fun counting calories!

finallyfull · Post by **finallyfull** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:24 pm

I've learned the hard way that counting calories, for me anyway, just turns No S into a diet -- I lost, then gained it back. But now I have a new way to count -- just for fun, and not always -- I count the calories that I don't eat! It's been eye opening so far. 300-500 yesterday and 400 so far today (as of 2:15 p.m.) on food I turned down. This doesn't even count the extra food I might have SOUGHT OUT on my own, but all the food that amazingly the world seems to serve up all the time (like at the bookstore today when the Starbucks employee brought a tray of free pizza slices, or when my son made banana bread yesterday, or when my good friend gave me cookies as a late birthday present -- all formerly great excuses to stuff my muffin-top). As I count these uneaten calories, I am no longer suprised at how pounds can "sneak" onto my body when I think I'm being good. I would like to throw it all in a pile and have a visual of the uneaten food at the end of each week, but of course then I might dive into the pile at any moment.

This is cool. Tempting offerings are still an annoyance, but they are providing me with some amusement and a very eye-opening tally. I can easily see how distracted I could become by focusing on eating small meals (read: diet) instead of passing up the near-constant stream of free lard that comes my way almost every day. I almost need to carry a tennis racket to bat it all away as its lobbed toward me. I went to my son's school yesterday and was offered oreos by a woman in the hallway. It's like the world is made up of waitresses and waiters out to serve me junk. (I think they call this a first world problem.)

19 days on vanilla (one red for a few carrots) -- hopefully the start of a long, sane life plan.

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Tue May 15, 2012 10:16 pm

Funny when I was counting calories no matter if I binged or not I was consuming anywhere from 2,550 to 3,500 calories a day..about 1500+ were my binges...and I wonder why I gained weight..

I think that is a great fun thing to do. My husband said men are bombarded by sexual images hundreds of times a day. And like you said, we are bombarded with food and offers of food..who knows how many times a day.

Great concept!

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Wed May 16, 2012 4:02 am

I remember back in my WW years, some people put the food that they would have eaten in a big baggie. That visual was a great reward for them. I didn't want to waste the food

so I never tried it, and probably ended up eating it. I think I might try it some time... and keep it in the fridge so I don't make a smelly mess.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Thu May 17, 2012 3:47 pm

That's a new way to look at calorie counting!

I saw a really interesting programme last night about 'Secret Eating' that really highlighted how much people underestimate what they eat in a day if they are constantly picking and snacking. One woman thought she was having about 1200/day which might have been the case if she just had three meals. However picking off other people's plates, snacking in between meals and binging on a Friday night meant she was averaging about 3000/day!! Unfortunately they prescribed 'healthy snacks' rather than promoting a snack free lifestyle but you can't have everything

I did actually count calories eaten for a period of time a couple of months ago, as I was genuinely interested in how many I was eating in a normal N day. However it was more an experiment than turning NoS into a diet for me, and to check whether the meals I am cooking at home really are healthy/balanced/not too calorific or whether I need to watch my portion sizes.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Fri May 18, 2012 10:16 pm

Brian Wansink says people in our culture make about 200 food-related decisions a day. I'm sure No S cuts out 80% of those. So much easier.

I know sometimes when I'm in a big store, I get a little thrill from looking at items I have no intention of buying.

Maybe I should start doing this with the food I think about offering myself on S days.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Tue May 22, 2012 3:15 pm

For me, I am totally sick of counting, weighing, and measuring, and all the head-games I put on myself when I'm doing it. I no longer want to know any numbers about what I am or not eating. I just like eating meals when I'm supposed to and not worrying about it!

I also am amazed at how adding in snacks every 2-3 hours, even though that was OK on my plan, did not leave me feeling any less hungry for meals. So I would get to the end of my calorie limit and still be trying to "negotiate" (aka cheat) so I could eat more.

Now I eat my meals and leave out the snacks. I just feel so much better not having to "know"!

BabsPlease · Post by **BabsPlease** » Wed May 23, 2012 12:17 pm

[quote="JayEll"]For me, I am totally sick of counting, weighing, and measuring, and all the head-games I put on myself when I'm doing it. I no longer want to know any numbers about what I am or not eating. I just like eating meals when I'm supposed to and not worrying about it! [/quote]

I feel the same way! I look back at my food diary where I counted calories and it can get very tedious. I love control but sometimes it's like well I don't want to eat with a measuring spoon. Hard to enjoy food that way. As I said on another post, eating even 500 or 600 calories a meal, three times a day is 1500-1800 calories...and if they come from nutritious sources, I don't feel deprived at all!