The consequence of logging- I'm too meticulous!

girlr94

I've been logging everything and measuring it as accurately as I can for a while now, and it's getting to the stage where I weigh things within an inch of its life, and log it as accurately as I possibly can. It's great because I know exactly what I'm consuming and I'm in control, so when I splurge a bit on crackers/cheese and alcohol with my parents at the weekend (which I also log) I don't feel as guilty. But it's starting to be that I'm worrying that I've underestimated nutritional content in things and checking it every few minutes all day long just to make sure that I absolutely have logged it right. There are times when I can only estimate what I've had, like a meal cooked by someone else or a restaurant without an online nutritional content, but before long I know I'll definitely be meticulously worrying about logging that too. I probably already am.

But if I relax a little bit with logging, I'll lose that control over what I'm eating and I'll probably under or overestimate everything and I'll either gain it back or I won't be eating enough to get the right nutrition! Sometimes I'm under my calories for the day and can eat more, but I don't want to just in case I have underestimated my intake, even though I weigh everything I can.

I really want to relax into eating again. I'm getting to know what is good and bad for me, and what constitutes a portion (roughly), and I definitely don't want to be so anxious about eating and logging forever. I think about food all day because it's become such a huge part of my life, which naturally makes me more hungry. I try to keep myself busy, but at the back of my mind I know I'm doing it just to distract myself from fretting about food, which isn't healthy. I've been known to have naps in the middle of the day before just to kill time between meals! Sometimes I am over on calories for the day, especially at weekends, but I've started logging everything I know I'm going to eat that week so I am eating less to make up for it during the week. Since I've been home from uni I've been offering to cook every day (telling my parents it's because I enjoy cooking and want to try loads of new recipes, but really it's so I can pick evening meals that are as close to 500 cals or less as possible, although I do enjoy cooking). It's not good. But on the other hand, having no portion control (at all) is what got me here in the first place.

Can anybody empathise/ offer advice? I just want to enjoy food and relax, but at the moment I'm getting so anxious about logging it all that I don't think about anything else, and it's stopping me from enjoying food (and life) properly.

So my question is: how do I get out of the trap?

Bumblebee1994

I'm exactly the same I'd have never written about something online before but I recognize it has become an unhealthy obsession I'm constantly checking where I am with calories in the day and try and save up for the weekend. I don't let other people cook for me and if I do go out with friends I make sure it's a chain so I can log the calories of my meal. It's got to the point now where I agree with you I just want to relax and think it would be healthiest to stop logging everything but it's so hard I can't if I know the scales are there. I've just reached the maintenance stage after around 1200 calories and I'm so worried about gaining weight especially with a weekend away that I still keep my daily below so overall the weekly number doesn't go over.
So in short you're not alone but I think it's a good thing that you recognize it's not the healthiest way of looking at eating.

Lourdesong

Don't fall in love with the idea of OCD being a part of your identity.

Don't fall in love with the idea of having "issues."

Being in love with having problems is not a good way to stop having problems.

Bumblebee1994

Sorry just realized I didn't actually offer any advice!! I have a weekend away planned and I think I'm just going to for the first day not log anything including exercise to break up the weekly calorie number therefore I can't try and manage all the other days around it, but it's a lot easier said than done!!

albayin

I am not expert non professional in this field...if you tend to develop obessesive behavior you might want to talk to a professional?

but...just in case you are not, what would happen if you relaxed for a week? have you tried that? maybe you are just too afraid to let it loose...the outcome might not be as bad as you assume? good luck~ and enjoy your life. You are still so young and should have a lot of fun, not a slave of food and calories.

Annesoucy1957

Hi, learn to trust yourself :0). If you have been counting calories for a while you should have an idea of portion size and the caloric content of the food you eat on a regular basis.

It seems to be more about control than anything else and I am not being judmental, What you are doing is forgetting about the rest of your life.

I am in mother mode now :0). This is what I would tell my daughter, take a vacation from calorie counting, start with a day and see if the anxiety is tolerable. if it is build it up to a few days. I am sure thatt you will do great and when you weight yourself at the end of the week nothing major will have happen.

Eating is only one fraction of our life, it should be something that allows you to enjoy life not withdraw from it.

