Recapping my week – logged 7/7 days, doing well staying in the low half of my maintenance leeway, summer humidity is here. Keepin’ weight off! Keepin’ activity up!
Finally stopped ignoring the literal weeds in my literal garden and put in 45 minutes of weeding in lieu of walking – now 2 days in a row. Fewer steps on the counter but the body still got it (and the garden needed it).
Who’s lurking? How was your week? Let’s hear it!
Lost now up to 3kg since starting calorie counting which is great. Yesterday was an appointment with a dietician and I left with mixed feelings, she suggested dropping the calorie counting, but just keep a food diary that also would includes emotional status reporting (the aim is to bring across more self reflection and for me to learn to „listen to my body“) not sure whether I am ready to give up the control calorie counting provides though. I might just keep two food journals for now.
I think her motivation for having me stop calorie counting is that I tend to swing back and forth between phases of dietary control and the opposite so she wants me to practice moderation. I just feel tje appropriste time for moderation Training might rather be when my BMI is <25 and currently it’s >35
Congrats on -3 kg!
In my country, a dietitian is a medial professional complete with a license to practice and substantial education and testing. If your dietitian is such a professional, don’t disregard their advice lightly. She probably wouldn’t approve of my calorie counting, though – lately the trend in that area of practice is to keep most people away from counting. I think that trend is an overreaction so I’m of mixed views on what you should do.
I’m a 9 year calorie counter and maintaining my weight loss, but I track more for the data and informing my habit-forming and self-restraint efforts rather than direct them. While I have a loose target calorie amount in mind, I’m loose in its enforcement in that I could be +/- up to 300 of it most days and sometimes (more rarely) as much as +/- 700 of it. I want the data to guide, but I don’t want the tool to replace my rational volition.
There isn’t a lot of room for moderation in a deficit. You’re already cutting -500 to -1000, most questions are going to be answered negatively. But (in my view), it still needs to be about your choice and habits and not the “calorie limit.” If the tool becomes the way too much, we start to lose the larger perspective.
I contemplate to still count calories but be more liberal with my deficit and follow up on her advice to track my emotions. That would “secure” me against uncontrolled eating while also following up on her advice on listening to my body and being less strict.
She is a registered dietician with the national dietician’s organisation. and overall she didn’t ring the pseudo-science alarm bell, to which I am quite sensitive.