I’ve always thought it is so interesting how in English, people often say “I am (insert weight)”, as an English language learner it made no sense grammatically but now it makes me wonder how much that affects people’s perspective. So just a reminder from an English language learner, you are not your weight, you weigh your weight.
Damn... i am german. It never confused me. I never even realized but It is such an amazing comment on diet culture and language and this is f*cking beautiful! Thank you for opening my eyes! (I know... you didnt even say anything else but you wonder about it, but to me, it changes a whole perspective regarding my language and who it can affect me and my selfworth!)
i did ballet for 10 years and honestly ,what she eats is considered a lot by instructors, I don't think people from outside realize how crazy strict they are and how thin they want us to be. All the girls in my dance school had almost no periods in their teen years cause truth is, unless you meet their weight goals you are never gonna get a solo or leading role.We used to eat cotton balls to fill our stomachs before auditions so we wont eat food ,teachers will in fact comment about how fat you are and how that's not gonna get you anywhere every day. there's honestly so much to it that id say she is relatively healthy compared with others I know
@@RosesareRed38 a lot of people used drugs ,i don't know if that's still as common today but back when I did it ,around half of the dancers were on something. stimulants, diuretics, amphetamines, steroids, hormones, narcotics .It was used for Energy, pain management, muscle building, weight control ,depending on what you need.
100%, myself and most of the rest of the girls in my dance school were bulimic or using some kind of drugs like amphetamines to try to be like that. So toxic.
I know this is an old comment, but I notice many adult dance instructors (at least at the less competitive level) are over weight. Many obese. I always wonder if past severe dieting did a number on their bodies🤷♀️
I have kind of a different perspective. For the last ten years, I battled with an ED on and off. Nowadays, I'm a calorie counter similar to Theresa and while it is a lot of work to measure all of my food, it's actually super helpful to ensure I'm eating ENOUGH and getting ALL my nutrients in. Without calorie and macro counting, I default into overly restrictive and harmful habits. So, for the meantime anyway, it's a great tool to keep me in check. As Abbey said, different strokes for different folks :).
As a binge eater I do it to keep up with my portion control and make sure my macros make me full so I’m not tempted to go crazy. May sound obsessive but I’m a year into recovery and lost 50 pounds and kept it off. Food is enjoyable again and my mood has improved! Everyone is so different!
@@stuffedpotato9826and if that's the case, you should take a different approach. Using MFP for me is very useful, I'm an amateur bodybuilder/powerlifter and it helps me track my protein intake as well as overall caloric goals, but I don't use it too strictly. Some days I don't track, others I simply log eyeballed stuff, others I do weigh my food... Because I've learned a lot from weighing my food religiously in the past and I can usually go without. So far, it's been a positive tool for me. That doesn't mean it's a necessary tool that everyone should use. Stay safe and take care 🖤🖤
@@stuffedpotato9826 same for me, started with a healthy (and for my analytical brain, pretty fitting) weight loss journey, turned into panicking if I forget to measure sth/I have to estimate/my scale is broken...but I am really glad that for some people it helps as I know some friends who also count their calories in a period of a few months and I am always so worried that they will be as destroyed by it as me
love ya abbey but i gotta add, theresa said multiple times in the video that she consumes 2,400kcal a day. the 1,600 is her net calorie total for the day, as she burned off roughly 800kcal during her training. and note that she is in a calorie deficit. so if she were maintaining her weight at the same activity level, she would be eating roughly 2,600kcal a day.
@@ivar3086 Obsessive where? She knows that she dances best at a certain weight. She is trying to reach that weight for the season. Once season is over she probably isn’t as up on calorie counting & maintenance. When your body is your tool for art/work you have to stay on top of this
@@BlackMetalChainsaw I am pretty sure that, as a trained dietician who hasn't had any professional experience since getting certified and instead makes a living off of overanalysing peoples diets online, that some of her advice can be unreliable.
I don't understand. You say that her regime can mask hunger... then you say she needs to listed to her hunger queues. It sounds like the counting helps her realize when she is undereating and needs more- hence the added cereal at the end of the day.
Plus. You talk about her being calorically deficient... even though she said in one day (when she hiked and stretched) she ate 2700 calories. You said, yourself, that dancers need at least 2500. And she ate extra that day BECAUSE she considered her training needs so she added more. I'm confused. Of course, all people don't need to count calories. It seems like she does it to make sure she is healthy.
Yeah, I wasn't a fan of this video. She's not starving herself, she's eating a wide range of foods. Yeah, her weight goal is unattainable to most people but she's a professional athlete. She even mentioned in the video that this is just the weight she gets down to during performance season.
I used to calorie count I found myself going to more pre-packaged foods with labels rather than cooking for myself and using whole food recipes because that was more work to calorie count. Now that I don't calorie count I feel like I actually eat better from like a nutritional getting my vitamins and minerals standpoint
I feel like no one ever points this out. Everytime I’ve gone on a “diet” I end up eating a bunch of packaged food because putting a recipe into something like myfitnesspal takes forever.
Calorie counting does deter me from coooking , especially with multiple ingredients. I'm attempting a hybrid form where I add food to pre packaged meals . I do t like the mass amount of salt add lack of protein so I will add stock , meat and more vegetables thin it out.
Just wanted to add, if you want to count calories and still cook your meals, some blog websites will list the nutritional information with the recipe. It's not as common, but some do it.
Same here. It always makes me go back to pre packaged foods, because they are easy to track. Especially for lunch, I always get bad options because they have the full calorie count on the package, compared to salads etc…
I generally respect athletes choices to push themselves to extremes for their sport/art... HAVING SAID THAT it's difficult to separate the legitimate athletic requirements of ballet from the unhealthy aesthetic standards set by toxic & misogynistic dance academies.
@@AbbeysKitchen I honestly don't know how they do it. To have to stay SO thin but need such strength, endurance, and flexibility? It's unreal. And honestly, it's not like they are encouraging muscle mass. Dancers are being pushed to be underweight. Full stop.
@@carolsimpson4422 that's only part of the equation though, you also need the muscle mass, the fat stores to keep you supported, well nourished and the nutrition to give you adequate endurance, and the bone density to support the forces you inflict on your body. It's not as simple as lighter = faster.
I don’t think it’s fat phobic when she mentioned that comment about the calorie vs volume difference of olive oil and steak. I feel like she’s basically saying she wants to eat a satisfying meal over a table spoon of olive oilwhich won’t satisfy her, give energy or contribute to her daily vitamins
At 17:14, Theresa says she eats over 2000 calories. A lot of the comments are fixated on the 1604 net calories she cites as her needed intake to lose weight- but with burning 804 calories from dance, she recognizes that she's taking in approx. 2400 calories overall. Abbey says ballerinas need anywhere from 2500 to 5000 calories a day (12:32). Yes she's undereating from this standpoint, but not nearly as extremely as many seem to think based on the shocked responses I'm reading. On another note, Theresa's technique and commitment to precision in her dancing is a joy to watch.
Agreed, people are proving in comments a complete lack of focus on the video. Theresa clearly stated she had about 2300kcal that day. Doesn't seem like that little food to me to be honest. Also this weird obsession of thinking you as a YT commenter know better how much a person should eat that the person actually living and working with that body is yikies to me.
For sure, and of course I respect her and her sport. My point in this video was to suggest alternative ways that even this population can meet their needs as suggested by my colleagues who work with ballerinas full time.
Okay I’m sorry but dont you think 2500-5000 calories to maintain is kinda high?? i thought it would be in the 2500-2800 range, but 5000 calories???? That is the “bulking” diet of professional bodybuilders that are 6+ feet and 250 pounds.
Also, this is a 3 week diet. After this she can go to a maintenance diet where she eats enough to cover what she burns each day, but not enough to gain weight--and this is just for her performance season.
I'm seeing a lot of comments saying that Theresa needs to maintain this weight in order to be in top condition for her sport, functioning under the assumption that ballet dancers need to be thin to be good dancers. That is not true. The idea of the thin, wispy dancer actually originated in the mid to late 20th century with George Balanchine. For those of you who don't know, Balanchine essentially created the ballet as we know it in the United States. Not only did he create the standard for ballet choreography, but also the ballet body. He was notorious for only choosing thin, short, small hipper women for his ballets and because he was the standard for ballet, other companies quickly followed suit. Long story very short, dancers aren't thin because it makes them better ballerinas.
Was wondering about this, whether there was any practical reason for ballet dancers to be so small (e.g. easier to lift them up during dancing, less chance of injury during pointe, etc.) I’m not a dancer so no idea about this :O
That might be true about Balanchine but ballerinas in USA actually look quite normal, as most ballerinas do in comparison to the Russian dancers. The argument in favour of this skinny look is that the lines of arms and legs appear more elongated; same is true for taller dancers. Amazing dancers who are lean but muscular or are too short cannot get same roles as the super skinny dancers. I would just wish for some more diversity. Thin, tall dancers might look especially nice in adagios but short or muscular ballerinas can more easily control their body and often have stronger technique, crisper footwork and more virtuosity.
@@vtheory7531 Being thin can help with higher jumps and make pointe work SLIGHTLY easier, but thin-ness doesn't really affect your overall technique. Long lean body will make their moves look more elegant and lighter. They have to maintain that body mostly because of appearance reason. The thinner the better. Eventhough maintain that body is extremely hard, a ballerina still have to if she want to go further in her career. A ballerina with a healthy slender lean fit body might be called "fat" because she is expected to be awfully thin and under weight
I’ve lost 174 pounds. Calorie counting has a been a major part of that. As a former restaurant chef I cook all my own meals and do batch and prep large amounts of foods. Some times I follow a recipe exactly which requires weighing and measuring. No one would consider that strange but it somehow becomes perceived as weird when you weigh and measure foods for your own personal plate.
@@sintara8442 Orthorexia is more about eating too healthy not really the measuring. This girls eating corn dogs and cereal. I think she leaning more towards anorexia with the fixation on calories.
Mmm I have to disagree with the statement that counting calories can’t replace our “bodies innate wisdom”. So many people just don’t have that “innate wisdom” and/or have idea how to go about following body signals. I am one of those people. Calorie counting is just easier and freeing for me. I don’t have to limit my food choices and I can eat what I want and make it fit into my day with proper portions.
imagine yourself back when there is no internet and calories to count. You're telling me you'll eat yourself to death or starve to death simply because there are no numbers to look at? You are not free. You're clearing suffering from something. Every kid knows when they are hungry and full. You screwed up your brain and body a long the way.
@@MIMI-m2n yeah, I know lol. You’re not delivering any shocking news. Lots of people have “screwed up” minds or thought patterns for lots of different things. For some people that’s related to food. For others it’s not. Is calorie counting right for everyone? No. But for me and my personality and my weight loss needs at this time? Yes. I do not have a reliable inner voice for hunger and fullness. I encourage you to examine yourself and work on whatever you need to work on with your own mental health, because it sounds like you’re angry or hurting and I hope you get the help you need for whatever is going on with you.
calorie counting helped me because I finally realized what was stopping me from reaching my goals...I was heavily underestimating the calories of a simple brownie, which on its own wasn't bad but was followed by smth else which created a big pile of over 1000 kcals in "innocent snacks" ...all simply because I truly believed it's not THAT bad 🤷🏻♀️
@@erinh9267Theresa counted for her excerise, thats what the NET calories are. Anyone, even without excerise, burns calories. The 2k calories will always be less at the end of the day. Theresa clearly isn't interested in crashing her body.
For the First time, I need to contradict Abbey, sorry!👀 to me, Theresa seems to have a healthy relationship towards food and tracking (whilst being surrounded by difficult body image ideas). She doesn't cut out any food groups. Plus in my opinion tracking really doesn't take a lot of time and for now it helps me to relearn healthy eating habits. Still love your videos tho 💛
I agree. I saw this video years ago and I remember thinking she had a good relationship with food. She’s counting calories but it’s completely unemotional. No good or bad foods.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! She does seem chill and I say that myself in the video. Some people can absolutely count calories without it running their life. My point in this video was to suggest alternative ways that even this population can meet their needs as suggested by my colleagues who work with ballerinas full time.
I understand where you’re coming from and I respect you’re message. I also understand that lots of standards in ballet are outdated, mysoginistic, and unhealthy. But this woman obviously is eating enough food and and seems to have a pretty healthy relationship with food. It is possible to count calories and not develop an eating disorder. Everyone is wired differently. I know she doesn’t necessarily focus on what’s healthy vs just calories, but sometimes it’s hard to get in the calories you need for the day when you’re busy and working out a lot. At that point, you have to just eat what you can just so that you’re properly fulfilling your body. I don’t exactly count my calories, but I’m definitely keeping an approximation of what I’m eating so that I get enough. It works for some people.
Abbey is really judgmental of peoples eating habits if it works for someone leave them alone from what the video shows Theresa seems to have a completely healthy relationship with food.
The dietician is complaining that the ballerina counts calories while the dietician herself gives an approximate of how much calories each of the person consumes daily. Hypocrite.
Yeah it seems a bit much to refer to 2200 calories as a "toddler's amount of food". Seems a bit dramatic, but probably to make the point against calorie counting. Abby is more based in intuitive eating so it makes sense that she has this stance against calorie tracking. I would have liked to see the data to back up why 2200 is so low all the same though. (That being said, I know many female athletes eating closer to 3000 calories, but they're doing a lot of distance running or explosive lifts, which I imagine are more taxing on the body as far as metabolic rate?)
