Hi everyone, I'm not 100% sure how to ask this, but I figured The Womens would be more helpful than the, ahem, general forum:
I am just getting back into the sport after more than a decade away, and seeing some real gainz: swim yardage piling up, watts on bike increasing, etc. But I know two things: 1) I really need to dial in my nutrition by making sure I'm hitting macros and getting sufficient caloric intake, and 2) lose weight -- thanks to all those years away sitting on my butt plus the "COVID 15", the extra lbs. make running uncomfortable (FWIW: I would need to lose about 15-18 pounds to get back to my racing weight). I also know that the best way to do this is by tracking. So yesterday I re-downloaded and signed into Cronometer (I hate MyFitnessPal) and it was, to borrow a phrase from the youths, triggering.
I have a history of disordered eating (by which I mean: I am 45 y/o woman who grew up in American diet culture and all the bullsh!t that entails), and just looking at the calories in vs. calories out gave me the heebee jeebees. I took some deep breaths and tried to focus on the nutrition end of things: fiber, carbs, vitamins. But all I could think about was "I need to burn moar calories!!" I closed the app and didn't enter anything beyond lunch for that day.
So, my questions is/are: do you use an app tracker? Have you found it useful or do you find it creates a pile-on effect of general angst? Do you have any suggestions for reminding myself that the app is just a tool and for using it accordingly? Any experience with using a tracking app like MFP or Cronometer without getting too dragged into the weeds of orthorexia or calorie counting?
Sorry that this is both long and somewhat nonsensical, but if anyone has any advice or suggestions I'd love to hear them!
[what Yoda said about trying]
I am just getting back into the sport after more than a decade away, and seeing some real gainz: swim yardage piling up, watts on bike increasing, etc. But I know two things: 1) I really need to dial in my nutrition by making sure I'm hitting macros and getting sufficient caloric intake, and 2) lose weight -- thanks to all those years away sitting on my butt plus the "COVID 15", the extra lbs. make running uncomfortable (FWIW: I would need to lose about 15-18 pounds to get back to my racing weight). I also know that the best way to do this is by tracking. So yesterday I re-downloaded and signed into Cronometer (I hate MyFitnessPal) and it was, to borrow a phrase from the youths, triggering.
I have a history of disordered eating (by which I mean: I am 45 y/o woman who grew up in American diet culture and all the bullsh!t that entails), and just looking at the calories in vs. calories out gave me the heebee jeebees. I took some deep breaths and tried to focus on the nutrition end of things: fiber, carbs, vitamins. But all I could think about was "I need to burn moar calories!!" I closed the app and didn't enter anything beyond lunch for that day.
So, my questions is/are: do you use an app tracker? Have you found it useful or do you find it creates a pile-on effect of general angst? Do you have any suggestions for reminding myself that the app is just a tool and for using it accordingly? Any experience with using a tracking app like MFP or Cronometer without getting too dragged into the weeds of orthorexia or calorie counting?
Sorry that this is both long and somewhat nonsensical, but if anyone has any advice or suggestions I'd love to hear them!
[what Yoda said about trying]