is this normal?

foodie178
foodie178 Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i'm obsessed with food and i'm obsessed with counting calories, but this is the weird part. i spend all of my free time on food review and recipe blogs, but i never eat anything i see. i bake sweets all the time, but i will rarely eat them or any other dessert. i'm literally attached to MFP and i count calories to the point where i'm planning my meals a day or so in advance to ensure that i can fit my 1500 calories in a day. my entire life revolves around my next meal or the next thing i want to eat, but i have or have had the urge to binge. no matter how much i try, i can't stop counting calories or constantly thinking about if my daily limit will make me gain weight. is this normal or does anyone else do this?! i feel like i should have an eating disorder or something because of this obsession, but i can't figure it out... i'm not anorexic, orthorexic, or bulimic. i'm just unnaturally obsessed with calorie counting, not getting fat, but eating as much food as i can without going over my limit.

Replies

  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    I think you might need a break. it's probably an idea to routinize your meals a bit, so you're spending less time thinking about it. If you've got a few menus that you know work, just apply them, rather than plan whole new days.
  • amann1976
    amann1976 Posts: 742 Member
    send all those baked goods my way i will surely eat them and review them for you if you like :happy:
  • glitteredgrave
    glitteredgrave Posts: 194 Member
    You sound like me, lol. I've always been food obsessed in one way or another. I worry a lot about calorie content and stuff. It's helpful now, but when I lose weight I hope I don't go overboard, you know? I had an eating disorder when I was younger. I hope I don't go all crazy again :frown: but if need be, once I reach my goal weight, I am willing to get professional help if the obsession doesn't stop. My family is already in on it to watch me and hold me to it :)
  • sarah5423
    sarah5423 Posts: 152 Member
    Not sure if it's normal but you sound just like me - although I can plan up to 5 days in advance, granted I pretty much eat the same breakfast and lunch 4 days a week when I'm in work but I have to know at least a day ahead what I'll be eating. I do feel as though I'm consumed by it all, but it's got me to where I am so it can't be that bad surely?? I wish I felt confident enough to not be so strick with logging and trust that I will guess the right portion size or say no to that piece of cake but I don't think I'm there yet!
  • photojunkie28
    photojunkie28 Posts: 292
    I went through this and found the same self realization. I would be hungry, have 300 calories left for the day and literally stand in the kitchen looking at things over and over and counting the calories and try to decide if that was the best choice I could make with those calories. Or if I didn't measure things I would make sure to log more than what I actually thought I ate. Sometimes I would quick add calories just because I was certain I may have forgotten 50 calories (heaven forbid 50 calories sneek by).

    I am still concerned with calories, but less obsessive these days. Honestly, I think the way I got over it was when I went on a cruise recently. I didnt have the ability to count or track for 2 weeks. Everything was a guess and I had to trust my body...I went a little nuts and ate a lot. I freaked out when I seen the 10 lb gain on the scale when I got back and went directly back to a 1 lb per week calorie cut. And guess what?? I lost 7.5 in just over a week. Most was retention. That's when I woke up and realized that it wasnt that big of a deal. Food didn't consume me anymore.

    It is a difficult thing , but try to let go just a little. Maybe try one week away from 'tracking' and try listening to your body and see what happens. You can't mess up that bad in one week.
  • allthesefeelings_reclaimed
    allthesefeelings_reclaimed Posts: 22
    That is very far from normal. It sounds like you are becoming very dependent on this website which isn't good. You should never allow a website or calories to take over and dictate your life or how you feel about yourself. It's time to take a break or even stop using the site altogether. An obsession with calorie counting is one of the first signs of developing an eating disorder. Get help while you can.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    Addictive personality a lot of people have it, look at video gamers. You might need a distraction unless your job has to do with food. I was the same way the first month and a half but once it became a habit I wasn't as obsessed.
  • foodie178
    foodie178 Posts: 47 Member
    I went through this and found the same self realization. I would be hungry, have 300 calories left for the day and literally stand in the kitchen looking at things over and over and counting the calories and try to decide if that was the best choice I could make with those calories. Or if I didn't measure things I would make sure to log more than what I actually thought I ate. Sometimes I would quick add calories just because I was certain I may have forgotten 50 calories (heaven forbid 50 calories sneek by).

    I am still concerned with calories, but less obsessive these days. Honestly, I think the way I got over it was when I went on a cruise recently. I didnt have the ability to count or track for 2 weeks. Everything was a guess and I had to trust my body...I went a little nuts and ate a lot. I freaked out when I seen the 10 lb gain on the scale when I got back and went directly back to a 1 lb per week calorie cut. And guess what?? I lost 7.5 in just over a week. Most was retention. That's when I woke up and realized that it wasnt that big of a deal. Food didn't consume me anymore.

    It is a difficult thing , but try to let go just a little. Maybe try one week away from 'tracking' and try listening to your body and see what happens. You can't mess up that bad in one week.

    first thanks to everyone for replying! seriously the first thing you said describes me every day, and as much as i feel good because i can control what i'm eating, its definitely not good that i've become so dependent on my intake for happiness.. :p how did you just get over your counting though?! do you still eat junk food occasionally without a second thought? i have to spend significant amounts of time budgeting and redistributing my calorie limit if i eat anything "bad"..

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