Nerves and Anxiety

joneswife09 · June 2010

Well MFP and MFPers I love you all so much, but my time of calorie counting is about over. This calorie counting has made my life a lot harder than normal and frankly this isn't how I want to spend the rest of my life. It has become a diet and not a lifestyle change and I really just can't do that to my body. I have done enough damage being overweight. I can't go the complete opposite and live counting every calorie down the the T and feeling constantly undernourished. I'm eating more than the minimum calories, but its still not working for me. I am losing weight and I intend to keep losing weight, but I'm going to have to find an alternative way to do this. I understand the way to lose weight is more calories out than in. Maybe I'll try just portioning all of my food and staying away from junk. I knew when I started that I would get way into this and go overboard. I just didn't know how long it would take. I'll still try to stay on here for the friends and the message boards, but I can't track. It makes my life CRAZY.

Love you all,
Cayla

nonstopdigital · June 2010

I had that same problem. Use the site, but if it gets in the way of living your life, then you gotta do what you gotta do. You can always come back here to get back on track later.

Best of luck.

slcbrus · June 2010

Hey! Don't beat yourself up over this. I don't track every single day anymore either. It was turning into a time consuming obsession. I keep track of things when I can and I exercise. I'm using this tool with a lot of flexibility because just as it did for you, it did become way too much trouble for me as well. This is a great place to keep a journal and seek support and info but indeed, we are not all super finicky about this either. Keeping things on the light side (pun intended) is very important. You need to keep your sanity and find balance, it is as important as finding balance between diet, fitness and a decent, stress free lifestyle.
I will always be here for you if you need anything :flowerforyou:

joneswife09 · June 2010

Okay. I didn't do this so everyone would read and shy away from me. I just was kind of looking for other options. Sorry if I offended anyone. I just wanted to be realistic with myself and everyone else for that matter. Thanks for any suggestions or comments that you might have. Have a great day.

girlruns · June 2010

I just checked out your diary for the past few days: no wonder you are hungry!! You have a snack/meal of deficit almost every day, and your meals seem to be a lot of small snacky things. In theory, you have most of the correct components, but if you try for fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, and more protein, you should feel more satisfied. One of my new favorite meals--a big salad with 1/2 cup black beans. That, with maybe a yogurt or a some whole grain crackers fills me right up for less than 400 calories! We are here to help you if you need it, but I hope you find what works best for you!

kstoeger · June 2010

Don't give up so soon. Yes, you are going to have to track things but try baby steps. Portioning and staying away from junk will go a long way. But any program you do, you'll end up tracking at some point. If you don't, it's easy to overeat. I did Weight Watchers and counted points, but I love MFP. I find it easier to track calories and other items of my choice. I find that I'm still satisfied with my food choices on MFP than I was on WW. Good luck with whatever you choose.

joneswife09 · June 2010

Hey! Don't beat yourself up over this. I don't track every single day anymore either. It was turning into a time consuming obsession. I keep track of things when I can and I exercise. I'm using this tool with a lot of flexibility because just as it did for you, it did become way too much trouble for me as well. This is a great place to keep a journal and seek support and info but indeed, we are not all super finicky about this either. Keeping things on the light side (pun intended) is very important. You need to keep your sanity and find balance, it is as important as finding balance between diet, fitness and a decent, stress free lifestyle.
I will always be here for you if you need anything :flowerforyou:

Thanks. I find your posts very encouraging and helpful. Like I said...I'm not gone, but can't do the everyday, every calories, every carb, every fat, every etc. I just can't do it. It's not a lifestyle change, but a diet and thats not what I came here for. This is just a lesson that I have to learn along the way. I've already learned several others here on MFP and I'm sure I will learn a ton more. Thanks again.

joneswife09 · June 2010

I just checked out your diary for the past few days: no wonder you are hungry!! You have a snack/meal of deficit almost every day, and your meals seem to be a lot of small snacky things. In theory, you have most of the correct components, but if you try for fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, and more protein, you should feel more satisfied. One of my new favorite meals--a big salad with 1/2 cup black beans. That, with maybe a yogurt or a some whole grain crackers fills me right up for less than 400 calories! We are here to help you if you need it, but I hope you find what works best for you!

