Fine line between counting/logging and obsessing?
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dawnmcneil10 wrote: »Is it really any different than looking at a price tag before buying something?
Except it's not. Looking at the price tag is like reading the label on the can. Or reading the calorie count for the frapucino on the menu. Counting/weighing/measuring is more accounting for every penny in a small book, or with an app. Doing it to the point of obsessing is more like standing in Kohls and going through your month's budget penny by penny before deciding to buy panties.I like this response the best.
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I lost all my baby weight for good in 2005 and I STILL log mostly every day (I've been on this site for many years now)...it is a part of who I am. And I haven't gained the weight back, have only become more and more in shape and healthy. So no, I don't think it is an obsession. It's my lifestyle.0
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dawnmcneil10 wrote: »Is it really any different than looking at a price tag before buying something?
Do we all not look at the price of that bottle of wine before we order it? How about the surf n' turf entree? How about on Yelp where they show the price category of the restaurant we pick ($$ or $$$$)? We are constantly looking at prices all day long...which gas station has the cheapest gas, which store carries the cheapest diapers or laundry soap, or pet food.
Calories are the currency of health. The word "obsessive" needs to be replaced with "dedicated and committed". I'm proud to add my calories at the table when I go out. It's what Weight Watchers teaches their members too..count your points. Same thing.
It's when you may see an 8-year-old worry about calories that I think it goes too far or when you lose sleep because you went over 12 calories one day. OK?
Your friendly dietitian
What about when you see adults who are obsessing to the point that it's negatively effecting their relationship with food?
The issue with this thread is that people are assuming that obsessing means "tracking accurately".
This x1000. Tracking accurately and being diligent/dedicated/committed/consistent does not equal obsessed. It's an obsession if it starts to negatively impact your life or mental well-being.0 -
Am I dedicated or am I obsessed? I honestly dont really know or care. It worked to lose a lot of weight and its contunued to work for maintaining for the last year. Thats what I care about.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »dawnmcneil10 wrote: »Is it really any different than looking at a price tag before buying something?
Except it's not. Looking at the price tag is like reading the label on the can. Or reading the calorie count for the frapucino on the menu. Counting/weighing/measuring is more accounting for every penny in a small book, or with an app. Doing it to the point of obsessing is more like standing in Kohls and going through your month's budget penny by penny before deciding to buy panties.I like this response the best.
Very well said
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Most people who log probably don't obsess. Some absolutely do though and take it to an unhealthy level. That's an illness just like anorexia or bulimia or washing your hands 85 times a day out of some obsession with cleanliness. I suspect the ones who obsess probably already have obsessive personalities and this is how it manifests itself. ..but I could be wrong.
Calorie logging in itself is fine. It's not necessary, but it is one way to accomplish weight control and one that some people prefer. If it helps you, great. It is a tool to accomplish your health goals.
However, if it ceases to be a tool and becomes an end goal in itself you may have a problem. If it disrupts your life it is a problem. The fact that you actually do GO to restaurants that don't have calorie information printed on a menu is a good sign of mental health.
If you start to avoid eating anything that you haven't weighed to the fraction of a gram, you may have a problem. If you break down in tears because you can't find calorie information, you absolutely have a problem. If you get extremely stressed when you can't determine calories with certainty, you may have a problem. If your relationships suffer because you avoid social meals because you can't control them 100%, you definitely have a problem.
If you just spend a few minutes logging and then move on with your life, you are fine. It's a question of degree and perspective. You aren't going to not lose weight because you didn't log the freshly ground black pepper the waiter added to your meal at the table.0 -
I have tried calorie counting before, but there is something about the app and the easy access to the info that is obsessive...for me at least. All of the flags that I get a like or a comment, the interaction with friends, etc. It is always on my mind. For now it is working though so I am not questioning it too much.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »At one point, I definitely crossed the line from just trying to hit my goals and becoming obsessed. I didn't care what most people thought about it, but I did care about what my wife thought about it and how things were impacting our relationship.
Basically, I was to the point where I didn't want to go out on dates and eat out...I couldn't sit down and just enjoy a meal and a couple glasses of wine with my wife because I didn't know exactly how many calories was in what or if it was going to throw my macros off or what if this or what if that.
I remember the tipping point actually...I had booked a couple of nights over a weekend at a local resort for a birthday getaway for my wife. We got there and everything was great...until we headed for dinner that evening. Here I am at a 5 star restaurant trying to treat my wife and I'm thinking about just ordering a garden salad because I'm scared to death of anything else. I couldn't even sit out on the balcony with my wife and enjoy a bottle of wine.