@@thenopedetective absolutely. It's muscle mass which is the main driving up factor of caloric requirements. Ballerinas have some but they're nowhere near the level of a say weightlifter.
She said herself that she wats about 2400 calories and the 1600 calories at the end was after she had burned calories. The reason she counts calories is to make sure that she’s consuming enough calories. She’s not obsessive she just doesn’t want to undereat.
“She seems like a fun dinner guest” she is being interviewed about this subject. I thought it was an interesting detail and I would appreciate a conversation with her.
I appreciate your videos and philosophies. I can see how the calorie counting could be obsessive and trigger the others to do the same. But I have to lean in Theresa’s favor on this one. She’s very disciplined because it’s a literal career requirement, and she seems really level headed in that she has a goal, and is only losing a few pounds to meet that goal so she can do her job effectively. She really appears to be someone who loves food and when not on season and would be very balanced. (In fact, if you look her up today, she looks to be what most would consider a healthier weight.) Also, with her tracking calories and looking at macros, she’s clearly aware of protein, and as an athlete, looks to fuel her body appropriately to maintain her muscle mass as much as possible.
I agree! I track calories to manage my daily intake and I find it much easier...Abbey made it sound like such a chore, but it’s only a few min a day for me, and it gets more instinctive the longer you do it.
What Abbey says it that it can trigger disordered eating for some folks, not for everyone And that calorie counting doesn't tell us everything (vitamins, micro nutrients, etc.) That's why going to a professional who can count them for you (taking everything into account like they are trained to do) and guide you in making your meals more satiating and satisfying would be the best to option for people who are triggered by calorie counting
I think it really depends on the person. I find it much harder to eat smaller portions than to just not eat junk food for example. When I count calories I just feel like I'm never eating enough, I am constantly hungry. But it's easy for me to lay off the cookies and pizza.
Many people calorie tracking will use MyFitnessPal or similar, so you even get the nutrient breakdowns. While I got the purpose of recommending making a meal instead of calorie tracking, I think Abby is overestimating how much time it takes. This video was about food and weight, so it makes sense why the ballerina has such a narrow view during show season. Day to day it takes less than 10 minutes which is not enough time to prep a meal!
I like calorie counting. It takes me 5 minutes at the end of the day and it doesn't dictate what I eat, that's why I always do it before bed time and not after/before each meal.
It’s even easier for picky eaters like me who just has certain foods that I eat memorized . Also, the accuracy isnt all that important because you learn your body over time. I know if I aim for a certain amount it puts my weight in a specific range whether that’s literally what I’m consuming or not. It’s way easier and I’m. It second guessing. I won’t even try if I don’t have a certain level of assurance.
Unpopular opinion: some people can count calories without getting obsessive about it. Personally, calorie counting is the only way for me to maintain a healthy weight. I’m not hungry, I don’t feel deprived, and I eat nutritious food. I also eat crap when I feel like it, I just fit it into my calorie limits. I get that Abby had a history of ED, but, as in other videos, she allows it to cloud her judgement when it comes to her stance on calorie counting.
I feel ya! I use a meal planner that counts calories and macros but I ultimately use it for the grocery shopping element so I only buy the exact amounts I need. I don’t feel like I’m being overly precise or disciplined as I often eat things outside of the meal plan and still plan in treat items like rice pudding or ice cream. I just like the level of organization it superimposes over shopping, which is a big and often stressful task for me.
I agree. Previously, I struggled to lose weight for decades (but always gained instead). In that time, I always shied away from counting calories, because it was demonized by the (usually petite) women around me. Recently, I started counting and I love it. Finally, I understand how much I am actually eating and see more clearly how this affects how I feel, my mood, my energy and of course my weight. I don't see the problem with this -- I want to be able to eat pizza and ice cream and not gain 2-5 lbs a year. Sometimes I feel like people can't deal with two facts about eating 1) you are probably wrong about the amount you're eating (I was for sure) 2) if you are privileged with your food sources (i.e., you're not food insecure) and you want to sustain your current weight, you can't just go full out every time you go out to eat. In other words, the modern diet is not actually weight sustaining - there is nothing intuitive about eating in our culture. (If it were, then the rates of diet related health issues, such as type 2 diabetes would not be increasing over time).
@L catherine all of the comments on the original video are about how healthy her approach to dieting and relationship with food are lol In fact that's why so many people were referencing it in the scout Forsythe video.
The calorie numbers she is going by would be great for a sedentary or lightly active person. But for someone who works out multiple hours a day I cannot imagine. Edit: after watching further she does actually adjust her calories for her workout. Still doesn't seem like a lot but I'm not her so I can't say how that would feel.
I'm so confused about the misrepresentation in this video. Cutting out so much crucial contextual info to fit your own agenda is really questionable. I don't think I can support this channel or your content.
she seems to not have any problem with taking time to count the calories she eats, she has a healthy relationship with her food it seems. i don’t see any problem with the way she eats
I disagree. Nothing wrong with counting calories to ensure to maintain weight. It becomes a problem if someone is intentionally underrating to lose weight but literally counting calories is not a bad thing. Same with macros to ensure someone is getting enough protein and other nutrients. She is a ballerina and knows what she needs to eat to have the energy to do what she has to do. I don't know why people like you always think counting calories is like disordered eating when it really isn't. That's one of the only ways to ensure we are eating what we need to eat and maintain our weight.@@pheart2381
When you get in the habit of calorie counting it really does run in the background. It can be a great tool for weight loss. You're being overly critical of this dancer, she's clearly smart and level headed and laid back in her approach to nutrition.
I used to calorie count a lot since I was struggling with chronic depression and anxiety. Either I ate too much or nothing at all so counting calories and assigning a schedule for my meals helped to maintain a healthy weight and engage into better habits.
I would love to see an “Abbey reacts to old videos” where you review your videos from a few years ago. I’ve been in the Abbey rabbit hole since seeing you on Coach Greg’s channel and it is so nice to see how you’ve evolved in your presentation. I feel like you’re less judgemental and more open to those not choosing intuitive eating because it’s what works for them! 🧡🧡🧡🧡
Calorie counting was great for me! I had no idea when I was full, so I just kept eating… I would go to a restaurant and eat a huge dish because it was served to me. And there is always space for breakfast. Counting calories helped me feel satisfied and learn how to regulate my meal portions. One I reached my weight goal, I stopped counting but now my stomach knows when I need to stop eating
First of all love the Curb Your Enthusiasm clip and your outfit!! I am a calorie counting defender. You are absolutely right when you say we could be off, and it might be flawed data. But some data is better than NO data for some folks, esp those prone to extreme overeating or undereating. Once I realized that an egg on average only has 75- 80 calories, and is nutritionally dense, I actively started choosing it over other filler breakfast foods. Understanding and tracking calories made me see the foods that I like are not evil in moderation. Having a rough correlation between calories and nutritional density has made me a better intuitive eater, ironically. I do not need to track anymore but have rough numbers in my mind to help me pick delicious, nutritious foods.
Yeah I personally end up eating less than 1000 calories whenever I try to eat intuitively, which is not healthy. In order to eat enough food to maintain my weight I need to eat til I’m stuffed and track my calories. It’s not perfect but my body’s estimate without tracking is waayyy less than perfect. It’s a tool like any other.
My approach too. Some days I eat more and some days less, but as a scientist I love data, and while I'm not a slave to calorie counting, it helps me stay where I want to be and make better choices. I could have a donut... Or some Greek yogurt with almonds and fresh fruit. Obv the latter is better and more satisfying!
She eats like an athlete. Very responsible and doesn’t cut out food groups. Ballet is such a specific discipline. She explains the science and the rationale.
This is true. Because as weird as her diet sounds, ask around, especially gym rats, double so for anyone who is really serious about their numbers in terms of weight and reps. They religiously eat a very small something just to get going and that is usually high in sodium, or, they take a sodium supplement and usually put some salt in their water bottle this basically makes your body retain water and stay hydrated. Then they eat most of their food after lifting. I am not surprised that dancers follow a similar diet, as you can't do ballet without being very strong and that means a muscle health foucsed diet
@@evanhunke1676 so interesting. I think it’s refreshing that she is so candid about what she eats and why. Things like corn dogs probably help to sate cravings etc. ballerinas simply have to maintain their best dancing weight. Not easy. Really admire her discipline and knowledge.
Logging calories isn’t an enormous mental load for a lot of people though. Once you’re past the learning curve it takes very little time and effort. I spend less than five minutes each day counting calories and weighing food. I struggle with binge eating and, speaking from a lifetime of experience, can’t eat intuitively without ending up obese. Calorie counting allows me the freedom to eat what I want in reasonable portions and maintain an optimal weight for my height. You speak a lot of absolutes from the POV of a person who struggles with restriction but the United States as a whole tends more toward the opposite problem.
I wonder if people which consider it hard are also shit at managing money. Like it's the same basic process. You have a daily budget and you get to count your spendings. Let's not talk about how you're basically counting when following any recipe with given weights/measurements. The only part missing is googling how many calories in X.
For sure, she does seem chill and I say that myself in the video. Some people can absolutely count calories without it running their life. My point in this video was to suggest alternative ways that even this population can meet their needs as suggested by my colleagues who work with ballerinas full time.
@@AbbeysKitchen your colleagues aren’t working with her, though. you don’t even know if she’s working with her own nutritionists/dietician and if this was actually recommended to her.
i don't know, i think i might disagree with abbey on how she approached this one. yes, she's restricting her calories, but theresa is an athlete getting back to peak performance weight - not an unusual thing within a variety of sports - and the fact that she's losing weight for her season implies that she doesn't track to this extent during her off-season... honestly, theresa seems pretty food-neutral to me, which i don't see as a bad thing? and as someone with an eating disorder, i didn't find the original video particularly triggering. i don't know, i like a lot of abbey's videos but this one feels unfair and overly critical.
^^!!!!!!!! seems like abbey's projecting a lot of her own insecurities onto this one. this is totally diff from the scout forsythe what I eat in a day imo
The problematic part is that her chosen “peak performance weight” puts her in a BMI range that puts her at higher risk for all-cause mortality. The thin “ballet dancer body” is an aesthetic, not a requirement. Unfortunately many dance companies reinforce this by only selecting dancers with a specific physique, or worse, making their success in the company hinge on keeping one’s body looking a certain way. If you can’t “look the part,” they will give it to someone who does.
Plus, Theresa seems to have done this multiple times so if she's actually seeing the expected weight loss happen it means she was on point with tracking/deficit. She states she's eating about 2400kcal to actively lose weight, which doesn't seem low at all to me.
Exactly! While yes dance/athletic culture has roots of ED but there are some dancers who know what they are doing. Clearly Theresa had to have gained weight to be at the point of loosing it. Off season she is probably doing whatever she wants. But during season, if she feels she dances best at 114 for 8 weeks, then she knows her body
So glad i found your page, I'm currently battling a binge- restrict ed myself and your videos really help give insight to what im putting in my body, fighting one fight at a time
Why I love channels like this: “The ballerina must factor in exercise and not just consider baseline caloric needs.” -ballerina estimates additional requirements based on daily exercise and factors them into calorie tracking…is met w/ a sighing “okay” and an eye roll. >_< Can’t win, y’all.
was looking for this comment lol like when Abby implied that Theresa was only consuming 1650 calories I was like yes but this is her net caloric intake. She even says in the video she eats over 2000 calories to compensate for how much she burns dancing.
I was also looking for this comment. I watched this ballerina’s video after abbey mentioned it in a previous video and was like… this isn’t bad at all. Way better than the other ballerina who was basically jsut eating salad and apples.
the reason why calculating calories then adding in exercise calories is an “eye roll” is because you can’t accurately measure amount of calories burned from an exercise session because the body doesn’t quite work like that. with cardio, your body actually gets more efficient at using energy over time so you don’t burn calories the same way as an experienced runner vs a beginner runner. and your body does all sorts of things AFTER your workout that impact all of your metabolic processes. it’s better to calculate your calorie needs with an estimate of your general activity level factored in over adding in calories for each individual exercise session. hope that helps explain exactly why abbey was exasperated by the methods. it seems like no big deal in this scenario but that method can lead to wildly inaccurate calorie counts.
@@G625-s1c what you said applies well to a normal person but not a professional dancer who is easily burning 800 or so calories per dance session. They really need to monitor it on a per day basis if they dont want to feel deprived and hungry and tired. just because its an estimate doesnt mean its not worth using as a parameter.
I feel that shes counting mainly to make sure she's eating ENOUGH. Processed/prepacked food (which she often has) have been proven to have more calories than they advertise for the sake of selling. So it's very possible that she's gone over but at the very least is still giving herself the proper amount of nutrients. Plus she strikes as me as the kind of person who will go for a second bowl of cereal if she still felt hungry. At 115 pounds, she's not gonna have the same needs as someone who's weighs 20+ more and it's not reasonable to downplay her diet if it's different than yours. Sorry but the overpicking in this video is just a bit much.
To be very honest- sports nutrition and calorie counting is usually pretty important, especially when you have a goal of adding or losing weight. You can't rely on "hunger and fullness cues" because, frankly, you are frequently *overwhelming* your natural cues. If I am intuitive and eating away from hyper palatable modern food stuff, I can easily maintain a functional and happy weight. But if I want to put on a few kilos of muscle, I *have* to eat over that- but then I don't want to overeat. This is super easy if you just like add a donut, but if you're also trying to eat more nutrient dense foods? It's hard for almost everyone. There's a reason people talk about "hard gainers" in any kind of strength context. You're definitely right on the carbs, though!
