And I'm not nervous, I'm confident that my YEARS of being a counter (since age 16 - so 10yrs) has laid enough foundation for me to naturally decipher between what's high and low. Plus, my knowledge of food has expanded (not necessarily how to cook it all - I'm still learning.). Adding in common sense and more concern over of 'what's in it' as opposed to 'how many calories are in it.' People often times chide the WW Points system, but I never really saw it as much different than counting calories, to be honest. Of course the scientific configurations were different - but as long as you stayed under your points or under your calories - you were good to go, no matter what you ate. Yet, as we've heard time and time again - all calories are NOT created equal!
~PC
So, no more frantic moments of holding food in my hand, while I scour calorie content on Livestrong or CalorieKing, before chewing.
And no more going to bed uneasy because I couldn't remember whether I ate that cup of grapes today, or if that was the day before. Look, a 60 calorie inaccuracy was a big freakin' deal!
This act is one of those things that I've always wanted to commit to. I've always wanted to rely on my body's signals to tell me when I'm hungry and what it needs. It's definitely going to be a process, but I'm ready to yield my dietary choices back over to my body and not a numeric line in the sand. Motivated even more, as my research is shining more light on the fallacies of the calories-in/calories-out concept. I'll elaborate in another post.
Oh, when I told my best friend and fellow journey(wo)man about my decision ... you would've thought I told her I was abandoning my finance career to join the UniverSoul circus. Actually, seeing how the markets are performing - that's not so far-fetched. "Why? So what are you going to do? How will this work? I don't understand!" While her shock and confusion were pretty comical, it hit me at that moment, how dependent I was on the calorie system. And for what?
I trust my body now. As my overeating/binging battle has been curbed/keys thrown in a river and taste preferences have shifted; excess sugar greatly reduced/darn near negligible, in addition to my clean vegan diet - calories have stopped being a burden to me. I think since I'm eating real food, I no longer see the grand significance of counting anymore. I've done it long enough. I've put in my time. I'm graduating. It's time to start listening to ... well, me. ;o)
Breakfast | Oatmeal w/ Almond Butter, Blueberries + 1/2 Banana
Snack | Kiwi
Lunch Pt. 1 | Mixed Greens w/ Straw + Blueberries (Dressed w/ Lemon Juice)
Lunch Pt. 2 | Stir fry Noodles w/ Veggies + Peppers (Sauteed in Olive/Sesame Oils)
Snack | Steamed Brussel Sprouts, Sweet Corn (Seasoned w/ Ground Pepper)
Semi-Snack | 1/2 of a Damn Vegan Graham Cracker w/ PB (Anybody ever buy something exclusively for them, but by the time you go to eat it - it's gone?! Aaaarrrgggh!)
Dinner | Extra Grilled Pintos, Spinach, Yellow Squash (Seasoned w/Ground Pepper + Sea Salt)
Snack | Plum, Green Tea
Calories | C'mon son, lol.
Water | 93oz
Workout | AM: 2.5 Miles (Pace: 10:34:42) PM: 50-65lbs Leg Press (5 Sets/10 Reps), 25-45lbs Seated Row (5 Sets/ 10 Reps), 15-20lbs Barbell Weight Crunches (4 Sets/10 Reps), Chest Dips (3 Sets/10 Reps), 30 Mins Relaxed Swimming (Indoor/Laps not counted) <-would've stayed in longer, but it started thundering outside and they made us evacuate.
Last Song Playing on the MP3 | "Thinking About You" by Frank Ocean
~PC
Sounds like you have reached a breakthrough, girl. Good luck with this. I can't even imagine not counting. Eeek.
ReplyDeleteThat Tanisha gif is killing me! LOLOL! Don't hurt nobody Miss Madame!
ReplyDeleteQuestion: do you follow any particular meal plan, when coming up with your meals? You eat soooooo healthy! I want to start, I just don't know how to quite piece things together.
I've been religiously counting calories for years. Focusing on the quantity of them, and not necessarily the quality of them contributed me to never really keeping the weight off..whenever I managed to lose something. There's something to be said about how dependent we are on counting calories. And I mean everybody counts, while obesity is steady rising.
ReplyDeleteThis!!!!!!!!!!!! It's going to feel so liberating.
ReplyDeleteI'm a counter, and even though you're hopping off of the ship, we still love ya, ha! I applaud your courageousness to step out of it though. It's going to be a while before I trust my body -- it's still craving all of the "bad" stuff. :o/
ReplyDeleteUh-oh. Are you turning into one of those rogue weight loss folks? I can't keep up wit y'all, lol.
ReplyDeleteAWE-SOME! Yummy-looking food (the extra grilled beans too LMBO). Even if you tried to, I don't think you'd go too far over cal limits, eating like you do. Good luck with the transition.
ReplyDeleteThat Tanisha thing has me rollin! I feel the same way when somebody -usually my greedy husband- eats food that I set aside for myself. Be happy you had at least 1 cracker, I'd be lucky to have leftover crumbs.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! When I stopped counting I felt as though I had made it to the next level. So freeing!!
ReplyDeleteThis is inspring! I count now, because I really need to. I just renewed my healthy living/weight loss journey and it's giving me a good tab on what I'm consuming. It's defniitely working to keep me aware. I don't plan on doing it forever though.
ReplyDeletewait, hoool'up! you do chest dips? i did 3, and was down for the damn count ounce. you's a bad girl!!!
ReplyDeleteYaassss. Feels like you snatched that bra off and waved it around your head...oh wait.
ReplyDeleteYeah counting can be a cumbersome...and when your mind is made up to eat "good" then who needs calories?? you know what to do.
High five PC....my Shero :-)
Attempt 2 at post! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Would you mind sharing your oatmeal with almond butter recipe? I recently bought some and all I'm doing is spreading it on bread or eating it off a spoon (bad me).
And congrats on not calorie counting and trusting your self with your food. Sounds so liberating! One day I hope to be at that stage where I can chuck the points counting at ww!
Thanks everyone for the kind words! This is definitely a big step! *sings 'Makidada' to my calorie counter*
ReplyDelete@ N'Kiesha, I don't follow any particular plan - I usually shop, find stuff I want and staples and figure it out. Email me though, madamethejourney@ gmail.com and we'll chat! ;o)
@ Ro, ROFL! That's the perfect analogy. I'm on day 2 of this and don't know how to act, with the freedom.
@ Caribbeanmomma, I just made some steel cut oats (firm) and added about 3 (probably only need 2 - but I like it, lol) tablespoons of almond butter. With the sweetness in that and the fruit, namely - bananas, I didn't even need to add sugar. Delish, girl!
Great post, and decision! I think that much of the calorie business is for the aid of big food. Like, they put so much emphasis on low cal this and that, when they're doing nothing but feeding us processed junk, in the process. People get all up in arms about Mcdonald's making cal listings more visible... it's McDonald's what do you expect? Bottom line is, when I started to eat "real food,"...calories become the least of my concerns.
ReplyDelete