Weight loss platform presentation and th ...

Weight loss platform presentation and the psychological implications of dieting: a review

Apr 08, 2021

 CW/TW: Weight, dieting, COVID mention

I live at the intersection of  i'm too depressed to cook, i'm debilitatingly anxious about my health, and I have massive control issues that left unchecked could easily turn into an eating disorder. Sometimes I also get hit by passing imposter syndrome and extreme fear of failing, which makes me more prone to give up if I don't feel like I'm accomplishing my goals quickly enough. 

Part of taking my whole health back is being honest about how all those things interact, and how valid they are to every aspect of my quality of life. 

I started making a concentrated healthy effort to lose weight to reduce chances of complications and severe outcome in case I somehow contract COVID. There are a lot of markers that indicate I'd be at higher risk, but my weight is the only one that I can control. 

Dieting can be a dangerous game for people with control issues. The need to force things to be perfect is strong, and it correlates directly to my level of anxiety. I'm sure it goes without saying that mitigating risk of death would be a big control and panic trigger. It was, therefore, important to me to use a guidance system so that I'd get dinged for not eating enough just as fervently as if I were eating too much. Being twice as mentally ill as I was the last time I did this (in 2016), I decided I was going to use two food trackers.

I chose WW and myfitnesspal because I have familiarity with both.

It is fairly well known that WW is an easy to manipulate system, especially if you've used it before. Extra hungry today? Eat a ton of "free foods", but you may not lose weight this week. Wanting to fool it into thinking you're eating enough? Eat a small serving of something you want that is higher point. The system does point you towards healthier food if you're using it as a healthy person would. If I'm extra hungry I can eat as much quinoa and broccoli as I want and even if I'm not losing poundage, I am gaining health points. 

If you are rewarded by seeing your progress front and center, I'm not sure that WW is it. It shows you your current weight in a larger font than your starting weight, but you have to do a little hunt to find your pounds lost so far. That's a no from me. Every one of those pounds has fought me to the individual ounce to leave, and I want them to put a gold frame around that number, then frame that in neon and center it in the screen on top of everything else. I'm not actually motivated by my current weight, because seeing those three numbers in a row, my brain does the quick math on it and tells me that I haven't done ENOUGH yet. My brain says, yeah you're WAY closer to the number on the left than the number on the right. That kind of minimizes the accomplishment. 

I double-enter my foods each day. It is a wild ride, because some days I only eat 400 calories but WW approves it as "within range" and myfitnesspal acts like a grandma seeing her grandkids: "NOT ENOUGH CALORIES, WE AREN'T EVEN GOING TO TELL YOU YOUR PROJECTED WEIGHT BECAUSE YOU AINT ACTING RIGHT, GO EAT SOME DINNER, WHAT DO YOU WANT, ILL COOK FOR YOU".

The app doesnt actually offer to cook me dinner. Maybe on premium, but I don't pay for that. 

The app pops up little positive and negative reinforcement messages throughout the day. Many foods have pre-programmed "that's too much sodium" or "great job, that's got protein in it" type messages. That is the type of instantaneous feedback I am into. Also, check out the only weight related number on my dashboard. I'm about it.

As an example of how WW can contribute to unhealthy eating I have included today's meals and what they look like on each platform. According to WW, 5-23 pts a day is within healthy range, and ive already used up my "Extras" for the week. I dont track fresh fruit, veg, or lean fish or poultry on WW as I know they are 0 point to save time, hence the difference. I also dont pay attention to where I log my food on WW because its a pain to edit where it goes afterwards.

WW

myfitnesspal

Again, myfitnesspal corrected me and told me I had to eat 1000 cal minumum if I wanted to see my projected weight. I went back and added crackers and peanut butter with some fat free milk and it gave me exactly that.

Weight watchers on the other hand gave me more negative points, which mean I am unlikely to lose weight this week.

If I were to say one is the clear winner, it would definitely be myfitnesspal. Its free, and uses calories in/calories out as their basis for weight loss. Simple, proven, effective. That combined with the instant feedback and chastising for not eating enough checks a lot of boxes for me, mind, body and soul.

If you are prone to disordered eating, or if you like/need positive reinforcement other than numbers based, I'd suggest myfitnesspal as well.

I still think that the balance of two programs is good, but since they are running on two different calculation methods, it is absolutely hindering the rate at which I have been able to lose weight. It doesn't look as impressive, but it is what I need to do to keep me on track mentally and physically. Losing 2 ounces a week is still better than gaining 2 ounces a week.

I'm trying to keep that in perspective.

If you are concerned about your or a loved one's disordered eating symptoms and related health, please visit https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline

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