Honestly she’s really chill and comfortable with what she’s doing, i don’t see why one can’t be counting calories casually and know such minute details about food while still being chill about it 😂 if you can’t be comfortable around food in the context of knowing its caloric content doesn’t mean she can’t
EXACTLY! I love counting calories and math. If I didn't I wouldn't have the body I love and trying to diet without it just feels pointless and infuriating.
I'm not sure but i think Abbey is saying that the ballerina is using a such exact numbers, numbers which could very well be inaccurate. But the ballerina really adheres and plans all her meals around these numbers she gets
@@kalequeen5981 I used calorie counting to gain weight (lost too much due to illness). Id been trying for years, and then saw the ballerinas video when it came out, and thought "maybe that would help me in the opposite way" lol. So I started, and began gaining weight.
This may all be true but it’s also true that this level of calorie counting can be a massive red flag for an eating disorder and it would be irresponsible, seeing how many ppl in this industry suffer from ED, to not point that out. If it’s not a problem for someone cool but, if it IS a problem that’s a huge problem. Many impressionable people, who look up to dancers, could find themselves in a dangerous situation emulating her.
@@AbbeysKitchen I have recommended your channel and blog to everyone! My friends and I have been making your recipes and you are completely changing the way I talk about / think about food and diet culture! AND we are from Newmarket just north of you :) Thankful I landed on your channel
as a ballerina who is currently dealing with an ed, i clicked on this video fully expecting it to trigger me. it weirdly didn´t, and i really like some of your points. especially around making your own food and such, as that´s what i try to do (busy as fuck but meal prep saves me). Theresa´s points too though. i feel the same way about calorie counting as she does, i´m good with numbers and it can just run in the background for me. also, i cannot get over how gorgeous you look, ugh! the dress, the hair... beautiful!
For me calorie counting works very good in my field, while studing gastronomy I saw lots of my class mates gain like 10kg because everyday we had very fancy meals we made during the classes like, pasta, pizza, stews, cakes etc, so for a chef that cant have a regular meals squedual, calorie counting was a nice tool, also I try to follow the hunger crushing combo and works very good!
When I don’t calorie count I eat well over 5000 calories(my dietitian told me to eat like it didn’t matter then count later to see how much I eat when I am just eating what I want). I’m 5ft tall and relatively active but not 5000 calories a day active. I need to count to not pack on massive amounts of weight. When I weigh more it is harder to be active and for me to dance or even go up and down the stairs for my job. Calorie counting is super easy for me. It’s hard for others but assuming it’s tedious is just wrong.
i don't get it. It's a linker. Like "and" and "but".. we have to cut down on linkers now? What new hell is this? how many linkers can i have in a day? Does it matter how much I exercise, can I use more if i exercise?
Thank you so much for talking about how much women should eat! I’m a very active (20,000-30,000 steps a day active) woman. I eat a lot of food. I constantly get comments on the amount of food I eat from other women. I NEED it! They will make comments about how I “eat like a man”. Where did the idea that women shouldn’t have food to support their bodies come from!
Dang how do you walk so much? Are you an avid hiker? Or do you run? i hit my occasional 20k here and there especially when I’m traveling & exploring a new area but how do you it everyday? 😮
I’m glad you mentioned how society expects women to eat a certain amount and certain types of foods. Seeing the fistful size meals promoted on social media makes me very self conscious when I eat in front of others. Also, sometimes I don’t want to order a salad at a restaurant and will get a steak instead. The amount of surprise on men’s faces when I do that on a date or out with is jaw dropping.
Feel you so much! I'm really tall (184 cm) and at healthy weight and it took me years to overcome my insecurities when comparing the amount of food I eat with other people. In my last relationship I even usually ate more than my boyfriend and that made me feel really bad sometimes. So stupid, bcs he was lighter than me and didn't work out while I worked out every day. I try not to compare the amount of food I eat to how much other people eat, but it is hard sometimes to ignore the societal pressure for women to eat tiny amounts of food.
I would love to also see your take on videos showing celebrities eating to get in shape for movie roles, male actors included. Maybe like Kumail Nanjiani or someone on the Men's Health "Eat Like a Celebrity" series?
i was a cheerleader and we had this three day camp where we trained from 9 am to 8 pm (minus a 30 min lunch and dinner bc we ate breakfast before 9) and i remember by the time dinner rolled around we were all so exhausted that none of us were really that hungry and we got scolded by our coaches. i would also like to note that we only got water breaks every hour. it was so tiring lol idk how we managed. so yeah the high intensity work masking hunger is definitely true
This criticism is quite harsh. In her video she talks about she doesn’t like to cut out foods or be overly restrictive. She estimates her calories and this is not terribly strict. In the restaurant scene the criticism is that she’s focusing on minute numbers and fat phobic foods. However she’s focusing on minute numbers because her deficit is minute. She also didn’t say that all oils needed to be cut out but rather achieving that deficit could be as easy as cutting back on oils (or other foods). Also, being that her sport is her career, I’m she’s done an RMR test or something of the sort to determine how many calories her body needs.
First of all I don’t think it’s fair to call her wait of eating disordered, and second of all you kept exaggerating things that she clarifies later. like the fact that 1800 is not enough for her when she’s a dancer. she clearly states that 1800 is if she was just existing and later clarifies that in reality she eats over 2k calories even if her goal is around 1600. You also twist data and put it in a way that benefits your bias. the study stating people underestimate their intake does not take into account calorie counting but how much they think they eat. This was very true for myself as well, when I used to calorie count I noticed how much I truly underestimated my calorie intake. the minute I understood roughly how much calories were in food this was no longer necessary. She clearly knows what works for her and her body. What feels restrictive to you, is not restrictive for others. what may not work for you, works for others. If you need to be dishonest to make a point, your point is useless. Saying olive oil has a lot of calories is not fatphobic. You’re just pathetic 🙁
I honestly love how Abbey compares so many foods to apples and peanut butter. It's such an accessible thing that I feel like literally everyone has eaten!
I feel like you might be struggling to understand how calorie counting can be a *more* relaxed way of approaching diet because, as you have identified yourself, you have more of a type-A personality. You think of it as trying to get precise information, keep track of all these little things and restrict yourself to that. But for some people, myself included, not having exact numbers on things is WHY it doesn't trigger restrictive behavior. It takes me about 30 seconds per meal to record my food and exercise, because I'm not being super precise with it - I'm just trying to get a sense of what my usual portion sizes are and how they balance with my level of activity. It's a loose form of data collection so that when I come upon those 'outliers' where my appetite is way bigger or smaller than usual, I can have a better sense of why that might be and feel secure in the knowledge that I'm feeding myself adequately on average.
I agree, when I count calories I assume a sliding scale of accuracy. Usually 200 under or over my caloric intake goal. Some days are a little over and some are under.
I think you actually Moreso provef her point and pretty much made an example of that control. Control isn't black and white. There's grey to it too and sometimes we're not fully conscious of the things we like to have control over. A type personalities would count their calories. Not even in a rude way saying that it's wrong but from what you're describing it sounds like you might not realize that control isn't always an obvious thing
i eat garlic bread for breakfast all the time cause my family always made it a breakfast food lol so i was shook when other people said they only had it for dinner...yall are missing out
I'm assuming she got her starting amount of calories from how much she typically eats and her weight remains steady. Since she tracks how much she eats and her weight regularly, obviously.
She was underweight & I don’t see the point of losing more regardless of any “performance” related reasons. Luckily she is now pregnant and looks a lot healthier.
Me neither! I’d also never eaten a hot dog until this summer. My friend had us over for a little hot dog roast and she had some really high quality hot dogs. I was reluctant to eat it, but I ended up eating two! 🤣
Once upon a time I stepped on the scales every day. If I ate popcorn or pizza (salty), the next day I could count on a 1 to 2 pound "gain" the next day.
I was thinking the same thing. I no longer weigh myself, but when I did, I always fluctuated in a 1 kg range. My menstrual cycle has always had a big impact on my weight too. 1.5 lbs really seems like an insignificant amount to me.
I've weighed myself throughout the day to see my weight fluctuations and the fluctuations are usually about 2-5 pounds heavier the whole day, and right before I sleep I'm 2 pounds heavier, it's different for everyone but that's how it is for me. That's definitely why people say to weigh yourself first thing in the morning lol
I remember reading a statistic that generally speaking, adults eat 2 to 5 pounds of food a day, weight wise, not caloric value. That doesn’t include the weight of water. If you don’t eliminate the waste immediately (which you won’t, since digestion takes more than five seconds), your net weight will increase (and decrease as you pee, poop, and breathe) over the course of the day. This doesn’t even have to do with fat or muscle or bone weight, or what type of food you eat. You will gain the same pound of immediate weight from eating a pound of salad or a pound of fries.
I believe that calorie counting is an imperfect science but it still works well if you really adhere to it and has definitely not been futile for me ! I like serving sizes since I tend to have a very hearty apatite if left to my own devices !
Regularity and systemization is, i think, the most important thing. You can measure trends, and incorporate error because its regular as well. Abby is kinda hypocritical anyway. For example she downplays the usefullness of BMI a lot, and then right after expresses concern over some stranger's BMI like we ought to care. If Abby thinks calorie counting is spooky, or is "imperfect", it doesnt rly matter that much cause all her promoted techniques and hypotheses are imperfect too. Shes not any of our personal dieticians so, even tho its admirable she knows so much, these vids are more like entertaining gossip than any kind of standard any of us should hold ourselves up to.
I've been tracking my calories for 6 years at this point it really does just become second nature and "run in the background." It doesn't have to consume your whole life and has been a great way to stay on track with my goals of optimal health and nutrition aswell as weight.
I agree. I'm really short so I have lower maintenance calories and it's kinda necessary for me to count calories to ensure I get enough protein every day and not overeat so I can maintain my weight and continue to build muscle. I think it's a pretty useful tool with the right mindset. (:
@@idk-vv9mq 100% agree. I think if more people were properly educated in how to maintain a healthy diet for their needs they absolutely would do it. Healthy food is amazing if you know how to prepare it well.
I know for some calorie counting could be dangerous, but I was overweight before I started at 21,since I've maintained a size 8 figure ,I'm late 30s now,I aim for 1800 calories which at 5,2 works for me.i dont undereat,it just helps curb my sweet tooth...I exercise aswel walk jog
I just have to say that using you "HCC" tip and eating/adding more meals not only helped me meet my weight loss goal but also has helped me maintain a healthier life. And ultimately, yeah, slow and steady, enjoying what you're eating and just moving, helped me on not only my journey to lose weight for health reasons, ...my health, sleep and energy greatly improved. I cannot say enough about the great factual science based info you share! I went from "dieting" to eating for health, happiness and more!
Ugh, I hate comments about how much you eat. I'm 5'1 and 115 lbs. I'm fairly muscular and big boned for my size, but I'm still slim so most people assume I'm like 90 lbs. Every time I hang out with someone new, without fail I get a comment along the lines of 'Wow, you eat a lot!'. Yes Janice, I can eat a full course meal because as someone who runs an average of 30-40 miles a week and also does HIIT workouts multiple times a week, I'm fucking hungry.......
I think this video is really missing the point. This ballerina knows what she is doing and what she needs to do to make her body work optimally as both an athlete and an artist, as she says. Unlike many ballerinas, she's not living off of kale salad and coffee, she is eating a well-balanced diet and it's working for her. I dont think she normally writes down everything she eats all the time, just when she is trying to lose a bit of weight for performance. As east as it is for me ot look at this gal and say "wow she seems skinny she should eat more", the reality is that studies show that a bit of calorie restriction is actually good for our health long-term and if its working for her, if she is healthy and not at a dangerously low-bmi but just slender becuse she is all muscle and no fat for performance, and she seems to have a very healthy relationship with the food here, I say good for her. This approach isn't going to be the answer for the average person, proabably, but the average person is not a highly-focused athlete like this woman.
I believe her last name is actually spelled “Farrell”. Very informative video as always! I saw this video awhile back snd was triggered at the time because I was in college and gaining weight but now that I see you reviewing it I’m completely unbothered.
Abbey I love your videos! Your videos help me work out, I watch you/listen while I work out, and your perspectives always help me make educated choices on my diet! I have a lot of diet restrictions from allergies and I’m working on losing the last 20 pounds in my weight loss journey, and watching your channel is such a positive space! I always feel inspired to eat healthy nourishing foods (and plenty of them!) after watching you. My weight loss journey has been slow and steady, and I want to be healthy and strong. YOUVE changed my perspective on eating and your channel is such a relaxing source of information!
