Is Calorie Counting Necessary?

Generally speaking, the research suggests that those who engage in WRSM have higher eating disorder symptomology, including fasting, purging, and steroid use. (Hahn et al., 2021; Hahn et al., 2022; Romano et al., 2018). It doesn’t look like a causal relationship can be established, though, and prior dieting history and personality traits may be confounding variables.

Additionally, a recent study by Hahn et al. (2021) found that those with low eating disorder risk to begin with did NOT experience increased eating disorder risk, mental health detriments, or negatively impacted health behaviors from tracking via MyFitnessPal for 1 month.

Mental health aside, is it necessary?

I no longer believe that it’s necessarily the best approach for the vast majority of the general population.

While it is ONE tool in the nutrition toolbox, it is at times putting the cart before the horse if you have not mastered the foundational nutrition habits first and foremost. And in these situations, you can actually make tremendous strides probably without ever splitting hairs over calorie counts.

Calorie counting is not an exact process (though certainly more precise than not tracking at all), and even your own daily energy needs fluctuate from day to day.

As with most things, it comes down to what your goal is and the benefits versus costs to you as an individual. Many understandably find it to be a true pain in the rear, and it can take away from food enjoyment. Other people are data nerds and genuinely get excited at the prospect of meticulously tracking numbers or don’t mind the extra work involved.

My goal is to provide proper context to help you make an informed decision for yourself. Whether or not you ultimately choose to track is up to you.

[myjciskate]

This channel is a goldmine of content.

[keylimetea]

It was bad for me I started to restrict and that’s how I lost weight. Saying ok I’ve had this many calories today and burnt this many so I can have it. Having to justify what I ate in a day instead of focusing on solely eating healthier and adding more protein or ensuring I eat more fruit and veggies and incorporating that into my diet. Bc you don’t feel good physically at all when you restrict especially if you work with kids and are getting sick constantly, you need to eat food that will sustain you and be healthy so you feel good and have energy!

[misscypher]

Building a healthy relationship with food through positive eating habits and moderation are definitely more important than counting calories!

[toryevanss]

If you cook from scratch, trying to count calories requires a TON of extra effort and in my experience makes me totally miserable. I just can't do it.

[tristinrose]

it is way healthier for me to not count calories ... i get obsessive & it doesn't feel good 🥴 i wish more people recognized this is something that happens.

Thank you for making this video!

[sadist]

I started to realize that once I actively started counting my calories, I started getting stressed about eating. I would go so far as to skip 1-2 days of eating anything at all just so I could eat my favorite cupcake. I very quickly realized where I was going and quit. I’d much rather have that extra 10kg on me than lose 30 in an unhealthy manner.

I only eat dinner and a little snack a day because I’m disabled and I don’t move much at all but when I started counting calories I refrained from any type of snacks, even fruits. I don’t want to intake more than 1.200 calories because I truly do move too little to need more.

[margaretkvinnherad]

Yeah, I got a little too hung up in calorie counting once, and could barely have anything but vegetables, fruit, berries and soup. The biggest step of my recovery was learning to alow myself to eat bread again... do not reccomend.

[sadiemaxfield]

Honestly its strange but ive started to realize that calorie counting IS for me... not because I want to be diety- but I tend to get into undereating then overconsumption cycles because I just have a really hard time reading my bodies cues. Its not that im TRYING to underfuel my body, its that Im trying to eat mindfully and it backfires. Tracking calories gives me a framework to know how much I actually ate and makes me feel more free to try to listen to my body. Idk if that makes sense but yeah there you go :)

[zanna]

YES. Everyone is different. Thankfully I take the flexible approach and use calorie counting as a “reset” after months of not picking good choices.

It helps remind me that I will be full with 1 cup of cereal vs the entire bowl for example. Or put me on the path of “more this, less that” like a salad with a slice of pizza vs 2 slices. About a month of calorie counting is enough for me to get back into the mindset so I don’t need it anymore.

Not everyone is the same so thanks for reminding everyone it’s OK to do things differently.

[Roxanna_Lux]

I count calories while eating intuitively. Sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not if you struggle to tell when you’re really full or hungry. If I’m not sure, I can look back at my last meal and see how much fuel it gave me, how active I’ve been, and if I’m just trying to eat to avoid work or out of boredom. It’s not about denying yourself constantly, its about making sure you don’t eat in either extreme. If you count calories, I think you should have a minimum amount for the day, not just a maximum. But like you said, it’s not for everyone.

[Soaring_Seajay]

I’m good with calorie counting. It makes me really pay attention to serving sizes and really think about what I’m eating and why. But I’m also super flexible with it. There are some days (especially when PMSing!) that I’ll go over my loose goal by as much as 1, 000 calories. And I’m ok with that. I don’t try to restrict more the next day or work out extra hard to “burn it off”. I mainly use it to try to hit my protein and fiber goals for the day, while also knowing it’s not gonna be 100% accurate. (And again, it prevents me from mindlessly grazing or overeating, unless I’m truly hungry.) Thank you for your videos. ❤

[eslavicky]

I’ve struggled with B.E.D for decades. Often going from one extreme to another by overeating or over restricting. I realized that tracking my food helps me visually see how quickly calories/macros add up. I think it’s been a useful tool in helping me actually loose weight instead of guessing if I’m making any progress with my goals. Best of luck to all!! Thankful for @SoheeFit for gifting her kindness & words of wisdom 😇

[BenSoloakaKyloRen]

Calorie counting is more like a starting tool to help you visualize how much you should be eating for your goals. Once you get the hang of estimating serving sizes, counting becomes too inconvenient. It’s easier to just adjust your intake via weight tracking after that point. It makes life a lot more natural and intuitive, too, after you’re done with counting.

[theninja]

Also, being aware of what is in the food (calories, sugar, other carbs, fat, protein, salt, ...) can be a helpful tool even without actively tracking it
I once noted to a group of friends on scout camp that the box of army biscuits we got given each were 1000kcal. Immediately got told off by someone for calorie counting.
No, I wasn't saying "don't eat the biscuits" (between the exercise and some gastro issues going around we probably needed more calories than usual anyways), I was saying "wow this small box is two meal portions"

[reneer]

Thanks for reminding people they don’t HAVE to track calories..
I never have, but I know if I became a person who did, it would not be good for me in more ways than one.

[lacey]

I love you for this. I was anorexic and I was obese at once point in my life. Me just Fasting and eating good carbs, fats, and Proteins has helped me fit in my size 0 jeans and stay healthy without the hard Working out and counting calories!

[janvibhatt]

You really are underrated I'm rn on my weight loss journey of 30 kgs and your channel is really helping it is being motivating and healing at the same time❤️

[goromajima]

I personally had a bad and good history with calorie counting. When I was teen during the hype of the grunge era on Tumblr... I developed an eating disorder.
And it's been 8 years from my recovery, i still struggle with self image issues and relationships with food.
Rn my approach is to be healthy and loving and accepting how that looks ON ME.

I do calorie count, but not to restiritc more as way of how much I'm eating and to no over eat specially food that lack nutritional value. Also to manage my macros.
And this approach has work for me in the past year.
I do not restrict and I try to eat a healthy as I can.

I like my body now, i workout frequently and manage my diet .
I've learned that the best diet, is eating with balance.

It hard sometimes, specially because for me ED are all about control. No

[lorini]

I follow a lot of fitness content, , , and apart from you, the only channel that presents this reasonable nuance to nutrition is the Red Delta project.
Great work much appreciated 👍

[JQueezyy]

I tried a couple years ago for a span of a few months but I didn’t like it and figured it was better to just make rough estimates of what all I eat and let my exercises take care of the rest…