Do You Think About Calorie Counts On a Menu?
How Do You Feel About Calories on A Menu?
How do you feel about calories on a menu?
The old me was 100% in; I would have thought it was a dream come true. In fact, for years, I fantasized about opening a restaurant affiliated with "WW." It would have the entire menu broken down by nutritional content and points. A place I could eat and quickly do my calorie math. It would feel safe.
I never imagined that I would not support calorie counts on a menu.
A few weeks ago, I went to dinner with my two closest friends, and the calorie counts were on the menu. I silently groaned as my dieting mind instantly went to the calories to determine what I "should" eat and not what I wanted to eat. The calorie counts were listed with the wine as well. I felt the joy leave me as I internally noticed the food police directing me to the lowest-calorie food choices on the menu.
The "old" me still shows up from time to time.
I have worked too hard to let a menu with numbers derail my joy of eating what I want and how much I want. The diet, aka the life thief, was not going to win!
Has this ever happened to you where you are excited to eat, and then that awful pit shows up, and your food becomes "numbers" (aka calories)?
I have learned through my personal and professional experience that eating by the "numbers" leaves everyone wanting more because of the ultimate lack of satisfaction. What does satisfaction in a meal look like for you? I'm curious if you know. It took me years to understand the correlation between satisfaction and a dieting mind.
For me, satisfaction now looks like sharing a delicious meal with friends, being aware of why I am eating, what makes me feel good, eating when I'm hungry, noticing when I am comfortably full, and choosing if I want one more bite because it tastes so good. No more guilt and shame!
Fortunately, now, with the practice of Intuitive and Mindful Eating, I can quickly catch my diet mind in action and redirect her attention to focus on the mind, body, and food connection. The reminder is that I can choose anything when I listen to my body. I am the expert on me, not the calorie math.
Please note that personally, I no longer want to see calorie counts on my menu; I am by no means anti-nutrition. Nutrition has a time and place, and I am very intuned in how my choices make me feel.