I guess what has become so hard is that I try to eat what I have on hand. I don't have extra money. I really don't. And I was finding myself going to the store everyday even twice somedays. I always felt like I had to eat one whole snack before I moved on to the next. Eating 5 or 6 times a day as gotten me into the habit of constantly thinking about what my next snack is going to be. I sit and change my diary around over and over to make sure that everything I eat is under my calories, carbs, fat, sodium, etc. I know I have horrible meals. I am so picky that I never keep anything in the house to eat really. I don't cook meals. I grab ground turkey and make turkey burgers or I get tuna and make tuna burgers. My poor husband. I am just so picky. Its so hard. Plus if I buy fruit and veggies they go bad pretty much every time and I can't stand to waste money on food that I'm throwing away. When I exercise I always feel like I should stay under my calorie intake. I know its been debated, but should I try eating back all my calories from exercise? I was never raised having the slightest clue about nutrition so this is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. It definitely doesn't come easy. Don't think I'm giving up. I just don't know where to go from here. And yes I know yesterday was horrible during the day as far as snacking as meals. My mind tells me that my body just wasn't made for this, but I've lost 30 before coming here and another 10 since being here so my body has told me different.

tlschlp · June 2010

A possible hint for the fruits ... "fresh" is great, but frozen could be just as good. For example (and I got my boys hooked on this, too) ... I have gotten into the habit of cleaning and then freezing grapes. They don't freeze rock-solid, just crunchy! Especially great in the warmer weather, and I can't buy enough so that there's some for me (my boys have gone through 8 pounds in a week!). I also buy bags of frozen strawberries, blueberries, mangos (I wouldn't know what to do with them fresh). I've tried freezing orange slices, but I wasn't really happy with them ... you might think differently.

I'm not a picky eater, but I don't like to eat (although my weight doesn't prove it!). Trying to plan in the morning what I'm going to eat all day is a chore for me, too. What I've done, which seems to help me, is I pre-make as much as I can. Grocery shopping in my house is Sunday. I buy my (basic) fixings for salad and then pre-make 7-8 individual bowls and stick them in the freezer so I can have one a day. When I'm making my lunch, I'll pull out a salad, cut up a cheese stick, maybe add some tuna, etc, and then I'm ready to take to work. I've also pre-measured/made containers with cottage cheese (or yogurt) and frozen fruit. It tastes just as great and is just as easy to pull out of the fridge when you want it.

leavinglasvegas · June 2010

I know what you mean, more than I can say. I don't bother to get too worked up about tracking anymore. Sometimes when I have time, I log everything in advance and use it as a guide for my week. But honestly, it doesn't happen all the time.

When I do log, I have found that I don't really go over. I just don't eat any "packaged foods". Whole foods are low in cals, high in fiber. So if you just learn to use proper portions, you will find that counting every morsel won't really matter anymore.

For example, get used to snacking on fruits and veggies... more veggies than fruit so you can balance your sugar.... and add in some lean protiens and plant protiens like nuts, seeds, beans. Nuts and seeds may be high in fat, but they are good fats and if you mind your portions, they are filling and won't destroy your efforts. Cook your food from scratch. Sounds time consuming, but its not.

Sometimes I just cook one day a week. I just cook in batches, prepare salads in advance, portion snacks in advance, cut up veggies and fruits, make big batches of brown rice, soups, stews, etc.... That way, when I'm rushing, I can just grab, heat, and go. The best part is, its all fresh and I know whats in it. This has made calorie counting totally unnecessary for me. I actually fall under my goal more often than over. It used to drive me crazy. But since I'm eating all real foods, no boxed or prepared foods, I know I'm getting my share of nutrients.

Good luck:flowerforyou:

Nerves and Anxiety

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