Tired of thinking about food and callories all the time...

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dijanulka
dijanulka Posts: 5
in Motivation and Support
Hey everybody,

so I wanted to ask you...how do you feel in general about losing weight, whatever is the method?

I find myself now so obsessed with all this thing. I am on diet for the first time, do not need to lose a lot- maybe 10+ kilos (around 20 lbs). Not only I now always count what I eat, plan my meals one week ahead, but also weight myself every day, and when shopping for groceries- oh boy, I will soon be afraid of sunflower seeds in bread. In short- all the time now I am thinking about food and calories, it's crazy! I dedicate so much time and effort for it, it feels so shallow...

Yes, I am happy in a way- I am losing weight, although not too much since I started, and making healthy meals can be sometimes very satisfying. But I hate that food is now such a big part of my life- I am missing times when I could just listen to my body needs and eating was something natural, not a burden.

What do you think about it? Anyone feeling the same..?:)

Replies

  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
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    I think a lot more about food than I did before I started focusing seriously on losing weight. While I know I need to step back sometimes because I can get a bit obsessive, I view it overall as a positive experience. I appreciate food, cooking, and the outdoors far more than I used to. I sometimes wish I could do it naturally too, but there is something special about the way I feel when I cook or go for a walk because I haven't done it before. If I had been a natural eater, I'm not sure I'd feel the same way.
  • CoachBrandice
    CoachBrandice Posts: 9 Member
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    Congrats on your progress thus far! Learning to live a healthier life is just like any other skill... it takes some extra effort in the beginning. After getting some time under your belt you won't have to invest quite as much time learning new things or put the same level of effort into changing your habits.

    That being said, being obsessed is no fun. Do you think you may be trying to change too many things at once? When I work with clients I have them focus on changing just one or two habits at a time. This way you can filter all of your energy into these tasks and really nail them! Once they become a way of life, then you add in one or two more. It's a lot more manageable and fun when it's in bite-sized pieces.
  • JessiBelleW
    JessiBelleW Posts: 822 Member
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    I felt that way when I was eating less calories.

    Three things helped change this:
    1. Upping my calories. I'm still losing weight and some days I don't eat them all but with more calories to eat I feel like I don't need to weigh and measure every single bite.
    2. Someone pointed out to me that the calories for MFP are set to a deficit. If you have it set to lose a pound a week ( you should) you would still need to go over your cals by 3500 for the week to gain a pound of fat. If you were to go over by 250 a DAY, you'd still lose half a pound this week! going over your cals only slows your weightloss
    3. I had a week where I ate badly (well just not great) did almost no exercise and had a fair bit of alcohol and still lost weight.

    These things allowed me to loosen up a little about logging. I still find it tedious to log recipes, and dishes/ meals with a ton of ingredients - it does help that once I've made a recipe I eat it for 4-5 meals and that you can group some foods together as meals.

    It is meant to be a lifestyle change. You are going to have to eat better than you were for the rest of your life (or wind up gaining the weight back at some point) it NEEDS to be sustainable. Find some things you love to eat and roughly memorize them. Ie chicken wrap is roughly 300cals (I made this number up), and work out what would happen if you switched the wrap for bread ect. Work out a rough estimation of your common carbs (mine are mostly potatoes around 100 cals per 100g). This will allow you to have a rough estimation of foods you like to eat and will mean even if you didn't log 1 meal a day, you know a rough estimation.
  • hkmurphy83
    hkmurphy83 Posts: 262 Member
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    I've been at this for 10 months and have recently hit a snag where I'm tired of the whole counting, measuring, checking etc. thing so I'm taking a couple of weeks off. I know this is not for everyone; however, it is what I need for now. I'm going on vacation in a few days, and when I come back I'll be recharged and ready to get back at it. I even have a plan in place already!! I'm not going totally overboard and am mentally prepared to have a gain.

    You just need to find what's right for you!
  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
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    my hair dresser was telling me how 2-3 years ago she lost like 80lbs

    and still to this day, she exercises and counts calories to maintain. so yes, if you are taking this approach, then some people generally have to count calories for a loooong time to keep things in check.

    i got obsessive over it for awhile. then i have a week of grieving and stress, so i stopped counting. and believe me, i gained 2 pounds and i'm still waiting for the 2 pounds i gained to come off.
    so now i realize the only way i'm going to have success is by counting calories. i got sick of counting calories, but that week off made me realize that it needs to be done.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    So, for me, I find knowing I can record what I ate and being on maintenance means I can start adding more healthy habits. Like sleeping 8 hours every day, and slowly adding more activity and more "training" type exercises.

