When Counting Calories Just Doesn't Add Up.

I don't count calories. I just don't.

I've gone in spurts of using calorie counting apps, but I've always quit after a few days or weeks. I get frustrated trying to add in every bite of food I eat and worrying about whether what I'm entering is exactly right.

I found myself being so afraid of hitting that magic number of allowed calories each day that I did one of three things:

1) I would deprive myself of healthy foods, like eggs, because they were high in calories.
2) I would surpass the number by eating clean, healthy foods all day and feel terrible about it.
3) I'd starve myself all day to "save" my calories and eat junk for dinner/dessert that night.

So I decided to forget about counting calories. I realized it would never be exact, and I was much better off when I was more focused on WHAT I was eating. Counting calories is something I couldn't do forever, it wasn't a lifestyle. So, I gave it a soft toss into the "fads" box of mine. (Along with the military diet, the acai berry diet, and the green tea diet...yeah.)

Here's my philosophy:

 Eat when you're hungry. Eat healthy foods that will fuel your body. Stop eating when you're full.

I realize many people swear by counting calories. However, I just believe that on a day-to-day basis, when we're more focused on these three things, there isn't a need to count. Before the calorie was "invented," fit people intuitively followed these rules.

This is what works for me personally, and I find it's much easier and more enjoyable then spending all day worrying about a stupid number.