Only calorie counters feel guilty...

Its 6.47 AM and I just woke up and ate 3/4 loaf of store (almost 1 lb) bought banana cake followed by several glasses of sweetened soy milk. Kinda a binge eh?

There were no nutrition facts on the banana cake.... so I don't feel AS horribly guilty yet.

But now I'm going on CC to check the calories / grams of fat, sugar, etc... and I know after I do, I'll feel 10x more guilty than I do right now. I know I shouldn't check, but I can't resist....

So maybe normal people would just find this as a bit of an over-indulgence and than forget about it.... but people who count calories and are super anal about it like me, would feel guilty. Maybe we just make things too hard on ourselves.... i think calorie counting makes people unhappy :(

Edited to add:

Whoa! Haha lots of controversy with my last comment there, which wasn't the main purpose of the post.

But I will correct my wording: Calorie counting makes SOME people unhappy okay?
Cause I was definitely happier before every bite became a calorie. Yes, I know I do not blame CC for it, it is my obsessive tendency.

Anyways: The main purpose of my post was:
I ate a loaf of banana cake and feel guilty (I know I shouldn't but I can't control my nature)
However, if my brother ate the loaf of banana cake (not that he would cause most people have more self-control than me) he wouldn't feel guilty.

But I still had lunch and .... a big dinner coming up.
I'll just try and get more veggie carbs + protein in I guess..

Well, it didn't make me feel unhappy or guilty, it made me feel more in control of what I put in my body.  I don't log calories anymore, but keeping track of them for over a year was a learning experience of how to teach myself portion sizes, how to modify what I made, and ordered when I was out, so I could have a healthy and livable lifestyle.

But I guess it depends on the person.  I used to be super obsessive about it too, but then I started backing off and using the information I learned so I could eat "intuitively", and I'm still doing great.  

I hope you find a way to get over the guilt, and maybe find a way to back off enough of the counting to be more comfortable with how you eat.

Good luck!

I agree with santonacci...calorie counting puts ME in control, not the food.  I determine what goes in my body.  I determine the fuel...I prefer Hi-Test fuel, Premium things going in my body to fuel it.

If you are serious about your health, why not check the caloric amounts before you eat the item?

Side-note - I count calories on here as well as a handwritten journal.  Ive been doing this since July 2007 and find the data invaluable in keeping my eye on my goals.

If you're going to have an indulgence, then have a great one.  And DO NOT feel guilty about it.  That defeats the purpose of having the indulgence to begin with.

Then go back to managing your caloric intake and output as normal (whether you log, or whether you manage it intuitively).

But don't channel your obsessive-compulsive tendencies into calorie counting (an extra bad idea).  And don't bother with guilt.  Guilt produces stress hormones which are just as bad for you as being overweight is.

I admit to being a little anal about calorie counting myself.  Sometimes it gets on my husband's nerves.  For example, Saturday he wanted instant mashed potatoes with the fish we had for dinner.  I told him that I'd be happy to make it for him but could never eat it myself because there were too many calories.  That made him roll his eyes along with my asking him what he put on the fist before it went on the grill.  It's mostly because I want to save my calories for something that I really want...at least that the justification I use.  The painful truth is that sometimes I'm terrified that I'm gonna slip up and suddenly gain back everything I've lost.  Unreasonable?  Of course it is.  But is doesn't feel that unreasonable when you're finally nearing your goal and don't want to do anything to screw it up.

i indulged yesterday and felt the same way. i definitely feel much more guilty knowing the amount of calories i actually ate. i feel like i also cut out a lot of "little" things, like i won't eat a piece of candy sometimes b/c its just extra cals after joining this site. but it does work. haha. i cant wait to go for my run today that always makes me feel better after a bad day!

There is no reason to feel guilty for indulging.  It is counterproductive to weight loss.  If there is something you really want, eat it and move on.  I understand your need to log what you ate, I do that also, but I don't feel any guilt over it. 

When I want to indulge in something I really want I go for it with the real thing (not the no-sugar, low-fat junk that's supposed to replace it) and I make sure that I go to the gym to compensate... that way I don't feel guilty BUT I've realized that sometimes the (cake, glass of wine, chocolate) doesn't taste as good as it did because I know how long I have to be on the treadmill to burn it all off... that makes me a little sad... you?

calorie counting is the worst habit i have ever had, it allows the food dominate my life, in my opinion.  Learning slowly to live again, but definatly the worst habit its worse then smoking for me... right up there with the worst investment, a food scale...

