12 Weeks No Diets – Week 7 – Stop Counting Calories
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We’re past the halfway mark and into week 7. How did we do with the goal last week? Giving ourselves unlimited permission to eat whatever we want can be scary… but it’s so important in order live without dieting.
To recap, these are the goals we’ve covered so far:
- Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re satisfied
- Make water your beverage of choice
- Break mindless eating routines
- Increase fiber intake by increasing fruit and veggie intake
- Pay close attention to meal timing and portion control
- Pay attention to your body – focus on eating consciously
- The importance of meal planning
- Making Peace With Food
This week we will be focusing on calorie counting… or lack there of. Part of embracing “not dieting” is to stop counting every piece of food that crosses our lips. I know calorie counting works for a lot of individuals. If you can count calories and not let if control your life or become obsessive about it, thats fine… but for most, its very easy to become a slave to this.
When I talk about stop counting, I mean calories, fat, carbs, grams, etc…
When we count, measure, weigh, or calculate food, we’re not listening to our body. We’re letting other factors control how much and when we eat… not our body. How can that be fun? Having to count, weigh, and measure everything can become exhausting and time consuming.
For a life-long food counter, not counting can be scary.
The goal for this week is to start small.
Start with one meal without counting anything. Just listen to your body. Let your body tell you when to start eating and when to stop.
After a few days, try to eat two meals without counting. Continue at your own pace until you’ve stopped counting all together.
The ultimate goal is to start eating in response to your body, not the calories counted in your head.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me.
*Don’t forget your workout of the week! 
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Click here for Jessica’s No More Resolutions Workout!
No More Resolutions will run for 12 weeks along with No Diets in the New Year
There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts for everyone!
You can do it! I stopped counting calories a while ago and really started counting protein grams/meal in my head…since I really needed to focus on getting more protein in my diet. So far so good!
I completely agree about calorie counting. I think it’s counter-intuitive but if it works for someone (without getting obsessive) than go for it. Personally, I think it would be way too time-consuming!
I’m a horrible calorie counter, so I don’t do it. I really just look at my meal as a whole and guestimate. I’m sure I under-guess a lot (and over-guess sometimes) but it helps me not get obsessive about every little calorie. If I’m not hungry, I won’t eat them.
I agree about the calories – I actually enjoy keeping track on Lose It (iphone app) but I find that when I do I either eat more because I have “more” calories left or I eat more because I suddenly start craving every single food in my kitchen! It makes me too crazy!
I think it’s counter intuitive as well and do exactly what Emily posted. Lately, I’m much better off listening to my tummy. It hasn’t let me down yet.