Nutrition in Pregnancy: How To Eat Well But Intuitively

Research shows nutrition in pregnancy has a big role to play in pregnancy outcomes. But there’s also a lot of weird and wacky advice around weight and food in the pregnancy space. So today I’m going to aim to clear some of that up by providing you the low-down on….

– What to eat when pregnant

– How to practise Intuitive Eating and still have a good diet in pregnancy

– Pregnancy foods to avoid

– What’s the right amount of weight gain in pregnancy

This article will go through my top 10 tips designed to help you feel more confident and empowered with your nutrition throughout your pregnancy journey.

Note: this article is for general information purposes only, and should not replace individual advice given to you by your healthcare providers.

Top 10 Tips for Nutrition in Pregnancy

1) Don’t get too fixated on the weight gain guidelines in pregnancy

In a society where a lot of emphasis is placed on appearance and body size, weight gain during pregnancy can be a sensitive subject. The “ideal” amount of weight to gain during pregnancy, remains up for debate.

There are no formal, evidence-based guidelines from UK professional bodies on the appropriate weight gain during pregnancy. The US have some recommended weight gain ranges for each stage of pregnancy, however these are not black and white and need further research.

And look, whilst it’s okay to have some gentle awareness of body weight gain, and it’s okay to have discussions around this with your midwife, the key thing to emphasise is eating as well as you can in a way that works for you, and moving in a way that you can for your body. To trust that your body is gaining what it needs to gain for your pregnancy – weight gain is normal, necessary, and your body knows what it’s doing.

Too many healthcare providers see weight gain within recommended limits as a representative of nutrition and exercise habits. Women and birthing people can gain “appropriately” and still have terrible nutrition. Likewise we may gain above or below the recommended limits and still have great lifestyle habits. Discussions about weight gain in pregnancy need to move beyond the scale.

My tip: prioritise nourishment and let your body do its thing. It knows best. Pregnancy shouldn’t be about being at a specific weight but instead about making the safest home for a growing human.

2) Let hunger guide the way

There are plenty of guidelines out there about how much food a pregnant woman should eat and we will get into some aspects of these below.

Guidelines can be helpful but don’t forget – we’re not robots. Your body’s needs will vary day to day. One of the most accurate ways to know how much food your body needs, is to be guided by your own hunger cues. This goes for any stage of life, including pregnancy. If you’re not entirely sure what the subtleties of physical hunger feel like for you, and you would like to learn more, you may benefit from diving into my free audio guide and workbook.

3) Have some gentle structure around meals

If the above feels a little too far-fetched for you, it might be helpful to implement some gentle structure around your meals and snacks. If you’ve been dieting for a while or and have been guided by calories, meal plans, points or other external methods to tell you how much to eat, you might feel a little out of touch with what your body’s asking for and so implementing some structure can be especially helpful.

Action Step: Aim for 3 meals and 2-3 snacks throughout the day. Regular eating can also help with nausea. A nutrition professional can help support you in finding a pattern that works best for you.

Our online nutrition practice offers comprehensive support via online consultations to help you navigate pregnancy nutrition with confidence, and without the side of diet – culture. We can help you with personalised nutrition and pregnancy recommendations, all whilst encouraging a healthy relationship with food. If you are interested to know more about what support looks like, you can book a free 20-minute discovery call today.

4) Your pregnant body needs carbs

Because carb-phobia is rampant, we can end up feeling guilt and shame for eating more carbs than usual in pregnancy and might even think we are causing our babies harm – this leaves us in a tough position if carbohydrates are the only thing we can stomach.

Carbohydrates are an important component of the diet in pregnancy and should represent between 45% and 60% of the calories in a healthy diet in the adult population as well as during pregnancy. So don’t feel bad for eating them!

Aim to include a source of carbohydrates at each of your meals and snacks, most of the time. This includes things like bread, potatoes, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, corn, maize, millet and oats.

5) Consider taking a pregnancy multivitamin

Micronutrient deficiencies in pregnancy can result in pre-eclampsia, preterm deliveries, neural tube defects, and other congenital abnormalities, as well as babies who are born with low birthweight.