Calorie counting actually makes me feel less guilty sometimes.  Yesterday I binged on fast food twice and thought I totally went over my limit.  I was considering giving up for the day and allowing myself to overindulge in anything and everything, but after I logged my food, I was still within my limit.  It actually made me feel great after my binges because they weren't nearly as bad as I thought.

i agree, calorie counting DOES make people unhappy! i mean we all know what the healthy choices are.. so if we eat those most of the time and occasionally allow ourselves little treats, why would we need to count calories? your body isn't stupid.. it knows how much it needs. somedays it needs more, somedays it needs less. bodies strive for a natural balance, and counting calories isn't natural.

I have been counting calories for over a year, and I must say it doesn't bother me, but it does bother others. There are days I blow it, but so what I just get back up on the counter and start again.....you can't let it get you down when you choose to eat, plus I just kick up my exercise routine on those days I  have binges......  

Original Post by jellobee:

i agree, calorie counting DOES make people unhappy! i mean we all know what the healthy choices are.. so if we eat those most of the time and occasionally allow ourselves little treats, why would we need to count calories? your body isn't stupid.. it knows how much it needs. somedays it needs more, somedays it needs less. bodies strive for a natural balance, and counting calories isn't natural.

Disagree. For many here (myself included) there is a disconnect between what our bodies need and what our minds want.

Calorie counting made me aware of how much I was eating. Taught me about portion control and allows me to manage my intake.

I obviously had no ability to do that on my own which is why I gained 150 pounds.

Monitoring my caloric intake will be a life long necessity. I accept this about myself and move on.

No guilt is needed.

I am on the side for YES calorie count!   This is to all who don't believe in counting is needed: most of us are here to get help in losing weight and for me I have been over weight for the last 10 years struggling to ON MY OWN watch what I eat and lose some weight, not only did I not lose "the weight", but I did the classic and in 10 years of trying I SLOWLY went up on the scale to now the 10 turned to 25!  And I KNOW I don't have to get into the emotional part of all this....but it sucks!  To say the least it still is not easy for me to lose the weight but without a doubt counting cal's have changed my life style and to what goes in my mouth and even how I feel about the food.  I am a FIRM believer in the program!  Yeah!   To all calorie counters! 

I've found so far that it has helped me keep on track.  Once my weight is off and I transition into maintenance mode, I plan on logging them for a while to make sure I'm within my maintenance amount.  I seriously doubt I'll keep it up for life just b/c I'm lazy in that way. 

I usually don't log my food and drinks over the weekend simply b/c I am a walking calculator these days and track my cals in my mind even on the weekends.  I tend to indulge more on the weekends, but surprisingly, my indulgences do not wreak havoc on my weight loss efforts.  I use the weekends to live more like a "normal" person with a sense of self-control :).  Then like clockwork, I'm back at it on Monday with no regrets.

As with anything for human beings other than the absolute basest essentials (respiration, H20, fuel, elimination) we all have to keep in mind YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY!

I feel so much happier and more in control since I have been carefully counting calories. I am responsible to myself and my health, I am accountable for what I eat, and I am healthier.

That works for me. I don't feel miserable when I splurge and I don't feel guilty. I just move forward.

I know and see a myriad of other posters on this site who are having the opposite experience. I can't tell you to live my way and I wouldn't ask you to. (How many people really want to live in a studio cottage, work full time, go to university full time, parent half time, and run a crazed online RPG at 40?)

Find your functional ground and stand there.

as a couple people before me have said, feeling guilty does not help anything. you can choose to not feel guilty about it and just continue with your calorie counting routine. cheating every now and then can actually help you feel better, knowing that you're in control. as long as you're on the right track most of the time, it will only affect you as much as you let it. you are who you choose to be!

I was very reluctant to start counting calories, as others have said on the this post, it seemed it would lead to the numbers ruling my life.  I didn't want to be a slave to the calories and also to bother or impose my efforts on others who want to eat with me or feed me!!  But I realized that I need to know what I was doing.... sure ignorance is bliss... (happy not counting) ... but being overweight is MISERABLE and the one was leading continuously to the other for me. 

So Calorie Count has made me happy, and continues to make me happy.  I think of being overweight as being in debt.  Calorie Count is helping me "pay off my debt" by "saving" my calories.    I'm sure people who spend willy-nilly on credit cards racking up debt are "happier" for the moment the people who are working and saving and planning and sacrificing to become debt  free or to live debt free!!  That's the same idea with CC.  I could be happier for the moment... but in the long run this effort and knowledge with lead to LASTING happiness and healthiness!! 

