I've always been a big fan of the free app Ate for food tracking, whenever I wanted a push to eat healthier because it is so simple to use. But in May I realized that I need to make a proper effort if I want to reach my goal weight. I was really anxious and kept cracking down and emotionally eat whatever was in the house -- chocolate chips meant for baking, candy brought over by a friend, 80% of a batch of brownies meant for both of us -- and that completely negated the progress of having smaller meals, working out, and making better food choices.
So I once again logged into My Fitness Pal and was so pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to use now compared to back in 2013 when I last used it! The food data base is much bigger, you can create meals and recipes, and the best part is the ability to simply copy/paste a link to a blog post and they will pull up the recipe ingredients for you! This is a complete game changer for me as we have a very varied menu.
So I've been using it daily for almost three months now, and having great results. But apart from the physical benefits I am finding a bunch of mental benefits as well! 5 mental health benefits of counting calories1. It keeps me from emotional eating!
I think that counting calories gives me a (healthy) sense of control, which keeps me from immediately going into "have to stuff my face to feel better" mode if I'm having a bad day. It also helps that I usually log things before I eat them, so there's that extra knowledge and accountability to it. Do I really want these two pieces of candy for 150 calories? Will that make this better?
During this time I went from having episodes of emotional eating several times a week to just 1-2 times per month!! Which is coincidentally having a huge impact on my weight loss efforts, strangely enough. ;) Several times when I got obsessed with eating chocolate chips, once gone so far as to hold the bag in my hand, I instead went for my homemade banana chips. Being able to redirect myself keeps my mood from getting worse, since I'm not adding to it by feeling disappointed in myself. 2. It is helping me simplify and ease my expectations of myself
The biggest reason why counting calories felt too cumbersome last time was eating things like stir-fries and smoothies - foods with many small parts to log. This time around if I didn't add the recipe to MFP I simply log the biggest/most calorie-dense components of the meal, like "rice+chicken+brown sugar" instead of worrying about ALL the ingredients in the sauce, or "banana+strawberries+almond milk" and omitting the add-ons. Instead I try to be at least 100 calories under the daily goal to make up for the smaller things I don't log.
I also gave in and got individual servings of breakfast yogurts and snack packs and candy. As much as I prefer making things myself and avoiding the waste and extra cost, at least for right now it greatly simplifies my life to have things to just grab and scan the barcode of. With all the things I'm trying to do I need to admit my limitations and also just give myself a break. I don't have to be perfect, I don't have to do ALL the things -- it's okay to focus on what has the biggest impact and let the smaller things go. 
Photo by Rana Sawalha
3. It's teaching me to recognize hunger levels and what they mean
I'm learning to recognize my hunger levels, matching them to the calories eaten. I know the feeling of how 1,300 calories is too little since I lift weights, so I need to have a snack before bed. I know when I need a 100 calorie snack to carry me over to dinner, or I will be too tempted to eat something unhealthy while cooking cause I'm so hungry and lose my will power. And I know when I ate too much, which is helping me recognize when I should stop eating even if there is food left on my plate, something that has always felt wrong to do, being taught I must finish the plate as a child.
When everything is so connected in your body (like how dehydration can increase your anxiety and depression), knowledge is power. Knowing if a headache is from stress, sun exposure, or muscle tension can help you determine how to fix it, and knowing if you're actually hungry or trying to avoid your problems by eating can help you manage your mental health better.
4. I'm feeling comfortable in my body again
Even though I generally really like myself, carrying some extra weight bums me out. Since I got Lyme disease it has been a lot harder to maintain the weight I used to have when I had active jobs and could do long hard workouts, since now most of the work has to be done through food (or the lack thereof), which to me is so much harder than getting the motivation to go for a run.
So now when I'm shrinking and just generally feel better overall, my self-esteem is going up. I feel comfortable in my body again which ironically also keeps me from emotional eating, because one of my triggers to do so is to feel bad about my weight. (I know, so counter-productive! *facepalm*) 
Photo byJeshoots.com
5. I'm able to make better decisions
Sugar and unhealthy foods affect our bodies and our mood. All calories are not equal. This is pretty well-known stuff, but that doesn't always help us make good decisions when faced with the choice of fruit vs candy.
But when armed with the knowledge of how much calories something actually has, it makes it easier, at least for me. If I can have either 1 little bag of Swedish fish for 880 calories, or 5 cups of stove popcorn for 275, and I only have 300 calories left for the day, it makes the choice a whole lot easier. I'm also keeping lots of fruit and berries around, 100-calorie snack packs in the fridge for chocolate cravings, and I found these delicious little bags of candy sweetened with fruit instead of sugar. By having great alternatives I set myself up for success! And by making better food choices, my body feels better, which makes my mind feel better. Full circle! *****
The best part is that this feels like a very sustainable thing for me to carry on. I aim to be around 1,500-1,600 calories a day, so I have plenty of leeway for snacks and desserts. My therapist definitely thought I was heavily restricting myself and advised to allow myself a dessert every now and then, but I eat dessert every single day (varying from 25 calorie fruit popsicles to chocolatey brownies) and am still losing weight. And the fact that I'm doing this, and also having no restraints for parties and stuff since I'm not trying to crash diet, just slowly get to where I want to be while still enjoying delicious foods, means that it doesn't feel hard.
It feels good, and it's impacting me positively in every single way.
Related articles:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Hi, I'm Erika!I know what it's like living with anxiety and depression, but living and living are very different things. I believe in practical tips and methods, and I will use them to help you be the brave, daring, darling individual you are. Categories
All
Popular posts
|
RSS Feed