I am concerned!

I've come across quite a few bandsters on here who are totally obsessed with exercise, weighing themselves and counting calories!

Now this is the kinda stuff eating disorders are made of and that scares the hell out of me. I have suffered from a binge eating disorder for years and feel that I'm getting better but I know that if I start obsessing again I will be right back to square one, which is why I cannot do slimmimg clubs.

The idea of the band was to restrict the amount I eat but at the same time it was to help me learn to eat when i am hungry and to stop when I am not. I am not going to count calories, i don't need to, we all know when we have eaten too much or something naughty! I will only weigh myself when necessary as i refuse to judge myself by the number on the scales and I don't intend to exercise more than once a day.

I just want to be normal!!!!!

If you ask any naturally slim person when they last weighed themselves they will probably tell you they cannot remember, ask them how many calories they eat a day and they won't have a clue they are too busy having a life, their food and weight is simply not an issue to them, they are in tune with their bodies and feed it whatever they want when they are hungry and stop when they are satisfied.

I would love to hear everyones opinions on this.

x katie

I see nothing wrong or obsessive with working out 6 days per week. It has kept the weight off and has kept my body well toned.

I see nothing wrong or obsessive with counting calories. It has kept the weight off.

I find both of the above to be in the Telly "norm". I find that just going to the gym whenever ....without a plan or an agenda or eating whatever I want without a care for how many calories i put into my body or how much fat.....is not right and is not a "Telly Normal thing to do"

Everyone is different. Don't label me or my new found love for taking care of my body as being obsessive.

Don't judge me or anyone else for wanting to maintain what we've accomplished thus far.

I don't see anything unhealthy in what you have spoken about in your posts- your before and after pics speak for themselves, what ever you are doing is obviously working and it sounds like its through hard work and commitment- I see nothing wrong in putting oursleves on "project status" to achieve a healthy goal

What's obsessive for one person is not for another too of course.

But I think if you're having panic attacks becuase you know you have to miss a gym session, that's probably obsessive. If your husband and all your friends leave you because you keep telling them how many calories are in each thing you eat, that's probably obsessive.

Of course logging onto LBT all day long instead of doing any housework is NOT obsessive.

HAHA... Yes, I can convert calories and WW points on almost everything I eat regularly...

Yeah, I do have a rough idea of how many calories I'm eating - an entire lifetime spent dieting means you know the calorie count of nearly everything, lol. As well as WW points!

Hello every one! This is a great post. I'have been on both side of the coin. From totally "Obsessed" with exercise & weight loss,only because of my obsession and fear of dying! I, went nut's on losing weight reading every thing I could find on weight loss and Nutrition. I, work out up to four hours aday 5 or 6 days a week one week 3days of lifting light weights & 3 days of walking running jogging in place with swimming, biking,carideo then would change my routine's.

And I lost 120 pounds of weight in about a year half or so it almost killed me because I was over exercising and counting calories I was only taken in some times1500/ 1600 then burning more calories then I was taken in and that spelled starvation and my weight loss stalled!

I wish I could find out the Lady who told me to go to bed and to increase my calorie intake It helped me to lose more weight at a slower pace a safer one!

Thank God I lost the weight before I hurt my back! now all I can do is some walking and swimming, and count calories that keeps me in check with my weight loss!

This may sound funny but please listen before you judge me! I had a fear or gaining lots of weight back, so I' took two months of from counting calories lots of pain meds in the process in a controlled experiment with my self I let my self gain weight "too lose the fear of weight gain" I gained twenty five pounds in weight eating lots of Ice cream. I started watching all of my calorie intake stayed at 1200/1500 and I very happy I have lost 16 pounds now at my own pace have no fear of weight gain any more and don't have to live by the all mighty scale.

Now I check my weight twice a week count my calories and im in control eating lite and losing weight 213 pounds and dropping 16 pounds of new weight loss it will now take me 3 or 4 mounths to drop 23 pound and get back to 190 weight class, which the old way of over exercising I could of done that in a month or less the old way!

