I’ve been reading this book called Intuitive Eating, which, if you’ve read other “healthy living” blogs, you’ve probably heard of. It’s a great book about why dieting doesn’t work, and has tips and encouragement on listening to your body. It’s about allowing yourself to eat anything you want when you want it, and not restricting your diet.
And that’s such a cool concept… except when it doesn’t work.
I was surprised with all the comments on Wednesday’s post, to hear how many other people track their calories/food. Honestly, it made me feel a little less crazy for being so into this calorie tracking thing. It’s something I’ve done on and off. I’ve tried the whole “intuitive eating” thing… and I love the concept. I think it can work for a lot of people. But some of us just love food a little too much, healthy food or not.
So now that I’m back on the calorie tracking, I can already identify where some not-so-great-habits slipped in. Those multiple glasses of wine while watching tv, the endless handfuls of granola as I walked into the kitchen, the extra snacks I eat at my desk, because they’re there, not because I’m hungry… it all starts to add up.
Maybe one day I’ll fall into that intuitive eating thing. I honestly do think it’s a great idea, and I think it’s fantastic that there are so many people that can actually be trusted around a giant bag of granola, I just have to accept that I’m not one of them. And that’s ok.
As part of the Get Well Challenge, we had a “Goal Setting” session last night, and I outlined a few goals.
Get Well Challenge Goals
- Get back to my “fighting weight”
(I’d rather not talk numbers on here!) - Take at least one group fitness class each week (I push myself way more in those classes!)
- Track my calories/protein/etc. every day and learn what foods give me the most energy
We have weekly weigh-ins at the Advanced Wellness Center, so that should help keep me motivated! I plan on using the Livestrong/Daily Plate App to track my calories. I’ve played around with SparkPeople and MyFitnessPal (which I know a lot of you love!) but for some reason, I always end up going back to The Daily Plate!
Phew. Now enough of that heavy stuff. What are some of the calories I’ve been counting loving?
These pickles that I picked up at the Carytown Farmer’s Market on Sunday. Not only were the guys selling them super nice, these pickles are freaking amazing. Maybe as good as the ones I had from the Magna Carta Food Truck. Maybe.
Oh yeah and this pizza was amazing. Be proud that I stopped myself after one slice.
Flames 231 deserves a whole restaurant review. But I’ll save that for another time…
I read that book a couple if years ago and it’s a great concept for some but not for all. For me I have to have some structure and accountability not in a bad way but that’s just what works for me because I too can’t be trusted with a bag of granola or hey a bag of Oreos!
You’re right – intuitive eating is a wonderful concept and I hope to get there one day (hopefully soon), but it’s hard. When I’m eating something delicious, I put aside my intuition and finish my plate or go back for more. I’m trying to work on really listening to my body and figuiring out the clues that will allow me to stop when I’m truly full.
I agree with you – I’m on the fence with intuitive eating as a ‘one size fits all’. I like to think it’s something I *try* to be mindful of, but there are definitely times where I just don’t care! I don’t want my ‘intutive eating’ voice to ruin my big cup of fro yo, haha.
I actually became a certified intuitive eating counselor a few months ago because I was so impressed with the realistic approach they took toward food and even I struggle with it still! My belief is that it is a great philosophy but it does take a while to totally restructure your relationship with food. The best part about it was learning how to take time to listen to your body and feed it what it’s craving. I still count calories and try to eat a balanced diet (so part of that is overriding the ‘intuitive eating’ principle) but I honor my hunger and myself first!
I definitely love the principle, and I’ve been trying to apply the “honor your hunger” idea, as well as really listening to when I’m hungry (and not just bored or stressed). I think for me, somewhere in between calorie counting and intuitive eating is my happy place. My problem is finding the balance between the two!
so i can’t leave a stash of snacks at work because i do exactly what you do. eat them just because they are there – not because my body needs them. instead i’ve learned to take exactly what i need for the day – and if i find i’m hungry then i just have to make a special trip to the store.
I’ve heard about this concept and seems interesting and while I don’t count calories too much I do watch portions and it’s served me well as I have lost 25 pounds since April, my weight loss in two years! And believe me controlling portion sizes when you are Puerto Rian is a challenge! We love our portions big & hefty…lol.
i am so proud of you for that jar of pickles. they look awesome!! i don’t even count pickles towards my calories, haha!
I totally thought of you when I saw them at the market!!!
I am participating in the “Get Well Challenge” too. We met at the meeting, I was sitting a few seats from you, anyway, I go for my goal setting session tonight and while I know weight loss is an obvious goal for me I am working to come up with some others…Good Luck!
Oh awesome!!! It’s fun meeting other people in the challenge! I think I’m going to check out Cross Fit on Monday night if you want to join
I’ve lost a lot of weight (slowly) by tracking my food and exercise, so I know that it’s very effective – but one of my goals is to *try* to listen to my body more – not just through intuitive eating (I still track my food intake, even though I am less restrictive than I used to be) but also by backing off from the overly rigorous cardio schedule I’d held for the last couple of years. I’m really trying to work toward a more realistic fitness regimen, still getting in plenty of cardio – but instead of every day sometimes multiple times per day, I’m substituting in things like pilates and yoga in place of some of my previously scheduled runs. My body still feels challenged and I’m seeing results, but I’m not feeling as run down and mentally worn out!
