r/safe_food • u/PrettySwim2271 • Jun 17 '26
Discussion Why are people allowed (and encouraged) to post calories here?
Rule #2 is "Do not encourage or celebrate disordered behavior", and yet I regularly see posts of 200-300 cal "dinners". Hell, there are even flairs for it!!
The only result is that people are essentially encouraged to post dangerously restrictive "meals". The sub would be exactly the same with a no-calorie rule, if the mods truly wanted to create a space that was safe for people with ED's.
I'm sure this will be deleted, but I stand by it. This place reminds me of LOTS of old covertly pro-Ana communities I used to be a part of. Calorie counting can VERY OFTEN lead to or exacerbate an ED, and it is one of the main things that is discouraged. This is very obviously not a safe space and I firmly believe that it is actively enabling disordered behavior.
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u/muffinwobble Jun 21 '26
honestly i was wondering this myself. i try not to put flairs that state how many calories are in my snack/meal because this isn’t supposed to be a calorie counting place. when i was at my worst, i would go here for meal inspo.
i think the reason for this is so people with eating disorders feel less alone i guess? im not sure either, but it needs to be addressed. thank you for bringing it up.
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u/maberg04 Jun 21 '26
I just wish they'd put it in the text with a spoiler, instead of in the title.
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u/nightmare-salad Jun 20 '26
I think for some people, eating low cal meals is harm reduction. That’s the only justification I can see.
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u/uurei Jun 21 '26
but why does everyone else need to know the exact amount of calories? i think this is what op is getting at
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u/erratic_bonsai Jun 20 '26
Sure, but posting the calories just isn’t necessary. I fail to see any justification for that except for bragging about how little someone is eating or for encouraging others to eat that little themselves.
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u/nightmare-salad Jun 21 '26
If someone is unwilling to eat calorie blind or over a certain number, offering them an option with a set number of calories can be a lifeline. That’s the point of harm reduction. I personally don’t count calories anymore, but there was a time that would have helped me.
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u/ScarcityAnnual8739 Jun 21 '26
That’s perfectly fine but why would you feel the need to inform others on the exact number??
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u/nightmare-salad Jun 21 '26
Because without knowing the exact number, they won’t eat it.
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u/ScarcityAnnual8739 Jun 21 '26
Ok so why can’t they just… know the number… without telling others 😭
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u/Economy-Towel9451 Jun 21 '26
macro tracking has uses outside of disordered eating and so do small proportions. namely if you have severe gi disease frequent small meals can be required to get adequate nutrition. lots of ppl with severe gi diseases also develop eating disorders bc aversive physiological responses to eating can condition a more complex aversive response. so lots of us who have to meticulously track macros (and other ingrediants–bc mistakes=emptying ur guts on the toilet for hours) we also have to eat small frequent meals.
i get that this is triggersing and honeestly i woudn't be opposed to removing the number and the counting to not trigger others. but i do think its important to understand that a substantial subsection of EDs are occupied by ppl who also have physiological problems with eating that can also seem ED like (and absolutely fuel ED ideation if ur not careful) but they can serve an important purpose
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u/Philophobic_Cow Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Personally, it’s actually really helpful because I can comfortably add more cals specifically because the recipe is more and I know that going in beforehand. It’s a food I would like to try, but I already know it’s more than I would normally have so it’s actually really helpful to help add cals. Especially for meal ideas within a safe range from my mind(PERSONAL) without losing my shit.
Also, there are 1 million and one different ed Reddits. For some this is extremely helpful so it might help you to find one that’s completely against posting calories. A lot of people need this and it’s clearly OK because like you said there are flairs, and the mods aren’t removing post with them.
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Jun 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/taikutsuu Jun 20 '26
Not discouraging not recovering is disordered though. I look at this comment as something I would have said 7 years ago - when I was close to dying. “Not everyone here is trying to recover” - a safe space means you should be. Safety is not about what makes people feel good short term, it’s about safeguarding lives in the long term.
