Calories

[niadainud]

Inspired by another threat (but not a TAAT).

The impression I get from MN is that it is unusual to more or less eat a bit (or a lot) of whatever you fancy, and not to count calories for every meal.

I have never counted calories in my life, snack every day, and frequently eat biscuits, etc. I'm 50ish, about 8.5 stone, size 8ish. If I think I've put on a few pounds I'll cut back on said biscuits and maybe skip the occasional meal or stop eating earlier in the evening, but otherwise I don't even think about it other than a general awareness of trying to eat vaguely healthy meals.

I appreciate I'm probably quite fortunate, but I am genuinely astonished if it's really the case that everyone else is tallying up everything that passes their lips and weighing up whether it takes them over a particular number. Or is that actually just on Mumsnet and not in real life?

So AIBU to ask whether most people closely monitor what they eat on a daily basis, meal by meal?

Thanks, that's interesting.

I'm also curious - how is "food noise" different to just feeling hungry?

she eats very healthily and will cut down on sugar and carbs if she thinks she has gained a bit

If I think I've put on a few pounds I'll cut back on said biscuits and maybe skip the occasional meal or stop eating earlier in the evening

OP, these are both ways of keeping an eye on your weight. They work because you/your mum aren’t significantly overweight. For people who are overweight, more of an effort is needed to lose weight - if you just cut out a biscuit or two you probably won’t get far.

I appreciate I'm probably quite fortunate, but I am genuinely astonished if it's really the case that everyone else is tallying up everything that passes their lips and weighing up whether it takes them over a particular number. Or is that actually just on Mumsnet and not in real life?

I weigh and count most things, but I often eat the same meals in the same combination, so I do not need to count calories every day because I already know.

I'm not typical though, I was diagnosed with restrictive ED as a young teen and have struggled on and off since.

Some days my food and calories overwhelm me and it is all I can think about. Most days I just eat my pre-planned menu and get on with life as normal.

Loathsome humble bragging.
What a sad miserable life you must have to open this kind of thread.

Eh? Humble brag about eating normally. I’ve read it all now. Crazy.

I don’t ’count calories’ as such but I am careful about what I eat and have a general sense of things. I am just in the healthy weight zone but need to work very hard to stay there because I love food! So I skip breakfast, have a small healthy lunch (soup or salad, so I’m pretty sure it’s never more than about 500 calories). This way I can eat a normal/big dinner with the rest of the family and not really think about what I’m eating.

don’t drink much and try very hard to stay away from sweet things which are my downfall.

I do enjoy exercise which helps. But have a massive appetite so if I didn’t exercise some restraint I’d be huge and quite likely diabetic.

I was always like you, same weight all my adult life. In the last year I have put on a stone, perimenopause I think. Have now started tracking calories to try to lose it.

I think it depends on various factors but yes I generally do count calories and have a good control over my portion sizes etc. This is because when I tried not doing that I ended up gravitating to 17.5 stone over a number of years. I have since reached 10.5 stone through careful calorie counting and controlled dieting. I have maintained my current weight for some time now and it is through being aware of my calories. Because of this I’ve voted YABU. However! My husband is like you and doesn’t ever need to count his calories and seems to have a natural awareness of portions etc so I do think it varies person to person.

If you’re hungry, you can eat and not feel hungry anymore. Food noise isn’t hunger related, necessarily. It means feeling constantly obsessed about what you’re eating, feeling guilty for eating, feeling miserable if not eating etc

Im in my 40s. The only time in my life I have felt truly at peace is when I have a sickness bug and have had no appetite, which switches the food noise off. Otherwise it overwhelms me and stresses me constantly. It’s honestly pernicious.

I'm 40 and have never counted a calorie in my life. I wouldn't know where to start. Would I have to weigh out every little component of a meal that I'm cooking and google the calorie content? Do people write it in a note pad or retain this information in their heads?

Although I recently had my body composition calculated at the gym, and was shocked to learn that, at my height and weight, my basal metabolic rate is only 1300 calories! I exercise a lot, so - alongside that - must have naturally always eaten the right amount of calories to maintain my weight.

However, if counting calories works for others, then that's the approach they should follow.

Thanks for the explanation. It sounds unpleasant!