These are a few of my least favorite things...
Hate is a strong word, and I don't like using it because of the power it has. So in this post, I am going to share with you some of my least favorite things.
Scales. These 'instruments for weighing' have only caused stress to those who dislike the digital number that appears once they step on it. Society and the media have put so much emphasis on how low our weight should be, by glamorizing rail thin models, actresses etc. Those that are genetically predisposed to an eating disorder can easily fall victim to a number. I know that I have...and even when I was at my lowest weight in my eating disorder it still was not low enough. To what extent are we willing to go to meet our 'goals'. Once we hit that 'goal', do we only set a new goal to achieve. Risks include screwing up our metabolism, lowering our heart rate, feeling weak, feeling empty, and sometimes even death. Even those of us who are not genetically predisposed can find that much time is preoccupied with a number. Feelings of discouragement, frustration and disappointment may erupt. Why are we so dependent on a cheap piece of crap that tells us nothing about who we are as a person? I got to break a scale with a sledgehammer in treatment and it was so freeing...I highly recommend it.
Calories. Yes, I know that we need calories to live. However, what I don't like about calories is where society tells us how many we need to consume. How many of you realize that if you look at a granola bar wrapper and see say, 120 calories, that number is more likely that not wrong. How many of you realize that when an article or a calorie counting app tells you to consume between 1,200-1,500 calories how wrong that is! We need to consume way more than that even if we are trying to lose weight. Eating that little is only going to hurt our metabolism and bodies in the long run. For years I counted calories and thought, 'if 1,200 calories is for the 'average woman' to lose weight, than I need less that that because I'm not average. I was consuming at most 1,200 calories a day and felt superior. Now I look back and realize how much harm I was really causing my body. Do yourself a favor and eat intuitively if you know how. I'm slowly learning how to do this by finding my hunger and fullness cues. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full...that's the secret :)
Treadmills, elliptical and stair masters...OH MY. I LOVE working out, going for a run, and the way I feel after. However, I am here to alert you, not to fall victim to the 'calories burned' feature on workout equipment. These numbers cannot be accurate with the information that you provide. The information you provide a machine is your age and weight. In order for this machine to give you an accurate calorie burn it would need to take into consideration your sex, what you ate that day, how much water you have drank and even some genetics would help. Workout to your own degree, set a goal in terms of distance or time not calories burned. I have recently stepped back into the gym and by setting a distance for myself I have found that my workouts are easier and more enjoyable.
I am going to stop here with 3 of my least favorite things. In sum, it looks like I just hate numbers...which makes sense since I was never good at math ;)
Scales. These 'instruments for weighing' have only caused stress to those who dislike the digital number that appears once they step on it. Society and the media have put so much emphasis on how low our weight should be, by glamorizing rail thin models, actresses etc. Those that are genetically predisposed to an eating disorder can easily fall victim to a number. I know that I have...and even when I was at my lowest weight in my eating disorder it still was not low enough. To what extent are we willing to go to meet our 'goals'. Once we hit that 'goal', do we only set a new goal to achieve. Risks include screwing up our metabolism, lowering our heart rate, feeling weak, feeling empty, and sometimes even death. Even those of us who are not genetically predisposed can find that much time is preoccupied with a number. Feelings of discouragement, frustration and disappointment may erupt. Why are we so dependent on a cheap piece of crap that tells us nothing about who we are as a person? I got to break a scale with a sledgehammer in treatment and it was so freeing...I highly recommend it.
Calories. Yes, I know that we need calories to live. However, what I don't like about calories is where society tells us how many we need to consume. How many of you realize that if you look at a granola bar wrapper and see say, 120 calories, that number is more likely that not wrong. How many of you realize that when an article or a calorie counting app tells you to consume between 1,200-1,500 calories how wrong that is! We need to consume way more than that even if we are trying to lose weight. Eating that little is only going to hurt our metabolism and bodies in the long run. For years I counted calories and thought, 'if 1,200 calories is for the 'average woman' to lose weight, than I need less that that because I'm not average. I was consuming at most 1,200 calories a day and felt superior. Now I look back and realize how much harm I was really causing my body. Do yourself a favor and eat intuitively if you know how. I'm slowly learning how to do this by finding my hunger and fullness cues. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full...that's the secret :)
Treadmills, elliptical and stair masters...OH MY. I LOVE working out, going for a run, and the way I feel after. However, I am here to alert you, not to fall victim to the 'calories burned' feature on workout equipment. These numbers cannot be accurate with the information that you provide. The information you provide a machine is your age and weight. In order for this machine to give you an accurate calorie burn it would need to take into consideration your sex, what you ate that day, how much water you have drank and even some genetics would help. Workout to your own degree, set a goal in terms of distance or time not calories burned. I have recently stepped back into the gym and by setting a distance for myself I have found that my workouts are easier and more enjoyable.
I am going to stop here with 3 of my least favorite things. In sum, it looks like I just hate numbers...which makes sense since I was never good at math ;)
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