Does anyone else obsess about numbers?

dwaterfield

My wife and I went out last night to Ruth's Chris, something we haven't done for a long time. Before we went I planned out my calories for the day, read the menu and nutrition info online, and basically was completely OCD about it. OK, the steak was totally worth it but I have to wonder if anyone else gets as wrapped up in the numbers as I do.

In addition to MFP, I have a spreadsheet tracking my weight on a weekly basis, pounds lost, average loss per day, calculated RMR and BMI, etc. I even have a graph that shows projected weight loss versus "recommended" weight loss versus actual weight loss. Oh, and a little table where I can check off things like "1/3 of goal".

I'm not like this about most things in life. I know it's at least partly because I have a hard deadline. I'm taking a crew of Boy Scouts to Philmont this summer and I have to meet their weight standard by 7/1/16.

This is the second time I've been through a weight loss program though and I was kind of nuts about the numbers then too. Back then I was being measured for actual RMR and fat percentage which lead to even more numbers to track and graphs to make.

So...do you find yourself obsessing about numbers or am I just being weird?

queenliz99

I don't think you are weird, I like numbers too. Carry on!!

ki4eld

I pre-log all of my food and that's especially true if I'm eating out. I will over-estimate the restaurant food and adjust the rest of the day to keep things within reason.

I too have a spreadsheet with pages and graphs.

As long as it's not taking away from you living your life, it's ok.

allison4224

I found that I lost the most weight when I was being obsessive about the numbers. I am trying to be obsessive again! I found that after 5 or 6 months, my weight loss slowed to nothing. Then I became discouraged and changed my strategy, no longer paying attention to things. So, I think that if watching the numbers helps you stay focused and motivated to lose, then it's a good thing. Hold on to it for as long as you can.

MelaniaTrump

Not strange. Sounds engineering like. I wonder if there is a joke book about how project managers lose weight.

dawnemjh

Me!!!! Mostly obsessive about calories in....I find that if I dont track every morsel that enters my body, I dont lose weight....

nordlead2005

I'm not OCD about the numbers when I go out to eat. I'll check the menu and choose according to what I want and how many calories I have (informed decisions are good).

I also have a spreadsheet that tracks my weekly weight (on top of daily recordings that get shoved through to trendweight) that I can punch in a few numbers and it'll spit out TDEE over any timeframe I want along with weekly average weight loss compared to goal weight loss. That spreadsheet is also used to record BF% and spits out FM and FFM. I also have a spreadsheet that shows strength progress for all of my lifts and my total number of pull ups in a given workout (max reps in a set would be boring as I'd only be at 5 )

I also have spreadsheets tracking my retirement, mortgage, yearly budget, vacation time, fantasy football, wear and tear on my home server backup disks, and the list goes on.

Sounds perfectly normal to me... but if I told my non-engineering friends they would probably think I'm crazy

20yearsyounger

dwaterfield wrote: »

My wife and I went out last night to Ruth's Chris, something we haven't done for a long time. Before we went I planned out my calories for the day, read the menu and nutrition info online, and basically was completely OCD about it. OK, the steak was totally worth it but I have to wonder if anyone else gets as wrapped up in the numbers as I do.

In addition to MFP, I have a spreadsheet tracking my weight on a weekly basis, pounds lost, average loss per day, calculated RMR and BMI, etc. I even have a graph that shows projected weight loss versus "recommended" weight loss versus actual weight loss. Oh, and a little table where I can check off things like "1/3 of goal".

I'm not like this about most things in life. I know it's at least partly because I have a hard deadline. I'm taking a crew of Boy Scouts to Philmont this summer and I have to meet their weight standard by 7/1/16.

This is the second time I've been through a weight loss program though and I was kind of nuts about the numbers then too. Back then I was being measured for actual RMR and fat percentage which lead to even more numbers to track and graphs to make.

