There’s a Reason Bananas Don’t Have Nutrition Labels

Imagine a terrible, long, boring, monotonous math worksheet. You know, the kind you got back in middle school with pages upon pages of the same type of problems. They seemed to go on for days. It felt so pointless, time consuming, irrelevant and imprissoning. This was especially so when it’s friday afternoon, your looking forward to weekend plans and you swear the cute boy in the back of the classroom is eyeing you!! And instead, whats running through your brain is a ridiculous line of numbers!

Now imagine that the teacher tells you that you don’t have to do it, but your mind just won’t let go and you end up thinking about the problems all day long. And worse yet? your so occupied that the cute boy slips past you while your busy making calculations. You then go home to create more worksheets for yourself, of the same equations! Over and over they run through your head and you can’t stop it.

It’s summer you say? Why am I talking about math? and middle school? ugh, who wants to think about those tedious memories? my point exactly.

The calorie, more importantly calorie counting. Each of your favorite (or not so favorite) foods are connected to an equation. Before eating, you must, without question acurately solve each problem, find out how they relate, check and re-check the numbers and make sure every other equation from the day fits together. Ridiculous, unnecessary and downright lame? Absolutely!!

So many women these days are sucumb to this imprissionment in our society. We’re told that the secrets to weight loss is to count calories. Diet programs are set up like weight watchers that focus on numbers and calculations, or “points”. Why do we do this to ourselves? Poor women!! Some people get so off track that they swear by the notion that you can eat whatever you want as long as you don’t go over on calories and you’ll still loose weight. While this is true, it’s so unhealthy! (for mind and body)

We’re talking a system that promotes eating this:

over this:

And that it’s better to treat yourself to this

Rather than this:

I don’t know about you, but I would MUCH rather eat the real foods. I may be crazy but I think they taste better too…

Where has the nutrition gone??

A large reason for it’s disapearance (though not the only one) is the focus on counting calories. It’s the diet mindset. Sure you may be consuming processed, chemical laiden foods, but the calories are lower so it has to be healthier. Right??

Wrong! Unfortunately once you get caught up in the trap of counting calories, it becomes soo hard to stop. Even harder when an ED gets involved. In the beginning it’s you innocently checking in on the calories. But then he starts to do the math. He pulls out endless amounts of worksheets and runs the numbers over and over. It gets to a point where you don’t even want to eat.

For me, I’m thankful that I didn’t fall too far into the trap of the “low calorie” foods over nutrition. I have always been more focused on nutritiously dense foods. (However, Ed did learn to manipulate this to my dissadvantage, but 🙂 I’m learning how to turn that around) I did, however, fall into the counting calorie trap. The sad thing is, it truly isn’t your choice until you learn how to let go.

Life certainly does pass you by. But I am beyond elated to say that I have stoped counting calories. I can now focus on enjoying the foods rather than dealing with numbers (for goodness sakes, I hate math) and its pure FREEDOM.

I owe a great deal of this to my nutritionist and her plan. It’s let me focus on the foods instead.

Because I would much rather devour this!

Even if there’s more “calories”. There’s also more nurishment not to mention taste and satisfaction.

When did calories become the enemy?? They are our friends. They give us life!

Have you ever fallen into the calorie counting or dieting trap?

note: The creator of the south beach “lifestyle” is a reputable man. I have no intention of  demeaning him, just the way society looks at food.