I'm 16 years old, weigh around 134 lbs,
I started at 167, and decided to maintain at 135 about two weeks ago, since then I have lost 1-2 pounds...
I always count calories, log everything I eat, and I think it's driving me insane :S
I've become very short tempered in the past few weeks (while I was dieting), and I blame this constant logging and adding.
But I'm afraid I'll eat too much or too little...there have been days when I only ate 1200 calories when I should be eating 2200. and some days I'll have 2500 (on party days, so not very often)

Should I just try to stop? I'm almost afraid to though, I've been doing it for so long...I don't know if I can stop, but I'm so sick of feeling so grumpy when I'm around my family, I'm so happy when alone, but when I'm with them, I just get so angry so easily, which isn't like me

I suspect it isn't REALLY counting calories that is causing you "feeling grumpy".
Keep in mind, if it ISN"T the cause, stopping it won't resolve the problem.
Not counting calories, AND not dieting, might give you a bit of temporary emotional relief,
but it probably isn't a long-term solution.

Hi Megan. Do you think you're getting angry and grumpy because they are eating things that you don't allow yourself to eat? Since you say that you're happy alone, I doubt it's actually the journaling and calorie counting that's the cause of your unhappiness. Does your family give you a hard time about you watching what you eat? Do they pressure you to eat healthy? Try to think about what specifically make you upset when you're around your family.

Hey Megan,

If counting calories is driving you crazy, then stop.

You have to stay accountable in some way though. Whenever I "stopped dieting" I always regained the weight I lost.

This may not work for you, but this is how I do it:

While maintaining my weight loss, I do a running calorie count in my head every day. Very basic, very general (rounding to the nearest 100). I don't journal, use Fitday, write it down or anything like that. I just stay aware. It's like money - I have to know how much I can spend.

BUT.

I stay accountable. I get on the scale once a week and most importantly, I pay attention to how my clothes fit. When my pants get snug, I start tracking my calories more carefully until my pants fit again.

Then, I go back to the easy, every day calorie estimating that doesn't take a lot of my mental energy.

When I eat without at least estimating, my pants ALWAYS get snug sooner or later. I have to have some accountability.

I also stay honest with myself. This is a big deal for me - when I was heavy and a failed dieter, I made excuses, flat out denied things and had a rationale for every bad behavior. I stay brutally honest with everything I put in my mouth.

To maintain my weight loss, I also stick to my "for ever no's" - I don't eat fast food, drink sugary soda, eat packaged baked goods or cream based sauces. These were all easy for me to give up. This might not work for you, it's all really what YOU can do long term.

As far as being grumpy with your family - you're 16! I went through a grumpy with my family phase. Just try to remember they love you!

I became very very close to my mother again when I got older. It resolved itself.

I was 16 once, (A LONG time ago ) and I remember getting irritated with my family because they were just so irritating. LOL Hormones, age, growing independence and maturing can all be the cause.

I just have to wonder, do they blame your calorie counting on your attitude? My Dad used to blame EVERY emotion I had on my weight, on my diet, if I was on, or off plan...when most of the time it wasn't even a factor. I just heard it so much that I soon believed that every problem I had was weight related. I'm so glad I finally realize that life in general can cause chaos, not the stupid number on a scale.

If calorie counting is frustrating you, it's perfectly acceptable to find something that's more sustainable.

But, in order to maintain your weight, you ARE going to need to stay vigilant somehow. I weigh everyday, once a day. Daily fluctuations (within 2lbs or so) are perfectly normal and expected. But if I stay at the high end of my fluctuation or start to creep up, the I'll crack down seriously and see where I'm slipping. My last few weighs have been 136.4, 135.8, 135.6, 136.2, 135.4...now if I started seeing 136's everyday and then saw a 137 pop up, I'd immediately get serious about it.

Clothing fit is another one. I have one pair of jeans that fit snuggly but comfortably at this weight which I'm comfortable at. They're just tight enough where they don't muffin top. I use them as a guage, if I ever see a muffin top or if they're hard to zip or anything of the sort (besides a few fat days around TOM), then I'll assess the situation.

You don't need to obsessively measure/weigh and record every single bite if you trust yourself to mentally track calories. Personally, I eat roughly the same things every single day. So on my calorie log online, I add in the main stuff I eat everyday (1 cup oatmeal, 7oz chicken, 2 cups steamed broccoli, etc). If I know I'll be eating something specific, I'll add that. I do all this the night before. Then that night, I'll go back and add anything extra I ate along with my exercise for the day. It's absolutely not 100% accurate. But it keeps me accountable, keeps me thinking about calories in/out, and I'm not obsessively measuring/weighing/recording all day.

I'm not afraid of gaining the weight back,
I was only 30 pounds overweight when I started to lose it, and that was gained over 15 years, so obviously I wasn't eating TOO MUCH. Plus, I didn't work out then either, and now I do
I still count calories because not eating enough is primarily my problem :\
I weighed 133 today...so I have lost weight, about 2/3 a pound per week!

My family doesn't know I count calories, and I guess it is true that I'm a teenager, and this is natural to get so irritated with them
And most of the things they eat I don't want to eat...I'm a healthy nut, true and proud
I'm also a vegetarian, and I care a lot about the environment,
so unnatural, high processed, inorganic packaged foods don't appeal to me much at all. I don't really get chocolate cravings, or want junk food...I'm pretty positive I won't gain the weight back

Today so far I'm at 1600, I plan on having some cheese cake soon too,
but I won't log in today...and just that alone feels good, I think logging just makes me feel tied down :\

Did something get typed wrong, Megan? If you're 16, how did you gain 30 pounds over 15 years...?

At any rate--I'm kinda thinking it's not the counting, it's the issues with different styles of eating.

Just stick with healthy eating, making sure you aren't going too low or too high, and don't let your family be a source of irritation.

Jay

I agree with Jay. Worst case is you give it a shot without counting and logging for a while, and you notice that your weight goes up, so you go back to counting and logging. Maintenance is all one big experiment -- just make sure to keep an eye on the scale/your pants fit.

When my sister and I were teens, she went vegetarian, and it caused a lot of stress in the family. My mom felt bad because she didn't want to cook two dinners, but my dad refused to eat vegetarian. My sister said she'd cook her own food but I think my mom liked to feed us and didn't want my sister to eat separately. I think she kind of felt like, "My cooking isn't good enough for you anymore?" and felt bad. Could this be something that is going on in your family?

When I said I gained 30 pounds in 15 years, I meant I gained an extra 30 lbs along with normal weight gained by growing and stuff over the first 15 years of my life, since I started to lose the weight before I turned 16

I'm going to try to be more laid back with family from now on, I think I just need to start meditating and get out of school and relax all day :P

I often eat different meals from family, or I'll just eat the vegetarian options, or sometimes I'll have fake meats for myself, this usually doesn't bother me or my parents or sister (whoever is doing the cooking that day)


About the pants thing: Don't pants shrink when they get washed, so isn't it a little bit inaccurate to use that?
I do weigh myself every day though, and so far today, havent really counted calories very strictly