Becoming Obsessive?

[karsten]

Hey guys, 

I don't have a fitbit yet but am using the website/app to keep track of my eating throughout university, Just wondering if any of you have noticed yourselves becoming overly obsessive with the results and obtaining certain numbers everyday?

I find that I am very cautious about what I am eating because of my "total" calories each other. Yes, it sounds like an eating disorder but I can assure you that I am in complete control of my habits, just becoming obsessive. 

Anyone else like this?

[FFJohn]

I'm no professional but there is a fine line between obsession and just being very serious and disciplined about your health.  If other areas in your life suffer, or this is all you think about, then you may be bordering or crossing the obsession line.  Some people say not to weigh yourself daily but I find that your weight, and the way your clothes fit, are the best forms of accountability. Just don't be discouraged when you plateau or seem to gain some weight. We all know that muscle mass is heavier then fat.   Just keep up the good work.

Nutrition is MORE important than exercise. I always suggest to those I meet to switch to a plant-based diet, and avoiding carbs, fats, and sugars.  It is healthier, you don't need animal fats, and all that goes with eating meat. It helps you drop the pounds fast now and keeps you out of the hospital when you're older.

And women must watch out for sodas even more then men. Aside from the obvious sugar issue, the phosphoric acid in many sodas can pull the calcium right out of your bones.  I hope this comment helps.  Stay well Karsten

[LewWagner]

Depends on what your definition of "obsessive" is...

In 9 2/3 months, while tracking every thing I ate, recording every exercise I did (mostly walking), and tabulating every morning's weight, I was able to see how I was progressing in my weight loss campaign and it kept me so focused on keeping these spread sheets up to date that I became I guess OCD-like.

If my whiny complaining lame-ass body or clever little mind tried to cajole me into sleeping in on a Saturday morning instead of walking, I got mad at myself and got out of bed and walked.

It's not obsessive if you set up a goal to keep track of your weight loss campaign.  There are recent studies showing tha it's better to track daily and then just look at the trends rather than worrying why one or two days you're not losing weight.

They say nothing succeeds like success.  Well, I went from 300 lbs to 169.75 in those months and I'm glad and proud to say, "I'm OCD about being healthy and eating right!"

Lew

[Dominique]

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@LewWagner wrote:

it's better to track daily and then just look at the trends rather than worrying why one or two days you're not losing weight.

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 I fully agree with this. For that reason, I only step once at a time on my scale (Fitbit Aria). I know some people step 4-5 times in a row and then complain they see different values each time. My take on this is that even if there's a discrepancy on one particular day, the "noise" will disappear when looking at longer series.

[Thorgrym]

I got my Flex a few weeks ago (specifically, 3 weeks and 1 day). I got my Aria a couple of days ago (specifically, 3 days). I have set my step goal to 15,000 per day as opposed to the pre-set 10,000 steps. I absolutely FREAK OUT when I don't make that goal!

  No, not really... I am just trying to exhibit OCD behavior there... While the amount of time that I have owned my new toys is true and I DID set my goal to 15,000 steps, I am not obsessed with making that goal each and every day.

One thing that I love about the Fitbit app is the Burned/Eaten feature. With this, I can see that I have burned more than I have eaten or, if I am close I can cut back on the intake or go climb some stairs to increase the burn. I am not OCD about it, though. I kind of make a game out of it.

[FB_Opus]

@LewWagner - You pretty much mirror a lot of what I'm going through.

Since January, I've lost 115lbs and there are moments when the OCD kicks in on intake versus output.  July was a very OCD month as I was trying to hit a specific weight to hit a goal.  Since then, I've been a little more relaxed on intake as long as my 'output' stayed consistent (walking 7.5/mi day, training 3xs a week).  I am a admitted OCD-holic and as my journey continues I'm ever more mindful of how it can affect me.

BTW: When I was hobbled with a injury a couple weeks ago, a good buddy of mine (who is 'Mr. Fitness') helped through the withdrawal.  When I started worrying about being obsessed about missing one day of exercise he said I wasn't obsessed - I'm just hooked on the endorphins after exercising. 

I think the term 'hooked' is better 🙂

[karsten]

Thanks everyone for your answers! I do think the reason I am so "obsessive" it because I am afraid of gaining weight again. But I just need to keep my head on straight and realise that I workout 4-5 times and week and eat quite healthy, so I should be proud of it and not worry so much. 

Could be the whole university thing too? Beyond stressed. 

Karsten