Food tracking can be a daunting task to many, as it was to me when I first started. Before I started tracking my calories I had terrible eating habits and didn’t properly take care of my body. Now, it’s hard to go a day without tracking my calories since it has become such a normal part of my routine. Tracking my calories has become a daily ritual for me and has helped me improve upon my physical and mental ability, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy on my emotional and social wellbeing.
Part of working out involves eating right and figuring out what works for your own body. I started using myfitnesspal in order to keep the amount of calories I was eating in a healthy range and make sure I wasn’t overeating. Through the use of myfitnesspal …show more content…
When I first came to college, I was playing lacrosse and in ROTC. I figured I would be able to eat whatever I wanted because I was working out so much. However, I was always sore and I felt like I was never able to recover from all the workouts I did. I had low self-esteem and wasn’t happy with my physical appearance overall. I was eating crappy food and way too much of it, and I didn’t even realize it. I ended up failing height and weight for ROTC and they said my BMI was over 30% after doing a tape test. We had height and weight once a month, and I began to develop some very unhealthy habits in order to just pass the test. Each week before the test, I would hardly eat and become very stressed. The day before the test I wouldn’t even eat or drink water, and sometimes even go for a run in heavy clothing. Naturally, this helped me pass the test, but the second it was over I would go back to my room and binge eat for the next three days. I felt terrible about myself and dreaded height and weight each time. Looking back, its hard to understand how I could do that to …show more content…
However, for some, tracking food can become consuming and emotionally draining. I enjoy tracking my calories and do it almost every day, but there have been times when I have let my tracking compromise my emotional and social wellbeing. If I plan out my meals for the day and my friends ask me to go out for ice cream or dinner, it’s hard to explain to them that the extra food probably won’t fit my macros. At first I put my food tracking over going out with my friends, and always made up excuses to not go out to eat with them. I was worried that they would make fun of me or not want to hangout with me anymore. Once I became more open with my friends about my new eating lifestyle, they were very accepting. I’ve also learned to become more accepting of not hitting my macros every once and while. You can’t be perfect all the time, and one day off won’t ruin all the hard work you put in. Now that my friends know more about my diet they’ll come to me if they have questions or want tips. I realize now how silly it was to avoid hanging out with my friends because I was scared about not eating properly or having them make fun of me. Now, it’s easier to handle my social wellbeing and tracking calories, but my emotional wellbeing has been affected negatively
Part of working out involves eating right and figuring out what works for your own body. I started using myfitnesspal in order to keep the amount of calories I was eating in a healthy range and make sure I wasn’t overeating. Through the use of myfitnesspal …show more content…
When I first came to college, I was playing lacrosse and in ROTC. I figured I would be able to eat whatever I wanted because I was working out so much. However, I was always sore and I felt like I was never able to recover from all the workouts I did. I had low self-esteem and wasn’t happy with my physical appearance overall. I was eating crappy food and way too much of it, and I didn’t even realize it. I ended up failing height and weight for ROTC and they said my BMI was over 30% after doing a tape test. We had height and weight once a month, and I began to develop some very unhealthy habits in order to just pass the test. Each week before the test, I would hardly eat and become very stressed. The day before the test I wouldn’t even eat or drink water, and sometimes even go for a run in heavy clothing. Naturally, this helped me pass the test, but the second it was over I would go back to my room and binge eat for the next three days. I felt terrible about myself and dreaded height and weight each time. Looking back, its hard to understand how I could do that to …show more content…
However, for some, tracking food can become consuming and emotionally draining. I enjoy tracking my calories and do it almost every day, but there have been times when I have let my tracking compromise my emotional and social wellbeing. If I plan out my meals for the day and my friends ask me to go out for ice cream or dinner, it’s hard to explain to them that the extra food probably won’t fit my macros. At first I put my food tracking over going out with my friends, and always made up excuses to not go out to eat with them. I was worried that they would make fun of me or not want to hangout with me anymore. Once I became more open with my friends about my new eating lifestyle, they were very accepting. I’ve also learned to become more accepting of not hitting my macros every once and while. You can’t be perfect all the time, and one day off won’t ruin all the hard work you put in. Now that my friends know more about my diet they’ll come to me if they have questions or want tips. I realize now how silly it was to avoid hanging out with my friends because I was scared about not eating properly or having them make fun of me. Now, it’s easier to handle my social wellbeing and tracking calories, but my emotional wellbeing has been affected negatively