i feel like dieting is taking over my life.

I'm trying to cycle through certain dishes so that I don't make myself crazy. You can create a meal when you input your food items. Just click the button next to the one which you normally hit to look for stuff for your diary. You'll be able to create a meal. I'm planning on printing them out so that I have some cheat cheats to look at for breakfasts or dinner to make it easier. It's easier to copy a meal if I leave certain items in it then dealing with all the adding in of food.

YUP. i'm kind of an all in or nothing person so this has been priority number 1 lately and i'm kind of scared that i'm going to lose momentum when school starts. so i definitely feel you.

Yes, dieting most certainly has taken over my life. I've lost 70 lbs but now that I've been plateauing for like 6 months, I've tried every trick in the book to break through it and nothing is working. Some days I feel like I shouldn't eat anything because the less the better. And other days I'm like eff it, nothing is working so I'll eat to my hearts content. Almost everything I do has to do with food. My husband actually said that dieting has taken over my life. And he doesn't have any idea of how much time I spend on here planning out my meals. I don't think I'm ever going to NOT be on a "diet" again. I'll pretty much be counting calories for the rest of my life at this point....:ohwell:

Problem??

before the advent of cultivation im sure people spent most of their waking day collecting and hunting food
after the advent of cultivation im sure people spent most of their waking day herding and farming food
after the advent of money most people spent most of their waking day earning money to buy food.

today thanks to technology we have more spare time on our hands...

diet is actually a very large component of our existence and spending time thinking about this is actually one of the most relevant and "healthy" things to obses over...

Try and use modern technology like the internet, ease of accessing food and computers to plan our your shopping and food and diet to save more time to do other things.

Or better yet spend the cash you earn at work, to pay someone else to do your diet plan????

After a few months is becomes second nature, so it won't feel like the only thing you do then. Persistence is the key

Good luck

For me, finding the humor in everything really helps. I am able to laugh at myself, and I post the things that I am thinking all the time. I really use the pal/social function of the site so it doesn't seem as "task-oriented."

thank you guys, i think that is part of the problem is i feel like i completely failed when my day isnt "perfect" calorie wise and so i get that mentality that since i went over 200 calories the day is shot anyways so i might as well eat everything i want and start again tomorrow.. ugh!!

let me tell you right now, that i've had many imperfect days and i've still lost weight. lol in fact it seems i lost the most on the weeks i had in n out haha. so it will all even out even if you had those bad days. keep in mind that you can change your day meal by meal, so if one isnt so great, make the next one great and dont stress it or let yourself become discouraged. i've also found that pre logging a day in advance and planning out my meals the night before reduces the amount of time i spend here. i try to only hang out on mfp in the evening around workout time and after dinner, makes me feel less obsessed lol.

i feel like this whole thing is taking over my life. i literally spend ALL DAY every day planning out what and when i can eat. and then when i do start eating there are days where i cant stop, and i will eat and eat and eat and then just feel absolutely discusting and fat. ive lost over 90 pounds with less than 10 to go and i feel like i am completely obsessed with loosing weight and that im not able to just be a normal person, since all i ever think about is eating and what i look like. i have managed not to gain weight back but thats because i will go 3 or so days eating "good" and then spend an entire day eating complete junk, even if im not hungry i spend every waking minute eating whatever i can get my hands on. its completely rediculous. i lose a couple pounds and then gain it right back.. some times i dont want to leave home because i dont know when i will be back to be able to eat more.. and then after i eat i just want to go for a long walk to attempt to burn it off... AHHH! i feel like im going crazy from it! why does an object have so much control over people???

does anyone else feel like i do?? i would love to have someone to talk to who actually understands.

I feel like this all the time. It sucks,

Yep, obsessive, perfectionist, Virgo, or whatever you call it, I'm all in on that. Although I don't binge at all, I'm on the site logging food, water, exercise all day long. The deal for me is that my health and body were getting out of control, and I'd rather do this than be upset because I can't reach around or down far enough to wipe properly. Or how about having sores under a belly flap and underthe boobs? I'm done with that and I'm not going back there again. So much bad stuff happens to our bodies that never get discussed.

Can I do this for the rest of my life? Absolutely, because I now know where I'm coming from and there is nothing good in that place for me. We can do this.

Once I ate something I shouldn't have or went over my calories I would tell myself that I'd "ruined" the day so that gave me permission to eat whatever I wanted. I said that I would start fresh "tomorrow." But tomorrow never seemed to come because every day I was "ruining" my diet.

I finally got to the point where I stopped making excuses and accepted that yes, I'd gone over my calories, but that I could start right that moment to make everything better by making better choices the rest of the day.

So, if I had a couple of cookies as a snack, I no longer abandoned the diet and ate whatever I wanted. Instead, I accepted that I ate the cookies and made sure I logged them in, and then stayed within my calorie limit for the rest of the day. When I got to the end of my calories that was it, I was done eating, even if I hadn't had the chance to have the extra cup of unbuttered popcorn that I was hoping for.

Today I had 1/2 cup of ice cream. In the past I would have given up on my diet and eaten more ice cream and probably even some m&m's. Today I just logged it and moved on.

this what I try to do but last thing in the evening is my downfall peanut butter on crackers. naughty boy.

I lost 5 lbs, then started MFP, now have lost 20 more lbs. My problem started when I adjusted my calorie count to 1200... I don't feel full when I only have 1200 and I am handicapped, so I am limited in my working out. I do really understand the frustration of having days go up and down. I have stopped weighing myself so often and am trying to get back on track. The days I have something awful (lately I've craved milkshakes) I've avoided logging which ends up with a lot more calories.

Having said that, I know that this behavior is not very healthy. As a teen I was anorexic, and dieting is a four letter word for me. I can relate mine also to my emotions and realize, this is the part that needs more work. I'm trying to get in the mindset where instead of going all out and eating lots of junk when I "mess up", I rethink and come up with an alternative. For example...this milkshake craving could probably be satisfied with ice and fruit blended...and if I'm really craving sweets a little sweetner.

I would recommend you try to think of things (besides food) that give you happiness. Sometimes that is difficult, but it can be done. I've stopped cigarettes, cut down on calories, lost the ability to do heavy exercise (or walking), and yet, I've lost 25 lbs. You've obviously done some great things because you have lost 90!! That's incredible!!!! Now, try to replace the constant thought of eating with some other things that will give you satisfaction. Even if you have a really boring diet that you repeat week after week in order to stay within your range and not spend so much time worrying about what to have, if you have other things to look forward to, it may make the whole diet thing fade a bit...Good luck to you!! Congrats on all of your success so far, and hope you find it gets easier - I think there are an awful lot of us working on this same thing!!! :flowerforyou:

By the way, I looked back and you've lost OVER 90 and I also checked your pictures...you have made a tremendous transformation!! I hope you can find an answer that helps with the frustration of slipping back and forth!! You have done so very well and you look great!! Be Proud!! Yes, you are skinny again!! :happy: