That Daily Calorie Barrier

zenfocus

I hope it's not just me, but does anyone else feel anxiety over their personal calorie number goal? It's sometimes a sense of physical hunger I feel but mostly it's a mental fear of hitting or going over my daily allotment. I think it's more mental than physical. If I go over it by even a little bit I feel like the biggest failure on the face of the earth. And when I feel like the biggest failure on the face of the earth, I just forget it completely and eat eat eat. A recipe for failure. And it really all stems from my fear of not going over my calories in the least little bit. Does anyone else feel like you're struggling at the end of the day to not sabotage yourself with over eating? I'm sure it's a type of addiction to food...

Sometimes I go an entire week without losing any weight because I've set myself up for failure in this pattern. It's so hard once you've over-eaten to not overeat the next day and the next. I've done really good this week despite one day!! I just want to keep it up for more than a week in a row! It seems to be that my pattern follows one week good and weight loss, and the next a week of self-sabotage where I don't lose anything from overeating. And then the following week I'll do great on my diet. And the cycle continues. Any hint about how I might break my bad habits?

Moonbeamlissie

My issue is kinda the same..... in a way. I feel that maybe I am not correctly counting my calories right. Maybe I truly am over eating and I just do not know it. I am not very good at judging foods and sizes. I need to go buy a scale i suppose. If I am really putting them down right then why am I not hungry more often? It says I get between 900-1000 sometimes a bit more but not much. So I am suppose to hit 1200 but when i eat right at 900 I try to get more calories in then I'm miserable because I do not know how low I am till after I eat supper. ::sigh:: so is it really really really really bad to stay in the 900-1000 range???? Maybe I am just new at this nutrition thing and I am trying to learn...... or.......maybe I am obsessed with my calories and my fitness pal app??

kateopotato

Maybe it would be better for you to have a calorie range. Look at your allotted calories you would have for weight loss as your ideal, but then look at your calories for maintenance as acceptable, but try to limit reaching that number more than one or two times per week?

zenfocus

Moonbeam: I think no one is supposed to eat under 1200 calories a day? Everyone's calories are to each their own body though. I am eating 1400 but it was recommended as how much I was supposed to eat by mfp. I know it's the right amount of food, I just have trouble with overeating lol.

LOVEthighSELF

That is the same cycle I repeatedly fell into before losing this 27lbs. I would be good for a week and then binge like crazy, and so on. Def must be some type of eating disorder. How about if you go over your cals by say 100 cals-- you then run a mile, or jump rope, or something to earn those calories. Although I am not one for eating excersize cals alot on here think its fine.

zenfocus

I've been worried about eating disorder type of thing in the past but I never thought that I had one. I'm thinking that maybe since it's related to anxiety it could very well be the start of one. It runs in the family. But anyway I'm trying to learn how to diet healthily... I hope I'm doing it correctly haha. I overeat by more than 100 calories when I do it... probably by at least 300-400 ish. It's great to know that you got past it and lost the weight!!! Good job!!!!

chicnsweet83

Sometimes I am hungier than usual and end up eating over my calories and some days I end up splurging on junk food and lots of sugar. Today was one of those days. But at the end I decided to get a good work out with the 30 Day Shred. I know i'm not supposed to eat anymore than what I should, but, like today, I just can't help myself. However, the work out felt great!

zenfocus

& If other people were overeating in the past and stopped then I can too! Other people on the forum are such an inspiration because I can see the odds they've beat.

jrt9999

If you set you weight loss goal to 2 lbs a week you should have a deficit of 1,000 calories per day. So that means if you accurately count calories you could go over by 900 calories per day and still loose weight.

So with that said, don't sweet the small stuff. Learn to right right, eat five or six times a day, don't cut out the foods you love - you got to learn to live with this eating right for the rest of your life, and go over occasionally. As long as your metabolism is running properly you will lose weight.

So my rules and these work for me. You will have to develop your own as you go along:

Always eat breakfast!

Eat every three or so hours - If you have your metabolism running right you will know when to eat, your stomach will tell you

Eat a good variety but eat the proper portions!

Eat at maintenance one day a week. My maintenance is around 2,400 calories!

Eat your exercise calories. Again, if you are properly fueled and the metabolism is running good you will know you need to eat more!

Read and listen to all kinds of stuff, just do it from a point of curiosity, not judgment. That way you can change your mind when you learn something!

Watch the weight fall off!

ejharris

I have found that keeping junk food or processed foods out of the house has helped. That way, if I binge, it's at least on nutritious foods (fruit, veggies, chicken, nuts, eggs, yogurt). If I want to splurge I force myself to walk out to the store to get a snack sized portion of what I am craving. In general, the extra effort that it requires to get the junk food makes me realize that it just isn't worth it. Then there are other times, like tonight, when the half hour walk for a fajita for dinner was worth every step it took! But at least I burned a few extra calories on the way, minimizing the impact of the splurge.