For this reason, It’s generally recommended that you take a pregnancy multivitamin that contains both folic acid and vitamin D, as these are the nutrients that have the most evidence for supplementation.

The right pregnancy supplement can depend on lots of factors such as your diet, medical conditions and medications. If you’re confused about what you need to supplement during pregnancy, speak to your GP or dietitian.

6) Including dates in the 3rd trimester may speed up labour

Some research suggests that eating dates in the 3rd trimester may help induce, or speed up labour. This is thought to be because dates affect oxytocin receptors and make uterine muscles respond better to oxytocin, resulting in more effective uterine contractions. Around 7-10 dates per day from the 37th week is the amount that has been studied, and is recommended in those who do not have contraindications*.

Note: this may not be indicated if you have conditions like gestational diabetes, so it’s important to check with your midwife before eating this number of dates.

7) Oily fish is good for baby’s brain development

Oily fish is the best source of omega 3’s, a type of fat that helps with the optimal growth and brain and nervous system development of the foetus.

Fish that tend to be high in Omega and low in mercury (which we don’t want too much of in pregnancy) include: salmon, Pollock, Herring, Sardines, Cod, Mackerel (not king mackerel). It’s recommended to aim for two portions of fish a week, one of which is oily. 140g is a serving.

Other sources of Omega 3 include chia seeds, ground linseed, hemp seeds and walnuts, and rapeseed oil but these aren’t as well absorbed as fish.

If you don’t eat fish you can chat to your healthcare provider about an omega 3 supplement. It’s also included in some pregnancy multivitamins.

8) Including enough fibre and fluid can help prevent constipation

Eating plenty of fibre-rich foods during pregnancy can help preventing constipation, as well as reducing risks of preeclampsia risk. Opting for wholegrain options of grains like bread and pasta, eating legumes such as lentils or baked beans, and getting your 5-a-day can all help up your fibre intake.

Another tip for preventing constipation is to make sure you drink enough fluids. You want your pee to be a light yellow so if it’s looking a little dark, try to up your water intake.

9) Pregnancy foods to avoid

Food safety is extra important in pregnancy. Your unborn baby is more vulnerable to certain food borne bacteria than you are. The NHS have a great resource on this that you can read here.

10) Your relationship with food is just as (if not more) important as what you eat

Research shows disordered eating can affect around 30% of pregnant women and approx 7.5% of women at their first ultrasound were suffering from a diagnosable eating disorder during pregnancy. And it’s often not picked up.

If you find you are

frequently dieting
have anxiety associated with food, or eating
have feelings of guilt or shame associated with your eating
are preoccupied with your weight, shape and image and it negatively impacts your quality of life
feel a loss of control around food
feel you need to use exercise to compensate for food eaten…

…you may be displaying some signs of difficulties with food.

Many women find pregnancy to be a motivator to work on healing their relationship to food and body. After all…your little one is eventually going to be learning from you when it comes to food and nutrition. If this sounds like you…get in touch today. We love supporting mums and birthing people to-be with personalised nutrition in pregnancy, all whilst encouraging a healthy relationship with food.

If you have a current or past eating disorder, it’s important that you make your healthcare team aware of this, and reach out to an eating disorder specialist or mental health professional for support. It’s also a good idea to check in on yourself regularly and to have an awareness of the symptoms of your eating disorder and potential triggers, both during pregnancy and after the birth of your baby.

In summary…

There is no such thing as the perfect diet in pregnancy. Don’t forget that your mental health and overall wellbeing are going to affect your baby just as much (if not more) than what you eat. If pregnancy nutrition is stressing you out just remember…the key thing in pregnancy nutrition is adequacy. This means making sure you’re eating enough and (when you feel up to it), a wide variety of foods so you’re getting all the nutrients you need to look after yourself and your growing baby!

Can You Lose Weight With Intuitive Eating?

Are you keen to give up dieting and want to know… can you lose weight with Intuitive Eating?

Healing your relationship with food and freeing yourself from chronic dieting sounds great and all. But if you’re honest, you’re still hoping it will help you drop a couple of dress sizes?

