What not to do...

HilTri

I workout a lot. I am hung up on calories way too much and I am seeing a sports nutritionist and a therapist to work on this. I usually burn between 800-1200 cals a day in exercise alone six days a week. I went on a hike with a group 10 mi 3000 elevation in 30 degree weather. I ate a kodiak cake protein ball and a banana and drank water. I didn’t eat any more than that because I was having a nice dinner with my parents. My wheels came off. I was just grabbing anything and everything and eating it because I was so hungry and cold. I don’t know why I have had to learn that nutrition is part of fitness and you have to nourish yourself to perform. I am disappointed in myself and also disappointed in the fact that I ate a lot of chips because that is what was around at my parents so I feel horrible for that.

janejellyroll

Chips are just food - there's nothing inherently bad about eating them and it shouldn't make you feel horrible, especially if you're chronically undereating. I hope you feel able to speak to your therapist about this and that you feel better soon. One thing that helped me was thinking about what I would say to a friend who was beating herself up for something like eating chips. If you saw a friend eating some chips after a hard hike where all she had was a protein ball, a banana, and some water, would you be disappointed in her? Or would you be like "Yeah, that hike was long and cold and it's completely rational and normal to crave calorie dense foods after that kind of effort?"

HilTri

Well that puts a new spin on it. Thank you. I have allowed myself to get in a funk over this and have been hard on myself since Sunday. I think you just turned this around for me.