It is earlier than I usually post but I have a minute now.
Let's just figure my food will be exactly the same as yesterday except for breakfast. Usually I have two hard boiled eggs. Today I had three. I was really hungry this morning!
Last night I said I had avocado with dinner. I really didn't. I cut the avocado up and then threw it in the freezer. Weird I know, but the avocado had been on the counter and I prefer it to be on the cooler side. I threw it in the freezer and proceeded to prep the rest of dinner. This morning I went into the freezer and there was my little plate of avocado, frozen solid. Duh.
I need some opinions (not because I can't think for myself but I value the knowledge and advice of those who are ahead of me in fitness). The Whole 30 recommends not counting calories:
Your only job for the next 30 days is to focus on making good food choices. You don’t need to weigh or measure, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to stress about organic, grass-fed, pastured or free range. Just figure out how to stick to the Whole30 in any setting, around every special circumstance, under any amount of stress… for the next 30 days. Your only job? Eat. Good. Food.
It also says not to weigh or measure:
One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer. So, no weighing yourself, analyzing body fat or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30. (We do encourage you to weigh yourself before and after, however, so you can see one of the more tangible results of your efforts when your program is over.)
I pretty much threw the first one out the window. I am counting calories. I do not trust myself yet to be able to eyeball food and determine appropriate portion sizes. Although I find I am eating a lot of food and it is in the 1200- 1300 calorie range.
To weigh or not to weigh? What do you think? Part of me is slightly panicky at not weighing. This is how I determine if I've gone off the rails.
The other part of me knows that if I continue sticking to the Whole 30 I will lose weight. It is not possible that a 269 pound woman that eats 1200-1300 calories will fail to lose weight, no matter what the Trainwrecks say. It would be cool to get on the scale in July and see a much lower number rather than a couple here and there.
I am undecided, what say you?
I think if you want to weigh/measure foods that are high calorie or that you think you might tend to over-eat (nuts would be an example) that might be helpful. I could easily put away two cups of almonds or walnuts -- not even kidding -- without a second thought. But it's doubtful I would eat 14 ounces of steak without noticing, you know? Calories have their place in weight loss, but if you're sticking to Whole 30, I think the point of it is to see that a whole foods diet pretty much regulates itself; doesn't require all the thought and obsession of "moderation" or "plans" because it's basically this whole huge group of foods that you eat, and then another huge group of foods you *don't* eat. I think it's good that you've been tracking calories for several days and then pretty much repeating the same menu items. When I got into the clean eating thing years ago, that's kind of how it went for me. I ate basically the same 15-20 foods in rotation so it became automatic that days would fall into a certain calorie range w/out my needing to weigh/measure/track. It does become habit.
ReplyDeleteHey, Hi...Lurker here...
ReplyDeleteI'm not Paleo but I follow a similar diet (clean foods, low carbs, no sugars etc.) that also says there's no need to count calories. I do it anyway. For me, eliminating the carbs has completely decimated my cravings and appetite (which is just awesome, as far as I am concerned--it gives me the mental/emotional space to make good diet choices). On this diet, two things have happened--1) if I'm busy or not paying attention, I don't eat enough because I am just not very hungry (unregulated, I might eat <600 calories/day) and, 2) I sometimes still fall into behavior-oriented traps like eating when I am bored or otherwise not actually hungry. At times, I was overeating on roast chicken or steak or, basically, binging on low-carb foods. So weighing, counting, and measuring keeps me honest on both ends of the spectrum and, to be honest, I enjoy crunching the numbers. I strive to achieve a planned deficit daily and weekly and (over the long term) I do see the anticipated results so this helps me to stay balanced about the progress of my weightloss.
Good luck to you! -- Emily