Calorie Counting

I had a hard time keeping my eyes open yesterday.  I woke up, made breakfast and took a nap; I went to the doctor, made lunch, and took a nap; I had a snack, watched some Netflix, and took a nap.  Are we seeing a repeating pattern?

The good news is I made it to the doctor yesterday and listened to him get a little angry at his staff for telling me I couldn’t come in yesterday and instead wound up in the ER.  Have I told you I love my doctor?  He took a look at my tests from yesterday and felt around the area of my spine that was in pain.  He thinks it’s a tension headache as we store most of our stress in our neck, shoulders and upper back.  He recommended more yoga (it’s a good thing I’m committing to 3 days / week with the Yoga Challenge), wrote a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer, told me to take it easy and come back to see him next week.

I’m not completely sold on the tension headache but I’m moving more each day and I have been pretty stressed out so I guess it does make sense.  I just can’t explain the pain I felt on my spine on Thursday; almost like someone took a hammer to your spine over and over.  It was far from pleasant.

But I’m on the road to recovery and that’s the most important thing.

Anyway, I wanted to check in with the FitMixer bootcamp.  I’ve mentioned the workouts have been awesome and I’ve briefly touched upon the calorie counting but I think there’s more to be said, especially now that I’m 1/3 of the way through bootcamp.

I’m not one for counting calories.  I eat with intention and strongly believe that we can enjoy all foods as long as it’s in moderation.  But that doesn’t mean I’m in any way perfect and this has been a reminder that I still have work and obstacles to overcome.  Like stress or boredom eating.  We all do it.  And if you say you don’t, then I challenge you to count your calories (every bite you take in) for a week and then tell me you still believe that statement.

Because I’ve found myself walking to the kitchen while I’m bored looking for a snack, only to realize I’m not actually hungry.  I never really considered myself a boredom eater, so it’s been interesting to catch myself in the act a few times.  I’m working to break this habit.

Beside when you become aware of the foods you’re putting in your body, their nutritional value and compare it with your goals for the day, you get a real sense of the term “empty” calories. For example, marshmallows are a real weak spot for me.  I love nothing more than a soft fluffy and melty marshmallow.  And I can eat 4 of those big marshmallows for only 100 calories.  Doesn’t seem bad until you eat them for your afternoon snack and realize you’re still hungry and they’re not going to hold you over until dinner.  Does it mean I skip the marshmallows? No, but it does mean I only eat a couple, ripped in 1/2 and topped on 2 graham cracker squares.

Sometimes with a few chocolate chips too! 😉

And let’s not forget my favorite dinner as of late: a huge salad topped with 1/2 avocado, 1/3 cup defrosted frozen mixed veggies tossed in a light balsamic and topped with either 2 over easy eggs or a veggie patty.  Seems like a lot of food while I’m eating it and yet it comes in right around 300 calories.  That meal holds me over; that meal is a much better use of my calories.

Conclusion: calorie counting isn’t that bad. It’s eye-opening and definitely a helpful tool for those looking to lose weight or even just get a better sense of their eating habits.

Is it something I’m going to continue post-bootcamp? Not regularly but from time to time, yes because it’s a great way to just check-in with your eating and hunger.

Have you ever counted calories? If so, did you have any revelations or conclusions?  If not, would you ever?