Counting Calories

Counting calories gets a bad rap, but I like it. Now, I could be crazy; I like to weigh myself daily too. But it's not just random. I have my reasons for liking these things.

I like to count calories because it makes me take a close look at what I'm eating. I have to think about each thing I put in my mouth, and that means that I can use it to reeducate myself about food. I like breads. I like to bake them, and I like to eat them. But they're pretty calorie-dense, so I need to balance them with fruits and veggies. Happily those are tasty too. To me, it's all about balance, and learning to get my portion sizes right so that I can eat good food and not be hungry. Counting calories helps me figure out what that's going to look like on my plate. It makes me realize how much of a difference it makes to have an apple for a snack, instead of half a bagel with some tasty spread on it. My counting is teaching me to make better choices.

As for the scale, I know that conventional wisdom says to do it only once a week. But if I do it daily or near-daily then I see the small progress, which is very motivating, and if I'm eating poorly then the scale will wake me up. But only if I stand on it. When I weigh daily, I notice and correct quickly. If I wait a whole week i may gain a pound or two, which I find very frustrating, and that just kills my motivation.

And, because I weigh frequently I know that I'm already down a pound. I like that.