Being calorie conscious is frustrating

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weightforme8134
weightforme8134 Posts: 53 Member
in Motivation and Support
Having a hard few days. I've been staying within my cals and working out but today especially I just feel depressed. I realized that I have used food and even alcohol as an entertainment source for so long that it's weird to not eat freely. I miss it. 45 days in 17lbs down I can't stop now. Just needed to vent.
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Replies

  • niamhdean97
    niamhdean97 Posts: 108 Member
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    Congratulations you are doing great! I know its so hard but you are doing so well :)
  • CourtneyUT
    CourtneyUT Posts: 48 Member
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    It is frustrating! I miss being able to just eat without counting and thinking. Lol But we'll be better off for it.
  • Wadeeee
    Wadeeee Posts: 70 Member
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    Ain't it the truth?! BORING!! Though I'm with you...I'm hanging in there. Whenever I stop counting, I start gaining, so I guess it must be done! Congrats on your weight loss! I'm actually pretty much at the same place with my WLJ as you...day 39, down 16.8#. Cheers!
  • plotkinma
    plotkinma Posts: 1 Member
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    Switching from weight watchers to 1200 calories..new ww was too much food! Just want to lose stubborn 6
  • weightforme8134
    weightforme8134 Posts: 53 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    17 lbs in about 6 weeks is pretty aggressive. How much weight are you trying to lose total? Slowing down the rate of loss to an appropriate level for your goal would give you extra calories, as should the exercise if you aren’t eating them back, which may make this not feel like such punishment if you aren’t restricting so heavily.

    What calorie goal are you aiming for?
    What are your stats?

    Im currently 209 at 5'5 and want to get to 150 (my first goal). I have it set to 1lb a week and Im walking about an hour a day. I think I lost so much the first couple of weeks due to being so large to start with. Last week I only lost .4 so its slowing down. Oh I am also eating some/to sometimes all my exercise cals!
  • weightforme8134
    weightforme8134 Posts: 53 Member
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    weightforme8134 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    17 lbs in about 6 weeks is pretty aggressive. How much weight are you trying to lose total? Slowing down the rate of loss to an appropriate level for your goal would give you extra calories, as should the exercise if you aren’t eating them back, which may make this not feel like such punishment if you aren’t restricting so heavily.

    What calorie goal are you aiming for?
    What are your stats?

    Im currently 209 at 5'5 and want to get to 150 (my first goal). I have it set to 1lb a week and Im walking about an hour a day. I think I lost so much the first couple of weeks due to being so large to start with. Last week I only lost .4 so its slowing down. Oh I am also eating some/to sometimes all my exercise cals!

    I am set to 1590 a day which is not bad compared to some.
  • Stargazer192
    Stargazer192 Posts: 2 Member
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    Boy do I get it. I'm about 50 days in and down right around 15 pounds. I'm not technically overweight, but I have another 10 I'd like to lose before I ramp up my calorie allowance. I do get down, wanting to just indulge in some cookies or whatever. With how little I'm allowed to eat (1200), I can't really waste the calories on anything but high nutrition. I fantasize about cheesecake.
  • faithrainbow1
    faithrainbow1 Posts: 54 Member
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    Well, I'm down 19 pounds over a year and a half. So you're way ahead of me! I'm about halfway to my goal, but as long as the scale keeps moving in the right direction, I don't really care how long it takes. The whole "it's a marathon" thing, and all that. Although I've been excited lately to see some of my clothes get loose, and I'm now the lowest I've been since being pregnant with my daughter (who is now 4) so that feels really good.

    Keep it up! If you need to slow down, slow down. Of course you don't need to go as slow as me, lol.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    I can completely understand what you mean. I "mourned" my previous ability to obliviously eat without giving it even a second of thought. I have been dieting for 5 years and I still wish I could just eat without thinking about it, but at some point you will come accept the reality of it. Accepting that "it is what it is" has been most helpful mentally so it's more like a passing thought every once in a while instead of a gnawing "it's not fair". I've come to accept and work with what I have and get joy out of it by making sure the foods I eat are foods I love. If I'm going to put thought into it, might as well make my meals thoughtfully amazing so it's worth it.
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
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    Congrats on dropping 17lbs in under 7 weeks. If you feel sluggish maybe dial it back to lose less per week and eat a bit more. If you are feeling ok then keep at it. For me, I miss being able to eat freely, but I do NOT miss how it made me feel. I felt tired and bloated and just blah feeling. I try and keep that thought in my head to eat within my calories even if I could fit more in my tummy, I don't need it right then.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    faithrainbow1 wrote: »
    Well, I'm down 19 pounds over a year and a half. So you're way ahead of me! I'm about halfway to my goal, but as long as the scale keeps moving in the right direction, I don't really care how long it takes. The whole "it's a marathon" thing, and all that. Although I've been excited lately to see some of my clothes get loose, and I'm now the lowest I've been since being pregnant with my daughter (who is now 4) so that feels really good.

    Keep it up! If you need to slow down, slow down. Of course you don't need to go as slow as me, lol.

    You're my hero!

