DALLY'S FUEL FOR THOUGHT

DALLY'S FUEL FOR THOUGHT.

Calorie Counting, YES OR NO?

It's an interesting topic, some love it, and some hate it.

But is it healthy?

I've met people obsessed with calorie counting, arguably overly obsessed with everything they eat, and you could argue it's creating a poor relationship with food.

Then I've met people who enjoy the challenge that comes with being organised and structure with their eating. For some performance athletes, it's part of the sport, and they love it.

Then I've met some healthy people who eat the highest quality whole food, who source out the best-grown food, fresh organic produce. They swear by just eating quality and being mindful - rather than focusing on quantity.

Even though being mindful arguably is paying attention to not overeating and quantity.

In the past, I've also coached the zone diet. The zone diet requires a calorie count for 1-2 weeks and then categorises food into "blocks". Each block focuses on whether it's mainly a protein, carbohydrate or fat source. This method gives you a good understanding of how to visualise food proportion.

I don't do the zone diet; my current adapted stance with food is the occasional counting; however, I emphasise on understanding high-quality food and listening to my body on what it responds better to. You could say I've combined all the life experiences I've had with coaching and learning about food.

But, recently, a personal growth mentor spoke to me about entrepreneurs and tracking food. It was a fascinating view because my view has been if you are not an athlete, counting should be for a limited time because for most, it's not sustainable.

His view; "if you want to be the BEST, the best track everything."

He explained that the wealthiest people in the world know where they spend every dollar. They track every minute of their life, how much time they spend on particular tasks, they have key performance indicators on everything (KPI's). They don't complain about the extra stress; they learn to understand that you cannot grow without putting yourself under pressure. With pressure comes growth.

BOOM > I went wow, this guy fucked my view. I had to reflect.

My conclusion is that I've learned there isn't one right way. It comes down to you as a person. If you value performing at your peak and don't mind taking that little extra time to track, do it. It's why I've got on the MyZone tracking too. I've started to track exercise and food to a minor extent.

However, if you believe you're better to spend time doing something else, there's nothing wrong with that either.

End of the day, it comes down to what you VALUE and TIME - and I think most people who don't love tracking are either; time poor or feel perfectly healthy. If the latter, an individual may perceive they are better spending time doing something else.

Is tracking unhealthy or healthy?

I believe it just comes down to the individual and the context of how you live your life. It's a tool. Is a sledge hammer dangerous or safe? It comes down to how you use it.

OR DOES IT?

That answer is totally up to you!