Dietitians say counting calories bad

I see many dietitians (on TikTok) say counting calories is a really bad idea and can cause an eating disorder. I do find that when I count calories I’m hyper focused on food but feel in control like I’m doing something about my weight. BUT when I’m counting calories I also feel out of control and want to binge. I want to count calories but worried it’s giving me an eating disorder, but if I don’t count then I don’t know if I’m in a deficit to lose. Feeling stuck
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Replies

  • gooz71
    gooz71 Posts: 97 Member
    It’s giving me plenty of calories for the day I just find when I hit that number I want to keep eating. It’s a love hate relationship (counting calories). I guess I could try to search for dietitians who promote calorie counting and get their perspective. I guess most of them focus on intuitive eating that I saw.
  • bubus05
    bubus05 Posts: 121 Member
    Ohh boy, we have just had a debate about counting calories on a different thread, that went kind of hot. I stated 'counting calories is a waste of time' and I received some backlash some even felt insulted. I still believe it is in itself not enough. It is a great tool to track calorie intake to achive calorie deficit, and if one's calorie deficit is sustainable on the long run it should be off great benefit. What is more important than calorie deficit/calorie counting is the type of calorie one takes in. It can mean the difference between a successful diet or frustration.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    So on calorie counting itself, it's useful for some, not useful for some. I think for most it probably can at least be useful shortterm if one is open to learning -- if you don't already exercise mindfulness about what you eat, even just writing down or taking a photo of absolutely everything you eat can be a wake-up call, and logging can help you see how many cals are in different foods. At this point I pretty much know how caloric items/dishes are going to be, but at first people are often surprised at how many or few cals are in different food items.

    If you have a history of eating disorder, I'd talk to someone about it first, especially if it seems to encourage disordered tendencies for you. If not, but you are tending to react unhealthfully -- eating more than you otherwise would or focusing only on how low you can get cals or ignoring things you would otherwise care about (like nutrition), then maybe think about why or open a discussion. I think for most calorie counting does not cause people to focus only on cals and abandon concern about healthy eating (at least if they had that concern pre calorie counting).

    But no, it's not for everyone, and there are other ways to control cals without counting. This is all individual.
  • Mellouk89
    Mellouk89 Posts: 469 Member
    edited November 2020
    The problem with calorie counting is when you buy processed foods that have no nutrition information on it, then you are unable to track. Or not as precisely as you should.

    Also when you make recipes it can be a hassle to calculate portions and macros.

    But otherwise it's a good tool and it helps me when i'm cutting.