Instagram Blogger Shows Why You Shouldn’t Get Hung Up On Counting Calories

Publish date
Thursday, 29 Sep 2016, 9:18AM
Photo: Instagram

Photo: Instagram

A blogger on Instagram is urging people to stop obsessively counting calories.  

Many work on the basis that to achieve your ideal body weight, you have to restrict calorie intake. But, increasingly, fitness bloggers on Instagram are warning against being too restrictive with what you eat. 

20-year-old Finnish blogger Sarah Puhto shared a side-by-side picture that showed her body last year when she restricted her calories (to fewer than 1000) a day and weighed 54kg, vs. her body now, when she’s consuming between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day and weighs 57kg. 

The difference in weight is minimal, but the difference in her attitude towards food is huge.  

Let's talk food 🍔🍏 Left: October 2015 (11 weeks into BBG. weighing 54kg) Right: September 2016. (59 weeks into BBG. weighing 56-57kg). Ever since I started gaining fat, I thought it didn't matter what I ate as long as it was less than 1000 calories. This always ended up in me either going to bed with intense hunger pains or leading to me binge eating everything in sight and not stopping until I was in pain from fullness. This mindset was so messed up, I thought I would be happy if I ate less, weighed less and hit my goal weight of 50kg. But the less I ate the more unhappy I got with myself. I had no control over how I was eating because my body was constantly in starvation mode or too full to function. I was gaining weight from fat from all the junk food I was binging. I was so devastated- I didn't understand why eating less wasn't working. I thought I wasn't strong because I couldn't go a few days without binging. In January 2016 I realised what I was doing wasn't working. I decided to go vegan and found out how eating <1500 calories is putting your body into starvation mode and is only a "quick fix" to losing weight and you'll eventually gain fat back by eating junk food since your body is lacking food and craves junk. I then started eating more and stopped using apps to count calories. It was hard but I knew if I just trusted my body it would work. Something had to work. I slowly had more energy and could push myself during workouts! I initially lost weight due to body fat and then gained weight due to gaining muscle. I now weigh around 56-57kg (6-7 kg above my goal weight). I'm not sure on exact weight because I don't weigh myself anymore, I don't let numbers dictate how I feel about myself anymore. I just go on how I feel mentally, and I feel amazing! I finally feel like I have a healthy relationship with food. Eating 2000-3000 calories- I roughly estimate and always eat more than 2000 cal because I know I'll be hungry if I eat less. I eat healthy 70-80% of the time. Just remember: don't let numbers get you down and define you. Don't go on some silly starvation diet- it won't work in the long run. Food is meant to fuel you, not make you upset.

A photo posted by Sara Puhto (@saggysara) on

She explains that she ‘didn’t think it mattered’ what she ate as long as it added up to fewer than 1,000 calories a day. She said the extreme diet often meant she went to bed with hunger pains, or ended up bingeing until she was too full.

‘This mindset was so messed up, I thought I would be happy if I ate less, weighed less and hit my goal weight of 50kg. But the less I ate the more unhappy I got with myself,’ she wrote. 

#transformationtuesday from October 2015 to August 2016 using @kayla_itsines BBG 😁 felt like I haven't made much progress in the past few weeks so it's always good to compare photos to way back cause I can guarantee you'll see a difference and your hard work has paid off 😌 Thank you for all the support throughout all these months, I'm so happy I'm a part of this community! Love you all 💕 . . #sweatwithkayla #bbg #bbg2 #bbggirls #bbgsisters #bbgcommunity #bbgfinland #bbgvegan #transformationphoto #progresspic #strongnotskinny #girlswithmuscle #girlswholift #weightlossjourney #fitnessjourney #kaylatransformsyou #kaylasarmy #vegan #vegansofig #veganmuscle #veganfitness #vegangains #bikini #weightloss #muscle #bbgprogress #healthmotivator

A photo posted by Sara Puhto (@saggysara) on

‘I had no control over how I was eating because my body was constantly in starvation mode or too full to function. I was gaining weight from fat from all the junk food I was binging. I was so devastated- I didn’t understand why eating less wasn’t working.’

