Gotta Love It.
I have been calorie counting fairly religiously for the past six weeks or so (I may or may not mess up on the occasional dinner out…). A lot of people hate calorie counting because it makes them obsess about numbers. Which is true. It’s easy to get very rigid and anal about staying “inside the line” when you are calorie counting, and that if you deviate, you have ruined all chance at losing wight ever. It’s a bit dramatic. But I consider calorie counting and my Daily Goal of calories as more like “guidelines than actual rules.”
But one thing I have learned through calorie counting is the importance of eating foods that I actually like. And I really mean it. Even though I’m okay with going over my calorie intake every once in awhile, calorie counting on a regular basis has really showed me how often I waste my calories on food that I don’t even like. To me, calories is essentially like money. I only have so much to spend in a day. Why would you spend your calories on something you don’t like it? It’s like buying shoes that are uncomfortable. Sure, the shoes might look good and they might be the shoes everyone else is wearing, but do they work for you? Nope! So why wear them? Likewise, why would I want to spend my calories on food that I’m not that into?
When I was flying down to North Carolina a couple weeks ago, I had time in the airport to grab breakfast. Now, I normally don’t eat at the airport, but because I was using public transportation to get there, I had to leave extra early and I just didn’t have time to eat. I found a “French bistro” (so they say…) in LaGuardia and sat down to peruse their menu. They had a lot of delicious sounding food, like french toast and waffles, but I decided to go for something that had a bit more protein, since I wasn’t sure when I would get lunch. I ordered their breakfast platter, which came with scrambled eggs, home fries, wheat toast and… bacon.
The diabetic’s kryptonite.
I tasted a little bit of everything at first to see what I liked, especially since some bacon (especially airport bacon) can actually be kind of gross.
But it wasn’t. It was delicious, amazing bacon. Thick slices, cooked to a crisp but not overdone. And so I ate them. I ate all three slices, because that’s what I loved on my plate. I did not, however, eat the home fries. I don’t really like home fries that much, and so I didn’t want to waste my calories on food I wasn’t crazy about. I also only had two out of the four slices of the bread. Was it bad? Nope. But it wasn’t as good as the bacon. The bacon was my priority and I enjoyed every bite of it.
Over the past six weeks, I regularly have to consider and reconsider what I’m going to eat. Do I really want to eat those fries? Do I really like them that much? Sometimes I do, and I eat the french fries with pleasure. And sometimes, you know, they’re just not worth it or I’m spending my calories just to spend them. When I go to Cosi, which is my Thursday ritual for lunch, I quit eating the chips that come with my meal. The chips are OK, but they aren’t that great. But they are 150 calories. Which could be better used toward something I want, like dark chocolate or a tall Mocha Coconut Frappuccino from Starbucks. I love Mocha Frappuccinos. I do not love Cosi’s kettle chips.
You can only spend money once, and technically you can only spend your calories once. You might not go into debt if you overeat on your calories, but you will face consequences. We’re always taught to prioritize our finances, and I think applying similar principles to food is important. I know the areas in my life that are financially important to me, like saving for our honeymoon or making sure that we have healthy food in the house. Likewise, there are types of food that more important to me, and that’s where I want my resources (my available calories) to go. It’s a slow process to get out of debt and lose weight, but it’s infinitely worth it!
My new food philosophy is: Gotta love it!
Starting weight: 202 lbs.
Last week: 196.2 lbs.
This week: 194.7 lbs.
Weight change: -1.5
Total weight loss: 7.3 lbs.
I think this was just the “sensible eating” plan that I needed to be reminded of today…intuitive eating + calorie counting has always worked well for me in the past, but I think I needed to hear your “voice” telling me so to help get it through my muddled thinking these days. Brava!
So glad I could help motivate you today! I think we all need a little reminder now and again.
Definitely worth it to spend food money/calories on higher quality. Still, I find it difficult unless I’m tracking down to the least detail. Unfortunately, most of the current crop of online and mobile applications have incomplete food databases and are slow and unwieldy to use.
I absolutely LOVE MyFitnessPal’s food database. It has literally everything I buy from the grocery store. I’ve only had to add one item. It doesn’t have independent restaurants, for obvious reasons, but I can usually hodgepodge together what I ate based on the calorie counts of other restaurants. I also find it pretty simple to use.
Go you!!!
Congrats on the weight loss! You are doing awesome! I wish I had the motivation to not use my calories on things I don’t like. I am always eating stuff because I think I want it, even when I don’t really want it. Thanks for the analogy, it makes it a lot clearer. I would never spend money on something I don’t want, so I gotta start thinking about calories that way too!
Congrats! This is so awesome! I love hearing about your thought process on losing weight with diabetes. Keep it up!
Good job on the weight loss. Loving the foods you eat is definitely a bigger deal than just how many cals… Sure I could have 100 cals of pretzels, but is it nutritionally sound? No. I’d rather have 100 cals of something more yummy and more nutritious.
Calories as currency! I love it!
Back when I used to eat to console myself more than eating for true enjoyment and nourishment, I’d put any crappy food in my mouth. I’m not immune to crappy food choices now by any stretch of the imagination, but I try to think about whether or not I’m genuinely hungry, and whether or not it’s a food that I really want to eat. I love ice cream during warmer months, but I pretty much only buy brands and flavors that are worth the carbs/fat/calories. For myself, a half-cup of premium ice cream is way better than a big bowl of run-of-the-mill ice cream. In the end, I think I eat less, but I enjoy it more. Not sure if you’ve looked into mindful eating, but as you continue to count calories (or whatever technique you find most effective), mindfulness can be very helpful in making sure your choices are satisfying, both physically and mentally.
I think this sounds kind of rambley, but I’m very blah today. Hopefully, I’ve said something that makes sense though…
I’ll have to look into mindful eating. Do you have any resources you like?
I attended a full-day workshop for clinicians by someone who works here (I don’t recall who exactly the presenter was though): http://www.tcme.org/
And here’s an article by someone who’s also affiliated with The Center for Mindful Eating: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mindful-eating/200902/mindful-eating
I think it’s good info and the techniques are useful. If you find it helpful at all, I’d love to know about your experience. Either way though, I hope you continue to have success with your weight management efforts
I lost about 40 pounds back in 2008 and I attribute the bulk of the weight loss to tracking what I ate. I did weight watchers so I didn’t count calories, but counting points is very similar. I had a lot of “do I really want to write this down?” moments. And I found foods that were low in calories but filling. Now I no longer have to track anymore because that skill of making good choices has luckily become sort of inherent. Granted, I still have my days where I over do it, but in general, most days I stay w/in my limits and know how to assess what is or isn’t worth the calories.
Congrats on the weight loss progress thus far!!!!! That’s awesome!!
Congrats on the weight loss – that’s great!
I so get you on the whole calorie-issue. I sometimes feel the same about carbs… I do not count calories, but recently started making a better effort at counting carbs (and actually started using the bolus wizard on my pump).
I just finished the Henrietta Lacks book a couple of days ago – it was such a good read!
I totally agree. People will often ask me why I don’t want to eat something and I’m like, “If I’m going to have a calorie, I’m going to enjoy the heck out of that calorie!” It makes losing/maintaining weight easier and more pleasureable, too.
You’re doing so great with the weight loss! WOo hoo!