The Fine Line Between Motivated and Obsessed

I work in IT and am sat at a computer all day, and i find myself constantly on the MFP forums. Definitely obsessed.

But i think reading about it all the time encourages me to try harder. I don't see it as a bad thing... yet.

Hi hun,

Maybe your just not used to putting yourself first and see it as something you feel guilty about, hence the pressure. You are the important one and if doing what you are doing is keeping you on the straight and narrow (which presumably you want to), then just ditch the stress, you don't need to feel that way. Enjoy the fact that you are doing something that is important to you, and reap the benefits.

I call it being focussed.

Hmm I can fully understand where you are coming from, I have been fully into MFP since the first week in January and I am also tredding the fine line between motivation and obsession! I check MFP morning, noon and night tracking food and checking posts etc, however I have to say I am not going to let it worry me as I think the whole pressure thing has on a whole left me a lot healthier, fitter and feeling better than this time last year and I guess if I am going to be obsessive then healthier living is a good thing to do it with, it has helped me a lot with now over a stone lost and you are doing great at 25lbs, infact quite an inspiration. If you feel however that it is becoming a problem try just setting by say 1/2 an hour or so in a day to check in and log, I personally feel that the checking in is what keeps me from falling of the wagon as everone here is on the same boat and the support and motivation given from fellow MFP members is what keeps me going on a daily basis. Good luck.

Thanks for the encouragement guys - it's nice to know I'm not the only person feeling this way!

The worry isn't the obsession with being healthy - obviously that's a good thing to be concerned about (especially after years of neglect). The real problem I'm having is coping with the pressure. I have a lot of weight to lose so obviously I'm aware this should be steady and take a long time to be considered a healthy life change. It's difficult to align your thinking to accept that this obsession is healthy but not get carried away to the point of being dissapointed with a 1.5lb a week weight loss, for example.

I do have a lot of weight to lose and as such feel a little disappointed that my weight loss and slowed quite considerably, relatively early in the process. Is this normal?

It could be normal. How many calories are you eating? You need to make sure you're netting at least 1500 calories a day (including eating your exercise calories) to make sure your body is getting enough fuel so you don't slow your metabolism. Depending on what exercise you're doing, you might also be building muscle weight and losing body fat, which is a good thing. Have you been taking your measurements? Progress pictures? Those things can help you to visualize when you're getting smaller, even if the scale doesn't reflect a loss. If you want more specific suggestions, you could open your food diary -- I'm sure you could get some good pointers if we could see what's going on.

As far as the pressure, why not set some mini-goals for yourself? Maybe a small reward when you reach a certain number on the scale? For me, I chose not to set mini-goals with dates because it would be too much pressure, but it works for a lot of people. You could plan to reach a certain weight by a set date, or just set milestones for yourself that you'll celebrate whenever you hit them, without setting a date ahead of time.

Don't view it as an obsession... view it as being part of your lifestyle change. It shows that you're becoming accountable for what you are eating, and you're motivated enough to do it.

I started on MFP just over a year ago, and I started inputting every morsel into my diary. I failed slightly, although I didn't put on any of the weight I had lost, and decided a number of weeks later that I would give it another go. I didn't add to my diary for a while, but I decided to start again.

The iphone app is a godsend, as I add food as I eat it, I log my exercise as I do it, and I'm able to keep a true account of what I'm doing.

This has been the only thing that has helped me to lose weight and keep it off...

If I was truely obsessed I wouldn't have my "fat days", but I am still accountable for them, and when I see the amount of calories consumed on one of these days, it gives me the little kick I needed to get back on track.

I’m of the opinion that nothing about this journey should make you feel bad. That doesn’t mean it’s all easy and sunshine, but that doing this work—the work of taking care of yourself and transforming your life—isn’t bad. What could be better than knowing you are removing something from your body that is slowly and steadily killing you (i.e. fat)?

But…managing our food, making good choices, living differently than we did before can take us to some ugly places inside. It’s part of the process. We’ve abused or neglected our bodies for a reason, and there’s no stopping the abuse without going to the place that told us it was okay in the first place. We just have to focus on a single truth, one that is often hard to accept:

You are beautiful and perfect now, even with your failings and imperfections. You do not have reach your goal weight before you are okay. You’re okay, right now. Just as you are.

We’re all a work in progress and deserve a little compassion from the person who is with us 24-hours of every day, ourselves.