As a young adult dealing with an ED for about 13 years now (half my life), watching your videos is a refreshing reminder to rationalize food intake. My aversion to food is 100% on the bases of emotional responses to said food, and your commentaries are wonderful reminders that food isn’t innately “bad”
Sorry but these videos are getting increasingly judgmental, especially considering the fact that she is an athlete with very specific career goals, and obviosly moulding her nutritional choices accordingly helps her get towards those goal. I am not going into the appropriateness of exact calorie numbers or what not, but imo saying that calorie tracking is a constant math ordeal is really a huge overstatement. Not to mention that she seems like an experienced dancer who has been doing this for a while and therefore must really have this down by now without much difficulty. Also, like you have also mentioned in previous videos, for folks who dont have a lot of nutritional knowledge calorie tracking can simply be more info and context, not a clinical disorder, or something that they obsess over even during an eat-out. And an athlete/dancer, with specific weight goals, mentioning that olive oil has 120 cals/tbsp during an interview did not need that much of a sassy eye-roll. This is just a single interview that she is doing while on a cut to get ready for a specific event that has certain pre-determined standards, which were again not set by her. Plastering all of this with huge disclaimers of disordered eating throughout the entire video seems uncharitable to me. I mean sure you are not outright diagnosing her but then again, in so many words, you kinda are. Also the 'hey I can eat so much in my what-i-wat-in-a-day' so women everywhere should just chill and eat more is so overtly simplistic, especially when you are already in a body that is deemed conventionally attractive.
..yeah, she doesn't even need to include ppl to make videos on topics like this. I enjoy the nutrition information part of this but honestly, I personally don't like to judge what other people have on their plates.
@@Sierra_Polerina what bugs me is that I see a serious double standard between the way she is clearly capable of being empathetic during reviewing someone like Amberlynn, (which as someone who has had issues with being overweight I truly appreciated) and say towards more athletic subjects like Theresa or Greg Doucette. In fact I didn't even know who Greg Doucette was before Abbey straight up bodyshamed him by saying 'Yikes' to Greg's desire of being 'super shredded'. I mean like yeah of course he is a bodybuilder preparing for a show, much like Theresa here. Of course he wants to meet stage requirements. In fact the little content I have watched from Greg after being directed to his channel from Abbey's really terrible review of him, I found his message to be much more reasonable when it comes to weight loss. Yes he yells at the camera for the show but he isn't at all promoting anything dangerous or over-restrictive. Abbey plasters reviews of these athletic subjects whose passion for their sports clearly outweigh some immediate food choices with disordered eating disclaimers. But where are the disclaimers for the risks of getting dangerously overweight or the ample eyerolls in Amberlynn's video? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should be judging any adult person for the choices they make. But bodyshaming people with fitness goals to overcompensate for the discrimination that larger bodies face is also ridiculous, imo. Why are we muddying the waters with this wishy washy innate body wisdom crap especially when it comes to people who admit to struggling with making healthier food choices on a daily basis which clearly has an impact on their health? Honestly I feel Amberlynn would have a better chance of achieving her health and weight loss goals by working with someone like Greg Doucette at this point than Abbey. Acting like any voluntary restriction or delay (case in point cheat meals) of foods that are highly palatable but not the healthiest choice needs to be weighed in with potential of orthorexia is just ridiculous. I mean like I want to eat frosted cupcakes every single day, but rationalizing that pushing my cupcake consumption to the weekends when my life is generally more relaxed from the routines of a work week is not an eating disorder. You are niether depriving yourself of what you like nor are you overconsuming it. Nor does it mean every once in a while you won't also eat cupcakes whenever you want during the week. But in the world of intuitive eating this would be practically criminal. Anyway long story short the empathetic route according to me would be to meet every subject where they are with their individualized needs irrespective of their body sizes, or, especially, food choices/habits
@@satadishasahabhowmick3900 Hey thanks so much for taking the time to write this out. I have some of the exact same issues with those double standards you're pointing out. I also learned about greg's channel through abbey's, and at first was taken aback by his demeanor (the yelling, calling people morons, etc), but after watching at least one full video of his I realized he's actually a huge sweetheart who has people's best interests in mind, and is really trying to help. Whilst I get Abbey has a different target audience (young women with history of disordered eating or yoyo dieting, vs Greg's being mostly males into fitness or who want to lose weight), I just can't believe she really watched the 8-12 hours of content that she claimed to have and still have had such negative and biased takeaways. I mean, I have only probably watched 2 hours of Greg's content total at this point, but can already see a huge discrepancy between his messages and the way Abbey portrayed him. I also totally agree that there are a huge number of mixed messages when Abbey discusses fitness/athlete content creators. She'll claim that counting calories may work for some people, but then immediately go on to rant about how much she personally hates counting calories and why she thinks it is always obsessive and compulsive. It's like, she says one thing but her tone, follow up comments, and overall demeanor means another. I also have gotten increasingly frustrated with her completely ignoring more critical comments like these, when it's obvious she has a very high level of engagement with her comment section. She's responded to me several times before when I say something positive (even if it gets only 1 like) but has never responded to one of my more critical comments like this one. This is a general trend I see on her comment sections, and whilst Abbey has most definitely changed her stance on topics in the past (which I really applaud her for!), I just wish there was more of an open dialogue regarding these sorts of things rather than them being ignored entirely
i agree with that last line so much. i just lost 16 pounds and have another 70 to go. as far as im aware, abbey has never been obese. So some things she says about "intuition" is really not gonna help someone like me who has been sedentary and consuming an average of about 3000calories a day for the past 18 years. I MUST TRACK my calories in order to know whats right because, as of now, my body dont.
So yeah, this is a 4 year old video. First, although you disclaimed the BMI calculation, you don't typically use it when reviewing someone on the larger side so perhaps you shouldn't use it with someone on the smaller side. Also, it definitely sounded like you were against this right off the bat even though she clearly stated that the weight she is trying to achieve isn't because of some aesthetic goal, but because she feels she performs best at her JOB at that weight. You also initially mentioned that she wasn't taking into account her activity level when she was explaining her calorie ranges, but later on she did include her activity level. It isn't food fat phobic to say that cutting olive oil is cutting calories... that's just a fact. Maybe that's just an easy cut for her. Like you always say, weight loss and weight gain has many other factors... not just calories, so this might just feel good to her. I think its a bit contradicting when you say that people shouldn't focus on calories and then you go on to say that she needs more calories. I'm not saying that she might not greatly benefit from seeing a nutritionist, but it just felt like a lot was being assumed and counting calories was being demonized. I think it should've been more unbiased, like "it works for her, but maybe she needs more nutrition education." The intent of this comment is not to be mean or rude. This is clearly the message that your target audience wants to hear and I don't doubt that you work hard to deliver it, but I don't like how it is portrayed as straight fact when it clearly has its biases. I still enjoyed it and think it has some good information.
Love this comment. I couldn’t agree more! I personally do track calories so I eat enough. Of course everyone is different but this way I have a record and I can hold myself a accountable and to make sure I get enough of each micro nutrient. One reason why I don’t agree with what Abby said is because of her BMI comment. I see this trend where people will always say, “BMI doesn’t matter!” But apparently it does it you’re on the smaller side the spectrum! Such a double standard.
Not judging anyone and their diet but omg I would be insane if I had to track everything and be hungry also. I don't see how they are able to get through the day this way🤷🏽♀️
It doesn't add that much time! For myself I need to calorie track so I don't lose weight (related to meds). Adds less than 10 minutes to my day overall and allows me to identify gaps in nutrients/calories. It's part of the meal process for me, so it's not like I spend my whole day on it. Tracking actually makes me eat more (though I realize how I use it is backwards to most) so it doesn't really impact hunger at all. I imagine for a lot of people it's a quick visual for if they're emotionally eating or actually hungry. While intuitive eating works for many people, it's also work in a different way and sort of abstract - some people work better with data than "feelings". (Though I think most people who strictly calorie count would benefit from getting in touch with their intuition/body cues for their mental health). Something about the "I don't see how they are able to get through the day this way" just rubs me the wrong way. Seems weirdly moralistic stance for a tool which works for many (though also harms many).
I counted exactly like this and my outlook was very accurate. When your aware of what works for you and you and you've done it before it's very easy. I realized how dehydrated I was when I was counting calories so the over experience made me understand which foods hold me over and I learned I have blood sugar issues and am getting getting tested for diabetes.
I think I want to start a food journal. Not to track calories but to track my motivation for eating. I've been doing a lot of stress eating that I'd like to translate into non-food related methods to self soothe.
@@LaurenAnne6 oh, word! I did it like...7 years ago and I loved it too. my therapist had these weekly print out things where we filled in when we had urges to do something bad and then what coping mechanism we used and just in general during the day which skills did we use and I liked the orderliness of it.
@@micky_knuckles Cool!! I also love the structure. I probably have the inkling to do the food journal because of dbt. I want to do two columns where I have the food in one column and the feelings in the other column.
Love these videos Abbey! I really appreciate your compassion towards the subjects while also not standing for the bs of diet culture. It's just perfect!
I’ve always thought it is so interesting how in English, people often say “I am (insert weight)”, as an English language learner it made no sense grammatically but now it makes me wonder how much that affects people’s perspective. So just a reminder from an English language learner, you are not your weight, you weigh your weight.
This is so cute
Interesting perspective! Yeah it probably makes a psychological difference to say "I weigh x lbs" vs "I am x lbs"
Damn... i am german. It never confused me. I never even realized but It is such an amazing comment on diet culture and language and this is f*cking beautiful! Thank you for opening my eyes! (I know... you didnt even say anything else but you wonder about it, but to me, it changes a whole perspective regarding my language and who it can affect me and my selfworth!)
... that's just how English works. It isn't incorrect just because other languages use the to be verb differently.
That's so interesting, thank you for sharing this perspective!
i did ballet for 10 years and honestly ,what she eats is considered a lot by instructors, I don't think people from outside realize how crazy strict they are and how thin they want us to be. All the girls in my dance school had almost no periods in their teen years cause truth is, unless you meet their weight goals you are never gonna get a solo or leading role.We used to eat cotton balls to fill our stomachs before auditions so we wont eat food ,teachers will in fact comment about how fat you are and how that's not gonna get you anywhere every day. there's honestly so much to it that id say she is relatively healthy compared with others I know
Wow 😳 how did you not pass out?!
@@RosesareRed38 a lot of people used drugs ,i don't know if that's still as common today but back when I did it ,around half of the dancers were on something. stimulants, diuretics, amphetamines, steroids, hormones, narcotics .It was used for Energy, pain management, muscle building, weight control ,depending on what you need.
100%, myself and most of the rest of the girls in my dance school were bulimic or using some kind of drugs like amphetamines to try to be like that. So toxic.
COTTON BALLS? i'm sorry.. WHAT? that sounds like that'd destroy your stomach.
I know this is an old comment, but I notice many adult dance instructors (at least at the less competitive level) are over weight. Many obese. I always wonder if past severe dieting did a number on their bodies🤷♀️
I have kind of a different perspective. For the last ten years, I battled with an ED on and off. Nowadays, I'm a calorie counter similar to Theresa and while it is a lot of work to measure all of my food, it's actually super helpful to ensure I'm eating ENOUGH and getting ALL my nutrients in. Without calorie and macro counting, I default into overly restrictive and harmful habits. So, for the meantime anyway, it's a great tool to keep me in check. As Abbey said, different strokes for different folks :).
For sure! Thank you for sharing, I'm glad that works for you
That's good to hear 😊 buy calorie counting did the opposite for me😬 it actually gave me an ed
As a binge eater I do it to keep up with my portion control and make sure my macros make me full so I’m not tempted to go crazy. May sound obsessive but I’m a year into recovery and lost 50 pounds and kept it off. Food is enjoyable again and my mood has improved! Everyone is so different!
@@stuffedpotato9826and if that's the case, you should take a different approach. Using MFP for me is very useful, I'm an amateur bodybuilder/powerlifter and it helps me track my protein intake as well as overall caloric goals, but I don't use it too strictly. Some days I don't track, others I simply log eyeballed stuff, others I do weigh my food... Because I've learned a lot from weighing my food religiously in the past and I can usually go without. So far, it's been a positive tool for me. That doesn't mean it's a necessary tool that everyone should use.
Stay safe and take care 🖤🖤
@@stuffedpotato9826 same for me, started with a healthy (and for my analytical brain, pretty fitting) weight loss journey, turned into panicking if I forget to measure sth/I have to estimate/my scale is broken...but I am really glad that for some people it helps as I know some friends who also count their calories in a period of a few months and I am always so worried that they will be as destroyed by it as me
This is a waaaay better then the "Diet Coke and Cigarettes diet" I witnessed as a former professional dancer/ballerina in the early 2000s
I'm from the 70"s. Black coffee and cigarettes for us and we weren't even ballerinas. 😂😂
00am
A lil off the topic but THIS TOP LOOKS SO GOOD ON YOU !!
I agree. My first thought was I want to know where she got that adorable top.
@@kathleenbarney3930 it's $78 😭
She looks so cute in this video
@@odette8292 wear it for some pictures with the tag hidden, return it to the shop :D
Omg right, it’s a really cute top but also just suits Abbey
Tbh theresa seems to be making sure that shes eating enough. I think abbeys past with ed has clouded her view of everyone.
love ya abbey but i gotta add, theresa said multiple times in the video that she consumes 2,400kcal a day. the 1,600 is her net calorie total for the day, as she burned off roughly 800kcal during her training. and note that she is in a calorie deficit. so if she were maintaining her weight at the same activity level, she would be eating roughly 2,600kcal a day.
True....but in such an obsessive mindset.
@@ivar3086 Obsessive where? She knows that she dances best at a certain weight. She is trying to reach that weight for the season. Once season is over she probably isn’t as up on calorie counting & maintenance. When your body is your tool for art/work you have to stay on top of this
I'm pretty sure that, as a trained dietician, that Abbey understands what she is talking about.
