Obsession?

mactaffy84
mactaffy84 Posts: 398 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi,

I was wondering if logging food and exercise has felt like an obsession to anyone else? Last week, it almost got me feeling overwhelmed! I'm not really sure why. I just felt like I HAD to log my food and stuff, probably goes to wanting to be honest with myself in order to reach my goals. But, frankly, it was just a tad scary - if that is the correct word. Just wondering if anyone else had felt this way and, if so, what did you do?
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Replies

  • Rhia55
    Rhia55 Posts: 247
    I stop logging for a few days. I don't change what I eat or my exercise habits but I don't log for a day or so until I feel I'm back under control.

    I don't want to have to log what I eat for the rest of my life, and I don't want it to control me.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    Yes, and my wife gives me hell for being obsessed with logging,
    Its better than shooting up heroin, so I mean if I had to pick one or the other,,,
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
    I can't NOT log now. It is definitely an obsession, and probably not a healthy one. . . more of an addiction for me.
  • Hungrygirl88
    Hungrygirl88 Posts: 73
    I think there are worse things to be obessed about, I feel as though I might have to do this for a very long time. To stay somewhat healthy and if that is the case and I stay at whatever goal weight I decide....it is a small price to pay than do it again and again...know what I'm sayin? =P
  • amenok
    amenok Posts: 116 Member
    i don't know, i'm considering my ocd'ing about needing to log everything and getting on here to make sure is just a way to grow accountability. i definitely feel if i didn't log as much as i do, that it'll just gradually lead up to 'ignoring' foods i eat/not logging much to be effective. i take it as a form of security so i like it. if you feel its too much you can write what you expect to eat for a few days like i do, and if i change anything i modify it. it feels like there is less 'correction' to be had this way
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
    My logging was definitely becoming an obsession - to the point of me avoiding social interactions where I knew food might tempt me because I knew if I ate "bad food" that I'd have to log it, and so on, so forth. Prompted by my tri-coach, I quit logging. I haven't logged for a couple of weeks now. I'm taking a class with her that teaches you how to listen to your body (bio-feedback) and what certain cravings actually mean. Rather than eating this or that at such and such time because that's what my diet says I'm supposed to do, I'm learning to listen to what my body is telling me it wants. It's taking some getting used to, but I'm convinced I had/have a form of disordered eating. Not your normal anorexia or bulimia, but an eating disorder nonetheless. Don't let your food define you, whether it's junk food or healthy food. It's a miserable existence.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    I'm an obsessive and addicted person by nature, so I totally get the worry. If it feels like it's reaching unhealthy levels, it probably is. Taking the day or two break may be nesscary.
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
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  • Heyyleigh
    Heyyleigh Posts: 268 Member
    Yup, but I have had no problem logging each day, but can't imagine if I didnt have my Droid. I think for me and most is the day you stop, you feel like u may go back to the old ways, afterall I have 10000000000000 times before, I am 200 days strong. I dont wanna stop and hope I never do.
  • rosesigil
    rosesigil Posts: 105 Member
    I like logging. It's fun to see where you're at and know what you have left, like if you want a snack or something. Plus, how else would you be able to keep track of what you eat and how many calories you've had? I'm too busy using mmy brain for other things to tie it up with that. It's not that big. I let mfp keep track of it. Plus I like reading the posts and getting advice and support from all the other people who have my same weight issues. I like reading about people who have decided to make the healthy eating a permanent lifestyle change. Why shouldn't one be osessed with his or her health?:flowerforyou:
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    Yes and no. Obsessed circles addicted - and addicted means to be so obsessed with something that it interferes in your daily, healthy living. Dedication and tedium is one thing, but if you find yourself heaping huge amounts of negative self-talk onto yourself, or isolating yourself to the point of absolute withdrawal in order to restrict temptation, that's obsession - and not the healthy kind. Eating disorders run in my family, so for a long time I was scared any kind of dieting would lead to the obsession for me. It hasn't, but I understand why others would feel that way.
  • TashiaMH
    TashiaMH Posts: 70 Member
    Yes, and my wife gives me hell for being obsessed with logging,
    Its better than shooting up heroin, so I mean if I had to pick one or the other,,,

    I agree. There could be much worse things to obsess about.