Again if you were my daughter I would drag you to the doctor in order to snip the problem before it as a chance to grow into a full blowned eating disorder.

With that I wish you the best and hope you will do what is right in order to live your life fully.

Madame_Goldbricker

It's healthy and good to have some level of control of things within our lives. However that can easily spiral out of control and into being unhealthy when we become consumed by it.

You state you are currently at uni - which can be a great but also stressful time for anyone. Don't become "hung up" on counting calories. Eat well, exercise, & enjoy all things in moderation. You don't want to fixate to the point where you cannot live & enjoy a normal life. Don't let this turn into an ED - you have recognised this is becoming an issue for you which is good.

The cold hard truth is even if we fanatically log & record everything we eat it's still not going to correlate to ensure that we will fit a mathematical equation for weight loss. Yes, calories in v calories out BUT! weigh loss isn't linear & water weight, glycogen gains through exercise, TOM, whatever can all play a fact in determining the number on the scales.

Iwishyouwell

I've been logging everything and measuring it as accurately as I can for a while now, and it's getting to the stage where I weigh things within an inch of its life, and log it as accurately as I possibly can. It's great because I know exactly what I'm consuming and I'm in control, so when I splurge a bit on crackers/cheese and alcohol with my parents at the weekend (which I also log) I don't feel as guilty. But it's starting to be that I'm worrying that I've underestimated nutritional content in things and checking it every few minutes all day long just to make sure that I absolutely have logged it right. There are times when I can only estimate what I've had, like a meal cooked by someone else or a restaurant without an online nutritional content, but before long I know I'll definitely be meticulously worrying about logging that too. I probably already am.

But if I relax a little bit with logging, I'll lose that control over what I'm eating and I'll probably under or overestimate everything and I'll either gain it back or I won't be eating enough to get the right nutrition! Sometimes I'm under my calories for the day and can eat more, but I don't want to just in case I have underestimated my intake, even though I weigh everything I can.

I really want to relax into eating again. I'm getting to know what is good and bad for me, and what constitutes a portion (roughly), and I definitely don't want to be so anxious about eating and logging forever. I think about food all day because it's become such a huge part of my life, which naturally makes me more hungry. I try to keep myself busy, but at the back of my mind I know I'm doing it just to distract myself from fretting about food, which isn't healthy. I've been known to have naps in the middle of the day before just to kill time between meals! Sometimes I am over on calories for the day, especially at weekends, but I've started logging everything I know I'm going to eat that week so I am eating less to make up for it during the week. Since I've been home from uni I've been offering to cook every day (telling my parents it's because I enjoy cooking and want to try loads of new recipes, but really it's so I can pick evening meals that are as close to 500 cals or less as possible, although I do enjoy cooking). It's not good. But on the other hand, having no portion control (at all) is what got me here in the first place.

Can anybody empathise/ offer advice? I just want to enjoy food and relax, but at the moment I'm getting so anxious about logging it all that I don't think about anything else, and it's stopping me from enjoying food (and life) properly.

So my question is: how do I get out of the trap?

Exhibit A of exactly why I do not calorie count.

albayin

I've been logging everything and measuring it as accurately as I can for a while now, and it's getting to the stage where I weigh things within an inch of its life, and log it as accurately as I possibly can. It's great because I know exactly what I'm consuming and I'm in control, so when I splurge a bit on crackers/cheese and alcohol with my parents at the weekend (which I also log) I don't feel as guilty. But it's starting to be that I'm worrying that I've underestimated nutritional content in things and checking it every few minutes all day long just to make sure that I absolutely have logged it right. There are times when I can only estimate what I've had, like a meal cooked by someone else or a restaurant without an online nutritional content, but before long I know I'll definitely be meticulously worrying about logging that too. I probably already am.

But if I relax a little bit with logging, I'll lose that control over what I'm eating and I'll probably under or overestimate everything and I'll either gain it back or I won't be eating enough to get the right nutrition! Sometimes I'm under my calories for the day and can eat more, but I don't want to just in case I have underestimated my intake, even though I weigh everything I can.

