"Counting calories is just obsessive"

I heard an awesome video from James Smith on this the other day and I couldn’t help but re-share the thought process.

Now if you’ve discussed fat-loss in a work place or a social environment, I’m sure you’ve heard one person (probably with a shitty haircut & opinions on everything) pipe up in the corner with something along the lines of “counting calories leads to serious mental health issues”, “what happens if you go to far and become anorexic” or “that’s just way too obsessive".

It happens so frequently, it’s frustrating to hear.

Despite the fact that these people usually have little to no idea what they’re talking about, let’s chat about it for a little, for their sake.

Counting calories should be treated just like a good budget should. If you’re really keen on saving some money for a house deposit, do you:

a) Create a budget/spending plan to make sure you can reach you saving goal as fast as possible

b) Know that you need to save money so begin to actively spend less without tracking your savings, then look at your account at the end of each week and deposit what is left into your savings?

c) Leave it up to fate, check your account at the end of the week and wonder why you have no money to save or possibly even have some credit card debt? (You can’t blame your metabolism for this one).

A or B seems pretty fair right? both will most likely get you moving in the right direction.

When it comes to C, if somebody told you to not look into your daily spending, avoid checking your bank statements or stop obsessing over the fact that you’re constantly in debt, what would you say?

Would you say you’re correct, I don’t want to develop a mental illness or become obsessed with numbers? Probably not. You’d probably tell Steve he is a moron and he should mind his own business. Having said this… Do you need to stay on a spending budget for your whole life? I personally think probably not. It’s the same with counting calories. I don’t think you’d carry a tool bag around for the rest of your life just because you built a nice table back in 1985 woodwork class. Calorie counting is a tool.

There is always going to be an issue with eating disorders but I personally don’t think many people have developed them specifically from using a food app, in most cases the issues are already there and will remain prevalent with or without the app. I”m aware that there are people who cannot deal with numbers for this reason, I speak directly with several.

Mental and physical health should always take the drivers seat.