Obsessive About Counting EVERY calorie

Curvy1taliana

I am obsessive about counting calories in my diary. I am also an extremist... all or nothing.
Nothing got me fat... all will get me fit!

iqnas

I count everything as well!

Almost every single bite...but I thought that's what 'calorie count' meant...? I didn't think there was anything wrong with it...

I mean, I've lost 40 pounds counting EVERY calorie...

Is the fact that I don't think it's absurd make me crazy?

LOL.

Axels91

Im so glad to hear that there are many more here who are dealing with this! I do not want this to take over my life, I have a very "all or nothing" attitude about everything. If I do something, I want to do it 100%. I guess I wanted someone to convince me that I could get away with a little here and there, without logging calories, and still lose weight.

I have this irrational belief that the calorie I don't count will be the calorie that causes me to gain.

So, for those of you who stopped making yourselves crazy, when did it click that you were going down a bad road?

Axels91

I was obsessed also. And got too thin for my frame. I actually fainted at work and finally had my wake up call. I quit MFP for several months, gained some weight and became a lot healthier. Not I only log 4-6 days a week. It works for me and I'm healthy It's hard though!

scary! im so glad you have healed and improved. you are an inspiration.

manderson27

A healthy lifestyle is all about balance and having a healthy relationship with food. Watching your calories is fine but there needs to be some flexibility or eating becomes a chore when it should be a pleasure.

Sorry I don't have any advice for you but I am sure you will get some good advice from other posters. :flowerforyou:
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CrystalFlury

I was sort of like that at the beginning. Once I noticed the whole tracking food thing actually worked in helping me lose weight I didn't want to go back to randomly snacking on cookies, cake, bread, etc. Honestly, I think it takes time to really know what's going to HONESTLY mess up your entire "plan" and what isn't. I am more relaxed now than I was when I started counting. I don't go randomly eating bites of food every day, but when I do I think of it in reason. I go through the, ok, now is a tiny, tiny piece of food X really going to ruin my calorie count for the day? I don't let the little things stand in my way. I'll enjoy a small, small piece of whatever sample is out at the grocery store or whatnot and try not to hyperventilate over it.

The only time I can think of where eating a small bite of something completely screwed me over was when I had ice cream that had been sitting in the freezer for a while and I went to take ONE bite. That one bite turned into a cup or more of ice cream and I felt horrible about it afterward because I went on to eating cookies.

I think it's ok to have a taste of something here and there as long as you know you have the willpower to not overindulge (that for me is sweets).

Remember, the reason for logging in the first place is to be more AWARE of what you're eating, don't let it consume you. Obviously if you've made any kind of success you're learning SOMETHING about what you should be eating in the first place.

bluefox9er

its to the point where if there is a food there that i cant find a nutrition label for i won't eat it (if its not a fruit or veggie). I won't even sample anything at the supermarket.

I log every ounce and if I eat something that I cant account for I panic.

Literally.

How can I get over this obsession? Has anyone ever had this issue?

I really hope you can get over this...it's just not right. I wish i could give you advice as to HOW to get over this, but all I can say is that this is a lifestyle and not a regime.

abchelseaxo

I'm exactly the same. Counseling can make it better

eatherhey

I count everything as well!

Almost every single bite...but I thought that's what 'calorie count' meant...? I didn't think there was anything wrong with it...

I mean, I've lost 40 pounds counting EVERY calorie...

Is the fact that I don't think it's absurd make me crazy?

LOL.

It's only bad if you find yourself becoming very upset over it. At that point it's time to take a step back, breathe and figure out where the problem is.

DannyMussels

When you're eating healthier stuff, calories don't really matter.

It's when you're eating random garbage, and one meal is like 1500, that you run into a problem.

Find healthier food choices, that are reasonably low-cal and you'll be safe.

There's a few thousand threads on here with healthy food choices, one guy posted a list of 100 foods at 100 calories.

Start there. From then on, you'll KNOW how much is in everything, and you won't have to worry about looking it up or recording it.

Stray away from foods you don't know the nutrition for.

I only eat like 8 things a day.

I'm not fat anymore.

JenniTheVeggie

I am the same way but I have only been at this for about 3 weeks. I leave my measuring cups and spoons on the counter because I measure everything too.

weskie

I have OCD...It sounds like you may have it too.I bet there are a lot of areas in your life that you take to extremes like this. I got help. you can too.

Axels91

i fear losing control. wow i just answered my own question.

a slip up>>>"you couldn't even control yourself with FOOD of all things">>>you are fat>>>>you are on your way to becoming fat>>>>you have reversed all your hard work>>>you will never complete this>>>square one

thats what ALWAYS happens to me.

Axels91

I have OCD...It sounds like you may have it too.I bet there are a lot of areas in your life that you take to extremes like this. I got help. you can too.

well, i don't follow any rituals or practices. i have a thing with my hands though. i'll ask my psychiatrist about it. thanks for the tip.

wolfchild59

Im so glad to hear that there are many more here who are dealing with this! I do not want this to take over my life, I have a very "all or nothing" attitude about everything. If I do something, I want to do it 100%. I guess I wanted someone to convince me that I could get away with a little here and there, without logging calories, and still lose weight.

I have this irrational belief that the calorie I don't count will be the calorie that causes me to gain.

So, for those of you who stopped making yourselves crazy, when did it click that you were going down a bad road?

I was like this at the start too. It cut me off from friends and family because I refused to eat places that didn't have nutrition info and I refused to ever go over my originally allotted 1200 calories.