If these sound like you, then this article is for you. We will answer your questions and go into detail about:

The nuances of weight loss with Intuitive Eating
Reasons to put weight loss on the back burner in order to heal your relationship with food and body
Ways to measure your progress and results with Intuitive Eating

So…can you lose weight with Intuitive Eating?

The short answer is yes, you can lose weight with Intuitive Eating. But the framework doesn’t focus on this. I will explain this further in the article.

Many people do lose weight when they apply Intuitive Eating principles. And many people don’t.

Some of our clients lose weight, some will stay the same, and some gain weight. And often they might gain weight, then lose it, then steady out (or the other way around). And all these people are doing Intuitive Eating correctly.

Because weight loss is not ever meant to be a goal of Intuitive Eating, for many important reasons which we will explain below. Instead, the goal is body respect, learning to trust your body, disentangling yourself from misinformation around food and weight, honouring your needs for nourishment, and letting your body weight go where it wants to when this happens.

Evelyn Tribole (award-winning Registered Dietitian and creator of Intuitive Eating) likens body size to shoe size when explaining this concept. You wouldn’t try to squeeze a size-8 foot into a size-5 shoe, right? For the most part, we accept our shoe size and get on with our lives. So why expect anything different from our bodies? We’re sold the idea that a size 6 is somehow better than a size 10, a size 16 is better than a size 22…and so on. And smaller isn’t just better; we’re told it’s “healthier”. But the reality is that, even when it comes to health, a size-12 person isn’t inherently healthier than a size-18 person. Read more on that here.

Letting go of weight loss is scary, but isn’t a lifetime of never feeling at home in your body scary too?

We get it…letting go of weight control and weight loss as a goal can sound super scary. And we’re not here to tell you what you can or cannot do with your body or dig at you for wanting to change your body. After all, diet culture is a destructive system of oppression, which bombards us with subliminal messages that we will be healthier and feel more worthy, valuable, loveable and attractive if we are smaller. And this is the problem. Not you! And for some, dieting can be a form of safety, and survival. We understand that.

The number on the scale is an easy, seemingly objective way to measure “progress” towards “healthy”. Many of us have derived a sense of accomplishment and comfort in being able to control the scale. And we also know it’s possible to feel worthy in any shape or size. These aspects of self-esteem are an inside job, not an outside one. Don’t believe me? Hear it from dozens of our clients who have already been through the process and found peace with their food and bodies here.

2 reasons to put weight loss on the back burner if you want to be an Intuitive Eater

1. Focusing on weight loss interferes with your ability to be truly intuitive with your eating.

When you focus on losing weight, at some point you will likely make decisions with food or exercise that override your body’s cues of hunger, fullness and satiety. Perhaps you skip dessert even though you know you won’t be satiated without it. Or you try not to keep chocolate in the house because you feel like you will lose control if you do. Or you don’t honour your hunger as you’re worried about whether doing so will be “extra calories”. These are the sorts of things we have seen in our experience of working with clients through this work.

This contradicts the core principles of intuitive eating, including “reject the diet mentality”, “honour your hunger” and “make peace with food.” For example, making peace with food involves giving yourself unconditional permission to eat. Because if you tell yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing.” When we are trying to lose weight, we often end up micromanaging our food intake and losing touch with our internal wisdom.

2. Science strongly suggests that intentional weight loss pursuits do more harm than good (and may result in weight gain over the long term)

Many of us are led to assume that diets are safe and harmless. What we’ve come to learn through research and experience is that dieting and restriction for the purposes of weight loss, don’t work for the majority. And they can also cause physical and psychological harm.

A systematic review of 12 studies (which is a high-quality study that reviews a group of studies) found that in studies of weight loss programmes with both exercise and calorie controlled diets, half of the studies demonstrated no weight loss. And in those studies that shower weight loss, the amount loss was small, and not considered to be “acceptable weight loss”, as it was not sustained in the longer term (more than 18 months).

