Calorie, tracking, planning, food overload?

Amberh82

Anyone else just get overwhelmed by trying to plan, track, and count calories all the time? I feel like I spend so much time obsessing about food that it literally is starting to stress me out. (this isn't something new). I just don't feel that this can be healthy and maybe there is a better way to go about this.

Any tips from those of you who have been there or are there now?

chrisb75

I don't stress out at all. I log what eat, watch my macros and make adjustments as I go. I started doing this even before I ate "healthy". When I started seeing how many calories were in things, it naturally led me to making better choices. If its becoming an obsession, then maybe you should take a break.

llkilgore

The only times I've felt that way were in the first few weeks, before it became habit, and during the period I was trying the eat-every-3-hours strategy. I had to force myself to think about food way too much by eating that often, and it didn't work out for me.

I don't pay a lot of attention to macros, though, other than to limit myself to a single full sized serving of starch per meal. That means I might have a baked potato, or a dinner roll, but not both. I find that my fat and protein levels pretty much take care of themselves if I don't blow a hole in my calorie budget by giving in to my cravings for carbs.

carld256

As above, I don't stress about it. If you're actually obsessing over food then it's probably time to reevaluate the way you're doing things. Stressing out over food and obsessing over it is not definitely not healthy, you're right.

See if you can't find a simpler way to do things that appeals to you. It may not be necessary to plan out everything in detail ahead of time, but that'll depend on your particular situation. Personally, I don't plan anything really at all. I just do my best to eat healthy and record everything accurately after the fact.