Have you tracked calories for most of your life? If so, you are not alone. Many people believe that counting calories can aid in weight loss, which could be true, but counting calories, in my opinion, can be exhausting. 

Think about this scenario. You’re at your friend's house for a cookout. You are very strict on what you eat and count every calorie before it enters your body. You get to the cookout and realize it will be challenging to really count your calories. So there are a few ways this could go. One, you whip out your phone and open the MyFitnessPal app and start logging as much food as possible. You put your best guess in and still worry that you could be off. You take up so much time putting in the calories that your food gets cold, you miss the conversation, and you aren’t even interested in really eating much. 

Secondly, you could not eat at all because you prefer your prepped meals that you eat at home because you know exactly how many calories are in each portion size. You pretend like you aren’t hungry and try to smile through it. You don’t eat any of the delicious cookout food and then eat your packaged meal once you get home. 

Third off, you don’t track this meal. You allow it to be your “cheat” meal and you go wild. You allow yourself to eat whatever and how much you want. You gorge yourself and then immediately feel shame. You believe you are out of control when it comes to food and you're so thankful that you will go back to calorie counting for your next meal to regain control. 

Have you been in any of these scenarios or something like it? I have too and if you have been dieting and tracking calories or macros this might even seem normal. But what if you could live a life full of true freedom? What if the scenario went like this?

You go to your friends house for a cookout. You’re hungry and glad there are foods there. You aren’t allergic to any food so you can have whatever sounds satisfying to you. You fix yourself up a hot dog, spoon yourself some pasta salad, put some fruit on your plate, and grab a handful of chips. You eat until you are full and leave a little bit of your burger on your plate because you are full and don’t want to exceed that feeling. You don’t think about the food you’re eating because you trust that you know how to nourish your body. You engage in conversations, you meet new people, and you have the mental capacity to be fully present. You leave the party and go to bed without any thoughts of guilt or shame. You don’t feel the need to track anything and you don’t feel the need to work off the food you ate. You are content and glad you went to the cookout. 

That scenario doesn’t have to be a dream. It could be a reality, I promise! Letting go of dieting and dieting rules is one step towards true food freedom. 

So how do I stop counting calories so I can intuitively eat?

Delete your calorie counting app. Yup, that’s right delete it and don’t look back. Getting rid of the app can help decrease the trigger or need to input your calories. When you are sitting there logging your calories you aren’t being present. I know it is hard, but this is the right step in building trust with your body.

Work on how you reframe food. If you have been counting calories for a long time, you probably know without looking that two pieces of bread are X number of calories and 1 banana is this many calories. Instead of viewing food as numbers, view food based on how good it tastes, how nourishing it is to your body, how energized you’ll feel, etc. Reframing how we view food is one step closer to kicking calorie counting to the curb. 

Find yourself an accountability partner. As I said above, if you have been tracking calories for a long time then rewiring your brain to not focus on calories will take awhile. You will need encouragement and support to not re-download that tracking app. Share with a friend your goals and ways they can help support you. Work with a therapist or dietitian to help provide you with tools to keep you from going back to the calorie counting way of life. I know from experience, that when you have someone believing in you, you begin to believe in yourself. That feeling is amazing!

Focus on your hunger and fullness. When you listen to your body and trust your signals and cues you are able to nourish your body the best way possible. So instead of eating to hit a certain number of calories, eat when you are hungry and stop when you feel full. It sounds simple, but after years and years of ignoring our internal cues we may need to focus a little more on the simplicity of eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. If you want to know more about honoring your hunger or respecting your fullness check out blogs I have written about the two!

Being free of calorie counting is possible! I know it is hard, but you got it! One day, you’ll realize how far you have come, and what a special day that will be. :)