I stopped counting calories and my swim times got faster
For 8 months I tracked every bite and hit my macros daily, but I was exhausted by lap 20 and my pace stayed stuck. Dropped the tracking for 2 weeks, ate when hungry, and knocked 3 minutes off my 1500m at the local pool. Anyone else find the numbers were holding them back instead of helping?
Did you ever notice how much brain power tracking takes up? I mean, weighing food and doing math in your head all day is basically a second workout. When I was logging everything I'd stress about hitting protein at 9pm and then sleep like garbage, which ruined my morning swim. Letting go of the numbers let me just eat when I was actually hungry and rest when I was tired. That rest is probably where your 3 minutes came from, not the food itself.