How to stop an obsession with calorie counting?

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tonia_xo
tonia_xo Posts: 8 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
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.
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Replies

  • ladypitek
    ladypitek Posts: 91 Member
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    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.
  • SomewhatCool
    SomewhatCool Posts: 78
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    What you need to do is force yourself to quit worrying so much. Learn to better eyeball your portions, but don't freak out. Go out for meals when you want or when it's just easier. I'm still in weight loss mode, and even I do that. As for the scale, hide it maybe? And only bring it out once in a great while to make sure you've not strayed from your desired weight.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    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.
  • SomewhatCool
    SomewhatCool Posts: 78
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    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.
  • vet272
    vet272 Posts: 183
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    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.
  • casy84
    casy84 Posts: 290 Member
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    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.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    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.
  • cbear__
    cbear__ Posts: 5
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    Try not to .

    Its so hard though. I have an ED and MFP keeps me sain but also drives me crazy.
  • caramammal
    caramammal Posts: 147 Member
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    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.
  • sleepingtodream
    sleepingtodream Posts: 304 Member
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    I think it is great that you are recognizing that your view on counting calories/measuring isn't a healthy attitude toward food. In some ways I can relate to you. I took a break from logging and measuring for almost a month for a few reasons...one of which that trying to maintain my weight was making me a bit crazy about calorie counting. While I did gain a few lbs I realized that I have to be happy at the weight I am (whether I'm losing or maintaining) instead of worrying about what could happen. When I started on MFP I lost my weight and got down to my goal weight of 125 imo faster than I should have. I've got a few lbs to lose now but am going to go slow and steady. My suggestion would be to take a step back from counting and measuring for a bit....figure out why you have such guilt over a candy bar because maybe there are other stressors in your life that are affecting you. I wish you the best of luck! Feel free to add me if you'd like some support!
  • Seesawboomerang
    Seesawboomerang Posts: 296 Member
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    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.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    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 agree. Obsession, guilt, and compulsion are really different from just conscientiously watching your weight. It's easy for some people to get caught up in it. It can be anything. For you it sounds like it's calories.

    Talk to someone. I would go to a behavioral cognitive therapist (psychologist) not a GP, because they have some really good strategies to help you let go. Sometimes you can't just say 'I'm going to stop.' You tried that yesterday.

    Good luck!
  • autumndjones
    autumndjones Posts: 4
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    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.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Why can't you have MFP calculate your calories for a pound a week and stick to that (plus eat your exercise calories?) I'm not being faceteous, I'm serious. As you get close to an ideal weight your weight loss slows down. But it will come off.
  • eat_run_play
    eat_run_play Posts: 30 Member
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    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.
  • dalguard
    dalguard Posts: 36
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    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.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    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.
  • determined_erin
    determined_erin Posts: 571 Member
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    It might be a matter of if you slip up on something, you will gain weight. A few ideas I have for you is to lose 5 lbs and then eat normally, not tracking anything. That way you have a buffer of 5 lbs in case you do gain anything while you get yourself back on track (of not using MFP, not measuring, etc). Eat in moderation and have a fun treat once in a while.

    After you do this, check in with your scale one month later. You may've gained back those 5 lbs back, but now you are able to stay at that stable weight without measuring and obsessing over the weight.

    From here, weigh yourself only once a month just to check in.
  • splixi
    splixi Posts: 86 Member
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    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.
  • daniellabella986
    daniellabella986 Posts: 325 Member
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    I've been in this position and I hate to say it, but it's a form of an eating disorder and can lead to binge eating disorder if you're not careful. Please go see your doctor and talk to someone.

    I agree with everyone else in getting rid of the scale, app, etc. I think it might help, even if it's for 3 days up to 1 week, to just try to not count calories but eat healthy. By the end of that week, if you don't see that your weight isn't fluctuating as drastically as you imagine it will, hopefully it'll help the obsession some. But either way, I definitely recommend talking to someone because it can get out of hand and completely consume your life. Stay strong, anything is possible.

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