Plain and simple, I love to eat. I eat healthy about 90% of the time, meaning I try to choose foods free of preservatives, additives, trans fat, hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners. I do let myself splurge, which means that if I feel like having a cheeseburger and fries, I will and do not feel guilty for doing so.
I believe food should be enjoyed, so I do not count calories because I think it would take away from the enjoyment of food for me and become an obsession, instead of a pleasurable experience. Some people can count calories and have a healthy relationship with food, but it is just something that I prefer not to do.
It is a good idea to eat healthy and exercise, but sometimes it can be easy to get caught up with the number on the scale. For example, sometimes someone will be so concerned with the number of calories s/he consumes that s/he will go for a low-calorie food item, even though it contains artificial sweeteners or other ingredients that are not so healthy. Or, sometimes someone will be so concerned with how much s/he weighs that s/he becomes obsessed with the number on the scale. Remember, just like age is only a number, your weight is only a number. The number on the scale does not tell you whether you are getting the correct amount of nutrients and vitamins a day or if you are truly healthy. So don’t freak out if you go over your goal weight or eat one too many desserts one night. Just start over the next day!
I guess my point is that we should really just strive to be good to our bodies, which means not overdoing things. Eat your fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc., and also exercise, but try not to let it rule your life! Be proud of your body and all that it does for you and every now and then let yourself splurge and enjoy that burger!
August 30th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
i liked this little post. my scale’s batteries died the other month and i just havent gotten around to replacing them… and i think it was a good decision. i used to be mad if i was 1 or 2 lbs heavier than i wanted to be, but hell–i usually already eaten breakfast or drank a ton of water! focusing on a number is dangerous!
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Thanks! I agree that focusing on a number is dangerous! Like you said, a lot of things contribute to that number….but we often forget/overlook that fact and thus it becomes hard to keep the number in perspective.
February 28th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I think this is a very healthy way of thinking. I envy you your outlook and feel it would be much more enjoyable than what I’m doing, which is counting what feels like a paltry number of calories. But I have just been diagnosed with prediabetes and I know that I HAVE to lose 20 lbs or else I’m facing medication/insulin or worse. I’m scared into counting calories but wonder if “your way” would work as well…
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Thanks!
Have you seen a Registered Dietitian? Maybe he/she could help develop a food/meal plan for you that is not so focused on the calories, but rather the food groups?
March 12th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I LOVE this post. For LENT this year I gave up weighing myself on the scale everyday. It was the best thing I could ever do for my body and mind. Finally, I am FREE of the scale and I realize that it’s not about the number that I see every morning, Its about how I feel. Knowing I’m putting good food into my body and exercising is enough proof that I am healthy, I don’t need to see a number on the scale!
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Yay, good for you! That’s awesome!
October 19th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Love this philosophy! I try to eat healthy and love my fruits/veggies!!!/whole-grains/lean proteins (eggs, tofu, chicken, etc)….but I eat that AND my ‘sweets’. I adore ice cream and eat cookies everyday…I also eat way toooo much nut butters in a day (with trail mix snacks…yikes fat content
…but whatever, I’m tired of stressing over it and comparing myself to others and feeling ‘guilty’ . Blah…I’m just going to go with the flow. I just started my own blog and any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Hi, thanks for stopping by! That’s awesome about going with the flow and having a good balance of eating healthy foods but also having cookies and ice cream!
Will definitely check out your blog!
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I just came across your blog and I REALLY like this post. I feel that food should be enjoyable, and that theres more to life than body image and concerns on what you look like. Although I firmly believe this, I sometimes allow myself to get too caught up on looking a certain way, then I smack myself in the back of the head and realize what I am doing. I also eat healthy 90% of the time, but if I wanna go for a dessert, I will, no shame:)
Thanks a lot for this post, I think more people ought to read it, its very insightful:)
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Hi Michelle, thank you so much for stopping by! I am glad that you liked this post, and thank you for the nice comment and your insight as well!
It’s great that you are able to recognize when you get too caught up in looking a certain a way. There’s of course nothing wrong with wanting to look good, but sometimes people take it too far, and sometimes don’t even realize it. I think that logically people know that they need food for fuel and that there’s nothing wrong with having less healthy foods from time to time as long as it’s in moderation. But I think that emotionally people feel like, “Oh I need to look a certain way” and it can be tied to so many things, whether pressure from society, pressure from just being too hard on yourself, pressure to fit in, or just a skewed perception/perspective that if you eat one dessert you will automatically gain weight, or that certain foods are “good” and certain foods are “bad.”
