C is for Calories.
Creeping Calories, that is.
I don’t know why I decided to count calories in order to lose weight but it came to me and it was easy to do. Maybe it appealed to me because I like lists. I could make a list of the food I ate during the day and add up the calories. Easy!
The creeping calories are the calories that we DON’T count. I most definitely fall into this trap sometimes. There are sometimes days here and there where I get lazy with my calories. I use the My Fitness Pal app on my phone and log my calories.
Most of the time I do pretty well. But every once in awhile I get lazy. That’s what it is, pure and simple. Laziness. I walk by the Candy Room at work and grab a few mini Tootsie Rolls and eat those on my way to the printer and then “pretend” those calories don’t count.
Creeping Calories!
Sometimes when I’m at home I’ll grab a snack…maybe some salty tortilla chips with sour cream. “Nah, these calories don’t count.” Tell me again why they don’t count? I really do need a reminder sometimes. I need a little fairy to sit on my shoulder with me and whisper the reminder.
I’m not talking about the “breaks” I take from counting my calories. Sometimes I take a day or two off. If I am starting to feel like I’m burned out mentally from working out or counting calories, I take a day or two off. That does NOT mean I go nuts and eat everything in sight. NO! I eat my normal way, I just don’t track. I think that’s the biggest trick I’ve learned to stay fresh and on track for so many years. Sometimes we all need a break.
No, I’m talking about being inaccurate in my counting. Sometimes it’s laziness. Sometimes I know I’m about to eat something so high in calories I just don’t want to deal with it. I choose denial. Perfect example:
I shudder to imagine how many calories I ate at the Texas State Fair. I don’t even want to know. I enjoyed my corndog, Catfish Taco and fried cookie dough and don’t want to know I ate 4,000 calories. 🙂
But at some point we have to be accountable to ourselves. It doesn’t matter if we’re accountable to other people, or Weight Watchers, or to my online calorie tracker. They don’t care. It doesn’t matter to them. What matters is SELF accountability. By lying to myself about the creeping calories I’m eating I’m only hurting myself.
Falling into the habit of ignoring calories, bites, nibbles and sneaked treats only harms myself. Period. My lies will show themselves on the scale.
QUESTION: Do you track the nibbles, bites and creeping calories? If not, how do you remind yourself to do so?
Becky
There has been a LOT of cheating on calories from me lately. It’s terrible! I keep telling myself the snitches don’t count, but the scale tells me otherwise. Rough!
Lisa Eirene
Ha! Me too! “This totally doesn’t count.” Um, yes it does! I do the same thing lately.
Beth @ Beth's Journey
At Weight Watchers, we call them BLTs – Bites, Licks, and Tastes. I think your point about being SELF accountable is huge – yes, your tracker won’t know that you forgot to put something into it, but your thighs and the scale most certainly will! Since I so recently hit my goal weight and have gone through some major life changes, I’m still working on finding that healthy balance.
Lisa Eirene
Finding that balance is definitely hard. I go through spurts where it’s easy and sometimes when it’s a struggle.
Lori
I tend to nibble at lot (working at home and all). I always assume 100 extra calories of nibbles per day.
Lisa Eirene
I nibble a lot too. Especially while COOKING! I’ll bite and nibble and then before I know it I’ve eaten probably 100-150 extra calories.
Roz@weightingfor50
We can lie to our tracker, but the scale doesn’t lie to us. (wow…that was profound! NOT…)
Thanks for this great post Lisa. Have a good Wed.
Lisa Eirene
That’s for sure Roz!!!
Zalary
I struggle with this, and with not having much leeway between what it takes to lose and maintain.
One of the reasons I don’t like MFP is that it never just lets me enter my cals without it’s own motherly comment. If I’m under by 50 if yells at me that I’m under for the day and if I’m on track it gives me some unrealistic version of what I should weight in 5 weeks (which has never happened, ever, even if I ate perfectly for 5 weeks).
And since I’m so short, I haven’t found a setting to give me a decent range yet.
I try to remember myself that the truth is the truth (about more things than just weight or calories) and that just because I don’t record what I eat or when I gain, it doesn’t make it less a fact. And that really what’s going to help me not eat poorly or gain in the future is looking at those failures and fixing them.
But it sure is no fun sometimes 🙂
Lisa Eirene
I don’t like that “projected” weight loss either. It tells me that in 5 weeks I’ll weigh 136 pounds? Yeah right! I’ve NEVER weighed that!
Maria (RealFitMama)
I used to count calories religiously. I did it for years and it helped me to lose almost 75lbs. But now I kind of keep a running tally in my head and that works for me. I have put on a few extra pounds in the last year (about 7 I think) and instead of counting calories I have just been very mindful of my workouts and don’t eat after 8:00.
I promised not to weight myself again until January 1st (after keeping with all the body lovin promises I made) and hope to see a drop in the number or at least a pair of jeans that fit me the way they used to!!
Lisa Eirene
I was religious in my calorie counting when I lost the 100+ too. Now, after three years of maintaining it I’m a little looser in my calories. I still write it down but I’m not as strict. I need to reign it in a bit.
Good luck with your goals! 🙂
Cheryle
I have found that using the MFP app on my phone is super easy and convenient, so I have been logging consistently for six days out of seven. I’m not a big taster/snacker so it works for me. Through tracking I have found the number that enables me to lose weight steadily and slowly. I am at 157 and a size 8 trying to get to 145, and then see how I feel. It may take months but I am fine with that because I don’t have to starve.
Lisa Eirene
I love MFP because I always have access to it. There’s no excuse NOT to record my calories!
Sounds like you have a good goal to work towards.
Mary
I am very guilty of this lately – 20 calories here and 50 there add up to quite a bit by the end of the day. The other day on Tumblr I saw someone had posted this: “Your body logs it even if you don’t.” Food for thought, pun intended.
Lisa Eirene
I love that quote. Thank you for sharing it! It’s one I need to remember.
ragemichelle
I do NOT count calories or keep track of what I eat..which is a big reason I’ve gained back some of the weight I’ve lost.
I need to do this.
You are awesome!
Lisa Eirene
And your hubby sounds like a good support system for you!