Calorie Awareness: Are You Avoiding the Truth About Food?

My friend came over the other day with a Starbucks coffee. I asked her if she knew how many calories were in it and she replied, “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t know if you were being calorie conscious – or calorie unconscious”.

After I died laughing (because that was a REALLY great way to describe a dieter vs a non-dieter) I proceeded to carefully sip the beverage. I could tell it was definitely a drink for the calorie unconscious!

This whole event made me think about how many people walk around calorie unconscious, simply completely unaware of what they are eating – and, honestly, I think most people don’t want to know.

Blissful Ignorance

On the way to the restaurant I casually asked Steve, “do you know how many calories and protein are in a chicken wing?” I didn’t even finish my sentence before he abruptly said, “I don’t want to know”.

I wasn’t trying to make him feel bad. I just thought it would help give him a goal of how many to order. But, I guess ignorance is bliss and he just didn’t even want to think about it. ha!

Maybe it’s guilt—like with Steve—or simply an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality that keeps us from looking things up. But assuming we’re making a smart choice based on how food looks is like judging a book by its cover—looks can be very deceiving!

Freedom!

This is how I picture people who aren’t dieting—completely free, while the rest of us are stuck in food prison. Honestly, I get it.

We all want the freedom to eat whatever we want, but freedom doesn’t mean our choices don’t have consequences. This mindset can become even more common as we get older and start feeling like we’ve earned the right to indulge.

Think about it—we can’t do whatever we want with our finances or in our marriage without consequences, so why would food be any different? The hard truth is, if you ignore the calories on your plate, you probably won’t be able to ignore them on your waist. That doesn’t mean you can’t lose weight without counting calories, but it’s much harder to make progress when you’re relying on guesses.

Time For a Mind Shift

Instead of thinking of it as “dieting” or “counting calories,” think of it as simply eating smart.

Just like you pay attention to how you spend your money, you should know how you’re spending your calories. Calories are basically food’s price tag—and once you know the cost, you can decide whether it’s worth it.

For example, my Toffee Nut Latte with whole milk was 321 calories. I enjoyed half, but decided the rest wasn’t worth the extra three-mile run it would take me to burn it off!

Know the cost and decide whether you want to pay the price—now or later. Either way, you pay.

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” —Proverbs 12:1

It’s a tough verse, but a wise one. Knowledge gives us the power to make better choices, and we can’t correct what we’re unwilling to learn.

That’s why nutritional coaching and food tracking are so valuable. It isn’t just having a coach tell you what to eat—it’s learning how to make smarter decisions on your own and watching those decisions pay off on the scale.

Need a Reset?

If you feel like you have been hiding your head in the sand for too long, maybe you just need a reset. All you need to do is commit to 7 days of tracking your food. Anyone can do anything for seven days right?

You will be AMAZED how much you learn, and what kind of progress you can make, in 7 days. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on this. Nowadays, you can scan a label or look up pretty much anything in a good calorie tracking app like LoseIt or MyFitnessPal.

Need Help?

If you aren’t sure how many calories you need or what kind of foods are best, I’m here to help! Nutrition coaching is my jam! I have an awesome coaching app where clients can take photos, track macros and calories, get a ton of recipes and even have custom built workouts all in one app.

Or, if you are local (Vero Beach, FL), join our upcoming RESET this September at LIFT.