Counting calories....for many people, just the idea of this creates anxiety! I have mixed views on using this approach, however; the most widely known, and most used 'rule of thumb' used by fitness trainers for weight/fat loss- is that to lose weight and inches, you must burn more calories everyday than you consume.
I always found the idea of counting calories, fat grams, protein etc. to be way too daunting and complicated. so I rebelled and refused to do it...until I came across My Fitness Pal http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
It is a great tool for tracking your food intake and exercise..and, the best part? It's totally FREE!
Using this online database, you can log what you eat (most foods are already in there, and if not you can add it to your list yourself) as well as any physical activity (type, minutes) right from your smartphone or computer, and keep an accurate readout of where you are at. You get to decide how you are going to use those calories, and when you enter in your daily exercise, it allows for more calories to be consumed.
Using MFP is a wonderful way to gain awareness of how many calories are being consumed in a day, in ratio to physical activity, and can be a real eye opener! (Or a smack in the face, I'm not gonna lie!).
Most people underestimate how many calories they consume in a day, and it is a factor in why so many people are overweight and obese. Too many calories in, not enough exercise= fat/weight gain.
Now, here is where I caution you when you are keeping track of your caloric intake. Please, do not obsess over it! Seriously, it can become a type of addiction, or obsession that can lead to disordered eating patterns for some people. If you use this tool, in conjunction with other healthy living practices it will serve you well. If you go to the extreme side, and fixate on how many calories is in every bite you are putting in your mouth, and have the compulsive need to go run off the meal you just ate...that is when unhealthy behavior has taken over. Also keep in mind, it is the quality of the calories you are putting in your body that are most important. One Mc D's roll through the drive-thru, and you could use up most, if not all of you total calories for the day right there.
Using this tool will help you develop more awareness of what you are putting in your body...and overtime you will start to want to make better choices as you go along, and see progress!
Being someone that knows, from personal experience, about obsessing over food, I know how easy it can be to go 'off the rails' and find yourself consumed with counting calories, exercising, eating the perfect diet 24/7 and experiencing the heavy feeling of guilt when a 'forbidden food' is eaten. Been there, done that!
Here are some tidbits for you to keep in mind as you work towards your goals:
1) Eat for nourishment and energy. Eating for any other reasons, and likely you are using food to numb emotional pain or uncomfortable feelings. See this blog for more on this subject. http://healthyvibe1977.blogspot.ca/2012/08/freedom-from-emotional-eating.html
2) Tell the voice in the head to take a hike! If you want to have dessert once in awhile, or a little (reasonable) treat every day- go for it, and don't allow the feelings of guilt consume you. Remember, it's what you do MOST OF THE TIME that really counts. My favorite indulgence is a few squares of 70% dark chocolate, and I have that most days of the week.
3) Be kind to yourself. Realize that bringing awareness to your eating habits takes courage. Deep change is very hard work, but remember that you are way ahead of everyone else who isn't even trying! So keep moving forward and you will succeed!
4) Do your best to eat lots of veggies, and one serving of greens everyday- doing this one thing will improve your health immensely, you will feel amazing! Buy organic as much as possible.
5) You can't out-exercise a bad diet..sorry to have to tell you this but if you eat fast food, lots of sugar and processed food, doughnuts, white flour (what I call crap food) on a regular basis, no amount of reasonable exercise is going to get you to your goal. Using the MFP tool, you will quickly see that as you track your daily activity and food choices.
6) Become aware of how certain foods make you feel. If you know downing a sugar loaded pop and doughnuts make you feel awful, sluggish, headache and down in the dumps...remember that feeling when you go for it the next time. Sometimes just connecting to the way foods make us feel, guides us to make better decisions the next time. Focus on eating foods that make you feel good.
I'd love to hear from you about how the MFP tool has helped you if you are already using it, and what you think of it.
~Leanne
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