Nutrition

STOP COUNTING CALORIES!

Have you ever tried calorie counting? It just really sucks.

If your goal is fat loss, counting calories is not the way. Not only do you have to constantly worry about the calorie content of every morsel of food you put in your mouth, and look at the nutrition facts on everything you buy… Day in and day out you have to keep track of your total calories. 

I don’t know about you, but when I did it, it was total misery.

I was doing math all day long. Plus who really likes to do math?

Food is not something that should be counted, it’s something that should be enjoyed. 

After struggling for years with food, I found that the way to long-term fat loss and success is balance. It’s not counting calories.
Why?

Because when you try to “control” food, it often ends up controlling you.

Think about it… when you are counting calories you are constantly thinking about food and what you are eating. All day.

You have to constantly play a “numbers” game to make sure you are staying within your allotted calories for the day. If you’re not actually writing down your calories in a journal, you’re mentally taking notes about what you need to write down later.

Even worse, I found my calorie counting would often lead to a full blown binge spree eventually because in my experience, when you restrict something — it’s always just been a matter of time before it backfires.

Eventually, you get sick of the restriction, and in my case I never could count calories for longer then 7 days before I’d binge. Plus you get sick of only eating certain foods and you’re totally sick of all the math involved. So after trying to control every bite of food you take, you just give up and eat everything in sight.

Ever been there?

Guess what? It’s not your fault!

Calorie counting literally sets you up for failure.

Think about it… do you really want to count calories for the rest of your life?!
I didn’t think so. No one does. 

And that’s why calorie counting just does not work. Not only that, but the biggest problem with calorie counting is that it implies “a calorie is a calorie,” regardless of the quality of the food source, which could not be further from the truth.

Not all calories are created equal.

Do you really think a 135 calorie one Twinkie is the same as a 135 calorie pear?

Of course not! It’s common sense.
I can eat one Twinkie loaded with GMOs, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, polysorbate 60, partially hydrogenated oil – and it will be 135 calories. On the other hand, I can choose to eat a large pear full of fiber, phytonutrients, copper, vitamins C and K, and still ingest about 135 calories.

Instead of focusing on the calorie counts of your food, we have to train ourselves to focus on the nutrient density of our food. 

It’s about learning how to get the most “bang for our buck” — the most nutritionally dense foods we can get our hands on in the most calorie conservative ways (i.e. eating grass-fed butter or coconut oil instead of margarine). Nutrient dense foods will not only make you feel better, they will help you lose weight without feeling deprived, lethargic or tired. 

Your body knows it’s full in 2 ways:

1) Volume (how much you ate)
2) Nutrient Density (the nutrients you ate)

Have you ever eaten so much junk food that your stomach literally hurt or felt like it was about to pop? 

Well, here’s the thing.
You only really ate that much because you weren’t providing your body with the nutrients it actually needs and thrives on, so your body just wasn’t feeling “full” or satisfied until you literally stuffed yourself.

Many people are guilty of shying away from real foods because they are fearful of gaining weight, and instead opt for the processed low fat, low calorie or low sugar versions instead.

I was totally guilty of this. I ate everything “diet” and “sugar-free” because I thought it was more important to stay at (or under) 1200 calories per day. 

But these processed diet and sugar-free foods create all kinds of hormonal and chemical imbalances in our bodies like insulin resistance, fat storage, and toxicity that can eventually lead to major diseases and health problems.

Not to mention sagging skin, more wrinkles, less energy, and accelerated aging!
NO THANKS!! 

Our ancestors who didn’t suffer with the same obesity epidemic we have now, didn’t have things like sugar-free, fat-free, light, diet or coke zero. 

Bottom line, counting calories & eating “diet” foods just doesn’t work!

It’s not balanced, nor is it healthy. What’s way more important is to provide your body with the right portions of nutrients it needs. Without that, you will never be successful long term with losing weight and keeping it off.

Once you start giving your body the nutrients it needs, the weight will just come off!

And I know you’re probably thinking, “Yeah right! Not for me. I can’t eat anything without gaining weight so of course I need to restrict my eating and track my calories to lose weight.”

I used to think so too!

But I’m proof that when you stop focusing on restricting your food intake and obsessing over the number of calories you eat — and you shift your focus to the quality of the foods you’re eating instead — you can rebalance your body, your mind and your life for good.

In fact as soon as I made this switch in my own life, I completely ended my years of struggle with food. 

Consistency is the key to success. No “quick fix”, diet pill or calorie counting diet will ever get you the results you’re looking for.

At least not long term anyway.

Sure, anyone can cut their calories for a little while and drop a few pounds. But if you’re not eating enough and you’re not getting the nutrients you need daily, the body will catch on and your metabolism will slow. 

You need to adopt a lifestyle that you can stick to for the long-term. You need habits that you can sustain for life.

Count nutrients, not calories. 

Bottom line – eat real food, eat lots of veggies, eat lots of fruit, and eat lots of greens. Don’t avoid healthy fats like avocado, nuts & seeds. Stop eating when you are 80% full.
Chew each bite 30-35 times. Drink lots of water. And most importantly – respect your body, don’t starve it! 

Looking for an easy plan you can follow to jumpstart your results? Want to know what I mean by counting colours?

Join my SUMMER CHALLENGE accountability group and get the tools to build long-term healthy habits and end inhibiting restrictions & dieting for good.

You’ll also get direct access to support from me and 20 – 30 other men and women in our monthly private groups.

If your feeling lost when it comes to clean eating, if you need a plan to get you started, if you need motivation and accountability I invite you to leave a comment below, send me an email at [email protected] or send me a private message on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/nadia.b.fit to let me know your interested.

You can also find me on Instagram @nadia.b.fit

Check back weekly for new blog posts! Until next time…
Eat and workout to feel your best!

Love ya,
Coach Nadia

stop-counting-calories-2

2

about Web Sharx

Leave a Reply