How do you NOT start to obsess about your logs?

I simply look at each day as a new day. i have a goal in mind every morning when i log in and punch in my coffee and what i am taking to work for lunch.. sometimes one of thee girls brings a goodie to work and i always ask myself "do i want to account for those calories or not?" sometimes i have to throw in the towel for a treat, and even though i know i have blow my goal for the day i am not deprived of anything and i know tomorrow i will try better. it can be obsessing but it isn't any worse than getting on a scale every morning. i don't own a scale in my house, i go once a week to either my moms house or my doctors office to weigh in.

What's wrong with obesessing over it? Beats being out of control - in my opinion.

Actually what I think you will find is that after a period of time you'll have educated yourself and learn the approximate values of everything and so won't need to be tracking it like we currently do at the macro level.

It does seems to take over quite a portion of the day, thinking ahead about meals/snacks/exercise BUT this means you are thinking about what you are putting into your body, with time, it becomes much less as you dont have to think as much because you know whats good for you and and what agrees with your digestive system.

HEY ITS WORTH IT!!!! :happy:

What's wrong with obesessing over it? Beats being out of control - in my opinion.

Actually what I think you will find is that after a period of time you'll have educated yourself and learn the approximate values of everything and so won't need to be tracking it like we currently do at the macro level.

There is plenty wrong with obsessing over calorie counting. When it takes control over your life and you can no longer do nothing but count calories, it's not healthy. Especially when you start eating less and less and less because you don't want those numbers to go up.

OP, keep in mind that you are burning calories doing absolutely nothing. Your BMR is what your body is burning when you are just laying around doing absolutely nothing. It's good and find to eat above 1200 calories (or more depending on activity level and BMR) and you can still lose weight with eating. Portion sizes are a lot smaller than we realize and there is a lot more calories in some things than we realize, but you can still eat full balanced, healthy, even large portioned meals and lose weight. If you feel like you are becoming obsessed with the numbers, maybe you should take a break from MFP.

I can see how you can obsess over MFP and calorie counting, last time I tried with little exercise it wasn’t pleasant and I gave up, life is for living not starving yourself of the things you love, I now enjoy a few beers on the weekend and a wee bit of choc at night and I have learnt about taking everything in moderation to get to my target.

That said I do count most things on MFP, though I do it as a matter of course rather though the day rather than obsessively.

For me obsessing with counting calories is helping me learn how much nutritional value is in the food I am eating so for the rest of my life I can know what I can eat and what I shouldn't eat. (notice I say shouldn't). And I will know if I do eat that piece of cake or the piece of chocolate later when I have lost my weight I will be able to think, Ok if I eat this, this is what I need to do to make sure that I don't start gaining my weight back.

I feel this is a learning tool, it is far from a bad thing (IMO)

There is plenty wrong with obsessing over calorie counting. When it takes control over your life and you can no longer do nothing but count calories, it's not healthy. Especially when you start eating less and less and less because you don't want those numbers to go up.

Utter tosh.

You've taken obessing about calorie counting and exrtrapolated that to a bloody eating disorder. Two totally different things. Tracking your intake in order to take back control over your weight is a positve and healthy thing to do. It doesn't lead to what you've described for normal people.

Obsession isn't healthy. Ask any mental health professional.

BUMP!

The difference I've found in my diet is incredible. Honestly - ignorance isn't bliss! For me the scariest thing is finding out what you have eaten in the past. Crazy figures. Some days I'd have fast food for lunch and go home and have a big tea...probably 3 or 4 times my daily limit now! I wouldn't even have loads - a normal Big Mac meal for lunch, then have some spag bol at night and used to assume that "pasta is fairly healthy" so I'd be OK! Not the case at all!

I think that rather thank obsessing about it, I've thought of it as "another thing" to do in my day. For example, I'll look at my football team's forum and news, check out my bank balance, look over the daily news, complete a few lesson plans/resources for work, then I'll log in my fitness.

