Does calorie counting stress you out?

ninjakowski

Wondering if anyone else is in the same boat. I'm lucky that I'm at my goal weight because having to eat at anything below maintenance makes me go crazy. But even eating at maintenance, I find when I am counting calories I get stressed out, uptight about food and a bit obsessive about planning what I am eating.
It works, I get the results I want when I do it right, but I end up just feeling like I am constantly thinking about food.

I feel horribly frustrated that this needs to be a way of life to keep the results, I dont want to count calories forever! I dont want to get fat either.

I dont think that I'm overly restricting what I'm eating, I eat 'reasonably' clean but I don't go overboard and treat myself regularly.
My husband has noticed too and although he was very supportive in the beginning, he is becoming more negative about my 'diet' as time goes on. He likes the physical results, but not the mental ones.

Don't really know if there is any solution to this, just needed to get it out.

ironanimal

Since I've been here, I've grown so used to doing it that I don't honestly need a diary any more to keep track. Mainly it just tells me when I'm undereating, and helps to balance macros more accurately.

If you're progressing quickly, consider slowing down a little to relax on the mental side. Keep sane, and you'll build better habits for life.

Barbellerella

I like numbers, so no it doesn't stress me out. It is good for me to take small breaks on occasion tho. Maybe you should take a week off every couple of months.

ninjakowski

I took the last week and a bit off....and gained a kilogram straight away. Counting calories is really what keeps me accountable for not going overboard on the crap.
I'm a bit anal retentive and I like numbers too, but it gets me stuck on it rather than enjoying it.

elleloch

I like numbers too so I mostly really don't mind counting calories.

BUT. I do get a little frustrated and yes, stressed out sometimes.

TrailRunner61

You're worth the effort! If your hubby doesn't like it, don't talk about it in front of him.

Chief_Rocka

Maybe something like setting your goal for 100 calories less per day and having 700 weekly "flexible" calories would relieve the stress some.

OspreyVista

Maybe you can try to work more on portion control and know what your eating without tracking it and see how that goes. I am going to try it when I get a few months into maintenance mainly because my Fiance does all the cooking so he's the one adding all the calories and I don't want to burden him with calorie counting for the rest of our lives. If you can control yourself and your body without having to track, then that's great.

NovemberJune

No. I like tracking my food and I don't care if I'm over/under my calories now that I'm on maintenance as long as the week view looks good overall

lizziebeth1028

I'm another one of those numbers people so most of the time I don't get stressed out over logging. I do however allow myself a free day every Sunday...I eat whatever I want and I do not log it. It's a nice little break. I'm in maintenance so this is working for me so far.

crystalflame

I get obsessive, and not in a good way. Having to worry about what I'm eating all the time gives me a tendency to just not eat at all to avoid the stress of it, and obviously that's bad. What I've found works for me is to log during the week and not log the weekends - I still try to make good decisions, but I don't feel bad if I eat pizza and beer instead of chicken and broccoli. Monday morning comes around and I get back on track - the weight's come off very slowly, but it still comes off and I don't go (too) crazy.

jessready

I feel as I have control of something thru the holidays. I like knowing that this is something I can do. The results only effect me, so I don't beat myself up if it's not exact.

ruurik

It can stress me if I decide what my lunch and dinner will be... then realise the combination of both is way, way over what I want to eat for the day. It's rare that I find myself in that situation though.

The only other time is if someone buys me lunch or dinner and I don't want it because it's too high in calories... but I feel pressure to accept, to be sociable. Then I can get stressed trying to make my diary work.

Most of the time, calorie counting is a big positive in my life.

WickedGarden

I got all obsessive, and I would calculate all my calories, figure out how much I should lose, and when I didn't lose, I'd get frustrated. Currently, I am not counting, I'm just eating when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm somewhat full.

Most of it is because I still go out to eat once a week, and the places we go to are not major franchises, and they do NOT have nutrition information on their website. Besides, most nutrition info can vary by hundreds of calories.

prokomds

I took the last week and a bit off....and gained a kilogram straight away. Counting calories is really what keeps me accountable for not going overboard on the crap.
I'm a bit anal retentive and I like numbers too, but it gets me stuck on it rather than enjoying it.

I almost think the bigger question might be why you can't eat reasonably when you're not tracking. I mean, assuming you don't want to count calories always and forever, you've got to figure out how to not binge just because you have the week off. You've been doing this awhile (I'm assuming), you probably know about how much to eat in a day

The obvious way to stop obsessing about counting calories is to stop counting calories, but you have to trust yourself and not cheat yourself just because it's not spelled out on a website anymore. You know? Good luck!

IzzyBooNZ1

I get obsessive, and not in a good way. Having to worry about what I'm eating all the time gives me a tendency to just not eat at all to avoid the stress of it, and obviously that's bad. What I've found works for me is to log during the week and not log the weekends - I still try to make good decisions, but I don't feel bad if I eat pizza and beer instead of chicken and broccoli. Monday morning comes around and I get back on track - the weight's come off very slowly, but it still comes off and I don't go (too) crazy.

same for me !