I admit it with no hesitation. I have NEVER in my entire life been a calorie counter. Not even for a day. Last week I read several Mamavation posts that talked about calorie counting and took some time to confront myself about why I have never counted calories as part of a diet effort.
After much reflection here is what I came to: I don't know. Maybe I never really thought it was a relevant idea. Perhaps I've been too lazy with my eating. Maybe I just don't care. I cannot come up with a good reason that I have never paid any attention to calories.
I started this thinking last Monday. As I made lunch (a simple salad) on Monday, I looked at the calorie counts on my favorite toppings (Bac-o's, French Fried Onions, Cheddar Cheese, Blue Cheese Dressing). What an amazing salad with a frightening calorie count!
Also on Monday, my sister "invited" me to try out MyFitnessPal. I am still looking over the app, and working on forming my thoughts about calorie counting. I do think that it would be beneficial to at least try counting for a few weeks. Over the past week I have not been counting - but I have been noticing. I am starting to pay attention to what I am feeding myself so I can make better choices on my intake.
This week I will begin tracking what I eat on a "normal" day. Now, I am aware that any time you start to pay attention, you are likely to do a better job of control. I want to get an idea of what I am eating normally and begin a plan to reduce my calories and increase my activity.
Are you a calorie counter? How did you begin counting? Has it helped you in any way? What advice do you have for me as a beginner?
I think the best way to do it, and this is just my opinion and all, but is to write down what you're eating, maybe say for a week. Then put it in myfitnesspal or wherever you want to use to look and see what calories you're getting. And while you're counting calories, don't forget to keep your meals balanced! That's one of the reasons that I like myfitnesspal because it tells me at the bottom how many of different nutrients I've had. I also like that when you put in exercise, it gives you more calories to eat LOL
ReplyDeleteI love MyFitnessPal. Knowing I have to record those calories makes me think more about what I am eating. Make sure you write down everything! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lindsay for the encouragement. It's really been eye opening to try My Fitness Pal!
ReplyDeleteMFP is a pretty popular way to track your intake. It's amazing how quickly you can throw off your daily diet with one snack/meal! Good luck tracking, it can be a pain at first, but you get accustomed to it. :)
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