Counting calories cultivates an unhealthy connection with food and your body, sustaining disordered eating patterns, negative body image, and low self-esteem.
Here are my top five recommended strategies to help you break free from this habit:
1. Consider the pros and cons of calorie tracking
Firstly, look at the benefits of this habit. What do you gain from it? Does it provide a sense of control or a feeling of safety in having a structured approach? Are you trying to conform to societal ideals of the "perfect" body?
Next, examine the downsides of this habit. Does it exhaust you, are you constantly thinking about food? Does it make you feel like a failure if you can't meet your calorie goals? Does it disconnect you from your natural appetite cues? Perhaps it prevents you from enjoying social events or eating out. By assessing how this habit impacts your life, you'll be more motivated to take steps towards change.
2. Change your environment
Surrounding yourself with constant reminders of calorie tracking will only reinforce that mindset and keep you trapped within it. Delete calorie-tracking apps like My Fitness Pal and unfollow social media accounts that promote tracking and diets. Instead, expose yourself to platforms and narratives that promote a healthy relationship with food. ( The Food Freedom Collective will help with this)
If you typically spend a long time reading labels for calorie information when food shopping, set a limit of 10 seconds to decide on a product without looking at the labels. When eating out, ask for menus without calorie information (most restaurants should be able to accommodate this). If you've been tracking calories for a long time, it may be difficult at first to break the habit, but start with one meal per day and distract yourself if your mind starts automatically tracking. Remember, you have control over your thoughts, which can influence your feelings and behaviours.
3. Shift your focus away from calories and weight
Start noticing self-care practices that feel good in your body, such as taking walks in nature, practicing relaxation or mindfulness techniques, or engaging in gentle stretching. Pay attention to how different foods support your body's sleep, mood, energy levels, and digestion.
4. Consider what else food provides you with
Nourishing yourself with a variety of satisfying foods will give your body what it needs to function at its best. Direct your attention to the nutrients, including minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients, fibre and enzymes, in addition to macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbs all play an important role too) .
Food can serve other purposes as well, such as convenience when you're time poor or simply providing pleasure. If you catch your thoughts fixating on calories after a meal, challenge yourself to identify and appreciate all the positive benefits that the specific food brings you.
5. Work on cultivating body acceptance
Building body acceptance is not easy and takes time, but there's no better time to start than now. Remember that your worth extends far beyond your body or weight and can be derived from various aspects of your life. On a scale of 0 to 100, how much do you base your worth on your appearance? Then, consider other areas such as friendships, family, work, relationships and things you enjoy and excel at. How much would you like these areas to contribute to your self-worth on the same scale?
If you are struggling with your relationship with food, do come and join me in The Food Freedom Collective community – a free group to support you on journey to find freedom around food and your body
If any of these resonate then this community is for you :
💠You are on and off diets all the time
💠You find yourself binge eating
💠You are an ‘emotional eater’
💠You restrict food in order to lose weight
💠 You can’t stop thinking about your weight, appearance or food
💠 You feel overwhelmed and confused no longer knowing what you ‘should’ eat
With weekly live videos and daily support - what are you waiting for!