Here we are: you reading a body-neutral fitness blog for mamas, me writing said blog.
So I can assume that you’re a smart woman who’s absorbed ALL KINDS of “fitness” info in your life because it’s been spoon-fed to you like a life-force. ? (It doesn’t elude me that this very blog counts among
Statistically, you and I are some of the savviest health consumers ever to live.
But a quick question:
Do you track calories? Use a fitbit? Or aim for a certain “calories burned”?
No judgment here. ?♀️ I used to. For YEARS.
If you follow along here regularly, you probably know that I’ve made it my personal mission to help mamas weed diet culture out of their movement routines and heal their relationships with exercise and their bodies.
So we don’t talk about calories much around here because we don’t need to quantify ourselves or shrink to prove our worth or enjoy our lives.
But calorie counts & trackers are still everywhere. Even though the science of calorie tracking and burning is not fully understood, even by researchers themselves. ??
As long as we still have fitbits, MFP & fat loss scales, I’ll keep reminding you:
✔️ The purpose of exercise is JOY ??♀️ and to make your body & brain strong & resilient.
Accepting your body & ditching diet culture might be one of the HARDEST things you ever do.
?Feelings might not cut it. ?Inspiration might not cut it. ??The concept of #bodyneutrality might not cut it.
? Your analytical brain might need PROOF that beating yourself into submission isn’t the way to change your body.
So SAVE THIS to remind yourself:
✖️ Exercise is not a very significant contributor to energy requirements
✖️ The “daily caloric needs” research tops out at 78% accuracy, meaning the formula doesn’t work for 1 in 4 people in the BEST studies;
✖️ Exercise typically accounts for 5-10% of energy used while tasks like work, chores, moving around our houses/towns, fidgeting, etc take 15-50% of our energy;
✖️ You can’t accurately track your non-exercise movement to get your daily caloric burn even if you try;
✖️ Your body needs MOST of its energy for simply existing and keeping you capable of managing your invisible, internal tasks;
✖️ That tracking technology on your watch, treadmill or app is paltry at best and NEVER the way to gauge how much food you need. Only your BODY & HUNGER can tell you what you need!
? SHOULDN’T MYFITNESSPAL COME WITH THIS DISCLAIMER?? ?
This is complicated stuff, but if you’re like me you need to know WHY fitness tech and calorie tracking isn’t effective before you can start to break free of diet devices. ❤️? I hope this helps you on your journey, my friend!
xo
D.