A number of studies show that dieting can:

🥀increase disordered eating

🥀make us gain weight

🥀 lead to binge eat

🥀become totally preoccupied with food

🥀lower our self–esteem

🥀decrease our overall mental health

But let’s turn it to you…

Have you experienced any of this yourself?

I want to clarify that just because Intuitive Eating asks you to put weight loss on the back burner, this does not mean the desire to lose weight will suddenly go away.

The desire for weight loss is so normal given the culture we live in and part of the journey of intuitive eating is to explore those desires, learn about weight, weight science and how this related to your own experiences.

Can acknowledge and hold space for this desire, whilst simultaneously focusing on what you CAN do to improve your overall health and well-being?

How to measure the results

If you’re used to diets then you may be wondering how you will be able to measure your progress with Intuitive Eating, if not by the number on the scales.

Whilst you may desire weight loss, I am guessing that if you are exploring the framework of Intuitive Eating, you are interested in other outcomes too. Such as an improved relationship with food, improved self-esteem etc.

Studies show that Intuitive Eaters have:

More favourable blood fats profile
Lower disordered and emotional eating
Higher self-esteem
Higher optimism and wellbeing
Greater body appreciation and acceptance
Greater variety of foods eaten
Increased body trust and awareness

Dieting can affect physical, social, psychological and behaviours. How have they affected you?

You can measure progress with markers like… How do you feel about yourself? How are you doing against the above? How are your energy levels? What are your blood markers doing? How well are you taking care of yourself? How are your eating patterns?

In Summary…Can you lose weight with Intuitive Eating?

Yes you can, but you might not. In order to truly become an Intuitive Eater, you will have to put the pursuit of weight loss on the back burner. This is because focusing on weight loss interferes with your ability to be truly intuitive with your eating.

This is all a massive mindset shift if you’re coming from the dieting world and can sound foreign or even scary to begin with.

If you’re struggling and would like some more support you may find the FREE audio guide and actionable workbook helpful as a starting point, which provides 7-steps to find food peace and food freedom, or take our quiz to assess your relationship with food and get personalised feedback!

Do you want to work with a qualified professional who nurtures a good relationship with food? You can read more about what that looks like here.

Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

So, you’re doing all the right things but still left wondering, “why am I not losing weight?”

Perhaps methods that have previously led to weight loss are not working this time around?

This can be very frustrating but please know you are not alone. We have many clients who come to us in this very situation. With the right questions, tests, counselling and advice we can usually get to the bottom of what is leading to your struggles with body weight.

This article will delve into the Top 5 reasons you might not be losing weight. We also discuss a revolutionary & unique way to approach your struggles with body weight. Keep reading for the details.

But before we dive into the Top 5 list, let’s get one thing straight. Despite what you may have read and learned elsewhere, this Registered Dietitian is here to tell you…

Weight loss is NOT as simple as Calories In < Calories Out

The media often drive the unproven assumption that body size is controllable through self-discipline and is a personal responsibility. This portrayal is not in line with current scientific evidence, which shows that body weight regulation is not entirely under an individual’s control.

That’s right. Cutting back your calories and working out more does not automatically mean you will lose weight. In the same way that eating more doesn’t necessarily mean your body fat stores will increase. This is because determinants of body weight are multi-factorial and include (but are not limited to):

genetics
metabolism
stress & sleep
illness & disease
food intake
physical activity
social & environmental factors
age/life-stage

So whilst some of these factors are within our control, many such as genetics, environment, age and illness are not.

Weight loss is therefore, certainly not as simple as calories in, calories out. And even if calorie restriction has worked for you in the past, it doesn’t mean it will continue to work. In fact, it’s likely that it won’t continue to work. We explain why this is below.

Top 5 reasons you’re not losing weight

As discussed above, weight is influenced by a myriad of factors. The factors discussed below are those which we see most commonly in our clinic. Please always discuss your individual concerns with your healthcare provider.

1. Restriction is leading your metabolism to slow down

Dieting, fasting and food restriction can trigger your body to conserve energy for another time. Ie) If you do not meet your calorie/energy needs for an extended period, your metabolism will slow down.

