Why does food have to be so damn complicated?

[miss_lucy21]

I started tracking my food because it's more information for my Fitbit. I'm pretty much half-assing it- I'm not measuring anything, because that way lies obsession, and I'm really just guessing on some things, because I don't generally eat out much and we also don't eat much pre-packaged food around here for meals, so it can be hard to find something in the database that matches what I actually ate. I don't exactly have nutritional information on most of what my mom or I make here at home, because it's not like we're working off of recipes or if we are, they're generally family recipes from times whereupon people didn't really give a damn about nutritional information. I have estimated carb counts for a handful of things we eat regularly, because Dad needs carb counts (he's an insulin dependent diabetic with a pump), but nothing beyond that (and the carb counts are mostly guesses/trial and error anyway. We've gotten pretty good at it over the past two years).

I set the calorie count thing to maintain my weight and was surprised as how many calories it would take to do that. Something on the order of 2500 calories. I do not eat 2500 calories in a day. No, seriously, even the day I tracked where I ate fast food twice in the day, I still clocked in at less than 2500 calories, and that was a highly abnormal day. And when I'm estimating, I'm estimating high (because I know people who track their food have a tendency to estimate low. Because this is not my first rodeo and yup, read all the studies). So, basically, since I trend around 1600-1800 calories a day (and this is without being restrictive at all), my body probably thinks I'm trying to starve myself. Again. I...did not think I was doing that? I mean, I'm not hungry, mostly. I'm doing a reasonable job of eating when I'm hungry.

Which is making me wonder. What would happen if I actually ate enough to reach that calorie count? I don't particularly care if I lose weight. If it happens, great. If not, that's fine, honestly. Hell, I just spent 6 months buying clothes. I don't particularly want to buy any more. But would I be less tired? Would I feel better? Is my body actually trying to cannibalize itself because I'm not eating enough? But at the same time, how in the hell am I going to eat that much in a day? I mean, adding more fruits and vegetables (which I should do anyway) is not exactly going to help that large of a calorie deficit. And really, I don't want to think about this. I don't want to expend the energy.

Comments

[hagar_972]

* Weight loss is not determined just by calories consumed/calories spent. It's also determined by fat/carb/protein balance, the type of said fat/carb, and so on. (ernads's body is presently providing a dramatic example.)

* You don't know if what you're entering Fitbit is anywhere near accurate on the above.

* You don't know that Fitbit's assessment of how many calories you need is accurate. My experience is that most of those counters are not. (I'm using the one I'm using because, among other reasons, it's within 300kcal of accuracy, which is as good as anything gets.) Similarly, you don't know that its assessment of how many calories you burn is accurate. (It's likely not. I went and read the physiology papers at some point. Oh, the guesstimation.)

* Exhaustion could also be determined by micronutrient balance, or by omega 3/6 balance, amino acid balance, or other issues pertaining to essential fatty acid balance. My distrust in what Western medicine calls "sufficient" levels here is high, because I have over ten years of experience with my own and other human bodies saying that Western medicine fails to grasp or identify noticeable but non-catastrophic situations as being of clinical important.

The most likely culprits are: potassium (assume you always need more), magnesium (unless you hit 200% RDA, assume you always need more), B6 (and the rest of the B group, but B6 first) and... if you're not eating red meat or red-meat-products (e.g. butter) at least twice a week? Cholesterol. No, really. And water. Drink at least 1.5L water or non-caffeinated drinks. Rule of thumb says add a glass of water for each glass of a caffeinated drink, and two for each serving of alcohol.

This is why I seriously recommend Cron. I've been using that one for years, and I know that its estimate on food content, calorie requirements and intensity of activity are sufficiently accurate. It has most pre-prepared foods on database, and a seriously good collection of unprocessed foods, so you can add whatever went into the pot that day.

* And lastly, personal metabolisms vary. Sometimes two people eat the same total calories to support very different body weights. Rule everything else out before you add calories.

[miss_lucy21]

I looked at Cron and while I can understand why you like it a lot, for me, it would be overwhelming. It's a really thin line I have to work with when it comes to this sort of thing. Too much information to balance either paralyzes me or kicks off the obsessive behavior. I can mostly handle protein/carbs/fat breakdown and number of calories, but that's really about it. This stuff is that triggery for me.

Also, not trying to lose weight. It's not a realistic goal for me, for a number of reasons.

[antongarou]

What Hagar said, plus in Cron you can make recipes for stuff you eat regularly by combining the ingredients

[hagar_972]

I also use the recipe function for regularly bought food which does not appear in the database, because it ends up with better type and micronutrient breakdown. e.g., I created Bisli as a recipe, because then I get not just the carb/fat content but the micronutrient breakdown that comes from the specific carb/fat/protein used in production.

[ernads]

Also, you can add to the daily count Regular physical activity. If you swim, as I seem to recall you do, it’s actually important to add is since it will impact your daily calories count heavily.

Did you have any indication recently about your sugar level? Low sugar or sugar imbalance can cause dizziness and extreme fatigue – I had suffered from it for a good few years. Only broke from it when Hagar had my try to cut down my sugar intake – drastically.

[miss_lucy21]

Nope, my glucose levels are fine. All my metabolic numbers are within normal ranges. They get checked every 6 months because I have a pretty terrible family health history in terms of cardiac health (on both sides) and my dad being diabetic, and because I'm on long term steroids which can affect things. Tradeoff of breathing, in my case.