So...do you find yourself obsessing about numbers or am I just being weird?

the big question is do you enjoy it or is it stressful? For me, I wake up everyday excited about the new challenge of the day - fitting everything I want into my calorie allotment. Fun for me but would that drive others crazy.

ScarletFyre

I totally obsess about the numbers! My poor fiance: He'll make dinner and I'll go "how many ounces was that chicken? How much x,y,z did you put in there? Does this look like a cup, or a half a cup of x,y,z?" When i make dinner it goes on my food scale.
I don't keep sheets or anything for weight etc, but only because MFP and other apps i have do it for me

arditarose

I do this too. I'm obsessed...and I love it I've never tracked anything in my life. Literally-I'm 30 years old and can't tell you how much money is in my bank account. I can tell you how many grams of protein I ate every day for the past 450 days though. It's awesome.

The only thing that gets me down is I have no one to talk to about this stuff in real life. Very fortunate to have so many great friends on here.

dwaterfield

CrystalPrana wrote: »

I found that I lost the most weight when I was being obsessive about the numbers. I am trying to be obsessive again! I found that after 5 or 6 months, my weight loss slowed to nothing. Then I became discouraged and changed my strategy, no longer paying attention to things. So, I think that if watching the numbers helps you stay focused and motivated to lose, then it's a good thing. Hold on to it for as long as you can.

This is something I've been worrying about. Assuming I meet my goal in time, once I get back from Philmont I should be in the best shape I've been in years....but will I be able to keep the weight off? The statistics are really gloomy there. I lost over 60 lbs last time and gained every bit of it back.

I've been thinking that I need to commit to tracking my calories basically for the rest of my life. I don't want to because I know I'll lose interest in it (I certainly did before) but I think I have to. Sigh.

Not strange. Sounds engineering like. I wonder if there is a joke book about how project managers lose weight.

You caught me. I'm a programmer and a project manager, also a former Army engineer. All of that makes me interested in the numbers!

the big question is do you enjoy it or is it stressful? For me, I wake up everyday excited about the new challenge of the day - fitting everything I want into my calorie allotment. Fun for me but would that drive others crazy.

Depends on when you ask me. When the numbers are good I love it. When they're bad it drives me batty. My wife swears she's going to hide the scale from me when I'm on a plateau...

Swan360

I just joined yesterday and completed my food diary in full! I also am very focused on the #s-afraid to get too much in of something or not enough of.

ModernRock

nordlead2005 wrote: »

I also have spreadsheets tracking my retirement, mortgage, yearly budget, vacation time, fantasy football, wear and tear on my home server backup disks, and the list goes on.

Car maintenance and fuel economy?

strong_curves

I do! I guess it's because I'm trying to get better with my CI vs my CO still.

emberellis

I'm exactly the same, I weigh all my food precisely to ensure I stick to my macros 100%! This has always worked well for me though

nordlead2005

ModernRock wrote: »

nordlead2005 wrote: »

I also have spreadsheets tracking my retirement, mortgage, yearly budget, vacation time, fantasy football, wear and tear on my home server backup disks, and the list goes on.

Car maintenance and fuel economy?

yes and no. Though I do calculate fuel economy every time I fill up to see if it unexpectedly dropped or if my wife drove a lot

I got in the habit of resetting the trip meter every time I fill up thanks to riding motorcycles with only empty lights.

Kimegatron

I have an excel spreadsheet that I punch my daily numbers in with my deficits also. It's honestly not my character normally, but I like having that in front of my face

airforceman1979

I drive my wife crazy I wight very thing down to the gram then I double check in Oz I check my weight 3 times a day mooring noon and night I like to see how it fluctuate so yes I am obsessed with numbers lol

2muchfnsugar

Yep. Totally obssessed about the numbers. I'm very science minded and EXTREMELY analytical, and although I don't always weigh out everything that goes in (mainly because I'm very busy and don't exactly have the time), if I'm going to spend the effort to do something, I'm totally going to be as accurate as possible (or practical). Being OCD is the only way I can make it work, but it's definitely worth it. Good luck on your deadline.