Overwhelmed (edited)

RulaAsaad

Hello everone,

I've been trying for the past ~40 days to follow a healthy lifestyle. Of course it takes a lot of changes- the type of food i buy, the way i cook, counting calories, lots of training for both losing fat and shaping my body, and drinking way more water..

It is getting too much for me. I am overwhelmed... I can't count my calories 100% correct (even when i am cooking -not my mom-, it takes forever to weigh everything and come up with the perfect recipe); not to mention the protein/fat/carbs calcolation and having the right ratio by the end of the day.

Another problem (which is related to women only) is the 7 days before my period where i want to eat every and anything.

I have an addictive personality and this by far the best addiction I've gotten. I also can't do things half way. It must be perfect. I know I shouldn't think this way but it is who i am.

I appreaciate any tips, support, encouragement, or even simple and clear reading materials ❤

Ps. I dont know if this matters- i'm 155 cm, 54kg, 23 years old.

cmriverside

Well, there's nothing wrong with accuracy. I had a brief period where I really wanted to throw out the whole process of calorie counting. But it works, so I just had to stick with it. It's the only way I can make sure I'm eating enough but not too much and also getting the nutrition and macros I need.

Really, it takes me less than five minutes a day to enter my food. I make a couple new recipes a week sometimes. Then they are in my Recipe list. I've been at this for 10 years, so I know where I can estimate and where I need to be accurate. Like I make sure my meat calories in a recipe are correct, but I often guess weights or use "large onion" or stuff like that.

Luckily you don't have to get it absolutely perfect. Not only that, but it's not possible. Getting "in the ballpark" has been good enough for me. I accept that I make a couple hundred calories of errors every day. Didn't stop me losing weight. Hasn't made maintenance impossible either.

Do what you need to do for your own health and sanity. If you don't want to log, don't.

88olds

Can you slow down before you drive yourself into the ditch? Agree that there's a learning curve and things get easier.

But a program you can't live with is not a good program. Challenge is good, overwhelmed, not so much.

When I started keeping a food diary I went around saying this to myself a lot- Perfect is the enemy of the good.

dutchandkiwi

On the basis of your stats your BMI is 22,5 This means your weight is smack in the middle of the BMI where it should be.
I concur that absolute perfection, unless you are athlete, is just not something you need. I am now in maintenance and I weigh most things (not all) I sort of keep an eye on my macro balance and live an active lifestyle. A lifestyle which becomes a burden or an obsession is not healthy and not sustainable. A healthy lifestyle also means: live and relax when you can.

RulaAsaad

cmriverside wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

"it takes me less than five minutes a day to enter my food. I make a couple new recipes a week sometimes. Then they are in my Recipe list. I've been at this for 10 years .... I accept that I make a couple hundred calories of errors every day. Didn't stop me losing weight. Hasn't made maintenance impossible either.

Thank you so much for the reply. it really helps to know that not having perfect calories amount doesn't prevent me from maintaining my weight. and regarding the recipes, i love your idea! it is great to know that other people have been doing this for so long!! gives me lots of hope. thank you so much!!

RulaAsaad

dutchandkiwi wrote: »

On the basis of your stats your BMI is 22,5 This means your weight is smack in the middle of the BMI where it should be.
I concur that absolute perfection, unless you are athlete, is just not something you need. I am now in maintenance and I weigh most things (not all) I sort of keep an eye on my macro balance and live an active lifestyle. A lifestyle which becomes a burden or an obsession is not healthy and not sustainable. A healthy lifestyle also means: live and relax when you can.

Thank you for replying! i'm aware of my BMI and i know in my mind that i look and weight fine, but i want more- i'm sick of holding myself back from eating and so sick binge eating. I thought having a healthy lifestyle would take the stress away on this matter and help me have normal eating habits but it has still not yet kicked in.

How do you keep an eye on your macro balance? i think this is the thing that is driving me crazy the most

ladyhusker39

If you wanted to learn to swim would you start out by trying to cross the English Channel? That's how you're approaching this. Instead of going all out overnight take a step back. Choose 1 change you'd like to implement and work on that until it meets your definition of perfect, whatever that is.

When you're ready choose something else to perfect.

Before you know it you'll be where you want to be without the side effect of driving yourself crazy.

JeromeBarry1

Don't spend time worrying about getting the perfect combination of macros before your meal. Eat what you like, record the truth, and then evaluate if you need to make adjustments the next time.

dutchandkiwi

rolaasad wrote: »

dutchandkiwi wrote: »

On the basis of your stats your BMI is 22,5 This means your weight is smack in the middle of the BMI where it should be.
I concur that absolute perfection, unless you are athlete, is just not something you need. I am now in maintenance and I weigh most things (not all) I sort of keep an eye on my macro balance and live an active lifestyle. A lifestyle which becomes a burden or an obsession is not healthy and not sustainable. A healthy lifestyle also means: live and relax when you can.

Thank you for replying! i'm aware of my BMI and i know in my mind that i look and weight fine, but i want more- i'm sick of holding myself back from eating and so sick binge eating. I thought having a healthy lifestyle would take the stress away on this matter and help me have normal eating habits but it has still not yet kicked in.

How do you keep an eye on your macro balance? i think this is the thing that is driving me crazy the most

By simply looking at the percentages and not the grams If I don't get to the 'perfect' ratio one day I just juggle it around the next day. I try to take a more of a weekly approach to the macro's As long as it seems to be OK for the week on average, fluctuation during the week does not bother me one bit.