I can't decide if this site is right for me...

I can only speak for myself. Calorie counting is the ONLY thing that works. I did not know how much i ate, until i started counting. I used to think i did not eat much, any was i wrong. It also keeps me accountable. Give it a try for one month and see how it works out for you.

Hang in there! It sounds like you are a college freshman, or maybe sophomore? You're in a stressful time of life, when a lot of people have issues with binge eating. Maybe you can find a source of support on campus targeted to your eating disorder (i.e., support group, counseling), in addition to MFP?

Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:

When I first started using MFP I did not log food, I used it for the community mainly. Only when I did start logging more regularly did I realize I was undereating! Now that I've been amping up my workouts, I care much more about the breakdown of my calories as well, it's impossible to tell whether I'm eating the right amounts of each nutrient without logging.

Set your calorie count higher?

I'm not sure what you're at now, but if you set it to lose 2 pounds a week, you may have set yourself up for failure. Try 1 pound a week.

i felt pretty bad about going over on calories ( i DO NOT worry as much about the other macro nutrients), and one thing that helped me out was looking at my maintenance calories. i figured out that even if i ate over my calorie goals, as long as i was under my maintenance calories, i would still be eating at a deficit.

and don't worry so much about those macros. track things like carbs, sodium, protein, and fiber. don't worry about fat, as most fat is actually good for you. track saturated fat instead.

I had no idea how I ended up borderline obese as I always made healthy eating choices and did a lot of exercise.

Turns out I could easily get through 3,000 calories a day without thinking twice about it, my portion sizes were massive and the exercise I was doing barely made a dent in my consumption, to the extent where I got to my heaviest weight while marathon training!

If I had my time over again, I'd start tracking every single thing I ate for a week BEFORE following MFP's recommendations, to identify where I was going wrong before I started making it right!

I know this sounds weird, but I find this calorie counting and weightloss business quite exciting. I like being accountable and recording my food and drink, I like being accountable and recording my workouts and I love seeing "if everyday were like today you will weigh blah blah pounds..."

I have tried losing weight without recording it all and I fall by the wayside time after time.

I just like it all, plus it is an enormous personal challenge.

All depends on how you look at it I guess.

I really love the idea of having friends to help keep me motivated here online, but I feel like tracking calories like this is too stressful. Everytime I go over, I feel bad, and I feel like it is making me obsessive over every little bit of food that I eat. Does anyone else feel this way? I can't figure out if this site is actually not for me, or if I'm just being a baby because staying under my calories is too difficult, and it would be easier not to bother.

I also love reading the message boards on here and looking through my newsfeed thing, but I feel like this just makes me spend a large block of time thinking about weight loss, and it stresses me out

I was thinking of just keeping an actual journal of my daily food intake, but not tracking the calories alongside it. Any thoughts on this idea?

Like any other new change you make in your life, it takes effort. It's difficult, You are SUPPOSED to be struggling. This is how this works. If it were easy, everyone would be able to be fit and healthy and in shape all the time.

It's good that you're being aware of what you're eating, particularly if you weren't before. Awareness takes effort as well. Remember when you first started driving? How hard it was? How much attention you had to pay to EVERY little detail? It's the same with weight loss. You need to pay attention. It's hard and time consuming in the beginning, but eventually it turns into habits and takes less energy as it becomes second nature to you.

Keep at it. You'll get this. Don't give in. You deserve more than that.

It's definitely a lot to take on at first....but if you're serious about weight loss and fitness, making it your top priority is the only way you will be successful. For me, being this "obsessed" about my weight and food has helped me drop other bad habits. I no longer sit there and eat because I'm bored or be lazy. I am CONSTANTLY aware of fitting in more activity, what I'm putting in my mouth, and how my choices are affecting my goals.

Stick with it and you'll see results.

I was doing well on the site and lost like 12 lbs. I'm in school and got too busy to track my calories and I gained 10 of them back... quickly. I've been back on the site for less than a week and have lost 3 of those lbs already. Track... track... track. But, that's only if weight loss is that important to you. If not, then don't stress yourself over it.

If tracking the food on your own helps you more, I say do it. It is a TOOL, nothing more, nothing less...I love this site...make sure you have everything set up correctly...I was going over on protein EVERY DAY & it was freaking me out. I know if you are gonna go over on something, protein is the thing, but still I almost quit. I went on a trusted website and got percentages that were a lot more accurate and customized them. I read on here that the protein is set too low. I HATE logging food normally, but this forum is easy and it has helped me stay on track. I even log my "splurge days", so I will know what I am doing. That being said, if it is so stressful that you are upset all day, then don't do it...I would encourage you first to take a honest look at what you are doing & see if that is actually what is stressing you out. The support and encouragement on MFP is so awesome to me & I would hate for you to miss out on that.

Love this site an love that I have the app on my phone......Have tried so many different things to lose weight an this really helps an keeps me on track!!! Have been using it 3 weeks today an very happy with with results thus far. I dont feel like I am on a diet at all



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Conquering emotional eating/binging requires that you look at what is causing it. You might want to seek professional help!

THANK YOU! I wish people would pay freaking attention before they start spouting their "advice".

When you see a young skinny girl in the picture folks, you better do some investigation before giving advice. This child needs help and to learn how to eat correctly.

Some of us are/were aware when we posted. Counting or keeping track of calories isn't just a weight loss tool - it's a tool to be used to identify patterns of eating and, hopefully, understanding the emotions behind them.

And just so you know, not everyone who looks "skinny and young" in their pictures is actually as pictured. Some pictures are old, some people just carry weight in different places. Careful before you cast judgement on others as well.

Conquering emotional eating/binging requires that you look at what is causing it. You might want to seek professional help!

THANK YOU! I wish people would pay freaking attention before they start spouting their "advice".

When you see a young skinny girl in the picture folks, you better do some investigation before giving advice. This child needs help and to learn how to eat correctly.

Some of us are/were aware when we posted. Counting or keeping track of calories isn't just a weight loss tool - it's a tool to be used to identify patterns of eating and, hopefully, understanding the emotions behind them.

And just so you know, not everyone who looks "skinny and young" in their pictures is actually as pictured. Some pictures are old, some people just carry weight in different places. Careful before you cast judgement on others as well.

She posted in her profile she has an issue. She is 18 years old, its pretty hard to get a picture much older than what she has. That child needs professional help, not people telling her how to eat less calories.

What makes the OP any different than any other person on this site that has an unhealthy relationship with food?

I do not use the calorie counter I use this site more to track my weight and read the boards and it's nice to meet other people losing weight and if I need advice I can just come on here and post something and hope to get responses.