Like many have said it lets me judge my food (and fitness) and make a conscious decision. If a football player (your food) isn't doing the right things for the team (your body), the manager (you) substitutes them or doesn't play them at all! But...they've got to know why they aren't doing the right things and what players (food) the team (body) needs to be successful! Hopefully I didn't lose anyone with that analogy but it makes sense to me as a football fan...

I was walking around my supermarket last night and the amount of things I used to think were healthy is unreal. They are probably healthier (lighter) options but why buy a lighter pasta sauce when you can make your own with tomatoes and herbs?

There is plenty wrong with obsessing over calorie counting. When it takes control over your life and you can no longer do nothing but count calories, it's not healthy. Especially when you start eating less and less and less because you don't want those numbers to go up.

Utter tosh.

You've taken obessing about calorie counting and exrtrapolated that to a bloody eating disorder. Two totally different things. Tracking your intake in order to take back control over your weight is a positve and healthy thing to do. It doesn't lead to what you've described for normal people.

Obsession isn't healthy. Ask any mental health professional.

This is where it gets sticky. Someone define obsession as a place to start. I'm not a mental health expert so I won't try. It certainly seems that if it reaches the point where it takes over ones life it may well be a problem. But my local friends think that logging all of my food and exercise is obsessing. I beg to differ, it is merely taking control of my diet, fitness, and overall health through information and knowledge. I'm an accountant by profession so this all comes very easy and natural for me since I'm used to recording and tracking detail for a living. I could cross some line that crosses over into disorder but merely logging and tracking is by no means a disorder. Many folks here at MFP need to obsess (in the layman’s use of the term) for a time until they get things under control. If they can't then turn loose then it may be a problem.

I have been there!

You are right, It is easy to obsess, especially at first. It takes a lot of time to get started, learning what to do and eat. If you have been at this for over a month and are still not living your life or are unable to get things done you need a little intervention. Plan your meals ahead of time and then put the MFP away. Go out with friends and don't talk about dieting! (If you were like me- you are driving them a little crazy anyway )You are not a one dimensional person- you have other interests and goals.

Remember you cannot obsess for life, eventually you will have to do something else, then your diet will fail. You are more than your weight! Work on being a well rounded person who eats healthy -not just a dieter!


Good Luck

At one point, I started logging gum. It was bad. I have backed off a little from that now, but I am ALWAYS checking my diary. MFP is open 100% of the time I am at work and I have the iPhone app that I am constantly checking! LOL. You're definitely not the only one! :flowerforyou:

this is all new to me and it might seen like I am obesessing over it but I am excited about a 10 lb loss in 4 wks I see it is working and I want to learn all I can and not mess it up and then make logging and planning a routine for me.

There is plenty wrong with obsessing over calorie counting. When it takes control over your life and you can no longer do nothing but count calories, it's not healthy. Especially when you start eating less and less and less because you don't want those numbers to go up.

Utter tosh.

You've taken obessing about calorie counting and exrtrapolated that to a bloody eating disorder. Two totally different things. Tracking your intake in order to take back control over your weight is a positve and healthy thing to do. It doesn't lead to what you've described for normal people.

Obsession isn't healthy. Ask any mental health professional.

This is where it gets sticky. Someone define obsession as a place to start. I'm not a mental health expert so I won't try. It certainly seems that if it reaches the point where it takes over ones life it may well be a problem. But my local friends think that logging all of my food and exercise is obsessing. I beg to differ, it is merely taking control of my diet, fitness, and overall health through information and knowledge. I'm an accountant by profession so this all comes very easy and natural for me since I'm used to recording and tracking detail for a living. I could cross some line that crosses over into disorder but merely logging and tracking is by no means a disorder. Many folks here at MFP need to obsess (in the layman’s use of the term) for a time until they get things under control. If they can't then turn loose then it may be a problem.

Taking control and being more informed and developing better habits, all good and all not obsession.

Definition of obsession from dictionary.com: "the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc. "

DOMINATION being the key word there. If thinking about your logs dominates your life, problem. If using them daily as the tools to better health they are intended as, not obsession and not a problem.

I have a balanced life that I love outside of the world of food and how I look.