Calories Don't Count!

For years I have been counting calories. I thought for too long that if I want to be successful in weight loss I needed to be hyper aware of my caloric intake. Years of practicing and counting led me to have a negative relationship with food. I began to fear eating, even when my stomach was starving because I didn't want to go over 1200 calories. I was also eating unhealthy food because it was low calorie. Diet coke for example: 0 calories, which in my mind meant that it wouldn't have any affect on my body, Wrong! Calories don't make sense because our bodies don't work off calories. They work of nutrients, protein, carbs, fats, and sugars. Everything else is just processed and stored or digested. Our bodies are amazing and they work so hard for us even when we are not treating them well. Which I have been doing to my body for a long time. Without understanding the body, its easy to put everything onto the calorie. Its an easy way for our brain to process what is good and what is bad. But our body doesn't work that way. We all have an awesome network of systems called: Metabolism. That is a post for another day but back to the calorie....

Here is the definition of a calorie:

The energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C 

What does the energy required to raise the temperature of water have to do with our bodies? We are not water, we have water inside us but once again we are not water.

I have heard all the calorie propaganda for years and it never made sense to me. Such as 3500 calories=1 pound of fat. The average person needs 2000 calories per day. In order to lose weight you must reduce you caloric intake by 500-600 calories and you should expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week. I am calling BS on all of that! Because its not true! My body has never worked that way no matter how much I wanted to believe it. If it were that simple there would not be such things as "plateaus" this phrase is used so much in the fitness and health industry. It describes a period of time in which your body will not lose any more weight. You either maintain or gain weight even though everything you are doing is the exact same as when you were losing weight. Its because your amazing body doesn't work off calories, it work off metabolism. I spent way to many nights or mornings upset because I starved myself all day and worked my butt off only to have the scale show that I lost nothing or even worse somehow managed to gain a half a pound or so. Not anymore, learning the bodies process from a professional with years of nutritional experience was a game changer for me. Most importantly it healed my relationship with food. 

I am here to start a revolution. Delete your calorie counting app my friend, and stop looking at the calorie number on the side of the food label. Instead look at the ingredients list. If you can't pronounce most of it, then its not food.  You can plan out healthy meals, eat real food, and keep treats as just treats. If you need help then you can research and read from the experts. The best thing I did for myself was type into google "Healthy diet books" it lead me to the fast metabolism diet and Haley Palmory. I am not hear to tell you what to do (well other then to stop counting calories, I will do that) Choose your own eating habits based on your own research. Then Join the revolution!

Its not about how much you eat. Its about what you eat!