I really want to relax into eating again. I'm getting to know what is good and bad for me, and what constitutes a portion (roughly), and I definitely don't want to be so anxious about eating and logging forever. I think about food all day because it's become such a huge part of my life, which naturally makes me more hungry. I try to keep myself busy, but at the back of my mind I know I'm doing it just to distract myself from fretting about food, which isn't healthy. I've been known to have naps in the middle of the day before just to kill time between meals! Sometimes I am over on calories for the day, especially at weekends, but I've started logging everything I know I'm going to eat that week so I am eating less to make up for it during the week. Since I've been home from uni I've been offering to cook every day (telling my parents it's because I enjoy cooking and want to try loads of new recipes, but really it's so I can pick evening meals that are as close to 500 cals or less as possible, although I do enjoy cooking). It's not good. But on the other hand, having no portion control (at all) is what got me here in the first place.

Can anybody empathise/ offer advice? I just want to enjoy food and relax, but at the moment I'm getting so anxious about logging it all that I don't think about anything else, and it's stopping me from enjoying food (and life) properly.

So my question is: how do I get out of the trap?

Exhibit A of exactly why I do not calorie count.

yeah, and you probably have never needed to ask "why I am not losing".

I am not against logging but I totally see what OP just expressed too.

What amazes me is on this forum or just any forum about weight loss, eating low calorie is considered as eating disorder but obessession with calorie counting is not and is something people cheer about.

crfeen

I would try to relax for a few days and see the outcome. If you really feel anxious, log your calories at the end of the day (approximately) and then see how you're doing. I know what you mean. I don't want to calorie count forever! It's no fun and as someone recovered from an eating disorder, that's how it starts. Just relax for a bit and focus on enjoying life! Take a break

kevinsmithrn

I saw an interesting study about people regaining weight that they loss and it was shocking. However part of the study which included the very few people that actually were successful in keeping the weight off listed 2 things they all had in common - they all ate breakfast and they all were meticulous about recording their intake.
Good Luck!

kvansanity

This isn't meant to be a product push, I swear, but I was in the same state you're in right now. I was downright obsessive and starting to relapse on old ED tendencies. I was also on weight watchers and that had me going crazy too.

So one day I got a Fitbit and ever since then it's been smooth sailing. I realize that I burn A LOT more calories just doing my normal day to day routine, and suddenly being so meticulous wasn't a concern because it didn't matter if my estimation was a little off! I was shooting for a 500 calorie deficit every day, and most of the times I had a deficit of 750-1000. So I knew that even if I wasn't totally accurate, I was still pretty close to my goal. I like that the Fitbit does a lot of the work for me.

Tracking can be a vicious cycle. Take a break from it for a couple of days and regain a sense of control. It will help

zcb94

I saw an interesting study about people regaining weight that they loss and it was shocking. However part of the study which included the very few people that actually were successful in keeping the weight off listed 2 things they all had in common - they all ate breakfast and they all were meticulous about recording their intake.
Good Luck!

Yeppers! That is why I log daily, and mention EVERY LAST bite/sip/exercise ASAP after enjoying it, on doctor's advice. There's no such thing as being too meticulous when it's a matter of life or death. Therefore, I wouldn't worry about it. Please don't let it rob you of normalcy, but practice integrating it into normalcy.

TIP: If you can't log the EXACT brand/recipe/source of an item, please don't panic. Click the one that looks closest to what you had and that should cause a fairly accurate log. Hope this helps.

horseplaypen

I don't have any advice for you, but I just wanted to commiserate - I could have written this exact post! Right down to offering to take over cooking for the family - partly because I enjoy it, partly as a way to contribute, but mostly because I need to know what I'm eating. Unlike you, I don't think I'm at a point yet where I can just step away from logging - I naturally make healthy choices, but I lack restraint when it comes to snacking and portion size. If I didn't plan out every meal in advance, I'd definitely put the weight back on again and the whole cycle would start over.

I'm starting school full time in the fall again and I know I won't have time to devote so much time to logging and measuring as I do now. I think my plan is just going to be sticking to mostly the same foods every day and preparing and packaging meals for the week, so I can just take 5 minutes in the morning to copy each meal from the previous day and not have to look up new foods and enter new recipes all the time.

Good luck, I hope you find a good compromise for you! :flowerforyou: