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Thursday 27 August 2009

100 Day Challenge - Day 68 - The Pros and Cons

I am a bit confused about whether NOT counting calories and NOT weighing myself is preventing me from putting on fat. As I have no feedback mechanism, except for how I look (and we all know how accurate (*sarcasm*) that can be with body dismorphia and all) so I don't know if I'm eating enough, too much or too little.

Here is my list for and against standing on the scales.

Pros
  1. I will have concrete evidence whether I am gaining or losing weight
  2. I will be motivated to be more disciplined when I face up to the large number I am expecting
Cons
  1. I will instantly want to go back into 'dieting' mode
  2. I will be depressed about the number and hate myself instead of loving myself
  3. The scales lie, so scale gains/losses is not concrete evidence of how my nutrition is affecting my body fat levels
  4. I will restart the starve/binge cycle
  5. I will prioritize how I look over how I feel
  6. I will become a slave to the number
So, obviously standing on the scales is not what I need right now when my goal is to live a life full of energy and passion at a size I can maintain without constant calorie restriction and excessive exercise.

My highest hope belief is that by eating clean, unprocessed, natural foods my body will have the nutrients, hormones and enzymes it needs to regulate my body fat levels without any extreme effort from me. I want to let food be food again and not the enemy.

Going back on a calorie restricted diet has never helped me get to my goal weight and stay there. No matter how I approach it, I always end up in rebound binge world.

Giving up counting calories and weighing myself is unfamiliar, uncomfortable and frightening but if it works in the long run then I will be so much better off. As each day passes, I learn to listen to my body and hunger signals a little bit more.

This is how naturally thin people eat and it works for them, so there is no reason why it can't work for me.

  • What is your strategy for making decisions when you are confused?
  • Can you see the merit in both sides of any argument?
  • Do you maintain your 'ideal body' by counting calories and/or weighing yourself?
  • Are naturally thin people just genetic freaks that we hate?

4 comments:

  1. Oh Katie, I wish there was a one size fits all solution! I was more confident until I took pics of myself yesterday-big mistake, it's worse than the scale. I'm just sticking to eating as clean as possible and dealing with my emotions when they arise, I'm not giving up so easily ;)

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  2. Katie, I really think it all boils down to the context in which we view the scale and logging. If I'm in action mode, I view both as a necessary evil...ie if I don't need to log (based on how my clothes fit and how I look, I don't! You see I'm naturally lazy. Right now, I'm logging to prove to myself how much I can actually eat without turning into the Goodyear Blimp. And it's surprising because it's more than I thought!

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  3. (Laughing) Yes, naturally thin people are freaks we hate!!

    When you work out the answer let me know will you honey?

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  4. @Cathy - it is strange how not liking what we see drives us to worse behaviour rather than better ...
    @Liz - how much can you eat then?
    @Shelley - you'll be the first to know ♥

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