Eat meter - its not good for me!

So, for those of you who have downloaded the calorie count toolbar, you'll be familiar with the eat meter. for those who haven't, its essentially a little bar which fills up depending on how many of your goal galories you've eaten so far that day. its very useful because i know at a glance if i can have something else to eat or if ive had enough for today. however, the colour is driving me mad!

i should point out that i am in fact trying to lose weight (started at 161, aiming for 133) but that meter is driving me mental. when it goes past the halfway mark (800 calories for me) it suddenly turns red, and then i feel really bad when i put in everything else ive eaten. 800 CALORIES IS NOT ENOUGH TO LIVE ON, but that bloody red thing makes me feel guilty for eating a healthy number of calories. i know i need to eat the 1600 calories to remain healthy but lose weight in a sustainable way, but i swear this thing might push me over the edge.

does anyone else feel the same way?

and for those who work at calorie count, is there any way you can modify this so that it does have such negative effects?

Hey...I don't use the eat meter so I don't know, but I can see how that would be frustrating. It's very pessimistic. If you have a suggestion for the CC folks, try the forum called Calorie Count--it's for site improvements and suggestions and you might get more of a response. Good luck!

I just noticed, like, today, that it's kind of orange-red. When it fills up all the way or past it turns dark red.

But I know what you mean. The orange should be more orangey. And happy. And like, hey, it's OK, eat more food. =D

If I were you, I'd listen more to my own body than worry about the color of some arbitrary stat posted on a computer monitor.  I have the bar downloaded too simply b/c it's like a shortcut to the website and makes logging easy for me.

I know myself well enough to know that I won't log calories for the rest of my life.  I also know that on a daily basis, I am consciously choosing what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat.  I am also doing some kind of activity at least 5-6 days a week.  Therefore, I'm not sweating the small stuff and pay no attention to the bar.  You really do need to eat when your body is truly hungry.  Set aside those unnecessary guilt feelings.  As long as you know that you're doing everything "right" to stay on plan, you really have no worries :).

Aren't you taking the color of the bar just a little too seriously?  After all, it's just a bar graph not a judge and jury.

wow...... you're a bit mean!

What you're saying, louised, makes total sense.

Colors affect our moods more than most people realize. People who wear blue are perceived to be calm; and green are perceived to be friendly. Think of the associations of colors also. Red does mean stop! We're conditioned to think this way so even drivers on autopilot can obey traffic laws.

Maybe ditch the toolbar and just use your homepage's daily eat meter under "My Home"? I usually leave one tab open with CC on it.

To me this is all a matter of perspective.  I love my eat meter thingie!

 I see it like this...

It starts off green all fresh and new, just like my day, good to go.  Then later come the afternoon it turns yellow the color of sunshine.  Telling me I am right on track doing good BUT (ingrained like traffic lights) be mindful, use caution, or even slow down on the snackage... Dinner's coming soon.    After logging dinner and dessert or my snack for the evening it turns Red.  A fabulous color!! Powerful, strong, assertive, yet romantic... Think roses and Valentines. Leaving me with the feeling I've had a red letter day!

As with all good things there are good sides and bad.  You could think of Red as danger, stop, bad.  Orrrr you could try and change your perspective on this color.  Leaving you with a few other meanings of Red and what it denotes, in hopes of helping you to do so.

In China, red is the color of prosperity and joy. Brides wear red and front doors are often painted red.

Red is the color of blood, and as such has strong symbolism as life and vitality. It brings focus to the essence of life and living.

Red is also the color of passion and lust.

Put some red in your life when you want:

• increased enthusiasm and interest
• more energy
• action and confidence to go after your dreams
• protection from fears and anxieties

Red gemstones can be used to strengthen the body, promote will power and courage, add vitality.