Counting carbs is making me obsess over food

[LCZen]

All I think about now is what I should have at the next meal and how many carbs it will be. It's sort of driving me nuts. I used to regularly forget about eating until hunger pangs got my attention - well, unless there were donuts in the house. I could darn near hear donuts call out to me.

I've only been in induction for a couple of weeks, but I think I'm going to ditch the carb counter, if I'm able to wrest it out of my mind. That and the scale - I'm going to toss that thing out the window, I swear. I know what I can eat and the proportions, so I think I'm going to try to act like this is just the normal way to eat and forget the counting, measuring, and weighing.

Any thoughts? :help:

[KristyRusi]

I do the same thing honestly. I never thought about food before the diet, now i constantly am searching the web over what carb is in this or that or thinking about what i'm gonna eat next and tracking down carbs in everything, so i guess it is an obsession. But hey i'm losing weight so..what can ya do?.. It isn't driving ME crazy so much as my husband though lol.. It's always nearly a fight when we have to find food outside the house.

[ojoj]

Without wishing to be rude, surely its the lack of counting and the addiction to carbs that made you feel you needed to seek out a way of losing weight??? All diets involve counting and restricting. The only other way is to increase your useage of food, by exercise.

You need to stop obsessing and accept that food isnt simply something you can turn to when you need a fix without consequences

Jo xxx

[Michaelk]

Make a weekly menu. Once you do that you don't have to think about carbs again. If you make 2 or 3 weeks.menus you can rotate them so you don't get board.

[LittleZu]

I think that not counting your carbs is a surefire way to succumb to carb-creep and fall off the wagon.

You're only a few weeks in, so right now restricting and counting seems like a chore. After a while, it's not a chore anymore, it's a healthy habit- one that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

[LCZen]

Make a weekly menu. Once you do that you don't have to think about carbs again. If you make 2 or 3 weeks.menus you can rotate them so you don't get board.This is a good idea and will try this. I just can't be so obsessively thinking about food all the time. It's making me want to eat more.
surely its the lack of counting and the addiction to carbs that made you feel you needed to seek out a way of losing weight??? It was eating the wrong things. Now that I know what the right things are, I'm not going to run out to Burger King and have a chicken sandwich with the bun - which was my normal emergency meal. It's more that I'm a lazy cook. So I bought some Adkins frozen dinners for those times when I just don't want to cook.

So I'm going to try to make a menu ahead of time, and forget about it until I get hungry. And I think I have to forgo the Adkins snacks - they were acting like donuts for me. I kept 'hearing' them calling. I was in a good habit before of not buying snacks at the grocery store - except for a treat on Sundays. I got Adkins snack bars to replace that, but it's too hard to stop at one. I'll do better with just not buying those. Wish we could be them singly...

[Firefly428]

I think that not counting your carbs is a surefire way to succumb to carb-creep and fall off the wagon.

You're only a few weeks in, so right now restricting and counting seems like a chore. After a while, it's not a chore anymore, it's a healthy habit- one that will serve you well for the rest of your life.


I agree with this.

OP you just started. some commitment and work toward the plan is needed.

Sure making it easier and faster and streamlined is a great thing, we all go for that, but be sure you DO PUT IN THE WORK needed.

the 2-3 week menu plan is a great idea. that is work into your journey.
when those foods get old learn more things.

also with portion sizes. eyeballing seldom works. everyone of us at some point let the sizes get a bit bigger and bigger. So a scale will be needed every now and then to get your eyeballs back to correct sizes.

I was winging portion sizes alot. Then I thought, eh, lets check out of curiosity. ugh. I had to cut alot of things back and when I did the weight came off alot faster.

since being on plan a short time, put some effort into it. after that you will have to correct yourself a few times like we all do but it does get easier and faster for all of us.

[Lulumae]

Sounds silly perhaps but instead of counting carbs, ignore them, don't eat them and forget them. Of course there are carbs in veggies,which you should be eating, but other than that, you can pretty much avoid them. The ones you can't see or don't know about probably make up your ration right there.

[vavcon]

Lulumae, LIKE :thup:

If it's not meat, fat or low carb veggies, it's not in my diet. Exception is occasional cheese.

However, the portion control thing is well taken. I'm going to weigh my low carb veggies today to see how much I should be eating. Those things roasted have become my crack (rather than chips, pasta, potatoes, etc...). Even too much broccoli can be a bad thing...

It can be helpful to have some goto food where you know what you're getting because you checked. 2 oz of cream cheese; 4 slices of thick bacon (with fat), deviled egg, etc...

