**Waives** to CC'ers

Hi Everyone!

New here, and trying (again) to lose about 50 pounds.  No timetable, just need to do it!

I'd love some advice from the folks who've been here for a while:

  I'm in my second week of being on the site, and it's a really great motivator.  But I'm having a psychological block about the intake meter on my home page.  I have my goal calorie intake set at for a 780 defecit (if I don't exercise at all, which I try to do 5 days--we'll see how long that lasts!) But as my little food log meter rises, I get nervous and feel like I have to start restricting myself.  The other day I went 10 calories over and felt like I failed.  I know it's just a crazy mind trick, but for those who have been in this for the long haul, how did you get past that?

The way I look at is that I can safely lose .5 to 2 lbs a week by having a 500 to 1000 calorie deficit.  Some days I'm just under my target (hardly ever happens!), other days I go over by 100  or even 200 calories but I know that I'm still in that 500-1000 deficit range which means I'll lose.  If I'm really concerned (maybe once since I started) I just add in some exercise to burn off the extra calories.

If you search the forums you'll find lots of people who swear by zig-zagging their calories.  They never eat the same amount each day but go up and down from their target to their maintenance but at the end of the week it all averages out to the same thing.

Whenever the numbers on the scale or calories start to feel overwhelming just remind yourself that it takes 3500 calories ABOVE your maintenance calories to make a pound of fat.  That 10 calories is not going even matter.  I use the same thought process when the scale goes up for whatever reason.  Do the math and you realize that its not fat but water or undigested food working its way through your system and eventually the results will show on the scale.  I prefer to go by how my clothes fit and how I feel healthwise and don't stress about the numbers.

Good luck!

just nip those feelings in the bud as soon as you can, thoughts like these lead to ED behaviors and are not good whatsoever. 

think about it, in the grand scheme of things...eating 10 calories over your goal will only lessen your deficit by 10, not even cause weight gain. it is pointless to get hung up on it because it is really insignificant. even if it was 200 calories over maintenance, eating that every once in a while won't derail your progress. 

relax and try to realize that you've come so far as it is and eating is essential to life. if you can't shake the nagging feeling then write your food throughout the day and then log it, but really these thoughts are not healthy even if they are quite common!! good luck :)

*waves* welcome. I've been on this site for almost 4 years, and I can understand your anxiety. I found it easiest to set a calorie "range". 1200-1400 calories was a lot easier to sit into than an exact number. There's no way you can hit your calories right on the nose. For ONE we all know that unless we are scientists, our calories aren't exact. Food labels are allowed to be 10% wrong (i believe it's 10%) and you know if you're going out to eat that the calories on the restaurant's website aren't 100%. You think a chef is back there weighing out your broccoli?

Get that anxiety off your back. Stick in a range, and you'll be a happier, healthier minded person. This is about HEALTH, not just a body weight. Physical health & mental health.

Hang in there. Smile!