am i crazy?

quererespoder

just read a blog post from one of the girls gone strong chicks and it really got me thinking. i'm not overweight or even close to it. i initially wanted to "get healthier" but i tend to be obsessive and neurotic and its happening with food. my relationship with food has gone downhill. i obsess over calories and as a result of trying to control my eating habits (which were very healthy in the first place) , i went the opposite way and i started binging on snacks , something which i'd never done before. and i think about food constantly. after reading this http://www.niashanks.com/blog/beautiful-badass-nutrition-principles
i feel like i can relate to this girl , in that i have poor self control and that trying to control my eating just makes it worse. so after a lot of thought i'm seriously considering giving up the calorie counting. its not good for me. it was because of counting cals i started to binge and have an unhealthy relationship with food. i'm thinking about just going back to my old ways (which were healthier than the way i'm eating now) and of course be mindful of what i eat , but not count it. and also i want to change my strength program. doing the same program every day is starting to feel like a chore , and im thinking of just going into the gym and lifting heavy stuff , doing the exercise i feel like doing that day. i've heard you should always have a plan for going tot he gym , but i dont think it really works for me. for course i'd have a general idea , and spend the same amount of time there every day , but not have all the exercises and reps meticulously planned. im not giving up , its just i've realized that i react poorly to excessive planning/structure in my diet/training and other areas of my life too. i will probably keep this account because it think the information here is great, but i wont log very much. thoughts? comments? anyone that can relate? or am i crazy to do this?

chelseachelsea1991

Not crazy at all! When I counted every calorie, I ended up binging later on and eating way more than I would have. Cutting sweets out really didn't work either cuz I'd go crazy later on. I hated obsessing over calories and keeping a count in my head. I'm going to give it one more go but sometimes I think it would be easier to just eat sensibly, stop when I'm full, etc.

quererespoder

exactly , i totally agree with you. the reason im skinny (well other than good genes) is because i have (had?) a very good relationship with food. i'd eat and stop when i was full. now however i will eat until i feel physically ill and nauseous (never thrown up thank god) after a day of being "good" my mind starts freaking the hell out and i cant control my cravings then

visiri

For me - I don't do any of it in my head - I eat what I want and record it. I do make sure I check in mid-day to see how I'm doing caloriewise so I don't mess up too badly with dinner. It's how I motivate myself to exercise.

Tubby2Toned

I go through "binge" vs tight calorie control waves. And yes it's somehow related to counting calories for me.
There is an emotional connection to food and eating.

I am going to try raising my calorie limit to a very sensible level, that will still garnish me a couple of pounds of weight loss a month. I think it might help. I started with a 1300 calorie diet. Lasted a week. I've bumped it up to 1500 calories. More success, but still some "binging". I'm going to try 1800 now. We'll see.

manderson27

Whatever works for you. If you don't have weight issues then just eating healthy and excercising is not crazy it makes sense for you.

For me left to my own devices I would over eat every day so calorie counting works well for me.

We are all different and need different approaches to becoming healthier.

Good luck :drinker:

quererespoder

thanks for all the replies...i fear getting overweight just because of trying so hard to be healthy. wouldnt that just be super sad? the hardest thing for me is boredom eating. i do it aloot. i can recognize im not hungry but i *have* to eat something. i gotta get myself some new hobbies or something to occupy my mind lol

Tubby2Toned

Yeah, thinking about food jolts me into wanting to eat. And even thinking about it in the sterile sense of counting calories is STILL technically thinking about food. It's a slippery slope. Hobbies = a good idea. Think I'll join a bingo club or something.

stephl81

Nope not crazy at all. I relate to you and the chick that wrote those articles. I really will take them into conisderation and am tempted to try the 24 hour fast to "get in tune with my hunger signals. Thanks for sharing!

chelseachelsea1991

exactly , i totally agree with you. the reason im skinny (well other than good genes) is because i have (had?) a very good relationship with food. i'd eat and stop when i was full. now however i will eat until i feel physically ill and nauseous (never thrown up thank god) after a day of being "good" my mind starts freaking the hell out and i cant control my cravings then

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem! I didn't know what was wrong with me...I just *couldn't* stop eating and would binge until I was sick for some reason. I never had this problem before so it was really upsetting. I've gained weight for the first time in months because of overzealous calorie counting. I want a healthy relationship with food again!

alli_gataaa

You and I are pretty much the same person...I was not overweight either, but I'd gained a couple of pounds and wanted to lose them again. At first MFP seemed great, but then I became obsessive. Not being able to have a handful of chips or a few pieces of candy without logging drove me crazy. And my relationship with food went way downhill..I'd try to stay within my calorie limit for the day, and then end up snacking on unhealthy foods at night. Starting tomorrow, I am going to not log for a week, and see how I do. So glad to hear I'm not the only one whose second guessing this whole calorie counting thing..