It was ridiculous and my wife told me so...she basically told me that she liked me better when I was fat, but fun. That was it for me...I had become overly obsessed to the point that this was no longer healthy (and health was my whole purpose for starting this in the first place).
I stopped logging and keeping my diary shortly after that...that doesn't mean I'm not mindful of what I'm doing...I am. But I started focusing my energies on my fitness aspirations and focusing my diet on simply making more healthful choices overall rather than obsessing about a number. I've been able to maintain, more or less for over 1.5 years now without logging and obsessing about every little calorie...worrying about some silly dollop of ketchup, etc.
I just eat healthfully and I work out..it works for me and I'm a lot more fun to be around these days...and I actually enjoy a nice, indulgent meal out and don't think much of it anymore.
Interesting story. I can see myself getting to your point, though I am not quite there yet.
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It is obsessive to know what your bank account balance is every day, or just staying on top of your financial picture?0
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Some people say I don't need to be as strict as I am anymore. I agree to an extent and I have relaxed a little bit, BUT I know I would eat when not hungry and eventually would gain back the weight.0
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DeeJayShank wrote: »It is obsessive to know what your bank account balance is every day, or just staying on top of your financial picture?
Very good way to look at it.
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DeeJayShank wrote: »It is obsessive to know what your bank account balance is every day, or just staying on top of your financial picture?
If you do it for fun or for some particular purpose, who cares. If you find yourself stressing because you missed a day due to outside factors or such, it is unhealthy. Obsession by definition comes with an aspect of feeling helpess, out of control, etc.0 -
I'm learning to make my health and weight and food (calories and nutrition) serve my life and have a firm rule against letting it become the other way around.0
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Some people say I don't need to be as strict as I am anymore. I agree to an extent and I have relaxed a little bit, BUT I know I would eat when not hungry and eventually would gain back the weight.
I don't mean this in a negative way, but if you have to be that strict still, it doesn't sound like you've made a lifestyle change with permanently changed habits.0 -
amandarunning wrote: »Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated...
This is ridiculous.
I disagree. Many people who can't commit, who have no discipline, are the first to jump up and accuse someone else of being obsessive. We live in a country of lazy, unrealistic people who have no idea what it takes to change a complex behavior.
I have commitment and I have discipline while still believing that there are some people out there that are obsessive and take things way to far. Of course I'm not saying everyone or even most but there sure are plenty. Am I lazy?
Your statement was absolute. Had it been more tempered, I wouldn't have disagreed.0 -
amandarunning wrote: »Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated...
This is ridiculous.
I disagree. Many people who can't commit, who have no discipline, are the first to jump up and accuse someone else of being obsessive. We live in a country of lazy, unrealistic people who have no idea what it takes to change a complex behavior.
Some may be (as has been noted already)...but is it true for all, or even the majority? I would call you on the fact that it is.
I've been called "obsessive" by too many fat people who haven't a clue about nutrition or exercise. They attack other people to deflect criticism from themselves. Incidentally, I NEVER make comments on other people's eating or exercise habits unless asked.0 -
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DeeJayShank wrote: »It is obsessive to know what your bank account balance is every day, or just staying on top of your financial picture?
Behaviors by themselves are not necessarily obsessive.
But if certain behaviors lead someone to obsess or to have enough stress or anxiety then there exists a problem to be addressed.
This is why Sara posted the definition of obsession multiple times.
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Person A:
I log my food daily, I use a food scale, I weigh everything meticulously and while it can be a burden at times it's working great and I can keep doing it.
Person B:
I log my food daily, I use a food scale, I weigh everything meticulously and I seriously hate this. My marriage is having problems because I'm too scared to eat at a restaurant and my husband feels like I don't want to go out and have fun. I can't stop thinking about calories and it's negatively effecting my quality of life and mental well being.
Massive difference.
Just because you are person A, don't pretend person B either doesn't exist or just needs to "suck it up".
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Person A:
I log my food daily, I use a food scale, I weigh everything meticulously and while it can be a burden at times it's working great and I can keep doing it.
Person B:
I log my food daily, I use a food scale, I weigh everything meticulously and I seriously hate this. My marriage is having problems because I'm too scared to eat at a restaurant and my husband feels like I don't want to go out and have fun. I can't stop thinking about calories and it's negatively effecting my quality of life and mental well being.
Massive difference.
Just because you are person A, don't pretend person B either doesn't exist or just needs to "suck it up".
Yes, and by 'burden' in case of person A, I'd say it more like 'hassle' or 'occasional nuisance' than 'emotionally taxing' or 'stressful'.0
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