In January, she changed her relationship with food. She became vegan and upped her calorie intake, after realising her extreme diet was causing her body to go into starvation mode. ‘It is only a “quick fix” to losing weight and you’ll eventually gain fat back by eating junk food since your body is lacking food and craves junk,’ she explains.  

 Soon she had more energy to put into her fitness regime and began to build muscle and tone. 

She estimates that she now weighs around 57kg but says she’s not sure because ‘I don’t weigh myself anymore, I don’t let numbers dictate how I feel about myself anymore. I just go on how I feel mentally, and I feel amazing!’  

Her advice? ‘Don’t let numbers get you down and define you. Don’t go on some silly starvation diet- it won’t work in the long run.

‘Food is meant to fuel you, not make you upset.’  

1 year BBG 💪🏼 side profile for my #kaylaversary 🙌🏼 Thank you @kayla_itsines for making the BBG program and changing thousands of people's lives 💕 I wrote a long post for the last transformation photo so I'll keep this one short 🙈 Here's a little quote from the song wear sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann: "Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it, It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own" This is really important to remember cause other people will give their opinions on your body but you should just ignore them cause the only opinion that matters is yours and how you feel about yourself ✌🏼(this song is really amazing, one of my favourite songs right now, and you should go listen to it 😁) Hope you all have an amazing day 🌴☀️ . . #sweatwithkayla #bbg #bbg2 #bbgsisters #bbggirls #bbgtransformation #bbgprogress #bbgcommunity #bbgmotivation #weightlossjourney #weightlosstransformation #strongnotskinny #transformation #musclegain #plantbased #vegan #vegansofig #veganmuscle #vegangains #bbgvegan #bbgfinland #kaylasarmy #kaylaitsines #kaylatransformsyou #healthmotivator #1year #transformationtuesday

A photo posted by Sara Puhto (@saggysara) on

DITCH THE SCALE ❌ (55 weeks of @kayla_itsines BBG) the photo on the left was taken on 31st October 2015 (4 months into BBG) hence all the make up and funky attire 😁 Back when I started noticing I was losing weight after a few months of working out, I would start weighing myself everyday and it became a really bad addiction. I remember I weighed myself the week of this photo and realised I had gained 1kg, I was so upset and let it ruin how I felt about myself and my progress. I kept constantly doing that for the next few months. I then started eating less and was borderline starving myself. When I felt hunger pains and when I was eating less than 1000 calories I thought I was doing "a good job". Which was so wrong and messed up. I would then end up binge eating everything in sight due to the calorie restriction and hating myself even more. That's when I did research and decided that what I was doing is completely wrong and damaging. A few months after I decided to go vegan and started eating 2000-3000 calories and occasionally would weigh myself. A few months after I lost a lot of excess body fat due to my food choices and my lowest weight was 51kg. I then went back into constantly weighing myself because my goal weight was 50kgs (which I now know wouldn't be a healthy weight for me considering how much muscle I wanted to build). I slowly started putting on weight due to increased muscle mass and I was freaked out at first but noticed many others had posted similar photos to this one and decided I'm gonna ditch the scale and let pictures be a guide of my progress. This was the best decision I have ever made. I no longer count calories or macros and only weigh myself for progress photos and DONT LET THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE DICTATE HOW I FEEL!! I feel happier then ever about my body. Yes I have bad days and weeks but that's okay cause I'm only human ✌🏼️ I eat a quite balanced diet and will treat myself to sweets and fried food when I feel like it because balance is key ⚖ I hope this helps some of you who are constantly worried about their weight because it's just a silly number and it doesn't define you as a person. You are beautiful, please remember that 💕

A photo posted by Sara Puhto (@saggysara) on

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