Overcoming calorie obsessions

Sounds like the calorie counting is overwhelming you and making you feel you have to suffer - this isn't true. You shouldn't feel you're losing out on anything. Maybe give food tracking a break for it, take a breather and clean up your eating habits instead of worrying about calories at this moment, it may help you get on track. I don't think it's good to get bottled down to specifics right from the get go, this stuff all takes time and a lot of persistence but once you've good control you'll probably find it a lot easier.

Try re-framing what you are doing. Note what your goal is, note what you are doing that is keeping you from your goal. Then go about planning on how to correct what is askew. The calorie is just a symptom of the problem.

you apparently aren't too obsessed over the calories or you wouldn't go over.

Keeping within a calorie range is not that hard. You choose foods that fit, if you had a big breakfast then modify the rest of the day.

The only time I could see it being hard is if you are eating too few calories for your size.

As a larger person you can eat more then 1400 a day...at 175 mine was 1400 with eating exercise back so I suspect yours is more like 2000 and you would still lose weight.

As well the food you eat makes a difference...instead of eating sugar and carbs all day add in some protien...eating eggs and bacon with toast and a glass of milk in the morning is not going to stop weight loss, it will keep you fuller longer.

Could it be an OCD thing? Some people have compulsions and some people have obsessions. If you can count calories in a healthy way then go for it. If you feel like it's getting to be an obsession, you might need to stop counting and work on eating healthier food, exercising and trying to eyeball smaller portions.

I am so obsessed with eating a specific amount of calories per day that I end up messing up and end up eating more.

Are you saying you're obsessed with not eating too few calories per day? This place has a bizarre obsession with that, probably thanks to the 'starvation mode' message in the software. If you are overweight, your body can use the stored fat as fuel and undereating is probably waaaayyy less something you need to worry about, versus overeating. Forget 'net calories' and just shoot to eat at least 1200 calories per day, period. People here will swear on their mother's graves that it's unhealthy to eat anything less than your BMR PLUS your 'exercise' but that's too small a target to try to shoot for, for many, and still remain in deficit. Eat 1200 or more, period. Forget 'net', forget BMR. If you don't believe me, pick up any diet book and see what they say. Or read any respected web site with diet info.

Juice definately counts. And the point is to count every single calorie. How many calories are you eating? It seems like if you are obsessed with counting the calories, that you would know when you've had your fill of the calories for the day and you'd stop eating.... idk...

I'm the same way. The second it's over maintenance some perfectionist tendency in my brain flips on and says "well, guess it doesn't matter how much I eat for the rest of the day because today was a miss" and 2,000 calories quickly becomes 3,000 or more. One day won't hurt, right? But the danger of course is that it doesn't matter if those extra 1,000 calories come from two hours or are spread over the week - it will take a long time to drop them at a small deficit. One bad meal can ruin the week. And if you try to get rid of the excess with a bigger deficit you get side effects: hunger, discomfort, the desire to eat more - which leads to another binge.

But I support calorie counting. Some people are not born to naturally regulate their weight. They have to make a conscious effort to ignore an impulse to eat at odd hours, and sometimes even the tactile quality of chewing food is enough to get me to eat out of boredom. Once the body is already full though, it is just easier to binge on sweets and "lighter" foods with zero fiber that leave you even hungrier.

Professionals treat binge eating disorder by telling their clients to give up calorie counting or dieting, buy "forbidden" foods, and stop worrying about weight. I think moderation is the key, but ignoring what you eat or how much is a recipe for disaster.

Sometimes I wonder what led me to consistently lose the weight in the first place, without binge eating.
I think it was sheer resolve, sadness at my former state, and acceptance of the hunger that inevitably came with the deficit.
I didn't worry about the details, macro nutrient ratios, time spacing, or exercising like a madwoman seven days a week. All I held firm to was a deficit, it was simple if uncomfortable, and gave me far fewer things to screw up.

Is all of this headache worth it in order for you to be slender ? Because the calorie counting never goes away. If you naturally overeat you will have to keep some sort of tab on the amounts eaten.

And are you eating more than you would have if you were not on a diet in the first place? If so, maybe just eating what you want can help...just keep it within moderation.

This might help you out http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
Plus since you are still new. eat like you normally do log everything for a week and see what your calories are. After a week tweak on things that you can cut back on. Including portions of your foods...Measure things with measuring cups or the measuring spoons and thatll help you start to lose weight. Just need to eat at a deficit....I now only drink 3-4 tablespoons of creamer a day compared to my 4-6 ozs of it