I think that when people are able to view food as fuel and nourishment for their bodies, and also as something that is enjoyable, it is a bit easier to maintain a healthy relationship with food because, like you said, you are able to recognize when you are getting too caught up in things such as looks. Just to use a general example, I think that sometimes people get so caught up in looking good, and think the only way to do so is to be skinny, that they start depriving themselves of the foods they love and/or just food in general and/or start overexercising. So they look at food as just calories to be counted and keep track of, or how many calories they need to burn in order to lose weight. They just see food as a number. But if you look at food as fuel for your body, you might recognize that food is much more than just a number/a certain amount of calories. Food provides nutrients and vitamins that are much needed by your body. And food gives you the energy you need in order to be able to exercise, so you need to make sure to eat healthy, balanced meals.
And like you said, when food is seen as enjoyable, it’s awesome because you can eat things like dessert and not feel guilty about it!
Wow, my response was really long! Sorry about that! A lot of it was just reiterating what you said, and maybe expanding on it a bit more? Hopefully you don’t mind, and hopefully I didn’t sound too preachy!
Again, thank you for your comment and insight as well!
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:45 am
I totally used to be that person that only looked at the calories and didn’t look at the ingredients. I shudder to think of how many chemicals and artificial sweeteners I was eating. When I stopped counting calories and started looking at ingredients, I not only enjoyed my food so much more, but I also felt so much better (and my skin cleared up!) It’s definitely important to look at the big picture and eat HEALTHY foods, not low calorie foods. (Michal Pollan’s In Defense of Food really changed my life!!)
Thanks for the great post
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:54 am
Liz ~ Thanks for your comment! I think being able to enjoy eating food is such a huge part of having a healthy relationship with food! I feel like calorie counting can sometimes start out as more of an awareness of how much you are eating, but then many people become a slave to calories – like you can’t go over a certain amount or a snack has to be a certain amount of calories. I think it’s such a misconception that calories are the end all be all. It’s not! It’s so important to make sure you are eating a variety of foods, so that you have a balanced diet of carbs, protein, etc, and you get the proper vitamins and nutrients you need! I think that the number of calories in food does not really tell you a whole lot, which is why everyone should look at the whole nutrition label, plus the ingredients!
I’m so glad you are choosing to eat healthy foods, not low calorie foods! I think foods that are a bit higher in calories (and similarly, low fat instead of nonfat) are much more satisfying and therefore you are more likely to eat the portion size, whereas with low calorie options, I think people might eat more of it, which then negates the whole point! And I think sometimes the low calorie foods have worse ingredients than the higher calorie foods!
I’ll have to read “In Defense of Food”…
January 8th, 2012 at 11:22 am
I absolutely love what you have to say here. Although I don’t like to admit it, body image plays a huge factor in my life and it’s something I struggle with on a consistent basis… no fun! However, it’s something I’m truly working on and praying about and I think slowly I will continue to see all the good things that I have failed to look at in the past. I think it’s especially important to cut yourself a bit of slack when you over indulge one day… it’s all about forgiving yourself and starting over the next day.
January 24th, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Katie,
Thank you for your comment. I’ll reply back soon. Thanks!
February 14th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
This is perfectly put. I agree with everything that you have posted here. It feels so much better to just actually enjoy food and nourish our bodies, rather than focus on numbers.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Tiffany ~ Thanks so much! That’s great that you feel the same
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:26 pm
Katie ~ I apologize for yet another delay!
I started writing some long response to you, but have no idea where it went! Thank you for your sweet comment! I agree with what you said – it’s definitely important to give yourself a break if you’re not “perfect” one day, and I think that can apply as much to eating habits as well as everyday life. I think once you forgive yourself, it’s easier to just kind of start over the next day, since it’s like starting over with a clean slate, a clean start. It’s really easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect, but not as easy to maintain that perfection. I think it would drive anyone crazy! This, coming from a perfectionist! I know that I sometimes get so caught up in the details of things, that I just start beating myself up. And for what? It never does any good. Better to just give yourself a break, realize what is a priority and what’s not, what is a big deal and what’s not, and to give yourself permission to make mistakes and actually enjoy life!