Yes, but as a ballerina, Theresa may need up to 5k calories per day. She exercises a lot.
@@BlackMetalChainsaw I am pretty sure that, as a trained dietician who hasn't had any professional experience since getting certified and instead makes a living off of overanalysing peoples diets online, that some of her advice can be unreliable.
I don't understand. You say that her regime can mask hunger... then you say she needs to listed to her hunger queues. It sounds like the counting helps her realize when she is undereating and needs more- hence the added cereal at the end of the day.
Plus. You talk about her being calorically deficient... even though she said in one day (when she hiked and stretched) she ate 2700 calories. You said, yourself, that dancers need at least 2500. And she ate extra that day BECAUSE she considered her training needs so she added more. I'm confused. Of course, all people don't need to count calories. It seems like she does it to make sure she is healthy.
Yeah, I wasn't a fan of this video. She's not starving herself, she's eating a wide range of foods. Yeah, her weight goal is unattainable to most people but she's a professional athlete. She even mentioned in the video that this is just the weight she gets down to during performance season.
I used to calorie count I found myself going to more pre-packaged foods with labels rather than cooking for myself and using whole food recipes because that was more work to calorie count. Now that I don't calorie count I feel like I actually eat better from like a nutritional getting my vitamins and minerals standpoint
I feel like no one ever points this out. Everytime I’ve gone on a “diet” I end up eating a bunch of packaged food because putting a recipe into something like myfitnesspal takes forever.
Calorie counting does deter me from coooking , especially with multiple ingredients. I'm attempting a hybrid form where I add food to pre packaged meals . I do t like the mass amount of salt add lack of protein so I will add stock , meat and more vegetables thin it out.
Just wanted to add, if you want to count calories and still cook your meals, some blog websites will list the nutritional information with the recipe. It's not as common, but some do it.
I agree with you.
Same here. It always makes me go back to pre packaged foods, because they are easy to track. Especially for lunch, I always get bad options because they have the full calorie count on the package, compared to salads etc…
I generally respect athletes choices to push themselves to extremes for their sport/art... HAVING SAID THAT it's difficult to separate the legitimate athletic requirements of ballet from the unhealthy aesthetic standards set by toxic & misogynistic dance academies.
100%!!! exactly how i feel. full respect to people, but i just think these standards need to get with the times
@@AbbeysKitchen I honestly don't know how they do it. To have to stay SO thin but need such strength, endurance, and flexibility?
It's unreal. And honestly, it's not like they are encouraging muscle mass. Dancers are being pushed to be underweight. Full stop.
Part of it is just physics- the lighter you are the easier you are to lift and throw, and the higher you can be thrown.
I was clearly underweight, but called a “cheeseburger” in my training as a teen…
@@carolsimpson4422 that's only part of the equation though, you also need the muscle mass, the fat stores to keep you supported, well nourished and the nutrition to give you adequate endurance, and the bone density to support the forces you inflict on your body. It's not as simple as lighter = faster.
I don’t think it’s fat phobic when she mentioned that comment about the calorie vs volume difference of olive oil and steak. I feel like she’s basically saying she wants to eat a satisfying meal over a table spoon of olive oilwhich won’t satisfy her, give energy or contribute to her daily vitamins
At 17:14, Theresa says she eats over 2000 calories. A lot of the comments are fixated on the 1604 net calories she cites as her needed intake to lose weight- but with burning 804 calories from dance, she recognizes that she's taking in approx. 2400 calories overall. Abbey says ballerinas need anywhere from 2500 to 5000 calories a day (12:32). Yes she's undereating from this standpoint, but not nearly as extremely as many seem to think based on the shocked responses I'm reading.
On another note, Theresa's technique and commitment to precision in her dancing is a joy to watch.
yes yes yes thank you
Agreed, people are proving in comments a complete lack of focus on the video. Theresa clearly stated she had about 2300kcal that day. Doesn't seem like that little food to me to be honest.
Also this weird obsession of thinking you as a YT commenter know better how much a person should eat that the person actually living and working with that body is yikies to me.
For sure, and of course I respect her and her sport. My point in this video was to suggest alternative ways that even this population can meet their needs as suggested by my colleagues who work with ballerinas full time.
Okay I’m sorry but dont you think 2500-5000 calories to maintain is kinda high?? i thought it would be in the 2500-2800 range, but 5000 calories???? That is the “bulking” diet of professional bodybuilders that are 6+ feet and 250 pounds.
Also, this is a 3 week diet. After this she can go to a maintenance diet where she eats enough to cover what she burns each day, but not enough to gain weight--and this is just for her performance season.
The hate around calorie counting tho... Why... Isn't better to count than just y'know, restrict yourself from eating???
I'm seeing a lot of comments saying that Theresa needs to maintain this weight in order to be in top condition for her sport, functioning under the assumption that ballet dancers need to be thin to be good dancers. That is not true. The idea of the thin, wispy dancer actually originated in the mid to late 20th century with George Balanchine. For those of you who don't know, Balanchine essentially created the ballet as we know it in the United States. Not only did he create the standard for ballet choreography, but also the ballet body. He was notorious for only choosing thin, short, small hipper women for his ballets and because he was the standard for ballet, other companies quickly followed suit. Long story very short, dancers aren't thin because it makes them better ballerinas.
Was wondering about this, whether there was any practical reason for ballet dancers to be so small (e.g. easier to lift them up during dancing, less chance of injury during pointe, etc.) I’m not a dancer so no idea about this :O
@@vtheory7531 even a lot of dancers i know dont know this, I was just lucky to have teachers who emphasized ballet history and taught me these things
That might be true about Balanchine but ballerinas in USA actually look quite normal, as most ballerinas do in comparison to the Russian dancers. The argument in favour of this skinny look is that the lines of arms and legs appear more elongated; same is true for taller dancers. Amazing dancers who are lean but muscular or are too short cannot get same roles as the super skinny dancers. I would just wish for some more diversity. Thin, tall dancers might look especially nice in adagios but short or muscular ballerinas can more easily control their body and often have stronger technique, crisper footwork and more virtuosity.
@@vtheory7531 Being thin can help with higher jumps and make pointe work SLIGHTLY easier, but thin-ness doesn't really affect your overall technique. Long lean body will make their moves look more elegant and lighter. They have to maintain that body mostly because of appearance reason. The thinner the better. Eventhough maintain that body is extremely hard, a ballerina still have to if she want to go further in her career. A ballerina with a healthy slender lean fit body might be called "fat" because she is expected to be awfully thin and under weight
Misty C has proven that ballerinas come in all shapes and sizes and colors!
I’ve lost 174 pounds. Calorie counting has a been a major part of that.
As a former restaurant chef I cook all my own meals and do batch and prep large amounts of foods. Some times I follow a recipe exactly which requires weighing and measuring. No one would consider that strange but it somehow becomes perceived as weird when you weigh and measure foods for your own personal plate.
No, its just very possible to spiral into orthorexia which is very serious. Thats why people get concerned if they see it sometimes
@@sintara8442 Orthorexia is more about eating too healthy not really the measuring. This girls eating corn dogs and cereal. I think she leaning more towards anorexia with the fixation on calories.
Congrats on your weight loss! Calorie counting works!!
It’s not bad to count when it’s in a healthy way. This CAN lead to disordered eating tho, so not for everyone.
@@gaelledurnez1318 The way it’s diagnosed now 99% of people have some kind of disordered eating.
Mmm I have to disagree with the statement that counting calories can’t replace our “bodies innate wisdom”. So many people just don’t have that “innate wisdom” and/or have idea how to go about following body signals. I am one of those people. Calorie counting is just easier and freeing for me. I don’t have to limit my food choices and I can eat what I want and make it fit into my day with proper portions.
I understand this is very individual and I'm glad it works for you!
imagine yourself back when there is no internet and calories to count. You're telling me you'll eat yourself to death or starve to death simply because there are no numbers to look at? You are not free. You're clearing suffering from something. Every kid knows when they are hungry and full. You screwed up your brain and body a long the way.
@@MIMI-m2n yeah, I know lol. You’re not delivering any shocking news. Lots of people have “screwed up” minds or thought patterns for lots of different things. For some people that’s related to food. For others it’s not. Is calorie counting right for everyone? No. But for me and my personality and my weight loss needs at this time? Yes. I do not have a reliable inner voice for hunger and fullness. I encourage you to examine yourself and work on whatever you need to work on with your own mental health, because it sounds like you’re angry or hurting and I hope you get the help you need for whatever is going on with you.
@@MIMI-m2n also, calories existed before the Internet lol
As someone who used to have a restrictive eating disorder; I don't have any hunger cues, like I just don't feel hungry even if I should eat.
god, i remember watching that video YEARS ago. never thought i'd be watching it again
I hope the review was helpful!
Yes, deja vu.
@@AbbeysKitchen Yes, saw this years ago as well, and now I see all the RED FLAGS. Thank you Abbey!
omg same
Same haha
calorie counting helped me because I finally realized what was stopping me from reaching my goals...I was heavily underestimating the calories of a simple brownie, which on its own wasn't bad but was followed by smth else which created a big pile of over 1000 kcals in "innocent snacks" ...all simply because I truly believed it's not THAT bad 🤷🏻♀️
I agree, I have no idea how large a batch of 200 grams of yoghurt is. Weighing and counting helps!
Exactly it helped me a lot
Okay side note but abby's top is so pretty-
Yesss!
Right? She is literally glowing!
I bet it is a dress
First thought that came in my mind when I saw her
If anyone knows what it is, I was just about to post a comment asking!!!
people don’t realize that having lower body fat can in fact improve your technique. i have thick ass thighs and it does get in the way of my ballet.
Yeah even too muscular legs😢
I was not expecting the corn dog first thing in the morning lol
😂
well, my mother told me i used to eat 5 corn dogs before dinner every day before I was 10 years old. that was horrifying to learn.
Did she miss the part where Theresa says she consumes over 2k calories? I’m so confused
When you exercise as much as some ppl do, 2000 is maybe like 1100 calories.
@@erinh9267Theresa counted for her excerise, thats what the NET calories are. Anyone, even without excerise, burns calories. The 2k calories will always be less at the end of the day. Theresa clearly isn't interested in crashing her body.
For the First time, I need to contradict Abbey, sorry!👀 to me, Theresa seems to have a healthy relationship towards food and tracking (whilst being surrounded by difficult body image ideas). She doesn't cut out any food groups. Plus in my opinion tracking really doesn't take a lot of time and for now it helps me to relearn healthy eating habits.
Still love your videos tho 💛
I agree. I saw this video years ago and I remember thinking she had a good relationship with food. She’s counting calories but it’s completely unemotional. No good or bad foods.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! She does seem chill and I say that myself in the video. Some people can absolutely count calories without it running their life. My point in this video was to suggest alternative ways that even this population can meet their needs as suggested by my colleagues who work with ballerinas full time.
Yea but shes eating way too little.
Completely agreed.
She eats like shit and knows calories by heart….that does not sound healthy
Your sensitivity to difficult topics is admirable.
Thank you ❤️
I understand where you’re coming from and I respect you’re message. I also understand that lots of standards in ballet are outdated, mysoginistic, and unhealthy. But this woman obviously is eating enough food and and seems to have a pretty healthy relationship with food. It is possible to count calories and not develop an eating disorder. Everyone is wired differently. I know she doesn’t necessarily focus on what’s healthy vs just calories, but sometimes it’s hard to get in the calories you need for the day when you’re busy and working out a lot. At that point, you have to just eat what you can just so that you’re properly fulfilling your body. I don’t exactly count my calories, but I’m definitely keeping an approximation of what I’m eating so that I get enough. It works for some people.
Abbey is really judgmental of peoples eating habits if it works for someone leave them alone from what the video shows Theresa seems to have a completely healthy relationship with food.
The dietician is complaining that the ballerina counts calories while the dietician herself gives an approximate of how much calories each of the person consumes daily. Hypocrite.
💯
In the video, she says multiple times that she eats well over 2000 calories a day though.
Yes. She took her base burn and then added in her activity calories to calculate her small deficit. Seems really sane to me.
Yeah it seems a bit much to refer to 2200 calories as a "toddler's amount of food". Seems a bit dramatic, but probably to make the point against calorie counting. Abby is more based in intuitive eating so it makes sense that she has this stance against calorie tracking. I would have liked to see the data to back up why 2200 is so low all the same though. (That being said, I know many female athletes eating closer to 3000 calories, but they're doing a lot of distance running or explosive lifts, which I imagine are more taxing on the body as far as metabolic rate?)
@@thenopedetective absolutely. It's muscle mass which is the main driving up factor of caloric requirements. Ballerinas have some but they're nowhere near the level of a say weightlifter.
@@thenopedetective fr and the title of the vid is so judgemental too, her diet is in no way "extreme"
for the amount of dancing she is doing 2000 is not sufficient.
She said herself that she wats about 2400 calories and the 1600 calories at the end was after she had burned calories. The reason she counts calories is to make sure that she’s consuming enough calories. She’s not obsessive she just doesn’t want to undereat.
This ballerina is healthy and happy and eating mindfully. She's an inspiration. ❤
“She seems like a fun dinner guest” she is being interviewed about this subject. I thought it was an interesting detail and I would appreciate a conversation with her.
