make you think about food constantly? For me its like if I keep a running total of what I eat each day then I tend to want more because I think too much about the food. I was doing much better when I planned everything. ( i just realized that just now) The reason I havent been planning each day is because this week I have been home all day because I dont start my new job until monday, so since Ive been "off" I havent been planning the whole day.
So I guess what I will do is just try to plan out my day so that I know what I am going to eat and when. That way I dont think about it too much. I was just about to throw cal counting out the window because it was stressing me out constantly thinking about food all the time. I was going to hit up intuitive eatting thread just too see if that was going to be my next step. I have been going over just because its all I think about which I think psychologically just making me want to eat!
I probably think about food more than a typical person, but it doesn't bother me. I do plan my meals in advance (usually on Sunday) so during the day I don't really think about the calories too much. I think about it like a financial budget - if I'm making a lot of purchases or writing a lot of checks or paying bills, I'm thinking about money a lot, and I could get obsessed about it. I consider fiscal responsibility to be "normal" and I think about calorie budgeting the same way.
well, what do you think calorie counting is? Sounds like you already know,planning.I plan my menu for the following day , allowing for the number of calories I want. This takes about five minutes.I do not think about food any more this way than any other way, and I have done them all.
I know i have felt much better today and yesterday having already sorted out what I am going to be eating for the rest of the work week. it's already cooked and packaged up so all i have to do it put it in my lunchbox the night before and grab it out of the fridge on the way out the door. this weekend is kinda up in the air, but i know it will be okay. i don't really tend to over eat over the weekend...as weird as that sounds. now all i'm worried about is what am i going to fix the kids for dinner.
I probably think about food more than someone who isn't losing weight...but I think that would be no matter what plan I chose.
I have discovered that I agree with you on the planning. When I don't have the day planned out I kind of stress about running out of calories...and then I start to save them up....then I'm hungry so I eat something....then I stress again about whether I'll go over if I eat dinner. I'm sure you get the picture. When I have the entire day written out in front of me I already know I won't be hungry, I have snacks and meals accounted for, I have a little wiggle room if some unexpected hunger occurs, etc. That helps me loads!
I definitely think about food more than the average person. I plan my meals out on Fridays and it takes me about an hour because I am carefully looking at the calories, fat and fiber content of it all. Then, once I have that planned out, every day I enter all my food in my Fitday software, throughout the day I do this. But this reminds me that I am trying to lose weight and it lets me know how many calories I have left to eat for the day. So, I guess what I'm saying is that for me, thinking about food like this is helpful. What ISN'T helpful is when I am watching tv and I see a commercial or am reading a magazine and see an ad that triggers a craving. I have to fight with myself sometimes and sometimes the food wins.
But as far as the calorie counting goes, I most definitely have to plan it all out in ADVANCE. I usually plan for the week ahead on Sunday. I do a fairly large shopping trip on Mondays and Thursdays, I have a family of 5. I fill in what produce I need when I need it. I absolutely NEED to know what I'm eating before time. Otherwise, it would be an invitation to go off plan. Planning has been the key for me to staying on plan for as long as I have. I don't ever see that changing. It's what works for me.
Well, I don't think about food very much. When I used to do that, I would binge all the time
I come to this section becasue there is no perfect fit here for me and I think this is the closest. I don't technically count calories, but i eat 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, that I choose from a large list, that keeps changing as well and adding new things. every once in awhile I do a swap with what is on my menu and what I want making sure the calorie count and carb count is roughly the same.
At first it seemed like I was always looking things up but now that I usually have my favorites most of the time, orwhen I am making a recipe I remember how many oz's of each I'm allowed so it's a piece of cake, so to speak. lol
I really enjoy the food WHILE I'm eating it, but beyond that, becasue it's already planned, and prepared if required, there's nothing to think about..
right after I posted this thread I went right over to my calorie counting site of choice and planned the rest of my day and ended at 1339. Woo hoo.. geez its been like 2 weeks since ive had a day like that. Like I said I wasnt planning because Ive been home all day, but really it taught me that I have to plan EVERYDAY, or I will go off plan. It really does relax me to know what I am going to have and that my calories wont be too high yay.
right after I posted this thread I went right over to my calorie counting site of choice and planned the rest of my day and ended at 1339. Woo hoo.. geez its been like 2 weeks since ive had a day like that. Like I said I wasnt planning because Ive been home all day, but really it taught me that I have to plan EVERYDAY, or I will go off plan. It really does relax me to know what I am going to have and that my calories wont be too high yay.
Yes--that's exactly what happens to me when I start calorie counting, which is why I tend to rebel so often.
However, I think this is just the nature of the weight loss beast. Over the years, I've learned that most "naturally thin" people are that way because they don't focus on food as much as people who struggle with their weight (like me). This problem of focusing on food only goes away when I don't think about what I eat at all, but when I do that, I gain weight. I've tried intuitive eating a couple of times, but I can't seem to stick to it longterm. I seem to need parameters to lose weight. I've never been one of those people who can just "cut down" and "watch what I eat." I have to have the numbers. For example, if I just told myself that I could have a treat "every once in a while," I wouldn't know how often that would be. I tend to either eat treats too often or not often enough (in which case I gain).
I recently read an article in the NY Times in which they studied yo-yo dieters and people who never had a weight problem. It seems that the only dieters who were able to keep off the weight they'd lost were those who became somewhat obsessive about tracking food, exercising, etc. Here's the link to the article in case you're interested:
Also, several months ago, the Today show had a special about a study that was done on naturally thin people vs. people who had lifelong problems with being overweight. In the study, both groups were fed meals that would satisfy them (satisfaction measured by the individual). After eating, each group was shown pictures of appealing food, and while they were viewing these pictures, their brain activity was monitored. Don't ask me how they determined it, but somehow they were able to tell that the overweight group still desired the food from the pictures they were shown even though they were full. The food pictures didn't appeal to the naturally thin group, though. This confirms what I've always thought: People who have chronic problems with being overweight think and WANT food more than "naturally thin" people.
Anyway, that's probably way more information than you wanted/needed, but your post touched a chord because it's my chief complaint about dieting in general.
One tweak that has helped me a bit is to zigzag my calories. I aim for a total of 10,500 calories a week (1500 per day). I have two very low calorie days and some medium days, and that allows me to eat more than 1500 calories on other days. This helps because on these high-calorie days, I don't have to be so militant about counting since I have so many calories to spare. Another trick I have is to just eat two meals a day because I'm only actually hungry twice a day. I usually skip breakfast because I'm not hungry until around 11:00. This is something that I learned from intuitive eating. Since I only eat two meals a day, I don't have to plan as much, and the meals I eat can be more spontaneous because they can be comprised of a good deal of calories. Also, I'm not convinced of the value of the 5-6 mini-meal recommendation (for me, at least). Been there, done that. It makes me more obsessed with food, and I never feel satisfied because I haven't eaten a substantial meal.
Last edited by lynnm39; 05-20-2007 at 09:31 PM.
Reason: typo;added content
Does calorie counting ....
yay.
