Stop Counting Calories

I'm not a diet fanatic.  I'm also not much of an exercise fanatic.  (Of course, I try not to be fanatical anyway--just relax....)  But I've been thinking a lot about the popular trend toward calorie counting--calories we eat and calories we burn.  I've heard several times that it's all a math equation--take in less than you put out, and you'll lose weight.  This may work, but I'm not sure it's the healthiest way to look at things.  

I think it's more about what you do and what you eat than it is about calories.  Something that is low in calories and low in nutrition isn't going to do you much good.  Isn't it better to eat something that is higher in calories, but healthy?  Full of good, useful calories instead of empty calories? 

And as far as burning calories goes, the common methods used to calculate how many calories you burn aren't accurate.  I've been using an app to keep track of the calories I've burned, but I mostly use it as a motivational tool.  My phone has a little icon on the front screen that reads how many calories I burn each week, and I mostly use it as a reminder to somehow fit exercise into my crazy days.  But I've noticed that it doesn't have a screen that includes a calculation of my muscle mass, or my body's fat percentage.  Can it accurately calculate how many calories I've burned without that information?  When I do an hour of pilates, it tells me I've burned 250 calories or so, but pilates makes me sweat as much as a weight training class--I am, after all, lifting my own weight in pilates, and that means I work harder than the skinny girl next to me.  Heavier people burn more calories going for a walk than thin people do because they have more weight to carry.  On the flip side, muscle tissue burns calories, so the more muscle mass you have, the faster you're going to burn calories.  I have a nephew who was a weight lifter and a diabetic, and he burned through his calories so quickly that he had to eat all day, or he was in trouble. Also, we burn calories constantly, even sitting down and working on the computer.

To sum up, the devices that attempt to count how many calories you burn can't possibly account for every calorie.  So, if you're trying to consume fewer calories than you are burning, and the calculation devices can't determine how many calories you're burning--and their estimate is probably very low--then you just might be eating less than you should. 

Any time I try to be a calorie-counting fanatic, I fail miserably.  I get hungry.  I binge.  I crave all the wrong foods because I'm denying myself something that makes me happy, and that rebellious streak comes up to bite me. 

So, I think I've found the solutions for me. Practical solutions.

-Exercise.  There are many benefits to exercise besides burning calories.  Weight bearing exercises strengthen bones as well as muscle, which is especially important for middle-aged women like me. Increase muscle mass--not in a fanatical, crazy way--so that metabolic rates are higher, and the body is more efficient.  Change up the routines--try a bit of everything.  Kick boxing, pilates, yoga, swimming, hiking, team sports, zumba, walking.  You plateau when you do the same thing over and over.  Routines are easier, and sometimes they are necessary (says the mother of a girl with autism), but shaking things up is better for your body and your mind. 

-Take vitamins.  Any exercise/diet program I've done works better when I'm taking vitamins. 

-Eat a whole grain, low sugar diet.  Well-rounded meals--including whole grains, a bit of protein, veggies and fruit--make me feel better.  If I eat well, then an occasional treat isn't going to hurt me.  Sugar is worse for us than fat, and there is sugar in everything now.  Even ketchup.  Sad, huh?  Again, I'm not fanatical.  I refuse to be.  I enjoy food, and I'm not going to deny myself too much.  I'm just going to eat smarter and eat until I'm not hungry anymore instead of eating until I'm full.  Also, we need to keep in mind that controling blood sugar is the most important thing we can do with our diets.  That's important whether we've been diagnosed with diabetes or not.  Sugar imbalance in our blood is also responsible for how quickly we pack on fat, and how hard that fat is for our bodies to break down.

-Drink water.  I love soda, but my body works better when I drink more water than soda.  And I always drink diet soda when I do drink it.  (see sugar discussion above.) Of course, there are arguments against artificial sweeteners.  I'm not sure what the answer is on those.  In many areas in my life, I just have to pick my battles, and because of my circumstances, I'm more worried about the battle with sugar than I'm worried about the battle with aspartame.  I may live to regret that, but we never know anyway.....

Practical, liveable, realistic.  Anything I do has to be practical, liveable, and realistic, or it won't last long.  My cholesterol dropped 50 points in the past year because of these changes in my lifestyle.  I haven't lost a bunch of weight, but I've lost enough that people have noticed and I'm wearing some of my daughters' clothes.  And when it comes down to it, it's about feeling healthy, having energy, and being able to be what I need to be for the people in my life--including myself.