This is a survival mechanism that is hard-wired into our physiology. Your body can’t tell if you’re eating less because you want to drop a dress size or because you’re stuck on a desert island. This is a big reason why restrictive eating/diets do not work for weight loss.

In fact, there is a body of research suggesting that most people who lose weight through dieting will regain weight within 2-5 years. Some research even suggests that the cyclical process of losing and regaining weight with weight loss attempts leads people to sit at a higher body weight in the long term (likely, partly due to metabolic changes).

So…what’s the alternative to restrictive dieting? It is to find your body’s natural set-point weight (its happy place). More on this is below.

2. You’re already at or below your set-point weight

Have you heard of Set Point Weight Theory before? It is a scientific theory that explains why losing weight can be a struggle for many.

Many parts of our physical and psychological makeup are determined either in part or completely, by our genes. For example, height is mostly determined by genetics. People generally accept that we can’t change our height, it’s just the way we were born.

In the long term, the same principle applies to weight. Genetics plays a large part in determining our body weight. Between 40-70% of human body weight is determined by genetics. Research suggests that each human body has a weight range that it is genetically predisposed to maintain. This weight range is called your “set point” and is usually a 3-5kg weight range where your body naturally wants to stay.

If our body weight falls below this range, your body sees this as a threat to your survival. And so regulatory mechanisms kick in to help us get back there. For example, if you eat a little more than you need, then typically your body temperature will rise and your metabolism speeds up to burn off the extra energy. If you eat too little, then your metabolic rate slows down to spare the available calories. Also, if the body is not getting enough energy, you will feel more hungry, and/or be more preoccupied with food.

You do not have to meet society’s thin ideal to be healthy. And if your body is larger than this ideal, it does not mean you have to restrict and deny your body food. In fact, this is likely doing damage to your physical and mental health, whilst paradoxically leading you to become heavier in the long term. There is a lot of research that shows that people can be metabolically healthy and fall into the “overweight” and “obese” BMI categories.

3. You are struggling with binge eating

If you are feeling out of control around food or experiencing binge episodes please know, you are so not alone. This is such a common experience and usually, it makes a lot of sense in the context of struggles with body weight.

Not eating enough (as with dieting/restriction), naturally leads to binge eating. Again, it’s a survival thing. More on that here.

Biologically speaking, the body has a set amount of energy that it needs you to take in from food. This will vary day to day. If you don’t get this, then it is going to ramp up your hunger hormones, which drive you to eat. Often this eating is experienced with great emotional intensity and you may eat more than usual to make up for the lack you have been experiencing.

Emotional factors can also lead to binge eating. You can read more about emotional eating here.

4. You’re focusing too hard on the numbers

Are you obsessing too much over a few pounds on the scale?

Did you know that weight can fluctuate as much as 5Ib/2-3kg each day just with fluid shifts, poos, wees, hormones and food intake.

Focusing too much on the number on the scale can lead to unhealthy behaviours and obsessiveness. This is why I recommend ditching the scales or at least reducing the frequency with which you weigh yourself. Instead you can measure your progress through your energy levels, how you feel and by noticing how your clothes fit.

5. There is something going on medically

There are many medical conditions that can affect body weight. Common ones include thyroid diseases, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Diabetes, Insomnia and Depression. I would recommend discussing any sudden and unexplained weight gain with your GP to rule these out.

How to not focus soley on weight loss

How has the persuit of weight loss affected your life thus far? Has it bought you the happiness and health that diet culture promises?

For many of our clients, the persuit of weight loss has lead them to become unhappy, disillusioned and less healthy in the long-term.

Perhaps it is time to turn away from dieting and any other method of restriction in the pursuit of weight loss.

After all, the research proves that restriction leads to further weight gain over time for the majority and can cause a great deal of physical and mental damage along the way.

So what’s the alternative? Intuitive Eating is an evidence-based approach that takes the focus off body weight and instead focuses on nourishment, fulfilling hunger and allowing body weight to settle at it’s set-point. Intuitive eating doesn’t discourage weight loss but rather it takes the heavy focus OFF of weight loss and ON to health. This framework includes the principle of Body Respect, which involves learning to care for your here-and-now body.

