I've been counting calories (on paper) for a little over a month and a half now, and I've run into a bit of a strange problem...

I get too obsessive over how many calories I eat, and I get frustrated if that number goes too high (I hate to admit it, but that's around 1000 now.). However, this "limit" is getting lower and lower! It's making me too tired.

Has anyone else ever had this problem? What did you do about it?

EDIT: Whoops! Sorry, I'm 5'2 and probably around 129 (my scale's out of whack right now... hehe).

First of all ! You'll find lots of ideas and support here.

I use www.fitday.com to track my food and do get a bit obsessive sometimes, especially when my carb/fat/protein proportions get out of whack. Then I give myself a reality check and realize that being on plan 80% of the time will still get me to goal.

I think about calories a lot, don't know if that means I am obsessive. I do know it works for me, it was when I wasn't concerned about calories that I found myself at over 200 pounds. Being concerned about calories is a minor inconvenience compared to what it would be if I had to start wearing xlarge clothing again.

Yes, I do understand that very well. Just the other eveing I made myself have a bowl of oatmeal to get my counts up over 1000.

If you don't mind, could you give us a bit more information? Height, weight ... progress so far.

And that fitday.com that Ruth mentioned, you can link it here and we can have a look at exactly what's going on.

Let us know if you need any help with that.

Ruth: I guess so! Thanks for the welcome. : )

bargoo: You're right! But my problem isn't so much thinking about it as it is not eating enough.

What are you guys eating to stay around 1000 calories a day? I was eating around 1500 and I want to get down to 1200-1300 to lose the last few pounds, but I find that I'm always hungry around 1500. My foods are healthy and low-cal, but what throws me is eating every few hours. Some days I am closer to 1600 than 1500.

Wesker, I agree 1000 calories is too low. You don't state your weight or height, but most sources seem to think that 1200 is a minimum. And make those calories count. Nutrition packed foods are really important at that low calorie level. Search the web for "starvation diet" and see what going too low can do this. Remember we are in this for our health.

ITA! Especially with the bold.

I know exactly how you feel! I get kind of obsessive and start looking for every little way to cut calories out here and there. And then I end up not eating enough.

Just keep reminding yourself that while it is important to lower your calorie intake to lose weight, NOT eating enough calories will sabotage your success...your body will hang onto weight.

Good luck!

I was like this a few years back. I thought I was doing *great* if my calorie counts stayed below 1000. I could lose weight pretty quickly then, even though I never really had much to lose, 10 lbs or so.

Now my body holds on to every single calorie for dear life! When I found 3FC, I read up on all the posts about how many calories are best for losing weight and was surprised to find that often upping the calories kicks the weight loss in gear.

Based on my height and amt of weight I wanted to lose (5'6" and ~30 lbs), I decided on 1400 calories/day, which at first seemed like a lot - for "dieting." But I wanted a plan I could stick to for the long haul. The only change I will make when I reach my weigh goal, still about 20 lbs away, is to add more calories to maintain. I am trying really hard to develop good habits that will stay with me the rest of my life.

Now I am like SusanB, sometimes adding in healthy calories at the end of the day so I don't go too low!

You will find great advice here about what works. Good luck to you!

P.S. Something I found through posts here is a calorie calculator that includes calorie cycling (zig-zagging):

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/cal...alculator.htm#

I have been trying this and I love it. For an average of 1400 cal/day, the daily intake ranges from 1150 to 1650. It gives so much flexibility and lets you have low-cal days and what feels like a "splurge" days. Something to consider...

and I've read of many folks doing a more informal version of cycling: eating low-cal during the week and going higher for the weekends. So it keeps the metabolism up, but the average is still whatever number of calories it takes to lose weight.

I was really worried about my daily caloric intake, and when I came here, everyone's goal calorie intake was so low! It still is! I'm trying to lose weight and stay healthy even after I lose the weight-and I want to do it in a healthy way. My daily caloric intake is 1800-1880 calories. I'm 225.5 pounds at 5'4. This may seem like a lot, but I need to eat good food to fuel my body. And, when I am maintaining 1800 calories a day, even after I meet my goal weight of 145 (that's my total goal), I want a lifestyle that I can deal with on a consistent, every day basis. 1400 calories? That will not fulfill my hunger after I reach my goal. 1800 calories? Yes, that will. And, I may lower the calories when I hit a plateau, but that's something that I'm going to have to look at when I hit that bump in the road. Weight loss may be slow, but I want it to be permanent.

If you find that you are become engrossed in counting calories ...

Some of us just have this sort of personality. We love the planning and scheming involved with calorie counting.

There is a difference between jumping whole-hog into a new hobby and becoming obsessed with weight issues. I'm neither a psychologist nor a counsellor but if these issues are becoming detrimental in any way ... you should probably find someone knowledgeable to talk to. Examine your motivation for spending much time on this, your mindset and how it's effecting the rest of your life. Talk to someone if none of your thoughts are good.

On the other hand ... I fiddle with calories every day. Often more than once a day. It does not detract from my work, my family life, other hobbies, my social life, sleeping.
I have always had to plan what to feed my family. I have always needed to make a grocery list. I have always had to find recipes. Only now ... all those activities coincide with a health plan I've made. Pieces into a framework instead of just getting it all done.

Once I figured out how many calories was going to work for me ... enough food, enough energy and resultant loss ... I found recording and watching the same numbers go by each day to be kind of boring. A detrimental reaction to this would have been to whittle away to see how few calories I could get away with.
Instead, I started tracking exercise minutes. Another number to fool with!

Now, I've gotten pretty good at keeping within my calorie goals and my exercise minutes ... so I've added in some weight lifting And that can provide lots of room for planning and scheming! Weights, reps, technique, research, form, exercises ... the possibilities are almost endless.

Another thing I fiddle with is macronutrients. There are many and varied combinations of protein, carbs and fats. Something will help me feel and work even better.

It seems that the first thing we focus on, when it comes to weight loss, is food. Calorie amount is a very common focus. If it is your only goal, it's very easy to feel singleminded or obsessed. Broaden you horizons, look at the bigger picture. With so many aspects to consider, you'll be less apt to tweak just that one.

Less is not always more, but there is much more for you to think about and work with.

I am totally a numbers person. I can crunch numbers all the live long day and just be happy as a clam, that is why calorie counting works for me. When I get bored with the number 1400, which is my magic number right now, I do what Susan does and start tracking something else too. Really though, 1000 calories is low, and your body is taking what it needs, like calcium and protein from your bones and muscles to make up for the stuff your not eating.

Right now I've switched from obsessivly weighing my food and counting calories to watching my ratios of fat/protein and carbs, doing calorie counting and low carbing, plus I've started weight lifting so that another thing to obsess about.

Maybe find anthother number to obsess about, like your protein intake so you can see that in order to get what you need you have to eat more calories. And if the number on the scale is an obsession also, maybe stop weighing so much and switch to measuring.

Keeping in mind that the less BODY you have to fuel the less FOOD you will need! I started out at 1800 calories and now eat an average of 1500 and I'm never hungry. I have LESS BODY now so need less calories! I'll probably end up maintaining on around 13-1400 per day but I'll have less than half the body I used to have! Something to think about anyways