Afraid to start counting again

Options
2»

Replies

  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
    Options
    Getting on the scale regularly (twice a week for me) helped because when I hit the top end on my acceptable weight range, then I cut back for a few days. That was pretty simple for me, since I eat lightly during the week, and allow myself to indulge for date nights, dinner out, and ice cream or fast food with the kids.
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
    Options
    Funnily enough, calorie counting helps me feel MORE in control.

    I don't have an "intuitive eating" ability. I spent so many years eating large, ridiculous portions that my appetite is untrustworthy. I've made a rule for myself to drink a LOT of water, even with meals, partially because it satisfies the "ok wow, no really, I'm FULL" requirement for me to feel satisfied with a meal.

    Numbers help. Water helps with the physical sensation of fullness, but having the numbers in the back of my mind helps me exercise a bit more control over what might otherwise rely solely on how grossly stuffed I feel. Like... if I know that my dinner is 500-1000 calories, it's very difficult to feel like I could - or should - eat more. It forces me to be aware, numerically, of what all I'm putting into my body. Conversely, it also helps me feel less guilty for eating a shitload of food at night if I've not eaten all day. Like, I can sit there and say "girl it's okay that this meal is XXX calories, because it's literally the only meal you've eaten today and you gotta eat something."
  • 4HisGloryAlways
    4HisGloryAlways Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    A wise person who lost over 100 lbs on WW and is a religious tracker told me that they prefer tracking calories (or points) over tracking insulin shots and medication. It's a way of life for him to be healthy and in control. That stuck with me!
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    edited May 2016
    Options
    The fittest person I know counts calories. She's never been overweight. She's never needed to diet. She can estimate a lot because she's 50 and has been doing this her whole life. She describes herself as "an obsessive label reader" and is always doing the math. From all outside appearances she looks like an "intuitive" eater. In reality she's counting everything that goes in, and making sure her exercise is counted to what's going out. She doesn't find it stressful, it's routine life.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    Options
    OP, I know what you mean about "seeing foods as numbers" I started to feel that too in the beginning. Every food I put in front of me I started to wonder the number of calories!

    Well, I stopped counting, mainly because it's unnecessary for me.

    I focus on controlling my eating and appetite when needed. I eat normal meals or what an occasion calls for, then if the bathroom scale shows too much, I just eat less or just enough for nutrition. For example, I ate quite a bit this past long weekend, so today and tomorrow I just consume less (a coffee, a snack bar or a simple sandwich, and a small sized dinner later) and move a bit more.

Categories