Obsessive Calories?

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keep_going_kg
keep_going_kg Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
Hey,

So this is more of a curiosity post than a cry for help.
When I first started my weight loss journey I was pretty strict with logging calories, so much so that that one crisp from someone else's bag got counted.

I've stopped since then and do a "rough estimate" in my head, which I feel is helping me keep my sanity more and I find i'm focusing less on what I eat and naturally just going for better options (which the occasional piece of cake)

What do you think is the best method? And when is it considered as obsessing too much over each calorie?

Replies

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    whatever method works best for you is the best method. For me, logging accurately is the best method, but I also won't bother writing down that I ate a single chip or a single jelly bean. Chances are I'm not eating enough of those single instances to throw off my calorie intake that much.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    The best method is whatever works for you.

    I do think that obsessive calorie-counting is not a lifetime thing. A few years, maybe, but at some point in life, it will end. So, the more sensible goal, IMO, is to learn how to eat.

    When I can eat without having to weigh every bite, eating reasonable amounts of healthy food without having to obsessively think about food...and continue living my life like a regular, healthy, thin person, the goal has been reached.

    For now, figuring out how to get more than fifty or sixty percent of the protein I'm supposedly needing while keeping the fat low...that my personal goal, lol.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Logging consistently and precisely is what works for me, so this is how I do it. If generalizing is working and causes you less stress, go for it.
  • KatiePapaya
    KatiePapaya Posts: 30
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    I lost 55lbs keeping a rough estimate and never weighing a thing, and I'm now maintaining in the same way (logging obsessively wasn't good for me!) I'm pretty good at eye-balling, and I don't delude myself (e.g. a big piece of cake is going to be 300+ calories) Some people find that they have to be more specific. If I works, stick with it, if not, maybe be weigh more calorie dense foods (e.g. nuts, oils etc.) Whatever works for you :)
  • Aemely
    Aemely Posts: 694 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I'm halfway to goal, and I don't obsess over the exact numbers. I would quit if I did, so estimating is better than quitting. If you find it super-easy to be exact, more power to you. It just doesn't work for me.

    Exception: If I make pasta at home, I always weigh before cooking, because I have a problem with portion control and pasta! :p

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