You can learn more about Intuitive Eating through our article library here and on our about page, here.

A big part of Intuitive Eating is relearning how to listen, and appropriately respond to hunger and satiety cues. This is really helpful when trying to stop counting calories. The freebie below has tips and tools that can help you get started with this.

Do you want to work with a qualified professional who nurtures a good relationship with food? You can read more about what that looks like here.

Can intuitive eating help with IBS?

Firstly, what is IBS?

Before we answer the question “can intuitive eating help with IBS”, first, let’s get clear on what it is.

IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Of all the medical diagnoses, this is one that does exactly what it says on the tin. The bowel is irritated- whether it is gas, pain, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, or a miserable mix of all of them.

Your experience of IBS can be on a spectrum. For some it may be mild bloating and multiple excursions to the toilet after a night out. For others, however, it can be toileting accidents and crippling pain. A survey by the American College of Gastroenterology found a majority of IBS patients would give up 10-15 years of their life for an immediate cure for their condition.

The symptoms of IBS confusingly overlap with many other diagnoses. Most notably for women- endometriosis or ovarian cancer are important to rule out. Other possible diagnoses are thyroid disease, coeliac disease, and microscopic colitis. It can feel like such a long road to an IBS diagnosis, but it truly is important to go through all the medical tests offered to rule out more serious diseases.

When to seek medical advice

IBS needs to be diagnosed by your Doctor or physician.

However, if you have an IBS diagnosis, and you have any of the following symptoms, or a change in your symptoms, it’s important to see a physician right away:

Unexplained weight loss
Family history of colon cancer
Rectal bleeding/bloody stools
Night time bowel movements
Recurring vomiting

These symptoms indicate something much more serious could be going on.

What are the benefits of Intuitive Eating when having IBS?

Intuitive eating is a framework of feeding yourself from the standpoint of self care. While intuitive eating messages of “food freedom” and “eat what you love” can feel alienating when you are grappling with IBS, there is absolutely much value for you with Intuitive Eating. In my experience as a Gastro Specialist Dietitian who works with people on their relationship with food, intuitive eating can help with IBS.

The first thing an intuitive eating-informed approach can teach you is that you are on the same team as your body. If you have had IBS for years, having negative body thoughts is the default, isn’t it? “Why am I like this?” “Why does my body hate me?” The truth is, our body is an extension of us. Intuitive eating invites you to support your body as a form of self-respect. Our bodies don’t have to work perfectly for us to respect them.

Another helpful principle from intuitive eating is making peace with food. I know you might feel like food is out to get you, but I promise you, it isn’t. The ice cream is just ice cream. The black bean tacos are just black bean tacos. Intuitive eating-informed work would have us approach foods with curiosity (rather than judgment). What IF that food does not trigger you as harshly as you assume it would? Are you avoiding foods because a food list on the internet said you should? Or is it because it makes you discernibly triggered?

Another tenet of Intuitive Eating that people with IBS can find a lot of benefit from is one that, at first glance, seems 100% inaccessible: reject the diet mentality.

IBS affects how you feel, but it can also affect how you look, too.

It’s helpful to be honest with ourselves- am I avoiding foods because I don’t want to look bigger? Or is it truly because I am feeling so ill? It may truly be the latter, but I have had scores of clients whose motivating factor to work on their IBS is their poor body image.

Diet culture has shamed them into thinking their body isn’t good enough unless they have that elusive “snatched waist.”

Your body is a good body. Intuitive eating work helps you see that.

So can intuitive eating help with IBS?

Yes, absolutely. These are only three, but there are many other valuable things Intuitive Eating can give you– even if you have a chronic condition like IBS. I invite you to join in the conversation. Intuitive eating is for you, too.

If you would like to discuss how healing your relationship with food can work alongside gut related conditions, like IBS, then you can get in touch with us on the button below. Sarah is our gastro specialist Dietitian who can support you with these issues, whilst maintaining or building a healthy relationship with food and you body.

What If Intuitive Eating Doesn’t Work?

How to Stop Counting Calories

So, you’re fed up of counting calories?

