My sister and husband are what I call "naturally thin" people. They do NOT think about food like I do. IN fact, most of the time they could take it or leave it. There is no emotional attachment to it at all, an idea that seems so foreign to me. To them food, quite literally, is a fuel source, as it should be. But for someone like me, who has managed to lose 100 pounds naturally, food is a past addiction that has to be constantly monitored. Even a decade later, I know how easy it is for me to fall back into old habits. Seasons in life bring out the past addiction quite easily, and honestly IT'S SO FREAKING FRUSTRATING!
I wish I didn't have the emotional aspect attached to food. I actually envy those that don't think about it and don't eat their feelings. I watch them eat without thought of it, and I'm honestly jealous.
Not thinking about food sounds like freedom to me.
My ten years of baby steps to dealing with my food addiction has paid off in the long run because I have managed to lose so much weight, but recently I found myself in a vicious cycle that wrecked havoc on my metal state. As I entered my 30's, I found myself trying to eat and look at food as my husband and sister did. I can eat like them, I thought. They are thin, and eat intuitively. If they can do it, so can I. Although what I quickly realized is that I can't. I gained 15 pounds without even blinking. I tried to lose it by my old methods of eating less and moving more. Yet, nothing. For three years I was in this cycle. I'd work out like a crazy person, then starve myself but ultimately be staaarrrvving and would eat whatever was in front of me until I was stuffed. I was tired, and lethargic. I had tight pants and couldn't fit into most of my closet. I was anxious and felt tormented by my effort and lack of results.
My hopelessness actually made me desperate. Nothing I was doing or previously did to lose weight was working. I was desperate to get off the crazy train. Can I just not struggle so much, please?
And as I whispered that soft plea under my breathe, I realized that I needed help because what I had been doing was obviously NOT working. My research led me to one thought... I have to track what I'm eating. Enter in counting macros. We've all heard that bit of wisdom before....to really know where your calories/money/time is going...you must track it. Now, this notion would sound like death to my husband who finds tracking anything like a prison sentence, and to be honest at first it sounded the same to me. But after much thought, I realized it was actually mandatory in order for me to get a grip and get off the crazy train. I had to know exactly how I was feeding my body.
You have to KNOW in order to make changes. You cannot blindly guess, you need concrete facts.
Macros simply are micro-nutrients and consist of Protein, Carbs, and Fats. Those are the three that I track every single day because those are the one's that are needed every day. I use the app My Fitness Pal which makes it so simple to know what my body needs based on my age, weight and activity level. At first I didn't even alter what I was eating, I just entered it in every day. And what I quickly realized was that I was SEVERELY under eating. I was eating half the amount of nutrients and calories that I really needed. It was jaw dropping and eye opening to say the least.
Because here's the thing...when you KNOW and can see what you are eating written down in any form, on a piece of paper or in an app, it makes you AWARE.
And that awareness is KEY to making changes.
And when you KNOW better you do BETTER. My tracking of macros has stopped me too many times to count from continuing to make poor eating choices. It also has helped me FEED my body the exact amount of nutrients that it actually needs on a daily basis. And the result from tracking? Sleeping better, more energy, and the icing on the cake, so to speak, dropping 10 pounds without changing my diet.
Try it for a week and see the magic that takes place. I dare you.
Blessings,
Carla
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