Lose the Crutch
Have you ever cheated on a test or homework assignment? Yes, you got the work done but if you did it because you didn’t know the answers, chances are, you still don't. The same goes with dieting; counting calories, eating precooked meals etc. You might lose a couple of pounds initially, but they're not sustainable methods in the long run. Worse, when you stop the program you’ll gain the weight back. Weight loss fads are being used as crutches. The reality is that there are no quick fixes that produce long lasting results but there ways to achieve your goals without them.
I recently told my coworkers about the website and app, Fooducate, that allows you to scan the barcodes of packaged foods. They've since become obsessed with scanning everything in their pantries and while grocery shopping, just as I had when I discovered it. The website is great because it rates each product using a grading scale and explains the reason for the grade. Products containing whole grains are highly rated unless they have added sugars or artificial flavors. It's interesting to see Brands receive different grades depending on the flavor. Think all Cheerios are created equally? Think again. Another great feature is that they give better recommendations for poorly rated products. The problem here that is you're at a loss when you don't have your phone in order to scan the barcodes. My coworker complained that his app wasn't working while he was at the grocery store. He couldn't scan the items until he got home, only to find out he hadn't made the best choices.
Then there are the numerous fitness trackers and calorie counting apps such as MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, and Lose It! A few years ago I wore a Fitbit and tracked my calories on their app. The target calorie meter always seemed to be leaning to the right, insinuating I was overeating. This was because I went to the gym after work. Instead of accounting for the future workout, it assumed I would burn calories at a steady rate throughout the day. The meter would then lean to the left after my workout, letting me know I was now under budget. At that point I didn't want to undo my hard work so although I ate dinner, I typically went to bed with a deficit. I wore the fitness tracker for a year or two until it broke but the calorie counting lasted two weeks tops. Not only was it a pain in the ass to log every single thing I ate, I was essentially being told I was eating too much even though I was still hungry! Talk about discouraging.
My other issue with fitness trackers is that they don't account for how you feel. There was no way I was taking a day off to rest and recover while this thing on my wrist mocked me for being lazy. This often lead to shin splints and over exhausting myself. When the tracker finally broke, I panicked and wanted to replace it but didn't want to spend the money. After about a week, a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders. I could finally take guilt-free rest days and didn't need to get 250 steps every hour. I don't own a car so I already walk more than the average person. So while wearing a fitness tracker can make you more aware of daily activity, I don't think they're ideal as a long term solution.
There's no shortage of frozen meals or meal delivery services. In regards to their frozen meals, the names Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers Smart Ones are about as contradictory as you can get. I hope they come with a warranty. If you look them up using the above app, you'll find the majority of their meals average a C rating for being highly processed, loaded with sodium and for containing MSG. Yikes! Passing grade? Yes. Ambitious? Not so much.
The common denominator between fitness trackers, calorie counters, precooked meals, etc is that they're used as crutches. Although they may be useful for short term use, they're not ideal or sustainable in the long run. The reason being that you aren’t learning HOW to eat better on your own. My response to my coworker not being able to scan his groceries before purchasing: "The point is, if it has a barcode, you should limit it in the first place! You have to learn how to read food labels and make your own decisions without relying on apps." The foods with the highest ratings don't have barcodes. These are the foods that should make up the majority of our diet.
For more reading on the topic:
A Whole Foods, Plant-Based Diet
- Mallory
