Recovering from an eating disorder (ED) is a challenging journey, and one of the most difficult habits to break can be calorie counting.
If you are struggling with an ED, counting calories can provide a false sense of safety and control.
At the same time it feels obsessive and exhausting. It can hold you back from recovery by exacerbating fear of eating and preventing you from reconnecting with your body.
In this post, we’ll explore practical strategies to help you stop calorie counting.
Gradually reduce the habit.
If going cold turkey feels too overwhelming start by not counting the kcals of one meal and increase to one day, or you can allow yourself to count every other day then once every two days and so on.
2. Confuse your brain.
Every time you catch yourself counting calories start counting backwards from 100 or try to do a complicated maths equation. This will keep your brain occupied with other numbers until the urge to count calories passes
Set a calorie goal your ED is scared of.
Make a deal with yourself that every time you count calories you then need to use that information as a way to reach a calorie goal that your ED is scared of.
Eat foods you don’t know the calories.
Try new cereal bars without checking the label, make a recipe that yields multiple servings, buy baked goods that are not pre packed and don’t have labels, let other people cook for you.
Make mixed dishes.
It can be much easier to calculate the calories of meals with separate ingredients. Include foods in your diet like stir-fry, one pot meals, pasta with multiple ingredients etc.
Switch the focus from calorie goal to items.
If for example your goal is a a number of kcals for a snack switch to having a 2 or 3 item snack (where an item is a food group and a regular portion)
Pick the highest kcal option on purpose.
The main reason most people will count kcals is fear of kcals. By purposely picking the highest kcal option then you are teaching your brain that you don’t need to fear calories. Opposite actions are a key in ED recovery.
Ask a loved one to remove labels from foods.
If you find it extremely hard to stop yourself from reading the labels, then you can ask someone to do the food shopping for you and remove labels
Repeat the following affirmations
"My body knows what it needs"
"I am more than a number"
“Calories are just a measure of energy”
“My body’s energy needs fluctuate”
“Calorie counting just gives me a false sense of control”
"The more calories, the more energy”
“My body needs energy to function properly”
“Life is too short to waste time counting calories”
Comentários