I appreciate your videos and philosophies. I can see how the calorie counting could be obsessive and trigger the others to do the same. But I have to lean in Theresa’s favor on this one. She’s very disciplined because it’s a literal career requirement, and she seems really level headed in that she has a goal, and is only losing a few pounds to meet that goal so she can do her job effectively. She really appears to be someone who loves food and when not on season and would be very balanced. (In fact, if you look her up today, she looks to be what most would consider a healthier weight.)
Also, with her tracking calories and looking at macros, she’s clearly aware of protein, and as an athlete, looks to fuel her body appropriately to maintain her muscle mass as much as possible.
Counting calories is so much easier than altering everything you eat. I don’t see how anyone can say it’s not.
I agree! I track calories to manage my daily intake and I find it much easier...Abbey made it sound like such a chore, but it’s only a few min a day for me, and it gets more instinctive the longer you do it.
I think it becomes a chore when the caloric limit is set too low (like at or below BMR).
What Abbey says it that it can trigger disordered eating for some folks, not for everyone
And that calorie counting doesn't tell us everything (vitamins, micro nutrients, etc.)
That's why going to a professional who can count them for you (taking everything into account like they are trained to do) and guide you in making your meals more satiating and satisfying would be the best to option for people who are triggered by calorie counting
I think it really depends on the person. I find it much harder to eat smaller portions than to just not eat junk food for example. When I count calories I just feel like I'm never eating enough, I am constantly hungry. But it's easy for me to lay off the cookies and pizza.
Many people calorie tracking will use MyFitnessPal or similar, so you even get the nutrient breakdowns.
While I got the purpose of recommending making a meal instead of calorie tracking, I think Abby is overestimating how much time it takes. This video was about food and weight, so it makes sense why the ballerina has such a narrow view during show season. Day to day it takes less than 10 minutes which is not enough time to prep a meal!
I like calorie counting. It takes me 5 minutes at the end of the day and it doesn't dictate what I eat, that's why I always do it before bed time and not after/before each meal.
It’s even easier for picky eaters like me who just has certain foods that I eat memorized . Also, the accuracy isnt all that important because you learn your body over time. I know if I aim for a certain amount it puts my weight in a specific range whether that’s literally what I’m consuming or not. It’s way easier and I’m. It second guessing. I won’t even try if I don’t have a certain level of assurance.
Unpopular opinion: some people can count calories without getting obsessive about it. Personally, calorie counting is the only way for me to maintain a healthy weight. I’m not hungry, I don’t feel deprived, and I eat nutritious food. I also eat crap when I feel like it, I just fit it into my calorie limits. I get that Abby had a history of ED, but, as in other videos, she allows it to cloud her judgement when it comes to her stance on calorie counting.
I feel ya! I use a meal planner that counts calories and macros but I ultimately use it for the grocery shopping element so I only buy the exact amounts I need. I don’t feel like I’m being overly precise or disciplined as I often eat things outside of the meal plan and still plan in treat items like rice pudding or ice cream. I just like the level of organization it superimposes over shopping, which is a big and often stressful task for me.
I agree. Previously, I struggled to lose weight for decades (but always gained instead). In that time, I always shied away from counting calories, because it was demonized by the (usually petite) women around me. Recently, I started counting and I love it. Finally, I understand how much I am actually eating and see more clearly how this affects how I feel, my mood, my energy and of course my weight. I don't see the problem with this -- I want to be able to eat pizza and ice cream and not gain 2-5 lbs a year. Sometimes I feel like people can't deal with two facts about eating 1) you are probably wrong about the amount you're eating (I was for sure) 2) if you are privileged with your food sources (i.e., you're not food insecure) and you want to sustain your current weight, you can't just go full out every time you go out to eat. In other words, the modern diet is not actually weight sustaining - there is nothing intuitive about eating in our culture. (If it were, then the rates of diet related health issues, such as type 2 diabetes would not be increasing over time).
I lost weight thanks to calorie counting. Mostly portion control and healthier eating.
She mentions several times that she's eating 2400 calories and it's a net of 1600. I really don't see that as toddler amount of food 🙄
@L catherine all of the comments on the original video are about how healthy her approach to dieting and relationship with food are lol In fact that's why so many people were referencing it in the scout Forsythe video.
The calorie numbers she is going by would be great for a sedentary or lightly active person. But for someone who works out multiple hours a day I cannot imagine.
Edit: after watching further she does actually adjust her calories for her workout. Still doesn't seem like a lot but I'm not her so I can't say how that would feel.
Right??? Generally speaking a professional ballet dancer is dancing 6-12 hours a day, that's a ton of energy expenditure!
Me too!
Plus misty
She actually added in the additional 800kcal on that day so she was taking into account the activity. She ate around 2400kcal, not 1600kcal.
@@SweeetLife true, I should have watched the whole video before commenting 😬
I'm so confused about the misrepresentation in this video. Cutting out so much crucial contextual info to fit your own agenda is really questionable. I don't think I can support this channel or your content.
she seems to not have any problem with taking time to count the calories she eats, she has a healthy relationship with her food it seems. i don’t see any problem with the way she eats
Er,no. Any type of obsessive ritual around food should ring alarm bells. That can signal the start of disordered eating.
@@pheart2381 so Abbey just screams disordered eating then because that is literally all she does on everyone’s video
I disagree. Nothing wrong with counting calories to ensure to maintain weight. It becomes a problem if someone is intentionally underrating to lose weight but literally counting calories is not a bad thing. Same with macros to ensure someone is getting enough protein and other nutrients. She is a ballerina and knows what she needs to eat to have the energy to do what she has to do. I don't know why people like you always think counting calories is like disordered eating when it really isn't. That's one of the only ways to ensure we are eating what we need to eat and maintain our weight.@@pheart2381
Agree, Abbey can't handle calorie counting, the ballerina has no problem with it. Simple.
She is just aiming to keep a balance with everything
When you get in the habit of calorie counting it really does run in the background. It can be a great tool for weight loss. You're being overly critical of this dancer, she's clearly smart and level headed and laid back in her approach to nutrition.
I used to calorie count a lot since I was struggling with chronic depression and anxiety. Either I ate too much or nothing at all so counting calories and assigning a schedule for my meals helped to maintain a healthy weight and engage into better habits.
if you actually watched the video you would see that she has a very healthy relationship with food. Calorie counding does not equal disordered eating.
I would love to see an “Abbey reacts to old videos” where you review your videos from a few years ago. I’ve been in the Abbey rabbit hole since seeing you on Coach Greg’s channel and it is so nice to see how you’ve evolved in your presentation. I feel like you’re less judgemental and more open to those not choosing intuitive eating because it’s what works for them! 🧡🧡🧡🧡
Great idea, thanks for the suggestion!
"You need more than a toddler amount of food to live your best life." 😂
Abbey, put this on a shirt.
Merch idea
😂great idea!
Yes please!
Calorie counting was great for me! I had no idea when I was full, so I just kept eating… I would go to a restaurant and eat a huge dish because it was served to me. And there is always space for breakfast. Counting calories helped me feel satisfied and learn how to regulate my meal portions. One I reached my weight goal, I stopped counting but now my stomach knows when I need to stop eating
First of all love the Curb Your Enthusiasm clip and your outfit!! I am a calorie counting defender. You are absolutely right when you say we could be off, and it might be flawed data. But some data is better than NO data for some folks, esp those prone to extreme overeating or undereating. Once I realized that an egg on average only has 75- 80 calories, and is nutritionally dense, I actively started choosing it over other filler breakfast foods. Understanding and tracking calories made me see the foods that I like are not evil in moderation. Having a rough correlation between calories and nutritional density has made me a better intuitive eater, ironically. I do not need to track anymore but have rough numbers in my mind to help me pick delicious, nutritious foods.
Yeah I personally end up eating less than 1000 calories whenever I try to eat intuitively, which is not healthy. In order to eat enough food to maintain my weight I need to eat til I’m stuffed and track my calories. It’s not perfect but my body’s estimate without tracking is waayyy less than perfect. It’s a tool like any other.
And for anyone considering the program, this is basically what Noom teaches you. There, I just saved you $$$.
My approach too. Some days I eat more and some days less, but as a scientist I love data, and while I'm not a slave to calorie counting, it helps me stay where I want to be and make better choices. I could have a donut... Or some Greek yogurt with almonds and fresh fruit. Obv the latter is better and more satisfying!
Yesssss!
Thanks for sharing! I understand this is very individual and I'm glad it works for you
She eats like an athlete. Very responsible and doesn’t cut out food groups.
Ballet is such a specific discipline. She explains the science and the rationale.
This is true. Because as weird as her diet sounds, ask around, especially gym rats, double so for anyone who is really serious about their numbers in terms of weight and reps. They religiously eat a very small something just to get going and that is usually high in sodium, or, they take a sodium supplement and usually put some salt in their water bottle this basically makes your body retain water and stay hydrated. Then they eat most of their food after lifting. I am not surprised that dancers follow a similar diet, as you can't do ballet without being very strong and that means a muscle health foucsed diet
@@evanhunke1676 so interesting. I think it’s refreshing that she is so candid about what she eats and why. Things like corn dogs probably help to sate cravings etc. ballerinas simply have to maintain their best dancing weight. Not easy. Really admire her discipline and knowledge.
Logging calories isn’t an enormous mental load for a lot of people though. Once you’re past the learning curve it takes very little time and effort. I spend less than five minutes each day counting calories and weighing food. I struggle with binge eating and, speaking from a lifetime of experience, can’t eat intuitively without ending up obese. Calorie counting allows me the freedom to eat what I want in reasonable portions and maintain an optimal weight for my height. You speak a lot of absolutes from the POV of a person who struggles with restriction but the United States as a whole tends more toward the opposite problem.
I wonder if people which consider it hard are also shit at managing money. Like it's the same basic process. You have a daily budget and you get to count your spendings. Let's not talk about how you're basically counting when following any recipe with given weights/measurements. The only part missing is googling how many calories in X.
For sure, she does seem chill and I say that myself in the video. Some people can absolutely count calories without it running their life. My point in this video was to suggest alternative ways that even this population can meet their needs as suggested by my colleagues who work with ballerinas full time.
@@AbbeysKitchen your colleagues aren’t working with her, though. you don’t even know if she’s working with her own nutritionists/dietician and if this was actually recommended to her.
i don't know, i think i might disagree with abbey on how she approached this one. yes, she's restricting her calories, but theresa is an athlete getting back to peak performance weight - not an unusual thing within a variety of sports - and the fact that she's losing weight for her season implies that she doesn't track to this extent during her off-season... honestly, theresa seems pretty food-neutral to me, which i don't see as a bad thing? and as someone with an eating disorder, i didn't find the original video particularly triggering. i don't know, i like a lot of abbey's videos but this one feels unfair and overly critical.
^^!!!!!!!! seems like abbey's projecting a lot of her own insecurities onto this one. this is totally diff from the scout forsythe what I eat in a day imo
The problematic part is that her chosen “peak performance weight” puts her in a BMI range that puts her at higher risk for all-cause mortality. The thin “ballet dancer body” is an aesthetic, not a requirement. Unfortunately many dance companies reinforce this by only selecting dancers with a specific physique, or worse, making their success in the company hinge on keeping one’s body looking a certain way. If you can’t “look the part,” they will give it to someone who does.
@@abbyzhang2238 Seconding this
Plus, Theresa seems to have done this multiple times so if she's actually seeing the expected weight loss happen it means she was on point with tracking/deficit. She states she's eating about 2400kcal to actively lose weight, which doesn't seem low at all to me.
Exactly! While yes dance/athletic culture has roots of ED but there are some dancers who know what they are doing. Clearly Theresa had to have gained weight to be at the point of loosing it. Off season she is probably doing whatever she wants. But during season, if she feels she dances best at 114 for 8 weeks, then she knows her body
So glad i found your page, I'm currently battling a binge- restrict ed myself and your videos really help give insight to what im putting in my body, fighting one fight at a time
Why I love channels like this: “The ballerina must factor in exercise and not just consider baseline caloric needs.” -ballerina estimates additional requirements based on daily exercise and factors them into calorie tracking…is met w/ a sighing “okay” and an eye roll. >_< Can’t win, y’all.
You’re not wrong
was looking for this comment lol like when Abby implied that Theresa was only consuming 1650 calories I was like yes but this is her net caloric intake. She even says in the video she eats over 2000 calories to compensate for how much she burns dancing.
I was also looking for this comment. I watched this ballerina’s video after abbey mentioned it in a previous video and was like… this isn’t bad at all. Way better than the other ballerina who was basically jsut eating salad and apples.
the reason why calculating calories then adding in exercise calories is an “eye roll” is because you can’t accurately measure amount of calories burned from an exercise session because the body doesn’t quite work like that. with cardio, your body actually gets more efficient at using energy over time so you don’t burn calories the same way as an experienced runner vs a beginner runner. and your body does all sorts of things AFTER your workout that impact all of your metabolic processes. it’s better to calculate your calorie needs with an estimate of your general activity level factored in over adding in calories for each individual exercise session.
hope that helps explain exactly why abbey was exasperated by the methods. it seems like no big deal in this scenario but that method can lead to wildly inaccurate calorie counts.
@@G625-s1c what you said applies well to a normal person but not a professional dancer who is easily burning 800 or so calories per dance session. They really need to monitor it on a per day basis if they dont want to feel deprived and hungry and tired.
just because its an estimate doesnt mean its not worth using as a parameter.
