Finding balance (or trying to at least)
Great question today from Angela about my decision to start counting calories. Made me think!! (thank you) 
I think it's very important to understand the WHY behind our decisions.
Rather than hog her blog with the answer, thought I would put it here.
The overall reason is to find balance.
You all know I exercise. It's something that I'm consistant with. I don't dread it. I enjoy it. I'm going to go as far as to say I love it. 
I eat well, but I'm all over the place with consistency on how much I eat. I eat too much some days, I don't eat near enough on others. More often than not I don't eat enough. When I do eat too much it's usually when I've skipped meals or by grazing.
I'm SHOCKED at how many calories I've been adding in from grazing. SHOCKED!!
I've been asked this before "What do you mean by not eating "enough"?" Food is fuel. Of course, that's completely contrary to what the "diet revolution" was telling us when I started onto the diet scene. Eat less, especially if you exercise, is what everyone was saying.
The truth is, when you exercise you burn a ton of energy. If you don't eat enough energy to FUEL your body, your body will actually become a fat storing machine rather than a fat burning machine.
So...
I am trying to use a certain number of calories as a goal to reach for the day. A way to help me obtain balance. I believe that when I exercise, 1,300 - 1,400 calories is a good number for the day to create balance. Eating enough to maintain the workouts, but not too much as to overfill the tank.
The numbers 1,300 - 1,400 is what the trainer had me doing last spring. Somedays 1,500 if the workout was really intense. That is the number my sister gave me over the weekend as well. She actually said 1,200 would be better. That is why I am choosing those numbers. The numbers on those calorie counting sites tell me I should be eating 2000 cals a day. Both the trainer and my sister kinda let out a little *gasp* when I told them that.
My calories are coming from the whole foods I have been eating.
- Water rich foods (fruit and veggies)
- lean protein (fish, chicken breast, lean pork, egg whites, etc..
- non-processed carbohydrates (sweet potatoes, oatmeal *not the boxed kind in little packages* brown rice, etc.) Not a lot of bread, crackers, pasta, etc...
- Trying to stay away from things that are boxed or pre-packaged. Not finding my calories from low cal snack packs.
I'm looking for foods that will FUEL my body. Foods that add nutrients to my cells.
Eating LEAN, CLEAN, AND GREEN!!!
I will still take a weekly FREE DAY, and I will take it with pleasure. When restricting food (IE caloires), not only is a free day psychologically beneficial, it helps to convince your body that you are not starving it. Therefore, it will NOT hold onto the fat.
Of course, balance is key on a free day too. It's not a "free-for-all" day.
I am planning on using the number as a guide and plan to count calories temporarily, probably till just the end of the year. I am doing just calories this week, will look at tracking fat grams next week, proteins and carbs the following week. (not trying to do too much at once) I am building a database of my favorite foods and the ultimate goal is to be able to use that to create menus that we like as a family.
The bottom line is this. My results have slowed down considerably. It HAS to be the food. It has to be. My exercise effort is consistant and I don't mess around at the gym. I'm willing to take this approach to my eating see if it helps me jump start my results again.
I don't mind the counting. I eat a lot of the same foods daily anyway. I'm learning to measure my food again, as I had gotten a little relaxed with that. I'm learning my portions can use some adjusting. I am finding that I'm hungry soon after eating, causing me to eat those small meals more often.
I also FEEL smaller in just the few short days I have been doing it. Talk about instant gratification.
I am eating a lot of the same foods, just using the calorie thing as a guide. A goal to work toward eat day. I'm looking to obtain ultimate balance with this.
So far, so good, as it seems to be helping. Thanks for asking because it helped ME understnad by writing all of this. Will keep you all posted. Alicia
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MYTH: If you exercise, it doesn't matter what you eat.
FACT: If you exercise, it matters EVEN MORE what you eat.
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