Well, you’ve come to the right place… in this article I am going to outline actionable steps on how to stop counting calories, once and for all. As a Registered Dietitian (for the last 9 years) and Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor, I have worked with 100’s of clients to help them stop obsessing over numbers and find a healthier relationship with food.

If you’ve been counting calories for months or years, you’re likely feeling tired of it. Calorie counting can sometimes be a helpful tool. But for many people, counting calories in the long term can become exhausting and unhealthy. This was certainly my experience counting calories (more on this below). No matter how long you’ve been counting for, it is possible to stop and find a more liberal relationship to food. Keep reading for actionable steps on how to stop counting calories so you can start to feel more normal around food again

My experience with calorie counting

10 years ago, I used to count calories almost every day. Even when I wasn’t actively tracking them in MyFitnessPal or the like, the mental counter was still ticking over.

“If you have this snack now, then you can only have a small portion at dinner, otherwise you’re over the limit for the day”

And if I went over my self-imposed limit…one of two things would happen:

1) I would have to compensate somehow with exercise or less calories the following day

2) I would think “well I’ve screwed it now, so may as well keep going” and end up out-of-control eating and feeling extremely guilty about it

Oh, the mental turmoil of calorie counting. It was exhausting. I felt obsessed with food and had little brain space to think of much else. And I felt ashamed. As a Dietitian, I felt I should know better and knew it didn’t feel healthy to count calories. But I didn’t know there was another way. You see, in university we are still taught calorie counting as a bit of a “be-all and end-all”.

Luckily, I now realise how disordered all those constant calculations were and enjoy a healthy, nourishing relationship to food with zero counting. I do not miss obsessively tracking my food intake one bit. I now work to help others learn Intuitive Eating and other skills so they can nourish themselves without the obsession and counting. Keep reading to find out how for yourself.

Why is calorie counting so widely used….and is it worth it??

Calorie counting is often used by people use to try to lose or maintain a certain body weight, or follow a diet. There seem to be endless sources that encourage calorie counting, including:

Doctors, dietitians and government pamphlets
Media and social media
Packaged food labels
Exercise machines that have electronic displays showing the calories burned off each minute
Restaurants that list calories next to menu items
Phone apps and watch devices

Actually, it can be near impossible to avoid calorie information!

Calorie counting is touted an essential skill for anyone looking to alter their body weight or shape. But the risks and dangers seem to be rarely discussed. Calorie counting may become so habitual that you end up doing it automatically and have great difficulty stopping.

Let’s explore some of the risks and flaws of calorie counting in more depth…

Why calorie counting can be problematic

1. Calorie counts are inaccurate

It’s very difficult to determine the total amount of calories needed for an individual. We can take an estimate but the margin of error here is massive. This is because there are so many factors that influence our energy needs, including:

Age, sex, weight, height, muscle/fat ratio, metabolic rate
The type of food consumed (the body does not use 100 calories of nuts and 100 calories of muffin in the same way)
The timing or spacing of meals
Activity level and exercise
Body temperature and the temperature outside

This study out of Stanford University showed that fitness devices including Apple Watch, Basis Peak, Fitbit have a large margin of error when it comes to measuring energy (calorie) expenditure. They showed that the most accurate device was off by an average of 27 percent. And the least accurate was off by 93 percent!

Also, our dietary needs fluctuate across days, weeks and months. Having the same number of calories each day just isn’t how humans are designed. We are not robots.

It’s also impossible to precisely calculate the actual calorie content of the food we eat, even with books, apps, and scales! Most calorie counts on food labels are inaccurate. This is because they are based on a system of averages that ignores the complexity of digestion.

Recent research reveals how many calories we extract from food depends on:

– which type we eat

– how we prepare our food

-which bacteria are in our gut and

-how much energy we use to digest different foods.

Current calorie counts do not consider any of these factors. Digestion is so intricate that even if we try to improve calorie counts, we will likely never make them perfectly accurate.