I feel that shes counting mainly to make sure she's eating ENOUGH. Processed/prepacked food (which she often has) have been proven to have more calories than they advertise for the sake of selling. So it's very possible that she's gone over but at the very least is still giving herself the proper amount of nutrients. Plus she strikes as me as the kind of person who will go for a second bowl of cereal if she still felt hungry. At 115 pounds, she's not gonna have the same needs as someone who's weighs 20+ more and it's not reasonable to downplay her diet if it's different than yours. Sorry but the overpicking in this video is just a bit much.
Abby is a dietician, she knows what someone needs even if they are 115 pounds only, she works as a ballerina they dance like 8 hours a day at minimum
No one comes between me and my rice. I love a small bowl with chicken, kimchi, and a bowl of veggie miso soup.
Sounds amazing!
Kimchi and rice is the besssstt
To be very honest- sports nutrition and calorie counting is usually pretty important, especially when you have a goal of adding or losing weight. You can't rely on "hunger and fullness cues" because, frankly, you are frequently *overwhelming* your natural cues. If I am intuitive and eating away from hyper palatable modern food stuff, I can easily maintain a functional and happy weight. But if I want to put on a few kilos of muscle, I *have* to eat over that- but then I don't want to overeat. This is super easy if you just like add a donut, but if you're also trying to eat more nutrient dense foods? It's hard for almost everyone. There's a reason people talk about "hard gainers" in any kind of strength context. You're definitely right on the carbs, though!
Honestly she’s really chill and comfortable with what she’s doing, i don’t see why one can’t be counting calories casually and know such minute details about food while still being chill about it 😂 if you can’t be comfortable around food in the context of knowing its caloric content doesn’t mean she can’t
EXACTLY! I love counting calories and math. If I didn't I wouldn't have the body I love and trying to diet without it just feels pointless and infuriating.
I'm not sure but i think Abbey is saying that the ballerina is using a such exact numbers, numbers which could very well be inaccurate. But the ballerina really adheres and plans all her meals around these numbers she gets
Also, she only does this a few weeks a year while preparing for a new dance season. It doesn't seem like an issue to me.
@@kalequeen5981 I used calorie counting to gain weight (lost too much due to illness). Id been trying for years, and then saw the ballerinas video when it came out, and thought "maybe that would help me in the opposite way" lol. So I started, and began gaining weight.
This may all be true but it’s also true that this level of calorie counting can be a massive red flag for an eating disorder and it would be irresponsible, seeing how many ppl in this industry suffer from ED, to not point that out. If it’s not a problem for someone cool but, if it IS a problem that’s a huge problem. Many impressionable people, who look up to dancers, could find themselves in a dangerous situation emulating her.
“I’m sorry where are these numbers coming from?!” Her faceee 😂😂 love Abbey
😂😂
Yes!!!! Abbey finally did it! Been waiting for this one
I hope you enjoyed it!
@@AbbeysKitchen I have recommended your channel and blog to everyone! My friends and I have been making your recipes and you are completely changing the way I talk about / think about food and diet culture! AND we are from Newmarket just north of you :) Thankful I landed on your channel
as a ballerina who is currently dealing with an ed, i clicked on this video fully expecting it to trigger me. it weirdly didn´t, and i really like some of your points. especially around making your own food and such, as that´s what i try to do (busy as fuck but meal prep saves me). Theresa´s points too though. i feel the same way about calorie counting as she does, i´m good with numbers and it can just run in the background for me. also, i cannot get over how gorgeous you look, ugh! the dress, the hair... beautiful!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found the video helpful 😊
For me calorie counting works very good in my field, while studing gastronomy I saw lots of my class mates gain like 10kg because everyday we had very fancy meals we made during the classes like, pasta, pizza, stews, cakes etc, so for a chef that cant have a regular meals squedual, calorie counting was a nice tool, also I try to follow the hunger crushing combo and works very good!
She starts her day with a corndog. I mean, that's just endearing and hilarious.
When I don’t calorie count I eat well over 5000 calories(my dietitian told me to eat like it didn’t matter then count later to see how much I eat when I am just eating what I want). I’m 5ft tall and relatively active but not 5000 calories a day active. I need to count to not pack on massive amounts of weight. When I weigh more it is harder to be active and for me to dance or even go up and down the stairs for my job. Calorie counting is super easy for me. It’s hard for others but assuming it’s tedious is just wrong.
I loved the "having said that" self awareness
Gold
Thank you!
i don't get it. It's a linker. Like "and" and "but".. we have to cut down on linkers now? What new hell is this? how many linkers can i have in a day? Does it matter how much I exercise, can I use more if i exercise?
@@therabbithat nobody said you had to cut down on anything. Say it as much as you like, idc.
Thank you so much for talking about how much women should eat! I’m a very active (20,000-30,000 steps a day active) woman. I eat a lot of food. I constantly get comments on the amount of food I eat from other women. I NEED it! They will make comments about how I “eat like a man”. Where did the idea that women shouldn’t have food to support their bodies come from!
Dang how do you walk so much? Are you an avid hiker? Or do you run? i hit my occasional 20k here and there especially when I’m traveling & exploring a new area but how do you it everyday? 😮
Just want to thank you for the all the value you bring to this platform. You’ve helped me so much, I’m truly thankful
Thank you, I’m so glad it’s helpful ❤️
I’m glad you mentioned how society expects women to eat a certain amount and certain types of foods. Seeing the fistful size meals promoted on social media makes me very self conscious when I eat in front of others. Also, sometimes I don’t want to order a salad at a restaurant and will get a steak instead. The amount of surprise on men’s faces when I do that on a date or out with is jaw dropping.
Yes, I totally understand!
YES! I can make a salad at home, I wanna spend my money on something I CANT make/can’t make as well
Saaaame
Feel you so much! I'm really tall (184 cm) and at healthy weight and it took me years to overcome my insecurities when comparing the amount of food I eat with other people. In my last relationship I even usually ate more than my boyfriend and that made me feel really bad sometimes. So stupid, bcs he was lighter than me and didn't work out while I worked out every day. I try not to compare the amount of food I eat to how much other people eat, but it is hard sometimes to ignore the societal pressure for women to eat tiny amounts of food.
@@BethAge95 i hear you. I don't care anymore but supposed friends and family would make snarky comments about how much I'd eat.
She’s pregnant now and clearly is fueling herself and the baby.
Oh wow great
Abbey or Teresa?
@@megleemcc Teresa.
That's great!
I would love to also see your take on videos showing celebrities eating to get in shape for movie roles, male actors included. Maybe like Kumail Nanjiani or someone on the Men's Health "Eat Like a Celebrity" series?
I'll put this on my list to discuss!
Or Christian Bales extreme weight yo-yoing for movies
i was a cheerleader and we had this three day camp where we trained from 9 am to 8 pm (minus a 30 min lunch and dinner bc we ate breakfast before 9) and i remember by the time dinner rolled around we were all so exhausted that none of us were really that hungry and we got scolded by our coaches. i would also like to note that we only got water breaks every hour. it was so tiring lol idk how we managed. so yeah the high intensity work masking hunger is definitely true
This criticism is quite harsh. In her video she talks about she doesn’t like to cut out foods or be overly restrictive. She estimates her calories and this is not terribly strict. In the restaurant scene the criticism is that she’s focusing on minute numbers and fat phobic foods. However she’s focusing on minute numbers because her deficit is minute. She also didn’t say that all oils needed to be cut out but rather achieving that deficit could be as easy as cutting back on oils (or other foods). Also, being that her sport is her career, I’m she’s done an RMR test or something of the sort to determine how many calories her body needs.
First of all I don’t think it’s fair to call her wait of eating disordered, and second of all you kept exaggerating things that she clarifies later. like the fact that 1800 is not enough for her when she’s a dancer. she clearly states that 1800 is if she was just existing and later clarifies that in reality she eats over 2k calories even if her goal is around 1600.
You also twist data and put it in a way that benefits your bias. the study stating people underestimate their intake does not take into account calorie counting but how much they think they eat. This was very true for myself as well, when I used to calorie count I noticed how much I truly underestimated my calorie intake. the minute I understood roughly how much calories were in food this was no longer necessary.
She clearly knows what works for her and her body. What feels restrictive to you, is not restrictive for others. what may not work for you, works for others. If you need to be dishonest to make a point, your point is useless.
Saying olive oil has a lot of calories is not fatphobic. You’re just pathetic 🙁
I honestly love how Abbey compares so many foods to apples and peanut butter. It's such an accessible thing that I feel like literally everyone has eaten!
Totally!
it's also divine food from the gods
In Europe this is unheard of .
Please stop projecting your ED on random people, it's exhausting
I feel like you might be struggling to understand how calorie counting can be a *more* relaxed way of approaching diet because, as you have identified yourself, you have more of a type-A personality. You think of it as trying to get precise information, keep track of all these little things and restrict yourself to that. But for some people, myself included, not having exact numbers on things is WHY it doesn't trigger restrictive behavior. It takes me about 30 seconds per meal to record my food and exercise, because I'm not being super precise with it - I'm just trying to get a sense of what my usual portion sizes are and how they balance with my level of activity. It's a loose form of data collection so that when I come upon those 'outliers' where my appetite is way bigger or smaller than usual, I can have a better sense of why that might be and feel secure in the knowledge that I'm feeding myself adequately on average.
I agree, when I count calories I assume a sliding scale of accuracy. Usually 200 under or over my caloric intake goal. Some days are a little over and some are under.
I think you actually Moreso provef her point and pretty much made an example of that control. Control isn't black and white. There's grey to it too and sometimes we're not fully conscious of the things we like to have control over. A type personalities would count their calories. Not even in a rude way saying that it's wrong but from what you're describing it sounds like you might not realize that control isn't always an obvious thing
i wouldnt mind eating a corndog for breakfast, I actually prefer savory breakfasts over sweet!
Yeah I’m over here like dang I need to level up my breakfasts!
I've seen the ones that are like pancake batter that covers a sausage if you're still wanting the breakfast vibes
@@loveinsearchofwords THAT SOUNDS DELICIOUS OMG
i eat garlic bread for breakfast all the time cause my family always made it a breakfast food lol so i was shook when other people said they only had it for dinner...yall are missing out
I love savoury breakfasts! I literally just had a slice of shepherd's pie for breakfast ahaha
I'm assuming she got her starting amount of calories from how much she typically eats and her weight remains steady. Since she tracks how much she eats and her weight regularly, obviously.
Exactly!
Therr is a reason ballerina's aim for a physique. They stand on their literal toes
She was underweight & I don’t see the point of losing more regardless of any “performance” related reasons.
Luckily she is now pregnant and looks a lot healthier.
Glad to hear that!
I have never eaten a corn dog. I think I need to rectify that situation.
Me neither! I’d also never eaten a hot dog until this summer. My friend had us over for a little hot dog roast and she had some really high quality hot dogs. I was reluctant to eat it, but I ended up eating two! 🤣
Yup!
Wrap it in bacon and then bake it for an extra treat 😋
They are so good! See if you can get a fried one at a fair or something. The microwave ones are pretty good too.
Blueberry pancake corn dogs are life.
Isn’t like 1.5 within the normal fluctuations of the day like water weight levels of weight loss
Once upon a time I stepped on the scales every day. If I ate popcorn or pizza (salty), the next day I could count on a 1 to 2 pound "gain" the next day.
@@antiantipoda yes. Water retention. The more muscles you have, the more you get weight fluctuations, since muscle acts like a sponge with water.
I was thinking the same thing. I no longer weigh myself, but when I did, I always fluctuated in a 1 kg range. My menstrual cycle has always had a big impact on my weight too. 1.5 lbs really seems like an insignificant amount to me.
I've weighed myself throughout the day to see my weight fluctuations and the fluctuations are usually about 2-5 pounds heavier the whole day, and right before I sleep I'm 2 pounds heavier, it's different for everyone but that's how it is for me. That's definitely why people say to weigh yourself first thing in the morning lol
I remember reading a statistic that generally speaking, adults eat 2 to 5 pounds of food a day, weight wise, not caloric value. That doesn’t include the weight of water. If you don’t eliminate the waste immediately (which you won’t, since digestion takes more than five seconds), your net weight will increase (and decrease as you pee, poop, and breathe) over the course of the day. This doesn’t even have to do with fat or muscle or bone weight, or what type of food you eat. You will gain the same pound of immediate weight from eating a pound of salad or a pound of fries.
I believe that calorie counting is an imperfect science but it still works well if you really adhere to it and has definitely not been futile for me ! I like serving sizes since I tend to have a very hearty apatite if left to my own devices !
For sure, it's very individual!
If you use the same tracking technique, it will be inconsistently consistent. Makes sense?
I'd rather count calories and be 20% off than not count calories and eat 40% more.
Regularity and systemization is, i think, the most important thing. You can measure trends, and incorporate error because its regular as well. Abby is kinda hypocritical anyway. For example she downplays the usefullness of BMI a lot, and then right after expresses concern over some stranger's BMI like we ought to care. If Abby thinks calorie counting is spooky, or is "imperfect", it doesnt rly matter that much cause all her promoted techniques and hypotheses are imperfect too. Shes not any of our personal dieticians so, even tho its admirable she knows so much, these vids are more like entertaining gossip than any kind of standard any of us should hold ourselves up to.
You should watch Michelle Khare’s extreme body makeover series!!
I'll have a look!