One thing I always do when I'm hungry is have a bit of something (e.g., piece of ham, lots o' mayo) then wait a half an hour. If I'm still hungry, my body will let me know. If I'm not, I'll forget about food altogether...
~Chris

[jem51]

Not counting is fine, just know what's on the acceptable list and don't kid yourself.

[Liz53]

If you're losing regularly, there is no need to count carbs/calories unless you want to. The trouble is if you stall, you have no tangible record of what and how much you've been eating, which is so helpful when analyzing. If you stall, you'll have to begin by recording what you are eating for a few days before you get ideas on what to change.

The Atkins bars can be a problem. Many of them (the tastier ones, of course) are loaded with sugar alcohols. If you eat them and get terrible gas, you are not absorbing the calories. If you eat them and don't get gas, you are probably metabolizing the food so you can't really deduct the carbs. In other words, you have to add back the carbs that have been deducted in the net carb calculations, if you are relying on those. Many people hedge their bets and deduct only half the carbs attributed to sugar alcohols.

[madeyna]

I think not counting works for people who are well into the program and already have learned the counts of thier fav. foods. It really is only a chore in the first month or so. Writting down the counts and measurements on your fav. foods and keeping a copy in your purse and one at home really simplfys things . Using a measuring spoon or cup is really just as easy as serving something up with a ladle and it keeps you honest.

[teaser]

If you're mostly on green leafy vegetables for your carbs, it probably doesn't matter much. It might matter a little farther up the carb ladder, but then you'll have a bigger budget, and it might not be so frustrating.

[Firefly428]

I do that also on eating. if hungry I eat something. cause if I pass and let it go then all of the sudden out of the blue it turns into STARVING. and man I can overeat then.

I do well with always keeping hunger at bay.
good move for ya. works for me.

[LCZen]

If you're mostly on green leafy vegetables for your carbs, it probably doesn't matter much. It might matter a little farther up the carb ladder, but then you'll have a bigger budget, and it might not be so frustrating.
Yes, I'm a lazy cook, so the only veggie I buy to eat at home is a 50/50 blend of spring leaf lettuce and spinach. I'm not really worried about carb creep there. Especially since I'm not a salad fan. I'm eating it now because that's what the plan says I should. I'm getting used to it. It takes the place of what used to be a baked potato on my plate.

The kitchen scale mentioned earlier is another thing I'll make sure to get - just to make sure my portions are about right. Not that I'll weigh everything every time, but every now and then to make sure my eyeballing is on track. Great idea.

I'll just have to get better at making a weekend snack like I see on the boards so I won't be tempted into buying the Atkins bars. They're too much like candy and I have a tough time leaving them in the cupboard. I wish I had the self control to leave them alone except for a weekly treat, but I don't.

Thanks for all the great ideas folks. I really want to make this a way of life, and not just a diet. These all will help me a lot. :agree:

[StephiePoo]

I am a stay at home mom of 2 toddlers and a part time college student. I know how hard it can be Hun!

I ALWAYS make sure I have my meal plan scheduled a week in advance. I make chicken or tuna salad in bulk so I can just scoop out what I need and throw it on a salad. Also I make sure I always have some hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, and pepperoni available for 'on the go' snacks.

It is hard at first. But it's well worth it.

[LCZen]

I am a stay at home mom of 2 toddlers and a part time college student. I know how hard it can be Hun!

I ALWAYS make sure I have my meal plan scheduled a week in advance. I make chicken or tuna salad in bulk so I can just scoop out what I need and throw it on a salad. Also I make sure I always have some hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, and pepperoni available for 'on the go' snacks.

It is hard at first. But it's well worth it.
Yes, I need to turn my head from snack = sweet (even if it is low-carb) to snack = fat! I've just added cheese and pepperoni sticks to my grocery list. Fast, easy, and hopefully won't grow a voice in my fridge...if you know what I mean. Thanks!

[WereBear]

I ALWAYS make sure I have my meal plan scheduled a week in advance. I make chicken or tuna salad in bulk so I can just scoop out what I need and throw it on a salad. Also I make sure I always have some hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, and pepperoni available for 'on the go' snacks.

It is hard at first. But it's well worth it.

StephiePoo is so right. I even make my own "frozen meals" by making a big batch of whatever I'm cooking, and the deliberate leftovers are real time savers.

[StephiePoo]

My 3 year old daughter thinks pepperoni is the best snack ever! I don't think either one of us would survive without it in the house :lol:

[Nancy LC]

I'm with Liz53. If you keep eating what you've been eating, there's no need to weigh, measure, journal. It's when you add something new that you need to figure it out again.