An age-old question we hear in the weight management space is “Do I need to count calories?”.
While tracking our food intake can be very informative and encourages more mindful decision-making and eating behaviours, it does not have to be done in the traditional way of calorie counting.
Calorie counting often is inaccurate as most people do not track drinks, condiments and cannot accurately calculate meals bought outside of the home.
Furthermore, calorie counting in some individuals can be more problematic than helpful. For example, calorie counting may not be advisable if:
- It results in restrictive eating
- There is a hyperfocus on the numbers and anxiety
- It causes the person to create food rules, leading to guilt and shame
- It leads to all or nothing thinking and sabotage behaviours
- There is too much focus on the calorific value rather than the nutritional quality of the foods consumed
However, there is a more effective solution called self-monitoring that does not result in these stressors. Self-monitoring simply refers to paying attention to your everyday eating behaviours, including times of both positive and negative eating habits. It also helps to look at any emotions you may be experiencing, the associated behaviours and what might be running through your mind in that situation.
Self-monitoring does not involve counting calories as such. It tracks factors such as:
- Where you ate?
- What you ate?
- How much you ate? Portions/quantities
- How did you eat? Mindfully/mindlessly/emotionally
- Who you ate with?
- What were your thoughts and feelings?
- What were your achievements?
- What were your challenges?
This information provides much more insight into our eating habits and informs our behavioural intervention to capitalise on positive food behaviours and minimise or prevent negative food behaviours such as emotional eating, over-eating, secret eating or over-restriction.
Why not challenge yourself to a week of mindful eating and self-monitoring? You may surprise yourself with what you learn.
You can start self-monitoring using the following apps or ask your Behavioural Coach for a document to complete manually.
- Brighter Bite app
- Recovery Record
- See how you eat app
References
UK Government. (2021). Calorie labelling on menus to be introduced in cafes, restaurants and takeaways. Department of Health and Social Care. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/calorie-labelling-on-menus-to-be-int…Mahdawi, A. (2014). The unhealthy side of wearable fitness devices. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/03/unhealthy-wearabl…
Gerken, J. (2020). Stop the UK government putting calorie counts on restaurant menus. Change.org. Retrieved from: https://www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-stop-the-uk-government-putting-c…
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