How to stop an obsession with calorie counting?

I don't want to hurt your feelings and I mean no offense, but it sounds to me like you already have an eating disorder. I suggest you see a therapist who specialises in eating disorders as soon as possible before this obsession gets even more out of control.

Delete the app. Get rid of the scale. Make an appointment with the doctor.

or

Eat out. Log it. See that you can maintain weight even if not 100% accurate. Lots of people do it all the time. You're not going to suddenly gain 20 pounds. You see that the scale is slowly (and consistently- not overnight) going up, you cut back on the eating. You see it going down, you have an extra snack. Embrace the fluctuations. They're normal. Stop making yourself crazy.

I don't want to hurt your feelings and I mean no offense, but it sounds to me like you already have an eating disorder. I suggest you see a therapist who specialises in eating disorders as soon as possible before this obsession gets even more out of control.

And, this. Talk to somebody.

This^^^^

Please see your GP and nip this in the bud.

I just aproximated what I ate, had lunch at a restaurant every day and still lost weight. Unfortunately I'm kinda in the same situation as you, just a bit better I guess. I'm not that scared to go over my calories, I'm just afraid to increase them to maintainance. Because of my aproximation of food I stay on the safe side and keep them maintainance-100. The thing is I'm still losing weight and I don't want to.

Then why are you afraid to increase them? If you're losing weight, and don't want to.. logic dictates that you would increase calories... 100 calories a day is not going to turn you into anything negative overnight. Increase your calories, watch your weight for a few weeks. Still going down? Increase your calories a bit more. Going up? Decrease them a bit. Staying roughly the same, with a few fluctuations? Perfect! You're doing it right.

This happened to me and i took the decision to have a year 'off'' because i was obsessed and not enjoying life. The only thing that was different from you was that i decided to gain 7lbs. And let me tell you, it's hard to gain 7lbs. I thought it would go on straight away and all it would take was a few 'bad' days. but nope, it took 3 months. So i guess what im saying is that even when you do go over your calories, the weight wont just pile on, like you think it will.

well done on reaching your goal and good luck with your maintenance.

It took about 18 months to slowly gain back 13lbs, when I wasn't paying attention. It took about 6 months to lose 30lbs when I made an effort.

I think if you mind what you eat but enjoy your life, it can be easy to maintain a healthy weight range.

I have also been obsessing over my calories and now... Macros. I'm terrified that I'm going to gain weight (as rapidly as I did the first time). I went from being 5'7 120lbs to 155lbs in a little over a year. I am now flip flopping from 125-130lbs (lost 25lbs in 8 months from using this app, love it). I don't know how to drop (and keep off) those last few lbs. it's driving me crazy. Should I start running 30 minutes a day? 5 days a week? Would that help? (I don't work out anymore...).

Didn't mean to randomly drop in. I just don't know who to ask.

Unfortunately, this website is not for everyone. For some, it can turn into obsession or make an eating disorder. For others, they don't have that problem. We are all different. My only advice is if it's bothering you, step away from it and try to do something else that will help you feel good about yourself.

It's interesting that people often advise increasing calories by 100 a day. 100 calories a day is 10 pounds a year. If my weight drops below my low point for 2 days in a row, I increase my goal 20 calories a day. That feels much safer to me.

They mean 100/day for 2-3 weeks, not 100day everyday. So if your goal is 1500 today, change it to 1600 for a few weeks, weight still going down, increase to 1700 for another 2-3 weeks.

What starts of as a harmless bid to lose a few pounds on this site can turn into so much more.

If you are an obsessional person/perfectionist/have great self worth or self esteem issues - MFP can be a bad mix with them.

I lost heaps of weight when I first came on MFP and was loving it and loving my new found "control"- little did I realise that come a time when I had to stop losing weight (after my heart almost stopped from electrolyte disturbance)- I couldn't. And it was then I realised I was dangerously out of control and it scared me.

My best advice would be to get off MFP now. I still do not log a food diary anymore on here or put my exercise in (but my head is always doing the math on its own).

Get professional help now- don't put your life at risk- it isn't worth it. The longer you leave it the harder it gets....

Feel free to PM me if you want someone to talk to.

