I see athletes and bodybuilders and impossibly fit-looking people on the interwebs extolling the virtues of macros, and it alllllmost sounds kind of science-y, so I just want to put this out there: if you are counting macros, you are on a diet.
It’s right there in the name. Macronutrients are the hallmark of an approach called flexible dieting. It’s marketed as a diet that fits your lifestyle, and if that sounds familiar it’s because Weight Watchers has been beating this drum since the 1980s.
I do not think that it is particularly better or worse than other diets, because frankly I think all diets are bad. But if you have ever struggled with binge eating, bulimia, or any degree of food restriction, I want to be really clear: flexible dieting is a fallacy.
Some people seem to be able to casually diet now and again and also feel sane, and that makes diets like this seem really approachable and normal. Other people, like me, are prone to disordered eating, and counting OF ANY KIND is a slippery slope to hyper-restriction, messed-up hunger hormones, and out-of-control binges. Cue the endless cycle of shame and self-loathing.
As always, this is your life, and you get to do what you want with it. No one should ever tell you how to eat, and that includes me. If you are counting macros and you are happy, I am happy for you. You do you.
If you are counting macros and you are unhappy and overwhelmed and you have cried about your macros and you’ve had secret binges that you hide from your macros coach, I am sad for you because that struggle is so real. You still get to do you.
But if you are counting macros and you got to this website by searching “why can’t I stop bingeing,” I can definitely answer that for you: it is because macros is a diet. You are bingeing because you are dieting. You can stop bingeing when you stop dieting. It really is that simple, and you can make it happen in six months, tops. Read here to learn more, or give me a shout if you need support.
six months to sanity 
Can I add to this – in my experience intermittent fasting is also a ‘diet’? I’ve attempted the 5:2 thing and also the (easier) only eating in an 8 hour window, and I think over time this timed/calculated eating regime seriously messed up my natural ability to feel and recognise normal hunger patterns through the day. As you rightly point out, the eating directives like macro counting and intermittent fasting may not be touted as diets as they’re less prescriptive regarding what you can eat, but still that’s exactly what they are: an artificial way of trying to impose restrictions on the way we regard food. Thank you for reinforcing that message so eloquently!
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YES. Intermittent fasting makes my head explode it’s so utterly mad and misguided — and you’re absolutely right, it is a diet through and through. I especially hate how it’s targeted to vulnerable people looking for a “healthier” structure after years of dieting, when really it just adds more barriers between you and your body’s natural cues. I’m so sorry you experienced this firsthand.
The only intermittent fasting I’m interested in is brushing my teeth and going to sleep for 8 hours. Good grief.
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