Problems......

I feel a little bit like I'm obsessing over my calories and I'm not sure MFP is helping. I wondered if anyone has any advice about how to stop being obsessive whilst still logging calories?

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unknown

that's a good question! I think I obsess too but I figure it's a good obsession. Except now I obsess about macros. You could try just writing it down on paper? I know someone who is doing that insead of MFP. You could also try breaking each meal into an allotment. Like for me I have 4 meals a day at about 350 cals/meal...

unknown

Stop stressing over calories, there are more important things to worry about. Just make an effort to eat healthy most of the time because you want to and it makes you feel better. For example, dairy makes me *kitten* and sugar gives me headaches but sometimes I just need cheese fries and ice cream. Bottom line - if you stress over calorie counting it'll lead to obsession which can lead to binge eating. Just take it one day at a time and do your best and forget the rest.

unknown

Being obsessive about logging your calories is what is required for MFP to succeed. You need to log everything.

If that's an issue for you (as it is for many people) then you might be better served to find a different weight loss method.

unknown

sarahgale wrote: »

I feel a little bit like I'm obsessing over my calories and I'm not sure MFP is helping. I wondered if anyone has any advice about how to stop being obsessive whilst still logging calories?

I 'm glad to meet someone in this same situation. I no longer need to focus purely on calories since I learned that what I eat is more important than how many calories I eat. I focus my concentration on finding the best quality food, regardless of calories.

unknown

BILLBRYTAN wrote: »

sarahgale wrote: »

I feel a little bit like I'm obsessing over my calories and I'm not sure MFP is helping. I wondered if anyone has any advice about how to stop being obsessive whilst still logging calories?

I 'm glad to meet someone in this same situation. I no longer need to focus purely on calories since I learned that what I eat is more important than how many calories I eat. I focus my concentration on finding the best quality food, regardless of calories.

Quality food is very important, but weight loss is CICO, simple as that. Now on maintenance I focus more on quality. If OP wants to truly lose 12 lbs, she needs to watch her portions/intake, which is calories. If it has become an unhealthy obsession for her perhaps focusing on portion size/ quality of food will naturally put her in a calorie deficit. But I got fat on "healthy, quality" foods.

unknown

MostlyDickWeight wrote: »

Stop stressing over calories, there are more important things to worry about. Just make an effort to eat healthy most of the time because you want to and it makes you feel better. For example, dairy makes me *kitten* and sugar gives me headaches but sometimes I just need cheese fries and ice cream. Bottom line - if you stress over calorie counting it'll lead to obsession which can lead to binge eating. Just take it one day at a time and do your best and forget the rest.

Listen to this guy......it will lead to binge eating....
If you eat right and healthy, it does make you feel good...but you need to cheat every once in a while.

unknown

sarahgale, if your goal is to lose fat, then accurately monitoring your calories in and out will be important.
However, there are various ways of doing this.
I am a dork, and I enjoy weighing and measuring and dividing and figuring... I realize many many people won't like doing that, but I do!

Sometimes you can buy foods that are pre-measured. Cheese sticks are more easy to track than cutting a piece from a cheese block. Frozen dinners are pre-measured. Condiment packets make measuring ketchup, mayo, etc. far easier. So there are ways to make the logging easier...
Best of luck!

unknown

Just log at the end of the day. Don't start out worrying about every food decision. Eat what you like and review your choices at a later time. Then identify foods and amounts that are issues for you and make improved decisions in the future.

unknown

I've also seen single-serving packs of veg and fruit that might be helpful. Buy the same brand of eggs each time, and, sigh, laugh if you want...I bought a tall glass measuring cup. If I have a glass of soy milk or orange juice, I just drink it from that glass. Quick and easy.

unknown

I don't know how to get someone else not to obsess. I know I don't obsess. I don't weigh my food. I just log it and move on. At the end of the day, if I'm wrong about the amount, it'll show up on the bathroom scale. I'll lose it eventually. I use MFP to give me a rough idea of what I'm eating, so I know where to make changes if things aren't going to plan.

unknown

I was discouraged at first by the prospect of logging everything i eat forever and ever. But it occurred to me that lots of healthy folks don't do that. It's not necessary[ for wellness. What they do, and i didn't, is generally eat healthy. I had too much fast food, particularly. And when i snacked, it was never with any concept of caloric intake.

It finally clicked - i needed to develop good, well-considered habits, and to do that, i had to learn about eating well.

My Plan - Eat Healthy Now
I made my plan to start eating like a healthy person. I worked out TDEE calculations for my 'target weight' and noted that if i just start eating that, it would be a decent deficit, without being too drastic. So i set that as my goal, and i started logging everything as i trained myself to eat like i will when i'm at a good body weight.

I'm down about 35 lbs so far, i've got good habits, and i no longer log my meals. I step on the scale weekly to check progress, and will start logging again immediately if i find my bad habits encroaching. For now, i'm good.

unknown

I get the same problem especially when I'm on a deficit.

The way I avoid obsessing the last few years is I get up in the morning, get out the food I want to eat, measure out my milk for the day etc, pre log it all in my app. Don't look at the app i log on again until just before bed when I add in any extras or take off things I haven't eaten as much of as I thought.

I think the obsession comes into play if I'm logging throughout the day, in the past i tried logging at the time i ate and just ended up thinking about food and calories constantly. I only think about calories when I get up and once before bed that way the whole day I don't have to think about calories or macros at all! Logging all the time made me hungry anyway. Lol.

unknown

I don't obsess .. but maybe I'm not an obsessive type.. or maybe I do but I don't see it as a problem .. it's clearly down to self-perception

I log everything I eat .. absolutely everything .. I try to weigh everything and where not possible I will log a generous estimate

I frequently log into MFP

But I enjoy it .. I have go-to foods I generally know how many calories they will be .. I consider the calories inherent in everything

I do not see it as an obsession and it does not impact on my life negatively in any way .. but I follow a mainly healthy but no bad foods approach .. fr'instance last night was a take-out pizza night .. no biggy I just logged it then had chocolate and logged that too

So it depends on what counts as an obsession to you?