Calorie counting is making me insane.

jofjltncb6

extremely time consuming? not really

Certainly far less time consuming than keeping up with the MFP forums.

WendyTerry420

I'm happier the lower my weight is even though I feel worse physically. Any advice? I think I'm going crazy.

You need to see a therapist. Your post screams eating disorder, or at least a very unhealthy relationship with food and weight in general.

This...

Obsessions can lead to compulsive behavior and could very well be an underlying cause in your struggle with optimal weight. Counseling can be really awesome for helping you change your perspective and to learn how to examine your own behavior.

jofjltncb6

extremely time consuming? not really

Certainly far less time consuming than keeping up with the MFP forums.

plus if she has time to cook full meals she has time to click some keys on the computer

Good point. I do a lot of my preliminary meal logging while the food is cooking...and then make an adjustment later for the amount I actually ate. A few minutes, tops...and without obsessing over it. It's only time-consuming/onerous if you make it that way.

WendyTerry420

TL;DR - The 80s were generally awesome, but wrong that eating fat makes you fat.

knt6742

Definitely go see a therapist. Counting calories and the scale should not be causing you this much stress. The scale should not rule your life.

Brandolin11

You are obsessing too much and probably in danger of developing an eating disorder.

I'll take it one step further and agree with the other folks who believe you already have one. So sorry to hear that - it's tough to battle, but not hopeless! I echo the advice to speak to a counselor, and seek one who is specifically educated in this area.

I'd also highly recommend checking out the Overeater's Anonymous program. It's a fantastic support group for people who have compulsive behavior surrounding food. If you're not comfortable attending a meeting, at the very least check out the "Big Book" which outlines 12 great steps and many tools that will help you overcome the thinking that leads you into this behavior. Here is a link that takes you to a free .pdf of it online.... http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm

Counseling, coupled with learning the 12 steps, can be a very powerful combination. You can be free from the obsession. Good luck.

AveryDior

I'm happier the lower my weight is even though I feel worse physically. Any advice? I think I'm going crazy.

You need to see a therapist. Your post screams eating disorder, or at least a very unhealthy relationship with food and weight in general.

This...

Agree....

daw0518

I'm also someone who has never liked cooking and never will, so I feel you on having no desire to cook, but it doesn't have to keep you from enjoying your life and staying healthy. I'm single and live alone, so I've had to figure out a lot of easy meals to cook for just me. Sandwiches, veggie plates, ground turkey burritos, soups, etc. A lot of things that you can cook one night a week & have as leftovers for the rest of the week. Just take it one day at a time. And if you don't want to cook, don't. Stock up on frozen meals, canned soups & the like that fit into your calorie goal & macros. They work great in a pinch on a night that you don't want to cook.

I do agree with others that this is borderline obsessive and unhealthy thinking. Definitely find help wherever you can find it [others posted some awesome resources]. Good luck & I hope things get better for you soon!

VeganAmandaJ

I'd have to agree with this, it doesn't sound good at all and not saying you shouldn't work to be healthy but it sounds extreme and because of your user name, I assume you have obsessive tendencies in general? I don't really know what else to say other than what someone else said, try to estimate things and just check the scale once a week. I understand about the scale but you cannot allow it to control you; why is a specific number so important? Ask yourself that and think about eating/exercising to feel well not for a number.

I'm happier the lower my weight is even though I feel worse physically. Any advice? I think I'm going crazy.

You need to see a therapist. Your post screams eating disorder, or at least a very unhealthy relationship with food and weight in general.

This...

PikaKnight

extremely time consuming? not really

Certainly far less time consuming than keeping up with the MFP forums.

plus if she has time to cook full meals she has time to click some keys on the computer

Good point. I do a lot of my preliminary meal logging while the food is cooking...and then make an adjustment later for the amount I actually ate. A few minutes, tops...and without obsessing over it. It's only time-consuming/onerous if you make it that way.

And using the phone app makes it more convenient to adjust as you cook as well. It really is not that time consuming.

jenniferreed02

How you feel is more important than the number on the scale. It sounds like you know this but have gotten into a toxic mind loop of having to control every bit of food/weight.

I would throw away your scale. Seriously. Get rid of it and don't weigh yourself. Take measurements a few times a month, track food the best you can, and that will have to be good enough. After a few months if you do put on weight (not water weight - more than 5 lbs) then reconsider. It sounds like you need a break though.

As far as it being frustrating if your home cooked meals are not exact - I would work on getting an approximate number for the meals you cook most frequently and saving those meals in MFP. For us, we really pretty much rotate between about 20 dishes in our home. The occasional odd ball dish is not going to totally ruin your diet anyways. It is all about estimation and being aware. After counting/logging for a while you should have a good idea of how much you need to eat and not have to rely so much on the entries.

jenniferreed02

Your daily weight should not affect your mood to that extent. Especially if you are fluctuating a few pounds - this is totally normal and can be a number of things to add or subtract a lb any given day.

If you can't break this cycle on your own and get to feeling better about yourself, you need to see a specialist before it gets out of hand. A nutritionist would be my first stop and to get referred to a therapist who deals with eating disorders.

csuhar

Creating a general but not rigid structure via some sort of meal planning framework may be one option, and there's other methods you could employ as well.

Something I used to do was plan my menu using cookbooks or magazines that had the nutrition information per serving included with the recipe.

Then, all I did was make sure I was following the recipe as closely as I could to make sure I was in the same ballpark as the original recipe the data came from. But I wouldn't sweat every little detail. If I needed a can of tomatos and the recipe used Del Monte but all I could find were Contadina brand, I didn't care. If it called for a 10 oz can of chicken and all the store had were 12 ouncers, I didn't worry. As long as I was close to what the recipe called for, that was good enough.

The second step was to simply make sure the portion I ate was the right size, such as 1/4 of a 4-portion recipe.

The end result is that I was still generally counting calories and even macros, but I wasn't stressed with putting in every little detail each and every day. Even now that I'm on MFP, I'll often just input a recipe as a food and use the nutrition information from the cookbook so that I'm not havign to go through the database and do calculations just to say I had 1/5 of an 8 oz can of X-brand sliced mushrooms.

Especially if you have recipes you use over and over but can't always guarantee that the ingredients are EXACTLY the same each time, this can be a useful way to keep an eye on things without going nuts.