Once I'd been tracking for awhile, I got better at estimating food calorie amounts at places that didn't have nutrition info, but still tried to limit those instances severely.

After I had my total meltdown from stress caused by my obsessiveness, and I spent a lot of time apologizing to all of the people I had been horrible to on my mental decline during the previous months, I took a month off from caring about what I ate. I still logged, but I wasn't necessarily counting the overall calories. At the end of that month, I'd gained a whole, entire, whopping, pound.

So I screwed my head back on straight and allowed myself to be much more relaxed. I still log everything I eat, but if I go over one day or have a high sodium day because I was out with my friends, I don't really care, just take it in stride and balance out the week.

And yes, when I say I had a meltdown, it was an actual meltdown. Which came on after months of being pulled aside at work for my attitude and declining performance and also far too many arguments with my husband over absolutely nothing at all. Things which had never been a part of my life experience before. But once I loosened my reigns on myself about the food tracking after the meltdown everything turned itself right way up again.

Oh, and food for thought - all US nutrition labels are allowed a legal margin of error of up to 20% in either direction. So that 100 cal snack can be anywhere from 80-120 calories and be legally labeled as 100 calories. So no matter how much you obsess over making sure that things you eat have nutrition info, your food log simply can never be 100% accurate to the exact number of calories that you're consuming.

kcoftx

I can't be obsessive even if I want to be. I live in another country and I can't read the food labels. I can tell how many calories are in something but I can't tell what the serving size is. If I go to a restaurant, forget it. I don't know what is in it.

I look for generalized things and then overshoot it. Most of the time I eat at home and shop at an American grocery store and know what it is I am eating. I refuse, however, to never enjoy the place I'm priveledges to have the opportunity to explore.

Sometimes it is hard because I want my numbers to be more accurate but it is what it is.

wolfchild59

I refuse, however, to never enjoy the place I'm priveledges to have the opportunity to explore.

Totally this. I hate the amount of time I wasted not enjoying the amazing food I have available in my area. Sure, it's not like I can go to those places all the time (I couldn't afford to even if calories weren't a factor), but when the opportunity arises to go to some new/amazing/favorite restaurant, I'm definitely not going to pass the chance up simply because they don't offer nutritional info.

The funny thing is, the places that do offer nutritional info are the cheap, fast casual, crappy food, high sodium, don't want to eat there even if I know the calories, kind of places anyway. It's the one of a kind places, either small/family owned or nice/upscale, that are the places that's it's worth it to me to splurge for a meal.

I don't live someplace exotic, but I do live in the San Francsico Bay Area, so I could probably try a new restaurant everyday for a year and still not have discovered all of the amazing places to eat that are available to me.

chevy88grl

Im so glad to hear that there are many more here who are dealing with this! I do not want this to take over my life, I have a very "all or nothing" attitude about everything. If I do something, I want to do it 100%. I guess I wanted someone to convince me that I could get away with a little here and there, without logging calories, and still lose weight.

I have this irrational belief that the calorie I don't count will be the calorie that causes me to gain.

So, for those of you who stopped making yourselves crazy, when did it click that you were going down a bad road?

The light bulb went on for me when I realized I was feeling jealous, envious and a little angry when I saw other people eating whatever (and these people were also on the thinner side). I realized that I need to get the feelings in check NOW before it spiraled out of control even more. I don't want to have an unhealthy relationship with food and that's where I felt it was going.

CrystalFlury

I refuse, however, to never enjoy the place I'm priveledges to have the opportunity to explore.

Totally this. I hate the amount of time I wasted not enjoying the amazing food I have available in my area. Sure, it's not like I can go to those places all the time (I couldn't afford to even if calories weren't a factor), but when the opportunity arises to go to some new/amazing/favorite restaurant, I'm definitely not going to pass the chance up simply because they don't offer nutritional info.

The funny thing is, the places that do offer nutritional info are the cheap, fast casual, crappy food, high sodium, don't want to eat there even if I know the calories, kind of places anyway. It's the one of a kind places, either small/family owned or nice/upscale, that are the places that's it's worth it to me to splurge for a meal.

I don't live someplace exotic, but I do live in the San Francsico Bay Area, so I could probably try a new restaurant everyday for a year and still not have discovered all of the amazing places to eat that are available to me.

AGREED! Funny thing too, those locally owned joints have FRESHER food than the mass chains you can find nutrition info for. Keep that in mind next time you eat delicious, locally owned restaurant food!

Axels91

And yes, when I say I had a meltdown, it was an actual meltdown. Which came on after months of being pulled aside at work for my attitude and declining performance and also far too many arguments with my husband over absolutely nothing at all. Things which had never been a part of my life experience before. But once I loosened my reigns on myself about the food tracking after the meltdown everything turned itself right way up again.

Oh, and food for thought - all US nutrition labels are allowed a legal margin of error of up to 20% in either direction. So that 100 cal snack can be anywhere from 80-120 calories and be legally labeled as 100 calories. So no matter how much you obsess over making sure that things you eat have nutrition info, your food log simply can never be 100% accurate to the exact number of calories that you're consuming.

i HAVE become very irritable at family members, ESPECIALLY around meal times. If they seem to be enjoying the food, forget it. I explode. I am glad I can see the decline. I wish I could release the mental reigns. Maybe it will take something similar to what happened to you. Maybe Something needs to put life in perspective for me again so that I am not micro-obsessed.
Trust me, if its not food, its money. I will find anything to worry about.

As far as the US nutrition labels thing, WOW. WOWx1000

That is why I am slowly trying to eat more natural foods that can be weighed.