    I wouldn't call it "obsessed" just entrenched. :wink:
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    I'd rather be obsessive than be part of the 95% of people that gain their weight back.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Oh yeah, definitely an obsession. But a good one. If I start worrying about it becoming an obsession, then I will convince myself I need to stop logging so much, then I will slowly but surely start over eating and get back to unhealthy habits, then wake up one day and kick myself for gaining all my weight back. I plan to log my food for quite some time. perhaps the rest of my life. I don't ever want to go back to mindless eating again. But it doesn't mean that I don't have a life outside of MFP. I can socialize and go out to eat, I just need to plan well. Just because food is available, doesn't mean I have to eat it.
  • jordanlell
    jordanlell Posts: 340 Member
    My boyfriend gave me a hard time about how obsessed I was for the first 6-8 months, but it makes me crazy sometimes when he says that he is keeping track in his head but refuses to log it :grumble: I'm not convinced that a person can really keep track in their head without forgetting some things. To each their own, I guess. I personally feel that it keeps me more accountable if I can see it.
  • laurenk182004
    laurenk182004 Posts: 1,882 Member
    It's definitely an obsession for me! I log everything before I even sit down and eat it, and can't wait to punch in my cardio. I don't mind being obsessed though, it will help get me to my goal and hopefully help keep me there this time!
  • 140shorty
    140shorty Posts: 9
    While I'm having fun and learning a lot about the food I eat by tracking, I am aiming to not have to log to feel in control by the time I reach my goal weight. I'm using it more as a tool to help me eyeball my portions correctly so that eventually I won't need to track.
  • gissalm
    gissalm Posts: 41
    i don't see it as an obsession, its discipline ... and if i don't do it for a day i don't worry i'll just fill it the next day ... but you have to do whatever it takes to stay in track, so i think for some time it may feel like an obsession, once you get it done you won't feel the need to do it every day all the time :wink:
  • dawndw
    dawndw Posts: 203
    i don't see it as an obsession, its discipline ... and if i don't do it for a day i don't worry i'll just fill it the next day ... but you have to do whatever it takes to stay in track, so i think for some time it may feel like an obsession, once you get it done you won't feel the need to do it every day all the time :wink:

    My thoughts exactly :smile:
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    if you recognize youre going overboard and taking it too seriously, then thats what you are doing.

    take a break and get a new recipe book and have fun making new dishes you love that are healthy and find enjoyment again.

    Dont use numbers are the new way to punish yourself.

    All of the changes we are making is so we can treat ourselves better.

    Dont go from NO CONTROL to NO WIGGLE ROOM. Neither can be kept up.
  • harvo
    harvo Posts: 4,676 Member
    I equate logging my food and excercise to the words given to me by a nutritionalist. As a diabetic you start by measuring your portions EVERY MEAL, EVERY DAY as time goes they tell you to measure once or twice a week because if you don't you will forget what a half cup of potatoes, corn, peas, etc looks like and you won't understand why your diabetes is out of control...Log as much as you must to stay on track.....
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
    Yes, and my wife gives me hell for being obsessed with logging,
    Its better than shooting up heroin, so I mean if I had to pick one or the other,,,

    I agree. There could be much worse things to obsess about.

    I wouldn't call it "obsessed" just entrenched. :wink:

    I like "entrenched."
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Yes, it's an obsession, and right now, I'd rather be obsessed with logging my food than eating it!! LOL ANd like someone else said - better than shooting up heroin! LOL

    My husband and I both towards the end of the day ask, "Have you logged your stuff today?"