With that said, I think CC makes me more free.  When my family goes to the drive through I can eat a plain hamburger, skip the fries and get water instead of soda.  I don't have to make a big deal about NOT eating with them and I can eat salad for dinner to balance out the calories for the day.  Also if one day goes completely haywire I give myself the whole week to rebalance my "calorie checkbook"!!  It's true freedom... not freedom from responsibility.  :0)

So embrace the guidlines, color outside of them when you need to and abandon the guilt.  It's all good!

Original Post by tonyagriff:

I was very reluctant to start counting calories, as others have said on the this post, it seemed it would lead to the numbers ruling my life.  I didn't want to be a slave to the calories and also to bother or impose my efforts on others who want to eat with me or feed me!!  But I realized that I need to know what I was doing.... sure ignorance is bliss... (happy not counting) ... but being overweight is MISERABLE and the one was leading continuously to the other for me. 

So Calorie Count has made me happy, and continues to make me happy.  I think of being overweight as being in debt.  Calorie Count is helping me "pay off my debt" by "saving" my calories.    I'm sure people who spend willy-nilly on credit cards racking up debt are "happier" for the moment the people who are working and saving and planning and sacrificing to become debt  free or to live debt free!!  That's the same idea with CC.  I could be happier for the moment... but in the long run this effort and knowledge with lead to LASTING happiness and healthiness!! 

With that said, I think CC makes me more free.  When my family goes to the drive through I can eat a plain hamburger, skip the fries and get water instead of soda.  I don't have to make a big deal about NOT eating with them and I can eat salad for dinner to balance out the calories for the day.  Also if one day goes completely haywire I give myself the whole week to rebalance my "calorie checkbook"!!  It's true freedom... not freedom from responsibility.  :0)

So embrace the guidlines, color outside of them when you need to and abandon the guilt.  It's all good!

 

Have  you read that book naturally thin..or something like that. it's written by some chef or something and she believes in the same concept but without the numbers or counting. we don't need a ledger with the exact amount...we can add up our calories for the day with rough estimations...e.g. i just ate a big piece of chcolate cake and instead of a steak for dinner i;m going to have a salad. we only need to be aware of the balance in general not really in such a strict sense. we can vary our calories to meet our needs, but if we listen to our body then this is done naturally. for example, if you binged today, naturally you would feel less hungry tomorrow, and consequently eat less, thereby making up for any potential weight gain by maintaining the appropriate input/output ratio. hence, the idea behind calorie cycling. if you have a high cal day then the next day won't NEED to be as high cal and you won't be hungry. it is like a checkbook. if you splurge one day then you just make minor changes the next few days until you're balanced again.

the fact that people have said "cheating" and "bad food" or negative words referrring to food intake, shows that the calorie counting thing does set us up to view foods as good and bad...we give them more power than they deserve. every food has its place in a balanced diet within reason and we shouldn't feel bad if we eat it. the same people who are saying that they  don't feel bad when they eat "bad food" i believe are at least partially in denial because they have still labeled foods good and bad. i am not perfect and have food phobias but i realize that this way of life is so draining and not empowering at all. it strips us away from events that would be more pleasurable if we weren't so neurotic and makes us fear the dreaded 2 pound increase on the scale that is likely to go away if we just live normally. as children, we could be in front of an entire chocolate cake and not eat it all because we are able to listen to our bodies and stop when we've had enough. when food becomes good and bad, and calories are always on the mind, we lose that natural calling. we want to bank every calorie and use it to the max, even if we're not hungry. we become obsessive and selfish and we isolate ourselves from our families who choose to lead normal lives, most of who are not overweight or concerned about it. we envy them, but we  could have that too if we let go a little bit.

sorry about the super long post, but i don't want food and numbers to dominate my life forever. i hope this is uplifiting for someone, i know many people will disagree and that's fine but just be open to the possibility that yes some of this is true on some level for ALMOST everyone who counts calories.

Disagree. I am with kathygator; if assessing intake/expenditure and adjusting calories accordingly was at ALL natural or innate in me, I would not have reached over 300 lbs. So speak for yourself only, folks; I am incredibly grateful that I finally found a means to get to a healthy weight sans counterproductive guilt and failure to understand my body. Yay for calorie counting! And hallelujah for digital scales!!