Whenever the topic of weight loss comes up, sooner or later almost everyone lands on the same method: calorie counting. You download the latest tracking app, set out the kitchen scale and meticulously weigh every salad leaf down to the decimal point. After all, you want to see in black and white whether you have landed in that magical calorie deficit.
But ask yourselves honestly: is this constant jumble of numbers really the answer to a happy, healthy life?
What Are You Willing to Sacrifice?
To answer that, there is one question above all that you need to ask yourselves: what are you actually willing to give up for your goal?
The biggest dilemma with this method is obvious: the pleasure and enjoyment of eating fall completely by the wayside.
None of us feels comfortable in the long run having to put every bite through the scale and the app first. Consider the enormous effort involved: look up the ingredient, weigh it to the gram, type it into your phone, cook – and all of that at least three times a day! It is enough to take away your appetite before you have even taken the first bite.
“Eating is more than just taking in nutrients. It is also fun, pleasure and a sense of well-being. With calorie tracking, weighing food and the like, however, we lose precisely these important aspects of pure joie de vivre.”
Anne Krenzin
The Downsides of Constant Counting
Many of us know the consequence in a busy everyday life only too well: you skip meals altogether out of frustration, because you simply no longer have the time or the patience for digital bookkeeping. Completely understandable! But neither healthy nor effective.
Then there is the morning step onto the scale, like a daily verdict: was all that calculating worth it? If the display then fails to show the number you were hoping for, frustration and a bad mood strike immediately.
The typical consequences of this system are pretty much inevitable: either you throw in the towel after two weeks, exasperated, and end up right back where you started – dissatisfied and frustrated. Or you stick to the iron regime, but pay for it with a 24/7 merry-go-round of thoughts. You do lose weight, but from morning to night you think about nothing but numbers, gram counts and restrictions.
The price is high: irritability, social isolation when eating with others and a constant battle against your own body. In the worst case, this rigid controlling behavior tips over into disordered eating patterns – right up to so-called cheat days, when, after weeks of restrictions, you lose all control and eat your way mindlessly through pizza, ice cream and chocolate, only to feel miserable again afterwards.
When Tracking Can Still Be Helpful in the Short Term
At the Start of a Dietary Change
Especially at the beginning of weight loss, many people feel somewhat lost. They need an anchor to get started with new routines. Calorie tracking can be a helpful tool here for the first 1 to 2 weeks. But be careful: over longer periods, the risk of eating disorders increases.
For Estimating Portion Sizes
Many people report that they eat too much in one meal – essentially eating past the point of hunger. Tracking apps can help you learn to gauge a normal portion size. But as soon as you have developed a feel for it, put the smartphone away and listen to your proverbial gut feeling (hunger).
For a Sense of What Is in Your Food
Often we don't really know what is actually in a prepared meal – especially with delivery services and takeaway. Here, apps can help you get an overview. However, they shouldn't be used permanently or for every meal. After all, when you prepare a fresh meal at home, you know what goes into it.
What Can I Do Without Tracking?
So what does a genuine way out look like, one that is good for both body and soul?
- Understand your underlying causes: Take an honest look at which habits brought you to the point where you feel uncomfortable. Why do you eat when you do? Only when you get to the bottom of your true triggers can you change patterns for the long term.
Question diet myths: Acquire down-to-earth, reliable nutritional knowledge. See through the marketing nonsense and the supposed “miracle cures” that the internet constantly tries to push on you.
Listen to your body again: No app can replace genuine hunger and fullness cues. Learn to sense again what your body actually needs.
And if you notice that you have got stuck in the diet jungle and keep going round in circles: don't hesitate to seek professional support. Free yourself from the compulsion of numbers and find your own relaxed path to true well-being.