    I don't plan on being obsessed about it as much after I get to goal, but I won't have to worry about that for a while since I'm half way there.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    No - can't relate; I hate logging and avoid it at least one day a week.
    I'm not happy with the way my weight loss is progressing, though, and am thinking I need to get a bit more obsessive with it.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I for one am tired of logging, it's tedious and cuts into my family time. I still do it to keep me aware but my eating habits were not bad before I started MFP, I was just VERY SEDENTARY. my breakfast and lunch logging is pretty accurate. Dinner logging is kinda of half-assed; an approximation of portions and often not my own recipe. I just pick something similar from the database.

    I know how to eat responsibly and as long as I'm active and exercising, I think I will continue to progress. Logging aside, I like the community here so I'm not ready to part with MFP.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
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    I think I fixed the pic
  • lollibowes
    lollibowes Posts: 1
    Honestly, I love logging. I've dieted before and it got waaaaay out of control. This was in the days before smartphones and I was tracking in my head and, to be on the safe side, I'd end up only eating around 500 calories a day, maximum. This wouldn't be so bad, if I wasn't spending 2-3 hours in the gym 5 days a week. I was not a well bunny, to say the least!

    I did overcome all that, though my hubby still won't let me join a gym ever again, and I've now found that logging my calories lets me know that I still have to have a handful of almonds, or some peanut butter crackers to stay on track.

    Essentially, tracking rules, cos you can underestimate your calorie intake just as much as you can over estimate, and neither one is any good for your health because that can spiral out of control before you know it.
  • lax75
    lax75 Posts: 118 Member
    By being diligent (sounds better than "obsessed" LOL) about logging I don't have to think about the process as much, because once it's logged I don't really need to try to remember it. I only need to make sure that the next choice is a healthy one. When I log in my dinner I check the totals, and choose my evening snack with an eye towards what I might be a little short on nutritionally for that day.

    When I first started really concentrating on "healthy" I did feel that it could have taken over my life. Someone on MFP suggested thinking about exercise as a "hobby", as a way not to resent the time that it takes up. That resonated with me, and I apply that approach both to exercise and to learning/tracking my nutrition and what I eat.
  • literatelier
    literatelier Posts: 209 Member
    My boyfriend gave me a hard time about how obsessed I was for the first 6-8 months, but it makes me crazy sometimes when he says that he is keeping track in his head but refuses to log it :grumble: I'm not convinced that a person can really keep track in their head without forgetting some things. To each their own, I guess. I personally feel that it keeps me more accountable if I can see it.

    I find that if I don't log I become selectively forgetful later in the week. I'll think, okay I've been pretty good, I can have this croissant for breakfast as a splurge instead of my usual egg whites because I have enough calories for the week. Only to later remember I did that every day. So I need to log, and then check that I'm on target!
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
    Hi,

    I was wondering if logging food and exercise has felt like an obsession to anyone else? Last week, it almost got me feeling overwhelmed! I'm not really sure why. I just felt like I HAD to log my food and stuff, probably goes to wanting to be honest with myself in order to reach my goals. But, frankly, it was just a tad scary - if that is the correct word. Just wondering if anyone else had felt this way and, if so, what did you do?

    It is very easy for food, diet, and calorie counting to turn into an obsession. It might be that it is an element of control, something that soothes you, or some way to relieve anxiety. You are your best barometer, and if things are getting a little panicky or obsessive you might want to consider what this process is doing for you, what it would be like to stop it, and if this is becoming an addiction for you. There are dieticians, counselors, and therapists who specialize in these matters, and even support groups if you do end up feeling like things are going too far.
    It has been my experience that if you don't treat the stuff under the unhealthy food habits (weather it is obsession, restricting, or binging) no amount of planning and controlling will give you genuine freedom.
    That being said - you might just REALLY like entering things into boxes and looking at numbers, that is the main appeal with most of the video games I play so....once again, you are your best barometer. At your heart you will know if something is up and needs to change.

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