I've been tracking my calories for 6 years at this point it really does just become second nature and "run in the background." It doesn't have to consume your whole life and has been a great way to stay on track with my goals of optimal health and nutrition aswell as weight.
I agree. I'm really short so I have lower maintenance calories and it's kinda necessary for me to count calories to ensure I get enough protein every day and not overeat so I can maintain my weight and continue to build muscle. I think it's a pretty useful tool with the right mindset. (:
@@idk-vv9mq 100% agree. I think if more people were properly educated in how to maintain a healthy diet for their needs they absolutely would do it. Healthy food is amazing if you know how to prepare it well.
I know for some calorie counting could be dangerous, but I was overweight before I started at 21,since I've maintained a size 8 figure ,I'm late 30s now,I aim for 1800 calories which at 5,2 works for me.i dont undereat,it just helps curb my sweet tooth...I exercise aswel walk jog
I saw one of these videos years ago. And the comments were so positive! It's crazy how the world has changed and I'm so happy
I just have to say that using you "HCC" tip and eating/adding more meals not only helped me meet my weight loss goal but also has helped me maintain a healthier life. And ultimately, yeah, slow and steady, enjoying what you're eating and just moving, helped me on not only my journey to lose weight for health reasons, ...my health, sleep and energy greatly improved. I cannot say enough about the great factual science based info you share! I went from "dieting" to eating for health, happiness and more!
I love seeing a nearly 40min video from abbey
😊❤️
Ugh, I hate comments about how much you eat. I'm 5'1 and 115 lbs. I'm fairly muscular and big boned for my size, but I'm still slim so most people assume I'm like 90 lbs. Every time I hang out with someone new, without fail I get a comment along the lines of 'Wow, you eat a lot!'. Yes Janice, I can eat a full course meal because as someone who runs an average of 30-40 miles a week and also does HIIT workouts multiple times a week, I'm fucking hungry.......
I understand, it's very irritating!
Oh yes, HIIT makes me so hungry as well. I really can tell the difference between days I do and don't do HIIT, my plates are not the same. 😅
I think this video is really missing the point. This ballerina knows what she is doing and what she needs to do to make her body work optimally as both an athlete and an artist, as she says. Unlike many ballerinas, she's not living off of kale salad and coffee, she is eating a well-balanced diet and it's working for her. I dont think she normally writes down everything she eats all the time, just when she is trying to lose a bit of weight for performance. As east as it is for me ot look at this gal and say "wow she seems skinny she should eat more", the reality is that studies show that a bit of calorie restriction is actually good for our health long-term and if its working for her, if she is healthy and not at a dangerously low-bmi but just slender becuse she is all muscle and no fat for performance, and she seems to have a very healthy relationship with the food here, I say good for her. This approach isn't going to be the answer for the average person, proabably, but the average person is not a highly-focused athlete like this woman.
I believe her last name is actually spelled “Farrell”. Very informative video as always! I saw this video awhile back snd was triggered at the time because I was in college and gaining weight but now that I see you reviewing it I’m completely unbothered.
Thank you for letting me know!
Abbey I love your videos! Your videos help me work out, I watch you/listen while I work out, and your perspectives always help me make educated choices on my diet! I have a lot of diet restrictions from allergies and I’m working on losing the last 20 pounds in my weight loss journey, and watching your channel is such a positive space! I always feel inspired to eat healthy nourishing foods (and plenty of them!) after watching you. My weight loss journey has been slow and steady, and I want to be healthy and strong. YOUVE changed my perspective on eating and your channel is such a relaxing source of information!
Thank you so much for sharing ❤️I'm so glad my videos have been helpful for you!
Oh my god. Slim milk is not fattphobic. Youre being ridiculous
This lady is so passive aggressive in all her videos. It’s extremely irritating.
As a young adult dealing with an ED for about 13 years now (half my life), watching your videos is a refreshing reminder to rationalize food intake. My aversion to food is 100% on the bases of emotional responses to said food, and your commentaries are wonderful reminders that food isn’t innately “bad”
Sorry but these videos are getting increasingly judgmental, especially considering the fact that she is an athlete with very specific career goals, and obviosly moulding her nutritional choices accordingly helps her get towards those goal. I am not going into the appropriateness of exact calorie numbers or what not, but imo saying that calorie tracking is a constant math ordeal is really a huge overstatement. Not to mention that she seems like an experienced dancer who has been doing this for a while and therefore must really have this down by now without much difficulty. Also, like you have also mentioned in previous videos, for folks who dont have a lot of nutritional knowledge calorie tracking can simply be more info and context, not a clinical disorder, or something that they obsess over even during an eat-out. And an athlete/dancer, with specific weight goals, mentioning that olive oil has 120 cals/tbsp during an interview did not need that much of a sassy eye-roll.
This is just a single interview that she is doing while on a cut to get ready for a specific event that has certain pre-determined standards, which were again not set by her. Plastering all of this with huge disclaimers of disordered eating throughout the entire video seems uncharitable to me. I mean sure you are not outright diagnosing her but then again, in so many words, you kinda are. Also the 'hey I can eat so much in my what-i-wat-in-a-day' so women everywhere should just chill and eat more is so overtly simplistic, especially when you are already in a body that is deemed conventionally attractive.
I wish Abbey would respond to more critical comments like this one, because you raise some excellent points here
..yeah, she doesn't even need to include ppl to make videos on topics like this.
I enjoy the nutrition information part of this but honestly, I personally don't like to judge what other people have on their plates.
@@Sierra_Polerina what bugs me is that I see a serious double standard between the way she is clearly capable of being empathetic during reviewing someone like Amberlynn, (which as someone who has had issues with being overweight I truly appreciated) and say towards more athletic subjects like Theresa or Greg Doucette. In fact I didn't even know who Greg Doucette was before Abbey straight up bodyshamed him by saying 'Yikes' to Greg's desire of being 'super shredded'. I mean like yeah of course he is a bodybuilder preparing for a show, much like Theresa here. Of course he wants to meet stage requirements. In fact the little content I have watched from Greg after being directed to his channel from Abbey's really terrible review of him, I found his message to be much more reasonable when it comes to weight loss. Yes he yells at the camera for the show but he isn't at all promoting anything dangerous or over-restrictive. Abbey plasters reviews of these athletic subjects whose passion for their sports clearly outweigh some immediate food choices with disordered eating disclaimers. But where are the disclaimers for the risks of getting dangerously overweight or the ample eyerolls in Amberlynn's video? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should be judging any adult person for the choices they make. But bodyshaming people with fitness goals to overcompensate for the discrimination that larger bodies face is also ridiculous, imo. Why are we muddying the waters with this wishy washy innate body wisdom crap especially when it comes to people who admit to struggling with making healthier food choices on a daily basis which clearly has an impact on their health? Honestly I feel Amberlynn would have a better chance of achieving her health and weight loss goals by working with someone like Greg Doucette at this point than Abbey. Acting like any voluntary restriction or delay (case in point cheat meals) of foods that are highly palatable but not the healthiest choice needs to be weighed in with potential of orthorexia is just ridiculous. I mean like I want to eat frosted cupcakes every single day, but rationalizing that pushing my cupcake consumption to the weekends when my life is generally more relaxed from the routines of a work week is not an eating disorder. You are niether depriving yourself of what you like nor are you overconsuming it. Nor does it mean every once in a while you won't also eat cupcakes whenever you want during the week. But in the world of intuitive eating this would be practically criminal.
Anyway long story short the empathetic route according to me would be to meet every subject where they are with their individualized needs irrespective of their body sizes, or, especially, food choices/habits
@@satadishasahabhowmick3900 Hey thanks so much for taking the time to write this out. I have some of the exact same issues with those double standards you're pointing out. I also learned about greg's channel through abbey's, and at first was taken aback by his demeanor (the yelling, calling people morons, etc), but after watching at least one full video of his I realized he's actually a huge sweetheart who has people's best interests in mind, and is really trying to help. Whilst I get Abbey has a different target audience (young women with history of disordered eating or yoyo dieting, vs Greg's being mostly males into fitness or who want to lose weight), I just can't believe she really watched the 8-12 hours of content that she claimed to have and still have had such negative and biased takeaways. I mean, I have only probably watched 2 hours of Greg's content total at this point, but can already see a huge discrepancy between his messages and the way Abbey portrayed him. I also totally agree that there are a huge number of mixed messages when Abbey discusses fitness/athlete content creators. She'll claim that counting calories may work for some people, but then immediately go on to rant about how much she personally hates counting calories and why she thinks it is always obsessive and compulsive. It's like, she says one thing but her tone, follow up comments, and overall demeanor means another. I also have gotten increasingly frustrated with her completely ignoring more critical comments like these, when it's obvious she has a very high level of engagement with her comment section. She's responded to me several times before when I say something positive (even if it gets only 1 like) but has never responded to one of my more critical comments like this one. This is a general trend I see on her comment sections, and whilst Abbey has most definitely changed her stance on topics in the past (which I really applaud her for!), I just wish there was more of an open dialogue regarding these sorts of things rather than them being ignored entirely
i agree with that last line so much. i just lost 16 pounds and have another 70 to go. as far as im aware, abbey has never been obese. So some things she says about "intuition" is really not gonna help someone like me who has been sedentary and consuming an average of about 3000calories a day for the past 18 years. I MUST TRACK my calories in order to know whats right because, as of now, my body dont.
So yeah, this is a 4 year old video.
First, although you disclaimed the BMI calculation, you don't typically use it when reviewing someone on the larger side so perhaps you shouldn't use it with someone on the smaller side.
Also, it definitely sounded like you were against this right off the bat even though she clearly stated that the weight she is trying to achieve isn't because of some aesthetic goal, but because she feels she performs best at her JOB at that weight.
You also initially mentioned that she wasn't taking into account her activity level when she was explaining her calorie ranges, but later on she did include her activity level.
It isn't food fat phobic to say that cutting olive oil is cutting calories... that's just a fact. Maybe that's just an easy cut for her.
Like you always say, weight loss and weight gain has many other factors... not just calories, so this might just feel good to her. I think its a bit contradicting when you say that people shouldn't focus on calories and then you go on to say that she needs more calories.
I'm not saying that she might not greatly benefit from seeing a nutritionist, but it just felt like a lot was being assumed and counting calories was being demonized. I think it should've been more unbiased, like "it works for her, but maybe she needs more nutrition education."
The intent of this comment is not to be mean or rude. This is clearly the message that your target audience wants to hear and I don't doubt that you work hard to deliver it, but I don't like how it is portrayed as straight fact when it clearly has its biases.
I still enjoyed it and think it has some good information.
Love this comment. I couldn’t agree more! I personally do track calories so I eat enough. Of course everyone is different but this way I have a record and I can hold myself a accountable and to make sure I get enough of each micro nutrient. One reason why I don’t agree with what Abby said is because of her BMI comment. I see this trend where people will always say, “BMI doesn’t matter!” But apparently it does it you’re on the smaller side the spectrum! Such a double standard.
Not judging anyone and their diet but omg I would be insane if I had to track everything and be hungry also. I don't see how they are able to get through the day this way🤷🏽♀️
Me too!
It doesn't add that much time! For myself I need to calorie track so I don't lose weight (related to meds). Adds less than 10 minutes to my day overall and allows me to identify gaps in nutrients/calories. It's part of the meal process for me, so it's not like I spend my whole day on it. Tracking actually makes me eat more (though I realize how I use it is backwards to most) so it doesn't really impact hunger at all. I imagine for a lot of people it's a quick visual for if they're emotionally eating or actually hungry. While intuitive eating works for many people, it's also work in a different way and sort of abstract - some people work better with data than "feelings". (Though I think most people who strictly calorie count would benefit from getting in touch with their intuition/body cues for their mental health).
Something about the "I don't see how they are able to get through the day this way" just rubs me the wrong way. Seems weirdly moralistic stance for a tool which works for many (though also harms many).
I count my calories. I use an app to count my calories. Although I am not sure it is helping me. I thinking of stopping.
I've always tracked my calories. It's important to track your fuel.
The serving sizes being an average of typical consumption is news to me 👏 thank you abbey, you rock my socks.
Thank you!
I counted exactly like this and my outlook was very accurate. When your aware of what works for you and you and you've done it before it's very easy. I realized how dehydrated I was when I was counting calories so the over experience made me understand which foods hold me over and I learned I have blood sugar issues and am getting getting tested for diabetes.
Discouraging people from calorie-counting while telling them to consume a certain range of calories per day is confusing as f***.
I think I want to start a food journal. Not to track calories but to track my motivation for eating. I've been doing a lot of stress eating that I'd like to translate into non-food related methods to self soothe.
DBT (a type of therapy) is really good for this kind of thing
@@micky_knuckles I love DBT!! I've been practicing those skills for over 7 years now.
@@LaurenAnne6 oh, word! I did it like...7 years ago and I loved it too. my therapist had these weekly print out things where we filled in when we had urges to do something bad and then what coping mechanism we used and just in general during the day which skills did we use and I liked the orderliness of it.
@@micky_knuckles Cool!! I also love the structure. I probably have the inkling to do the food journal because of dbt. I want to do two columns where I have the food in one column and the feelings in the other column.
@@LaurenAnne6 as long as it's not triggering if you've ever had an ed
Love these videos Abbey! I really appreciate your compassion towards the subjects while also not standing for the bs of diet culture. It's just perfect!
Thank you! So glad it's helpful