Counting Calories = Obsessed ?

EwalkerP

So I have counted my calories before on other sites, and I feel like it just makes me obsessed with the idea of food. Thoughts? Advice?

cathiaflock

I don't think it's that you are obsessed with food. I always think I hope I can make my 1200 calories and some days I do good and others I don't. But if you are losing weight just keep up the good job!

mygrl4meee

I wouldn't say its making me obsessed with food but it does it old sometimes logging all my food after I ate it. In a way it feels like a chore. I am seeing progress so I keep on doing it.

Laura_Ivy

I wish I did but I am exactly the same!

HAPage24

Same here, Im obsessed with counting calories. My fiance told him Im driving him crazy with all this counting.....

jasharp021

i agree with you... i now count out crackers or almonds, weigh my food, etc. This def helps with the portion control but I do also feel "anxious" when I eat something I know I shouldn't .

not sure of the advice (other than not count calories/use the websites) but you're not alone!

SueInAz

How can you know what you're truly putting into your body if you don't log it? Most of us suffer from "portion distortion." In other words, what we think is a "serving" of meat is usually much more than a 4 ounce serving.

I personally think that logging is very good tool for someone who is overweight and just trying to figure out how to eat in a manner that will allow them to lose weight and then MAINTAIN that loss afterward. Anyone can lose weight using a program like Jenny Craig where you're given the foods to eat but maintaining it requires a permanent change in eating habits. I've seen so many posts in these boards from people who are truly shocked at how they've been eating prior to using MFP. Once they start to log it and realize how much they were eating and how many calories that burger or salad really has it gives them the tools to judge what they eat before it goes into their mouths.

Whether or not someone feels the need to continue logging after reaching their weight loss depends on their ability to continue to properly judge food portions and calorie content without it.

Phrak

I dunno if its an obession. Its just 5 minutes out of my day that ensures i know what im putting into my body. Its the days where i dont really log that i have the most trouble with food.

UponThisRock

The fitness world is a breeding ground for obsessive behavior. On the other hand, what's obsessive to one person, may not be to someone else.

My thoughts are that its impossible for most people to control their weight without controlling their calories in some fashion. some people control calories by counting everything they eat, others do it by strategies like avoiding carbs.

As long as your diet isn't interfering with you having a normal life, it's fine, IMO. When you get paralyzed by fear because you have a dinner date with friends, then there's a problem.

tigerblue

Sometimes it can help me be less obsessed. For instance, if I know I have plenty of calories left, I will eat something and enjoy it. If I did not know, I would probably pass, and eat nothing and end up either binging later, or not eating enough and not being healthy. The longer I do this (just over 2 years now), the more I can estimate calories without checking. But I do still log daily.

skylark94

It's not obsession. It's education.

Before I started logging everything I had no idea just how many calories I was actually consuming. Logging helps me keep track, although these days I log to make sure I'm eating enough rather than too much.

_VoV

The fitness world is a breeding ground for obsessive behavior. On the other hand, what's obsessive to one person, may not be to someone else.

My thoughts are that its impossible for most people to control their weight without controlling their calories in some fashion. some people control calories by counting everything they eat, others do it by strategies like avoiding carbs.

As long as your diet isn't interfering with you having a normal life, it's fine, IMO. When you get paralyzed by fear because you have a dinner date with friends, then there's a problem.

^^THIS.

scribe313

:noway: I believe the reason I allowed myself to get so big was that I did not pay attention to calories and portion control. I don't spend alot of time counting though. In the morning I take ten minutes or so to post my meals and snacks then eat what I have planed, if anything changes I change it before I post my log. I don't believe ten minutes is obsession. Once you log alot of food it gets even quicker, because the program keeps the foods you normally eat online. Yeah I have to count out 13 mini rice cakes to put in my lunch, or measure out one cup of bean salad, but I really think that is a good thing that most likely is saving my life.

chevy88grl

Honestly? I lost the majority of my weight NOT counting calories or logging exercise. I simply ate better, watched my serving sizes and moved more.

I started doing it when I hit maintenance to keep myself on track. I find it too obsessive, so I stopped. Now, I will do it if I feel my eating is spiraling out of control or if I see a huge gain on the scale. But, otherwise... I know what to eat and how much of it to eat. I don't need to log every single bite.

Bentley2718

If you implement counting calories at the same time you implement reducing calories, the food obsession may be the result of the reduction in calories, rather than the result of the counting.

_VoV

I have been 100% with my food logging here for four months. In that time, I have become more confident in my logging, and it is actually frees me from the anxiety of eating out. Sure the logging in small mom-and-pop restaurants is imprecise, but my experience has taught me that even my inaccurate efforts keep me from a 2-lb bump on the scale the next day. In my case, being 100% faithful to logging, and working out the occasional food mystery, has great rewards and now that I have learned a lot about portion control, it's pretty easy.

phillips9366

It's a darned healthy obsession. I am totally obsessed, and being so fits precisely with my plan.


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EwalkerP

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EwalkerP

Thank you all for your great advice and feedback! Def puts things into perspective !

kenyonl85

i'm not sure i'd call it an obsession...to me it's similar to writing down transactions in checkbook ledger. i tend to think of my diary as a calorie bank account and try to only spend what i have.