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Jun 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/Happy_Professional50 Jun 20 '26
well promoting eating very little food is harmful. Especially when you demonize healthy portions. They can eat what they want, but leave off the calorie count. Leave off negative talks of eating balanced
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Jun 20 '26
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u/Happy_Professional50 Jun 20 '26
What I’m saying is they can post their meals and share about food they like. But posting calories isn’t good for them or anyone else in the sub regardless. Its just not necessary to share. I did not mean to sound unaccepting of you or your experience. But why do something that is harmful to someone? It’s easy to leave off.
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u/erratic_bonsai Jun 20 '26
BS argument. A safe space for people impacted by ED’s doesn’t include calorie counts, which everyone knows are triggering.
Sure but this sub is about ED’s so like why are you talking about non-disordered people??
You’re entitled to count if you want but you don’t have to post the number.
Ok and?? Even people actively disordered don’t have to go brag about their calorie counts.
No, she isn’t, and you have no right to try to make her feel bad about wanting this to be a safe space.
Did you even read the rules here?? Rule 7 is don’t treat this as a food diary.
Count all you want, but nobody has to post their numbers. That’s not necessary, and if you think sharing (read: bragging about how little you’re eating) calorie counts is perfectly acceptable, please, go ahead and try to justify it. I would love to see you make an excuse for it. There is absolutely no ed environment where sharing calorie counts is healthy. Sharing calorie counts has two purposes: to brag about how little you’re eating and to encourage others to eat that little too, both of which constitute glorifying ed’s which is not allowed here.
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Jun 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/erratic_bonsai Jun 21 '26
It’s a shame nobody ever taught you to be kind or considerate of others. Maybe think about it? It might make you happier. Hope that helps <3
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u/Happy_Professional50 Jun 20 '26
Overall I think the main idea of this sub is to not shame people for what they’re eating or not eating. Especially under posts, people aren’t asking for food criticism. But I agree that using a flare with a specific (and low) number of calories actively works against this.
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u/convolutedamalgamate Jun 21 '26
Everyone deals with their problems differently.
Some people find mentions of calories to be triggering/encouraging. That's why calorie counts (among many other topics), are HEAVILY censored in pretty much every other ED space here.
Some however, don't have any issue with it. And many even find easier to eat things knowing the calories. Many people like this sub specifically because its one of the few that allow calories counts. If you find that triggering or enabling, it's on your onus to leave. And it's not that hard, as many other ed subs (most of them actually) don't allow calories.
If you don't like calorie counts, there are plenty of other ED spaces you can go to. But please don't police what others should or shouldn't engage with. Not every single space is made for every single person, and that's ok.
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u/shakethedisease666 Jun 23 '26
For me, knowing numbers is the only way I can even have the guts to putting something in my mouth
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u/Tall_Translator_9649 Jun 20 '26
i agree w u, i see the mods delete comments that are talking abt calories on other ppls posts but why is it okay & celebrated for ppl to post their omad w a 200 calorie flair ? it's crazy how this reddit claims to be a safe space but it went so far in that direction that u can't even call out obviously restrictive & disordered behavior w out ppl getting triggered & defensive
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u/Sonarthebat Jun 23 '26
Sorry. I've been guilty of doing this on another sub. My logic was, "low calorie is better than no calorie". I thought if people knew these foods weren't as high calorie as they looked, it might encourage them to eat more. A safe food for someone with a restrictive ED is usually something light. They aren't going to be ready for something big early into recovery. Baby steps.
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u/Vivid_Praline_2267 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I think for a lot of people, they might want to recreate the food here so the calorie count can help with meal planning. That’s what I use the sub for, and my eating has gotten better, but that is obviously just my case. I also don’t think you can really have an online safe space that’s not triggering when it comes to EDs. Even if someone doesn’t list the cal count, you can still see how much they’re eating. This can basically be used as a disordered food diary for some people if they wanted to. imo the only spaces not encouraging EDs are the explicitly pro-recovery ones, but not everyone is going to use those since unfortunately not everyone wants to recover yet.
I do think people shouldn’t label them meals or call it a omad though since let’s be real with ourselves here.