that for certain people, it may not be the best tool as they can get disordered with it. But the same can be said about any type of weight management strategy.26 -
I know for some, counting calories is an anorexia trigger. For those people, counting calories is not advised, and to maybe consult a nutritionist for what might work best for them.
In these days of super salty, fatty food, good stuff, according to our survival brains, it's hard for a lot of us to know when to switch off. Because survival brain says that all this good food won't be here tomorrow, so better eat it now. For most of us, the food will definitely be here tomorrow.
To tame survival brain, we have to retrain it. A lot of people do that by telling survival brain that it's getting all it needs, and tweaking until we hit macronutrient balances that properly sates survival brain. So "natural" is an odd term to use, for me.5 -
2,300 years ago Socrates recorded that he was overweight and resolved to dance more.
Normal is that in times of abundance, we eat too much. It is our individual obligation to be aware of our own intake and stop when our intake is sufficient for our needs.
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In and of itself, calorie counting is just a tool and weight management strategy. I don't do it anymore and haven't for going on seven years, but it was very educational when I did do it. I gained my 40 Lbs very slowly over the course of about eight years and was attributable more to going from a very active lifestyle in college to a sedentary desk job. I had difficulty keeping weight on in college as I worked landscape construction and didn't have a car much of that time and walked or road my bike most places. I put on weight very slowly after that, but I wasn't massively overeating and have never been a binge eater or emotional eater or anything like that.5
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I guess by your definition most of us are not "normal" on MFP. Counting is a habit to a lot of us. We just do it. You don't have to, there are strategies that work for some, or they work fo awhile. Good luck.3
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In what way would counting calories be considered 'disordered'? It is just a strategy to keep track of what you consume.8
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We SHOULD be able to "just not overeat", but here we are....counting calories strikes me as the least disordered way to do it, eat what you like while tracking sensible amounts - it's the diets that have all sorts of crazy and restrictive rules that I think are more likely to become disordered, and lead to weird relationships with foods.11
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While disordered eating can involve obsession with calorie counting, calorie counting itself is absolutely not a symptom of disordered eating. Like another commenter above, it has actually helped me in my recovery journey for an eating disorder.8
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In an ideal world we would all be able to judge to the last mouthful how much food was ‘enough’ for our individual heights, builds, activity levels etc but it’s never going to be an ideal world.
Take a 5ft woman, married to a man who is 5ft 11...plating the same meal because that’s how it often is...do you really think plated portions can be judged to the last necessary calorie on both those plates?
I’ll wager that for a lot of married/co-habiting women on here that sort of conundrum is a contributory factor for weight gain!10 -
I wish I could be one of those people that naturally feels full at my calorie goal but I don’t. If I could be an intuitive eater, then of course I would. That doesn’t work for everyone. I’m grateful calorie counting exists so I can get a handle on my weight.6
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fastfoodietofitcutie wrote: »I wish I could just eat like a “normal” person and not count calories.2
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If for you, "calorie counting" means something like "I cannot eat without obsessing over the calorie count"--such as, you can't enjoy a family meal or an occasional restaurant outing without having negative feelings--then maybe your calorie counting would be part of a disordered eating pattern.
But if your calorie counting means "I will do my best to eat within my calorie goal, accepting that I cannot always know exactly how many calories I'm eating, and balancing that with having a healthy personal life," then it's just a tool some people use to keep their weight in a range that they and their doctor feel is healthy.
Personally, I see calorie counting as treatment for a medical problem. I had a medical issue: obesity. I also had multiple related medical issues: high cholesterol, high triglycerides, borderline insulin resistance, PCOS. I used calorie counting to treat my medical condition by losing weight until I was in a healthy range. I continue to count calories because my condition is being managed, not cured; if I stopped managing it, the same health problems would likely come back.26 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »2,300 years ago Socrates recorded that he was overweight and resolved to dance more.
Normal is that in times of abundance, we eat too much. It is our individual obligation to be aware of our own intake and stop when our intake is sufficient for our needs.
Since Socrates never wrote anything (at least not anything that has survived), I question your sources.10
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