    If I were a betting woman my money would be on you successfully keeping the weight off long term. IMO that should always be the goal.
  • weightforme8134
    weightforme8134 Posts: 53 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I know you just needed to vent. But I'm having similar issues, and I'm in maintenance, three years in, so I feel compelled to comment. I too love to eat. I can't say I'm an emotional eater, but I do realize I have been, and often feel an urge to, use food for entertainment. But I am also working on my mindset. I don't consider how I ate (in order to become obese) as eating "freely" - I felt miserable, stressed, worried; eating was a means to feel in charge, but I also tried to hide food from others and even myself, and expected food to do way more for me than it can, I didn't even get the pleasure out of it as I could have because I felt like I was out of control. I don't miss that! So now I ask myself if I WANT to use food as entertainment. And I don't. I want to eat for pleasure and nourishment, I don't want to be a person who abuses food.

    I was JUST thinking about this today on my walk. When I would go through my phases of eating whatever I wanted in the back of my head I felt guilty. I knew I should not be doing this. I was cranky and irritable and hated the way I looked and felt. I never worried about how many calories were in my meals but that guilt was there. Thanks for pointing this out. I have a long way to go (mentally).
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    edited February 2018
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    weightforme8134 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I know you just needed to vent. But I'm having similar issues, and I'm in maintenance, three years in, so I feel compelled to comment. I too love to eat. I can't say I'm an emotional eater, but I do realize I have been, and often feel an urge to, use food for entertainment. But I am also working on my mindset. I don't consider how I ate (in order to become obese) as eating "freely" - I felt miserable, stressed, worried; eating was a means to feel in charge, but I also tried to hide food from others and even myself, and expected food to do way more for me than it can, I didn't even get the pleasure out of it as I could have because I felt like I was out of control. I don't miss that! So now I ask myself if I WANT to use food as entertainment. And I don't. I want to eat for pleasure and nourishment, I don't want to be a person who abuses food.

    I was JUST thinking about this today on my walk. When I would go through my phases of eating whatever I wanted in the back of my head I felt guilty. I knew I should not be doing this. I was cranky and irritable and hated the way I looked and felt. I never worried about how many calories were in my meals but that guilt was there. Thanks for pointing this out. I have a long way to go (mentally).

    Wow...just wanted to say I can relate so much to all of this. I've been maintaining a large loss for several years and still count calories for roughly 80% of my meals. Sometimes it gets to me, but I know it's a useful tool to do what I want to do which is control my weight and health.

    Another post above mentioned "mourning" the days of eating whatever, whenever. I have experienced that too. Sometimes when a friend talks about getting stuffed crust from Pizza Hut for example...I think about the days when I would just gobble up a few slices of that with a regular Dr. Pepper completely carefree. Then maybe get bored while watching a movie and eat another piece or two, an hour later. That was a very long time ago, but I do view it a bit nostalgically.

    It is easy to forget some of the bad feelings we also have when eating for entertainment, boredom, or comfort. It is good to be reminded.

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    seltzermint555 wrote: »
    weightforme8134 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I know you just needed to vent. But I'm having similar issues, and I'm in maintenance, three years in, so I feel compelled to comment. I too love to eat. I can't say I'm an emotional eater, but I do realize I have been, and often feel an urge to, use food for entertainment. But I am also working on my mindset. I don't consider how I ate (in order to become obese) as eating "freely" - I felt miserable, stressed, worried; eating was a means to feel in charge, but I also tried to hide food from others and even myself, and expected food to do way more for me than it can, I didn't even get the pleasure out of it as I could have because I felt like I was out of control. I don't miss that! So now I ask myself if I WANT to use food as entertainment. And I don't. I want to eat for pleasure and nourishment, I don't want to be a person who abuses food.

    I was JUST thinking about this today on my walk. When I would go through my phases of eating whatever I wanted in the back of my head I felt guilty. I knew I should not be doing this. I was cranky and irritable and hated the way I looked and felt. I never worried about how many calories were in my meals but that guilt was there. Thanks for pointing this out. I have a long way to go (mentally).

    Wow...just wanted to say I can relate so much to all of this. I've been maintaining a large loss for several years and still count calories for roughly 80% of my meals. Sometimes it gets to me, but I know it's a useful tool to do what I want to do which is control my weight and health.

    Another post above mentioned "mourning" the days of eating whatever, whenever. I have experienced that too. Sometimes when a friend talks about getting stuffed crust from Pizza Hut for example...I think about the days when I would just gobble up a few slices of that with a regular Dr. Pepper completely carefree. That was a very long time ago, but I do view it a bit nostalgically.

    It is easy to forget some of the bad feelings we also have when eating for entertainment, boredom, or comfort. It is good to be reminded.
    But it's also easy to forget how good it felt to ease those emotions with food - when we're going along happily with our new lifestyle. Forgetting that, can make it hard to understand why change was so difficult, and that's why it's so important to keep that new lifestyle fresh. IMO.
  • elizabethdacostarmt
    elizabethdacostarmt Posts: 4 Member
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    Not to mention when you get to your goal and you get those extra maintenance calories and have the knowledge through counting to eyeball most things ... it’s kinda like eating without counting I imagine lol

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