YEAH! :) Day 3 No Calorie counting!

[NewStart2014]

Hi all,

I am in my 3rd day of not calorie counting and while I feel pretty good about that I am feeling a full on anxious moment. I haven't fallen away - given every opportunity last night at the Relay for Life with Cupcakes, Fairy Floss, Hot Chips, Hot Dogs and the like. I DID NOT FALTER! GO ME!

But I am wondering if you track what you eat without counting calories???

Please?

[whitjm5]

You can. A food log is encouraged (as there is even a whole forum area devoted to just that), but I just snap a quick pic of my meal and eat it. If I *need* to refer to it, it's not too hard to figure out what was in it.

[NewStart2014]

You can. A food log is encouraged (as there is even a whole forum area devoted to just that), but I just snap a quick pic of my meal and eat it. If I *need* to refer to it, it's not too hard to figure out what was in it.

Thanks for that Photos are a great idea!

[mego]

That's what I do! I take a photo of everything I eat and drink on my iPhone (I don't write anything down), and then at the end of the day I assess what I ate and give myself a gold star.

[Alana in Canada]

I need a gold star!

I am currently recording my sleep, food, fullness, activity and mood. I confess, it's getting tedious! I post all of it daily in the food log section. I also take pictures and record the log and the pictures on my blog. http://mypsychemysoma.blogspot.ca/

If you don't mind my asking, why did you decide to do another whole30?

[heatherdarbs]

I stopped tracking everything - I felt tracking anything was still holding on to the obsession, and much like calorie counting - it's unnatural. I've been free of it for a week and it seems to be getting markedly more acceptable!

[KelKel]

Well done you for not calorie counting!! It's a bloody hard habit to break.

I would however, like to second heatherdarbs about the tracking of food. I know its encouraged to a certain extent here but just be aware that it can become as much an issue as calorie counting...it can even feed your calorie counting demons because as a hard core counter, if you know the caloric values of many things your may end up looking at you list and calculating mentally.

Kind of in the same way a lot of people don't have nuts in case they end up gorging on them, some people are fine with tracking, but for others it just might end up another crutch for food/body issues.

As some one who's recovered (or forever recovering I 'spose) from an eating disorder, I would highly recommend you give all of it a break...counting, tracking, recording. Trust yourself. Trust your memory. If you feel bloaty one day, trust that you'll remember if you had something different the day before and make a mental note to avoid it or test it again, and then move on.

Also interesting that you mention feeling anxious...part of dealing with anxiety (yay all the mental issues!!) is also about trust ... believing yourself when you say 'the world is not going to end', trusting that you can get to the end of the day without having a wailing meltdown over a bruised avocado (true story) and even if you do, that's ok.

Trust that your already doing something amazing. Let yourself feel hungry, let yourself feel full, trust that your whole plan isn't going to go tits up if you didn't record how many eggs you ate five days in a row.

[Kirsteen]

I did a W60 and recorded everything I ate in the log section. I also recorded what I ate for a few weeks in the Post W30 section. I'm doing a second W30 and I haven't logged a thing. I think I needed it at first to keep myself accountable but now I've decided it's just how I eat and, as you said, I'm just going to trust the whole process without obsessing.

[SarrizleP]

I have a meal plan with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I sometimes change it up a little bit but mostly I keep to it so I know exactly what I've been eating and what I will eat for the rest of the week. I don't write down snacks but I will have a few grapes or a few nuts if need be, so I pretty much know what that would be as well.

[SJohnson]

Since counting calories is such a hard habit to break you might find it best not to worry too much about tracking anything at this point. Just make sure that you are consuming sources protein, fat, and carbs at each meal so that you don't inadvertandly deprive yourself nutrients specific to each type of calorie source.

Being an ex-obsessive calorie counter myself I understand your anxiety. Best of luck on breaking the habit; stay strong! Over (much) time it will get easier, I promise!

[puffycookie]

I've been a huge calorie counter for the last 5 years or so. I decided that I wasn't going to count calories during my Whole30, because I wanted it to be about so much more than calories and weight loss. Not only did I want to give my body a chance to heal, I want to learn to trust myself and trust my body to tell me what it needs and when. I'm on Day 12, and I haven't counted a single calorie, and I absolutely love the freedom! I feel so much more connected to my own body by being able to listen to it's ques for hunger, satiety, thirst, rest, etc.

I take pictures every now and then if I have made something that I'm really proud of. Other than that, I follow the meal planning template and trust that I am feeding my body what it needs. Friend, I hope you are able to find the same freedom! It's beautiful, and feels so incredible!