    It might be you are ready to figure out more ways to enjoy being active. I am really into finding more ways to incorporate more walking in my daily routines, shopping, etc. I am committed to 10 minutes of my on line video exercise in the morning and 30 minutes every evening. I am upping my daily goal on my nike fuel band. It all counts. I even try to stand for 10 minutes every hour.
    If I am on an elevator I try to stand on my right going up, my left going down. I am a nerd.

    I find that even do more things like playing my husband inscrabble, etc. helps. I just decided eating was no longer a recreational hobby for me.
  • RCottonRPh
    RCottonRPh Posts: 148
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    For long term success, it cannot be a burden or obsession---it needs to become a lifestyle. So maybe take the pressure off yourself and focus on making one small change at a time...sure it might take longer for the weight to come off, but you'll be more comfortable in the process and your success will be easier to sustain.
  • lcfairbairn74
    lcfairbairn74 Posts: 412 Member
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    I have found the longer I am doing it, the less you think about it. At the beginning, learning about the calorie content of everything you put into your mouth, and exactly what a portion size looks like seems overwhelming. But after a certain amount of time (it was the 6 month mark for me), it becomes more instinctive.

    Hang in there! It gets easier! :wink:
  • fitbot6313
    fitbot6313 Posts: 11
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    Can you tell me what's wrong with sunflower seeds?

    I wish I had advice but I'm just as obsessed as you, maybe even more so.
    I'm not so sure it's a bad thing to plan or care about what you put into your body.
  • ClumsyArtist
    ClumsyArtist Posts: 40 Member
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    ...I just decided eating was no longer a recreational hobby for me.

    This might have just changed my life...
  • PippiNe
    PippiNe Posts: 283 Member
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    I think MFP is such a time-saver! I tried doing this last year just keeping track in a notebook. Talk about a pain! MFP saves so much time looking up foods/calories and totaling everything up for you. I thank my friend for telling me about this website! Yes, you do think more about the foods you eat and portions and calorie intake, but that's the point. You're re-training your mind and eyes to recognize a proper portion size of a meal and to think about what kinds of fats, calories, etc. are hidden inside your favorite casseroles and dishes. By the time you reach your goal, it should be a habit. Then I don't think you'd have to log daily, maybe once/week just to double check yourself. :o)
  • dijanulka
    dijanulka Posts: 5
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    Sunflower seeds: 884 calories/100g !:D

    Wow, thank you all, I realize now what is my problem: I need to take small steps!
    But I'm so impatient. You know what was my start like? I ate the whole pie one day and then I said to myself that from tomorrow on, I am not consuming more than 1200 calories a day. And starting exercising. as I am not extremely overweight, I expected just to be thinner until July and that everything will somewhat be really good then.

    I realize now that I need not to think about my weight at all probably...just lose the old habits (mostly the one to eat food if there is any,hah) and make new ones, slowly. But I am so afraid because I am the type of person that can have extremely good stamina for a short time, but not for a long run...
  • fitbot6313
    fitbot6313 Posts: 11
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    Ok thanks for clearing that up. I eat 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds daily and I thought there was a recall or something, lol!
  • CoachBrandice
    CoachBrandice Posts: 9 Member
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    Sunflower seeds: 884 calories/100g !:D

    Wow, thank you all, I realize now what is my problem: I need to take small steps!
    But I'm so impatient. You know what was my start like? I ate the whole pie one day and then I said to myself that from tomorrow on, I am not consuming more than 1200 calories a day. And starting exercising. as I am not extremely overweight, I expected just to be thinner until July and that everything will somewhat be really good then.

    I realize now that I need not to think about my weight at all probably...just lose the old habits (mostly the one to eat food if there is any,hah) and make new ones, slowly. But I am so afraid because I am the type of person that can have extremely good stamina for a short time, but not for a long run...

    That's an excellent thought! Are you talking about snacking between meals?
  • malena43
    malena43 Posts: 31
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    my hair dresser was telling me how 2-3 years ago she lost like 80lbs

    and still to this day, she exercises and counts calories to maintain. so yes, if you are taking this approach, then some people generally have to count calories for a loooong time to keep things in check.

    i got obsessive over it for awhile. then i have a week of grieving and stress, so i stopped counting. and believe me, i gained 2 pounds and i'm still waiting for the 2 pounds i gained to come off.
    so now i realize the only way i'm going to have success is by counting calories. i got sick of counting calories, but that week off made me realize that it needs to be done.

    Yes, It happened the same to me. Every time I tried to not count and trust my body...bum I gain few pounds.
  • Jewels_in_the_rough
    Jewels_in_the_rough Posts: 39 Member
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    I also get tired of thinking about food and calories all the time. But I am also tired of being overweight. I know, personally, I have to chose one of these, as I have never been able to lose weight without counting calories and spending time planning and such. So it comes down (for me at least) to which am I more tired of. So I chose to stick to counting calories and making healthy choices so that one day, I'm not going to be tired of being overweight.

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