It does sound like you might want to talk to a professional already. But to go it alone, I would recommend setting your MFP goal to maintenance and really eat that (including eating back exercise calories). Then you can still log/track in the detail you want but get the calories you need. I think that after working hard for your goal, it's only natural to fear backsliding. Also, you said that you decided to relax, so you had cake and a cookie. Maybe instead of that, make yourself estimate a *healthy* meal each day--or maybe even just once per week. That way, you'll get used to estimating and see that it doesn't make you gain a ton of weight.

What you are suffering from is the fear that you will gain back the weight you worked so hard to lose. As long as you stick to a 2000 calorie day diet you will be fine maintaining your weight. Nothing wrong with having sweets during the week as long as you stay within your calories. There is nothing wrong with being careful of what you eat, but also do not keep yourself from rewarding yourself here and there. Counting calories with My Fitness Pal and things such as Sodium and Saturated fat on labels is a healthy way to live. But you also have to set a night where you allow yourself to enjoy the foods you really like to reward yourself with. That's why you work hard every day and then reward yourself for it once a week. If someone wants to treat themselves to a Pizza and a couple beers or a pop on Fridays there is nothing wrong with that. Because the rest of the time you exercise and eat well. The only time you start gaining weight back is when you get into the old daily habits that caused you to be heavier than you are now. Key words here are "old daily habits." No you are not going to gain weight if you work out regularly and eat well 99 % of the time. If you eat a piece of cake once a week for dessert then so be it. It won't hurt you. Just don't eat the entire cake! LOL

Everyone is entitled to a cheat day! For example myself. I give myself one cheat day a week and the rest of the week I stay within my calorie limit of 1700 a day and I work out 6 days per week. Now on my cheat days do I go all out and eat two large pizzas and drink a case of beer? No. I reward myself with one or two drinks and a couple slices of pizza. I have lost over 50 pounds and am going to drop another 20. Over indulgence is never a good thing. But allowing yourself to enjoy your favorite things in moderation is fine.

Also do not weigh yourself 4 times a day. Weigh yourself once a week in the morning. Choose that day at the end of the week after you have worked hard and made sure to eat well. I recommend doing this on Friday Mornings right when you get out of bed. Do not drink water or eat anything before you do so. Then when you see that you are at your weight goal and maintaining the weight you want to, reward yourself! Have a little dessert and eat it with a smile on your face holding your head high and knowing that your hard work is paying off. Then the next day its back to exercising and eating the things that have caused you to be happy! Be proud and feel beautiful when you look in the mirror because you are doing a great job!

I have also been obsessing over my calories and now... Macros. I'm terrified that I'm going to gain weight (as rapidly as I did the first time). I went from being 5'7 120lbs to 155lbs in a little over a year. I am now flip flopping from 125-130lbs (lost 25lbs in 8 months from using this app, love it). I don't know how to drop (and keep off) those last few lbs. it's driving me crazy. Should I start running 30 minutes a day? 5 days a week? Would that help? (I don't work out anymore...).

Didn't mean to randomly drop in. I just don't know who to ask.

Sounds like you are doing fine - maintaining a healthy weight in a 5 pound range. Just add some activity back in your life - maybe 30 minutes or so. Wear a fit bit or nike fuel band or pedometer. Just a thought.

I've been on a diet and have achieved my goal weight of 125 pounds, down from 150 pounds. However, now I am obsessed with food and counting calories. I weigh everything I eat so I can count every single calorie as accurately as possible. I feel stressed whenever I eat something without nutrition info on meaning I often avoid eating out etc. I obsess with weighing myself and do so at least once a day, sometimes up to 4 times. I try to not drink much in case that makes me put on weight.. Every day I feel like I'm getting worse but I just can't stop. Today I told myself to relax so I had a chocolate bar and cake but now I feel so guilty and can't stop thinking about it. I need to know how I can stop this obsession before it turns into an eating disorder.. It's not just a case of stopping the obsessions because I want to do it as I'm so worried about going back into my old eating habits and putting all the weight on again. Does anyone have any advice please? Thanks.

You sound EXACTLY like me.

My fitness pall helps you! You can still keep your obsession with calorie counting, just set your goal to maintain your weight. My fitness pal will set how many calories you need to maintain it and make sure you have those calories, you can still be obsessed, but in a healthy way!

No advice for the actual issue since I struggle with the same obsessiveness, just wanted to say that "obsession" is generally never healthy.