The current situation of our world has proven that life is precious and short. We need to spend it laughing, going out with friends, cherishing our loved ones, not counting calories.
You know if you count your calories that it is an exhausting process. No person, let alone college students should be doing long-term.
What Even Is a Calorie?
The word “calorie” has such a negative connotation in most people’s heads. Without getting too “science-y,” calories are a specific unit of measurement that is used to measure how much energy we get from food.
Everything we eat contains calories, some much more than others. Some calories are used by our body for energy and to function on the basic level. Other calories are stored in our body as fat. Believe it or not, this is not a bad thing.
My History with Calorie Counting
I first began calorie counting when I was a dance major in college. I was trying to lose weight, so I logged all of the food I ate every day on an app that would tell me how many calories I could and could not eat, and how many calories I burned by dancing.
It was eye-opening to see how many calories were in some foods that I had no idea of before. I learned how many calories were in fruit, salads, my yogurt I ate each morning, and how many I burned in a typical dance class. It was interesting at first, but as you can imagine, it got old.
After calorie counting for a few months and switching up my diet, I began to lose weight and see a change in my body. People noticed and constantly complimented me on how good I looked.
Once I continued receiving the same feedback, I knew I had to continue tracking my food. When your body changes and you are constantly being told by friends and family that you look “skinny” and “better,” you are going to want to continue whatever you’re doing. At least that’s what I thought.
I had no control over the college aspect of my life, so I loved being able to control my food. I’m a bit of a control freak, so looking back, it all made sense. If I knew I was going out to eat or getting ice cream, I remember purposely making sure I was eating fewer calories than I normally would so that I could eat the ice cream. How messed up is that? You do not need permission from an app to eat ice cream.
I realized that the more I obsessed over counting calories, the more I missed out on. I missed out on spontaneous dinner dates, Chipotle runs, pizza after a night out, and eating food other people would make because I didn’t know how many calories were in it.
That is when I knew I had to change. I didn’t want to be the girl who was no fun to be around or constantly said no to everything because she was scared that her body would change.
The Turn-Around
I slowly began to stop logging my food into my calorie counting app day by day. I’m not going to lie, it was hard. I found myself for a while not logging my food all day, then entering it in all at night right before bed because I couldn’t stand not knowing.
Again, this was all during a period of uncertainty in my life through transferring colleges, so it was hard for me to give up control of yet another part of my life.
It slowly became easier and I eventually totally cut out calorie counting and deleted my app. It was empowering. I felt like a new person. There was no longer an obsession over what I was eating or how many calories were in it.
Instead, I began focusing on the people and memories that surrounded the food. I realized that I LOVE food and I LOVE the memories that surround it. It’s not worth it for me to give up something that I love in order to be a certain size. Personally, I would rather be 5-10 pounds heavier and enjoy myself, then look smaller and miss out on the food and people I love so much.
My biggest tip for someone who no longer wants to count their calories is to be gentle with yourself. I wish I could say to just delete the app, forget what you know, and enjoy life…but, unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
I’m at a point in my life where I am happy with my body and happy with the people around me. If count your calories and have that obsessive mindset, then it’s not worth it. Expect that it’s going to be hard. It’s a trial and error situation. Know that it’s not a straight path. You will have road bumps, but you will get past them.
Tips to Improve Body Image
Start by just logging 2 out of 3 meals you eat in a day. Start slow, so that you have a chance to realize that life will go on if you don’t know exactly how many calories you’re eating.
Maybe stop measuring your food and just eyeball it. Trust that you know how much food your body needs, and you can always eat more or save your food for later. Once you feel comfortable, start cutting more foods out of the app, until you can eventually delete it. I promise you will not regret it and you will enjoy your life so much more.
Recently, I helped my friend out for a school project where she had to assess my diet for a week through a calorie counting app. I was nervous to use it again, but much to my delight, I HATED it.
It was such a pain to constantly plug my food in, and at this point, I don’t measure any of my food so I was just guessing. It was empowering to have that reassurance that I’m on the right path and I am confident in my body. It’s not an easy road, but the destination is so worth it.
xoxo
[…] Food is energy! Calories are not the devil. They are the fuel your body needs in order to do basic functions such as breath, type your homework, or just lay in bed. Did you know that most of the calories you burn in a day are due to those basic human functions and not the intense exercise you did? You can read more about why I no longer count calories, here. […]