Why counting calories indefinitely perceived as bad thing?

I am pretty much approaching my life with the assumption that I will have to log calories for the rest of my life, and I'm okay with that, if it means I don't develop diabetes or heart disease and I can have fun playing with my grandchildren.

When calorie counting required keeping a separate journal from what one carries around day to day as well as having a pen handy and a book to check calorie counts I think doing it permanently seemed unrealistic. Now that it’s done with one device you carry anyway and takes about 2 minutes a day, that doesn’t seem unrealistic at all.

I had written something that basically agrees with what everyone else has said, so I will spare you the redundancy and delete it.

But really, you do you. I'm a little concerned @Tanie98, as far as you worrying that you might have to record your calories behind your boyfriend's back. Feeling like you have to do a completely normal thing behind the back of your partner... *that* strikes me as weird. I don't say this as a criticism of you. I hope you two find a way to work this out.

MsCzar wrote: »

No one thinks it's weird when diabetics daily monitor their glucose levels. It's just part of maintaining their health. I look at counting calories the same way. Sure, most people don't have to do it, but I know that I DO. I do better when I log calories and tend to backslide when I don't.

I am not sure the bolded is true. Overweight and obesity are still climbing with no end in sight. Awareness of what we are eating has to get higher. It does not have to be calorie counting but it needs to be something.

I know of some intuitive eaters. I am working with one at the moment to try and help her lose weight. She is obese from a life event and then has maintained her weight (range) for more than 10 years. But her method of intuitive eating is very harsh. She is in this mini binge restrict cycle. She allows her life to crowd out eating on a regular basis but manages to only eat enough food to get back to maintenance. It is very interesting but still problematic. When she tried to go on a "book" diet she gained weight because she was put on a schedule and her food habits are to eat a lot when she finally eats. There was no calorie control. I seriously doubt her current food habits can be adapted for long term success so even she will mostly likely need to move to portion awareness and accountability.

The point in all this is that if an intuitive eater doesn't understand how their system equalizes they are vulnerable to weight gain when life interferes. It also appears that, at least in this case, just because someone is an IE doesn't mean they practice healthy food habits.

The first problem with calorie counting (other than mental health issues for some) is that initially it is tedious and it probably always seems that way from the outside. I spend so little time doing it I barely give it a thought these days but initially, yeah, it kind of sucked.

The second problem is that people see it as a nanny system. They do not want to feel that restriction. They feel more free when they can eat without logging. I had food freedom. It cost me all kinds of other freedom. I am not interested in food freedom anymore. But not everyone has travelled the extremes I have so even though I see logging as freeing, not everyone else will.

I have found "I need you to have my back on this" a very effective way to get support rather than eye rolling from my spouse. Not just for calorie counting/weighing food, either.

Happily married for 33 years.