Calorie counting madness!

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lej91
lej91 Posts: 12
in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone,

I'm an obsessive calorie counter, and I have been for years. I've gotten so good at it that it comes naturally, and I literally have to force myself not to count up the calories of the ingredients of my food when I cook. This week I've decided to STOP calorie counting and eat intuitively. This is impossibly hard for me! It's like me telling you not to think about a white elephant, and of course you think about it.

It may sound like a stupid question, but how do you NOT calorie count? I'm so terrified that I'm going to overeat and gain weight. Does anyone have any experience with this? How long did it take to stop getting anxiety about not knowing how many calories are in everything?

Replies

  • bonniecarbs
    bonniecarbs Posts: 446 Member
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    Well I guess I'm guilty of that too, cause I can't even think of not counting calories. That's not saying I don't eat it anyway if its too many, but I've been counting calories for the last 30 years. I never thought I was obsessed with it - wow, that's kinda something to think about.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    What's wrong with being informed about your intake and monitoring it at the same time? That's a big part of how people stay successful long term.
  • lachesissss
    lachesissss Posts: 1,298 Member
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    The thing about intuitive eating, is you eat when you're hungry and stop when your full. So, by that designation, if you listen to your body and how it wants to eat, rather than what you think it/how it wants to eat, you technically can't over eat. I think it will be a challenge for you, because you will want to count every calorie up until a set threshold you are used to eating at. However, there, at least to me, is nothing wrong with tallying up calorie totals in your mind for the foods you eat, so long as you don't let it stop you from eating intuitively once you've crossed that calorie threshold (if you do) that you're used to stopping at. A primary goal of intuitive eating is to foster a healthier relationship with food (with the additional benefit that this new outlook will lead to a healthier body mass), rather than weightloss, per se. Good Luck!
  • Happy4lifeHHH
    Happy4lifeHHH Posts: 188 Member
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    I have the exact same problem but I was able to get out of it for a while.... I went on vacation for 2 weeks. I was with family and they would make the meals but I also had a say in what I ate.... There were a couple things I looked at the calories, like the cereal I was eating there... I just had to stop caring what the calories were and focused on eating healthy, the right portions, and when I was hungry. I stopped caring about loosing weight. Now that I am home and trying to lose weight, I count everything and am back to obsessing. Not sure if this is helpful but I wanted to share anyways :)
  • lej91
    lej91 Posts: 12
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    I guess there's nothing "wrong" with counting calories, but when it becomes a source of anxiety then I think there is a problem. I think a lot of generally healthy people who have a healthy lifestyle don't count, and that's what I'm aiming for. But I'm also surprised at how many people do count every day, so it's an interesting discussion. x
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
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    If you have been counting for years, I'm sure you know some of the numbers off by heart now. So regardless of if you're actively counting or not, you're pretty damn tuned in with what you'll be putting into your body. Don't see that as a bad thing!

    I'd say just eat whatever sounds good and judge intuitively what your body needs.
  • lexlyn14
    lexlyn14 Posts: 290 Member
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    I can probably tell you every calorie of almost every food out there...I can also tell you how many weight watcher points they are...I started counting calories at 11 years old...Totally obsessed with it...Even if I try not to count calories... I do... it is like instead of seeing a bagel for example I see 450 calories ( I live in NY,,,the bagels are big)...It would probably give me more anxiety not to count every bite...and now a days almost every fast food or packed food says the calorie counts...
    As long as it is not interferring with your daily life...just let it go...and count your calories...Every one has a vice...
    I would need a therapist and a lot of medication to stop:laugh:
  • iheartchandlerbing
    iheartchandlerbing Posts: 7
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    Hi doll :)
    Being afraid to stop counting is what made me decide not to count to begin with!
    It'd be a great idea to stop counting so you don't develop an unhealthy relationship with food where you sacrifice flavor and nutrition for, well, maths- but from what I've read a lot of people consider counting to be a "lifestyle" that they never grow out of. Seems bleak to me.
  • CherokeeBabe
    CherokeeBabe Posts: 1,704 Member
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    I've been counting cals since January and recently took about two weeks off due to a cold I couldn't shake, my body just needed whatever it needed and I let myself have a break until I was normal again. I didn't gain a pound either. As long as you don't go crazy and just let yourself relax, you'll be fine.

    I was still struggling with not counting (hard not to check the labels all the time, and then mentally calculating every ingredient in a sandwich or bowl of pasta), but I just kept up with whatever my body needed. Within reason of course. NO big binges or eating a whole cake, etc, I still ate reasonably healthy food and not a lot of junk. I wish I had some special tricks to share, I had a hard time the first few days, but it got easier after that.
  • Emtabo01
    Emtabo01 Posts: 672
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    I stopped counting a few weeks ago, for several reasons. I still tally up things in my head and still have a hard time with the intuitive eating. I'm still constantly thinking about food, like - am I hungry? if I keep thinking about being hungry, will that make me hungrier quicker? stop thinking about food, am I full now, am I satisfied now? I also struggle with needing to eat at particular times because of having to go to work soon, only having a break at a certain time, and needing to eat then, so sometimes I wonder if I can even do the intuitive eating thing. I also agree lots of people have healthy lifestyles and don't count calories. I think since I counted calories for so long, I know how much I can eat to lose or maintain, and even though I'm trying to do the intuitive thing, in the back of my head I still want to lose a few more pounds (even though realistically I probably just need to keep lifting for body recomp) so I "intuitively" end up eating to be I a deficit, which triggers a major binge every 10 days or so, so really neither counting or not counting doesn't work for me....I'm a mess. I wish I could have had the relationship I had with food before I found MFP, but just added in exercise, I would of been golden then....I try to just tell myself to stick with the intuitive eating theory and that it won't work over night, I didn't create these new eating habits overnight, they won't go away overnight, but I feel like I have to start over from square one after every 10 day binge.
  • KaraKramerRapp
    KaraKramerRapp Posts: 11 Member
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    An interesting book to look into is "Body for Life". It is completely opposite of counting calories, it goes on portion sizes. Might be fun for you to look into.
  • lej91
    lej91 Posts: 12
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    Thanks! I'll check it out.

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