How to stop calorie counting
If you are struggling with an eating disorders or disordered eating you might have turned to calorie counting, in the belief that it will prevent unwanted weight gain & or a loss of control around eating.
If you’ve been engaging in it for a long time it is likely that it has become an automatic behaviour. This is because whenever we do something repeatedly we create neural pathways in the brain where habits are formed. The more a behaviour is repeated, the more automatic is becomes. This can make it challenging to stop as your brain has learnt that counting calories is important.
You might not be able to erase the information learnt or control the thoughts that your mind generates, but you can give disengage by first noticing them, and then deciding whether that thought or belief is helpful or harmful.
The truth about Calories
There is a misconception that a calorie is a direct and precise measurement of how fattening a food is, however calories are a unit of measure that tells us how much energy a food contains but little else. Calories are not an effective method for controlling weight, shape, food or appearance (despite what you may have heard) as calories are based on estimates, not absolutes. Every calorie displayed can vary up to 30% on accuracy.
The Problems with Counting Calories:
Oversimplification; calorie counting oversimplifies the complex nature of nutrition. It disregards the importance of the quality of food and focuses solely on the quantity of calories consumed. This approach can lead to neglecting vital nutrients and missing out on the benefits of a varied and pleasurable diet.
Misinformation: We all need different amount of energy and this varies in us from day to day. It also varies from person to person, depending on our age, our height and weight, our gender, our lifestyle and many other factors. As a baseline the average female will need around 1200-1500 calories just to keep their body alive and ticking over. This doesn’t take into account activity, digestion of food or trauma that the body has been through. (restriction is trauma to the body)
Emotional Impact; for individuals in eating disorder recovery, calorie counting can trigger anxiety, obsession, and an unhealthy fixation on numbers. It can fuel & maintain negative self-image and perpetuate disordered eating behaviors. This emphasis on numbers can overshadow intuitive eating cues and erode the trust in our bodies' natural hunger and fullness signals.
Unpredictability; calorie counts provided on food labels or through apps are estimations and may not accurately reflect the energy our bodies extract from different foods. Additionally, factors such as metabolism, digestion, and individual variations make it challenging to accurately gauge the exact number of calories our bodies absorb and utilize.
What you need to know about calories
Calories on packets are based on ESTIMATES, not absolutes. It is impossible to count your calorie intake accurately (even if you weighed and calculated everything)
Cooking methods alter a foods structure and therefore how much energy it provides. For example energy extracted from corn on the cob will be different from the energy extracted from cornflakes or corn flour. (Packets don’t take this into consideration)
Foods interact with other foods eaten alongside it, affecting the rate in which energy is released. The more processed a food is the quicker our bodies process it and extract energy - this is because it is easier for our digestive system
Every person's individual genetics and metabolic rate will vary, meaning that you can eat the exact same food as someone else and extract either more or less energy
The unique composition of our gut microbes have different abilities to digest food and influence how many calories we absorb - a more diverse range of bacteria is associated with a more efficient metabolism.
How to Stop Calorie Counting:
Let go of calorie counting tools - start by deleting calorie counting apps, removing watches and any tools that reinforce the habit of tracking calories. You may still have number in your mind, but removing external reinforcements will bring less emphasis to them.
Start with one meal or snack - choose one meal or snack each day where you will not track or calculate calories. Ask yourself “If calories had no influence on my body or weight, what food would I want to eat?”
Educate & reframe - learn about what calories are and how much energy your body actually needs (your body was not designed to be as small as possible) to thrive. When an automatic ‘default’ thought pops into your head “I have to choose the lower calorie option” come up with a reframe “my body deserves nutrients not numbers”
Avoid looking at nutrition labels - before purchasing something from the shop, think about what you would like to buy and choose the first one you see in on the shelf. Today there are so many different types of bread & granola bars, that many of my clients will spend hours deciding which ones to choose on the shelf. What else would you like to have spent that time doing? Try to challenge yourself to buy items from local shops or bakeries that don’t contain nutritional content. Some clients find it helpful to cover up labels at home with stickers that have affirmations or encouraging quotes.
Experiment & allow other people to cook and prepare meals for you - this helps to reduce the over control you have around your food. Write down different snacks on pieces of paper and keep them in a jar. Each day choose one and have that for your snack. Allow friends and family to cook for you, practice ordering out in cafes & restaurants where calories aren’t displayed.
Curate your feed - be mindful about the content that you are consuming. There is lots of misinformation and unsolicited advice on social media with ‘what I eat in a day’ videos and weight loss hacks. A helpful question to ask yourself is “When I look at these posts how do I feel? Do they make me feel good about nourishing my body, or reaffirm the eating disorder voice?
Like with any behaviour change, stopping counting calories will be a process. Your brain will resist the change and make you doubt yourself, so be kind to yourself through the process. Just like you created the neural pathways that focus on calories, you can too create NEW neural pathways with habits & behaviours that serve you.
LOOKING FOR MORE SUPPORT?
If you are looking for more support in changing your behaviours around calories, get in touch to find out more about my one-on-one coaching and how I can help you to find food freedom and embrace living a rich and meaningful life.
Love Harriett