That’s so awesome!!! I definitely notice a difference when I cross train, rather than just cardio (which I’m totally guilty of doing!)
Intuitive eating is so hard for me! Handfuls of peanuts are not ok to have 10 times a day! haha
HAHA! Those pickles have changed my life. I’m not even kidding. I was at the Carytown Farmer’s market 3 weeks ago and they tried to get me to sample. I said…no way, I do not like pickles at all. Usually I freak out if pickle juice even gets near my sandwich. For some reason I obliged…and then proceeeded to happily hand over 7 bucks for a jar. I’m already out.
Hahaha aren’t they amazing?! I literally keep eating them straight from the jar. If you like those, you should definitely try the pickles from the MagnaCarta food truck! They’re also super good!
I’m with ya–I can see the benefits of intuitive eating and why some people have trouble with counting calories, but if I don’t keep track somewhat? I will intuitively eat that entire jar of peanut butter in one sitting.
Hahaha me too!!! Me + PB + Spoon = trouble.
I love intuitive eating as a concept, but it’s soooo hard to do in practice. I think it’s mainly because there are so many factors that influence our desire to eat, that it’s hard to sort through them and figure out what’s really going on. That being said, I moved away from tracking calories in favor of a more intuitive approach and find that it’s actually working really great for me. My calorie counting was just too obsessive, and I love the freedom that intuitive eating gives me.
That’s so awesome! My goal is to get somewhere in between… I can’t quite trust my “intuition” yet
But that’s awesome that you’re able to relax on the calorie counting! It’s easy to get it get obsessive!
I can definitely understand what you are saying and agree on all levels..sometimes I am good w/ intuitive and sometimes I am not. I now basically just do a mix of both now.. when I make my own food, I eat and eat and eat..but if I am out, I pay attention to how I feel and stop when I get full… etc. Great post!
I don’t actually write my calories down, but I keep an informal count in my head. I tend to get hunt up on numbers, so I can’t keep a firm count. You should totally get involved with more classes, though. They are great #beastmode tools!
http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
I honestly didn’t even know there was a name for it, and I literally fell upon it by accident. I always thought I would be counting calories until the day I died, but it seems I am MORE successful, NOT tracking calories. Crazy, I know.
My major goal this week is to keep tracking. My tracking obsession last week led me to a good loss at WW on Saturday…2 and 1/4 pounds. I was happy and it’s motivating me to continue!
Fran that’s awesome!!! Congrats!
I’m trying to find an approach that’s somewhere between intuitive eating and calorie counting. Basically, I’ve moved away from obsessively planning and logging all of my meals/snacks and just eating what I feel like, when I’m hungry… but within that framework, I try to keep within my calorie budget for the day, which prevents mindless snacking and overeating. So far it’s been working pretty well – I like the more relaxed approach but I do need some measure of structure/accountability because I’m the kind of person who will always want to eat more than what I need. I just love food a little too much.
Intuitive eating is great concept but much harder to practice. I’m with you; I don’t believe in diets and feel they aren’t sustainable. My goal is to build some muscle so I need to do more strength training. By the way, Your pizza looks amazing.
Intuitive eating is a great concept but much harder to practice. I’m with you; I don’t believe in diets and feel they aren’t sustainable. My goal is to build some muscle so I need to do more strength training. By the way, Your pizza looks amazing.
The pizza was amazing indeed
I’m hoping to work on strength training after I finish the half marathon training stuff. Right now, running seems to be my focus! 
I do not know how you were able to stop at just one slice. That alone deserves an award
I was just at the gym the other day when one of the trainers and I got to talking…she told me that she noticed I’d lost some weight and asked what I’d been doing…at first, I felt silly saying that I had started to count calories, but she immediately responded with “I know, I should do the same!” Like you, I love the “idea” of intuitive eating, but it just doesn’t really work for me. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely do my best to listen to my body’s hunger cues and cravings (especially after my chocolate chip fiasco), but by tracking my calories AND my portions, I’m able to trust myself around snacky things like chips, granola, and chocolate chips!
My main goal right now is to build muscle. I’ve lost the weight I wanted, but now I just want to tone up…and get biceps like (Sprint 2 the Table) Laura’s! Lol
First thing first: I need those pickles.
Secondly, I use MyFitnessPal and even though a lot of times the multiple spoonfuls of peanut butter I eat every night don’t make it into the tracker, it keeps me on course throughout the day, with calcium and protein and water consumption.
Intuitive eating is a great concept, and for the most part I eat what my body craves…but I also have a crazy mental calorie counter in my brain (I think most girls do, sad to say) so I tend to know how much I am consuming.