2. Calorie counting can lead to false attribution

Often, people adjust caloric intake based on daily/weekly weight changes, but this is false feedback. Body mass and fat are affected by many factors. And they fluctuate regardless of calorie consumption (as does the number on the scale). If you limit intake to a certain amount and lose weight, you may falsely assume that the weight loss was because of the calorie rules followed. In fact, it could be down to so many other factors.

3. Disrupted body function and cues

Eating according to a calorie limit (rather than internal sensations and drives), disrupts ability feel hunger and fullness cues over time. This makes it harder for your body to regulate intake in the future, meaning we are more vulnerable to eating past comfortable fullness. As well as experiencing increased anxiety about our food intake. Using arbitrary limits can also leave you undernourished. If we are deficient in a nutrient, our body will not function at it’s best and we may experience negative affects on physical and mental health.

4. Poor mental health

Strict rules are innately hard to follow. Especially when it comes to fighting our biology and body’s fuel needs as is usually the case with counting calories. When the calorie limit is inevitably broken, this is often seen as a “failure”. This may then contribute to us feeling rubbish about ourselves, and low self-esteem. People who become obsessed with counting calories may calculate and re-calculate figures all day long, and feel anxious about foods when they don’t know the calorie content. They may even avoid situations where this may occur (e.g. restaurants and social occassions).

So…. you can see there are many problems with calorie counting. That’s not to say it is a useless tool but in my experience as a dietitian – counting calories is destructive and unhealthy for the majority of my clients. And learning how to stop counting calories is a key step in rediscovering a healthy relationship with food.

But, if calorie counting is so flawed, then what’s the alternative? Well, if we let it, your body will do these calculations for you. And communicate the maths through internal signals of hunger and satiety. A non-dieting adult human or animal maintains a stable weight over time, adjusting the body’s intake and performance as needed.

The trick is to tune back into your bodies signals of hunger, satiety and fullness – the OG calorie counters!

5 Steps to Stop Counting Calories

1. Inform yourself of the dangers/cons of counting calories.

So you can feel confident in your decision to stop (read the above section on “Why calorie counting can be so problematic”, if you haven’t already)

2. Explore what calorie counting has provided you

Many times giving up calorie counting may also mean giving up:

– a sense of control

– a means of achievement

– the pursuit of weight loss

If this is the case for you, it may be worth exploring (with your journal, or in dialogue with a loved-one or a professional) how these patterns came about and healthier ways to cope.

3. Delete sources of calorie information

Delete the apps. Ditch the fitbit. Avoid reading food labels.

Even if you delete these, you may still find yourself doing sums in your head. That’s ok and it will fade naturally with time as you begin to place emphasis on internal cues to eating (i.e. Intuitive Eating – more on this in point 5). However, if you do catch yourself doing sums, try to distract yourself or interrupt it with a healthier thought.

4. Reduce gradually

If going cold turkey on calorie counting feels too scary, try cutting down gradually. For example, pick a snack or meal where you won’t count or track and do this for one week. The next week, pick another meal or snack to stop counting, and so on.

If giving up calorie counting is causing lots of anxiety for you, consider seeking help from a registered dietitian or psychologist trained in disordered eating to support you.

5. Learn Intuitive Eating Skills

Intuitive Eating is an evidence-based approach to rediscover a healthy relationship with food. Using a series of tools and skills, the framework helps you move away from rigid external rules, to finally trust your body and its signals again.

Conclusion: How to Stop Counting Calories

In summary, calorie counting has many flaws, inaccuracies and dangers. If you are feeling fed-up with counting, stopping is certainly possible. Intuitive eating offers an alternative framework for nourishing your body that focuses on hunger and satiety signals, rather than numbers or rigid rules. It provides a structure for you to learn to nourish your body properly, without counting calories.

Do you want to eat foods that you enjoy without obsessing?
Do you want to improve your health through good nutrition, with the most up to date evidence-based advice?
Do you want to bin your list of food rules and stop your life revolving around healthy eating or planning what to eat?

If you answered ‘yes’ then Intuitive Eating is right for you! Explore my article on “Intuitive Eating Tips for Those Starting Our” HERE to learn more.

Do you want to work with a qualified professional who nurtures a good relationship with food? You can read more about what that looks like HERE.

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