ED Habits To Break - Counting Calories

If it's not obvious enough, you need to give up your disordered eating habits to recover from your disordered eating. But are you totally aware of what you have to give up? The next few days, I'll be posting on a series of habits that I feel will sabotage your recovery! First up, COUNTING CALORIES.

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Yes, we all know it's hard. But it's possible and I can assure you that because i don't count calories anymore. How? I think to start off you need to delete MY FITNESS PAL (RECOVERY KILLER I SWEAR). Promise yourself to not google up on calories either. Of course this doesnt instantaneously make you stop counting calories, but it's the first step.

Secondly, instead of using precise numbers, use estimates. Instead of 105 calories, take it as 100. If you think you ate 100 calories worth of snacks, estimate it and don't go and find out the exact value off the nutrition label. This might sound dumb, like "how is this even helping me?" but I assure you, this can help you slowly get rid of counting calories.

After you stop using precise values, you need to stop totaling up your day's calories. HIDE YOUR CALCULATORS. Yes this may be hard but you'll get used to it eventually. You can start off totaling meals only and not the whole day's worth of calories. Then slowly stop totaling the total daily intake of energy you consumed. You can still continue estimating the different calories of food though (e.g. "I think this biscuit is about 15 calories") but don't think too much about it. That thought of the biscuit being 15 calories should not bother your mind any more after you have eaten it.

Lastly, you'll realize you won't count calories anymore! After you don't total up your day's calories for about 1 week, it'll become like a norm. Off course it takes CONSCIOUS EFFORT AND SELF DISCIPLINE. Put away My Fitness Pal! Put away your calculators! Put away google! You can do this :)

So to summarize : 1. Delete any apps that count calories
                             2. Don't use exact figure (e.g. 146 cal) instead use estimates
                                 (e.g. 140 cal)
                              3. Total up individual meals instead of total daily intake
                                 (e.g. lunch was 600 cal)
                              4. Don't total up meals but total up single foods instead
                                  (e.g. rice = 200 cal)
                              5. Try to not think of calories at all when you eat anything
                              6. Free from counting calories :)