Calorie Counter

I found this calorie-counting tool today on Livestrong.com, a website that boasts the cycling legend's namesake and covers an amazing array of medical, sports, and lifestyle information. I used their free tools to calculate my BMI, my BMR, and my suggested daily calorie intake based on my age, weight, and self-proclaimed activity level. My concern is that this easy-to-access and -use tool may end up causing more damage than it does good.

I'll just need to be very careful that I don't go overboard with it- I answered the questions honestly, and feel that it would still be safe for me to track food and the amounts of important values such as carbohydrates and proteins, since these play a large and important role in athletic ability. I see the tool sort of like a financial budget plan, only for food. It can help keep track and keep me focused on what I eat, ensuring that I make the best choices.

The danger lies in getting too crazy, and obsessing about calories when it really isn't necessary for someone of my weight and height to be concerned. Still, I'll use it for a few weeks and see if I think it helps (or hurts) my positive mindset when it comes to fitness and my body image. If I feel like it's turingin me into a weirdo, I'll ditch it.

Comments

[Emily]

I've tried a few different calorie counters and what really annoyed me was the ease-of-access to add up pre-packaged food calories, but difficulty-of-use for creating your own food out of raw ingredients. Both of the calorie counters I tried were great at calculating Quaker Oat Maple Instant Oatmeal Packets but not so great at 1/2 cup of raw oats, plus 10 raisins, plus 3 walnuts and 1 teaspoon of honey. I fell into obsessive entering mode and no longer use 'em!