Im very happy that I can control my weight loss, and very very happy that I have so many friends, who have helped me out many times in these past years! lbt is a great site. thanks again. John

What ever works for you jqpublc, I honestly believe that losing weight and getting fitter when you are MO is far more than jsut the numbers on the scale- there is a lot a self inventory stuff and learning that has to go on too- thats why a believe we need a whole tool box and not just the band as the only tool- becaue we all have different pasts, lifestyles, medical history etc this is not likely to be the same for every individual. I believe that many of us are probably doing the pendulum swing type thing- tending to go from one extreme ( not the word I am looking for really) until gradually the pendulum swing gets less extreme and centres itself- as long as we are learning and adapting behaviour-its all good!

There are a small number of people that may seem to have unhealthy degree of obsession- but how much of that s personality type past experience- at least with the band you are commited to ongoing medcal support- so hopfully if we are going astray our profession teams will nudge us backinto line

I agree that this is a great thread, it really does show that even when we have the same basic procedure there is still a huge varation in how we achieve our goals

telly

I am not saying that working out once a day and counting calories is obssessive or wrong. I am working out once a day myself but I have made a personal decision not to count calories because it doesn't work for me. What works for me is eating healthily with an occasional treat.

However I would say if you are working out intensively for over four hours a day at 300lbs, cannot sleep at night if you have gone 50 calories over your daily limit and are checking the scales every few hours that is kinda obsessive.

No one is labelling you hun! You're weight loss is amazing!

I was simply expressing my concerns.

I didn't think counting calories worked for me either, until i started doing it with the band.

I've lost almost 50lbs in the past two months....

I also exercise everyday. So, no i havent lost muscle mass and everything is becoming toned.

It will just become a normal part of your day. It isn't like you will have to obsess about doing. Instead of thinking about what to eat for lunch you will simply be thinking about what machines you want to hit at the gym.

beversman

you go girl! you are doing soooo well!!!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Oh, counting calories WORKS in that sense, there's no argument to that.

But whether or not you want to do it is up to you. I'd rather stay the weight I am than log what I eat, count calories "officially" etc.

For me, to think that much about food, and what I cant have makes me want it all the more. I eat less when I dont think about it.

What's obsessive for one person is not for another too of course.

But I think if you're having panic attacks becuase you know you have to miss a gym session, that's probably obsessive. If your husband and all your friends leave you because you keep telling them how many calories are in each thing you eat, that's probably obsessive.

Of course logging onto LBT all day long instead of doing any housework is NOT obsessive.

Hahaha, you're a mess Jachut! I'm dying. Yes I can see why a man would leave me for telling him how many calories I am eating or they are eating in each meal. Thank god that isn't me.

I have a co-worker who told me she was worried that I was "too focused".

Last Friday, on my way to work I stopped to get a carmel mocha ( I have given up the mochas because THEY were an addiction for me, plus weren't helping with the weightloss)

When I showed it to her she said she was glad because I seemed to be becoming obsessed with being perfect.

I currently swim every morning, Monday through Friday, for 50 minutes. I also go to yoga on Mondays after work and am adding Thursdays and Fridays as soon as the classes start.

Some my consider that obsessive, but it really makes me FEEL better, and yes, I do feel awful if I skip, but I do occasionally skip, like 3 days this week because we went skiing. But, I enjoy the energy I get from swimming in the mornings before work and the stretching feeling from the yoga is very relaxing.

I also weigh myself at any given opportunity, but I don't think I'm obsessed about it. It is a knowledge is power thing. I'm really trying to figure out how my body works and looses weight. So far, I haven't really been able to figure out a pattern, I do expect my weight to increase over the entire day, up to 5 lbs. I understand and expect that when I get on the scale at night, I will not be the same weight that I was in the morning. It doesn't affect my mood, but it does make me think about what I'm doing.

I am one of those who threw out the scale for 4 years, then when I got one, discovered I was almost 200 lbs. I'd rather get on it too much, then ignore it and have that happen again.

I am NOT good at journaling. I tend to spot check, to make sure what I'm eating hasn't increased.

So, I might be one of those crazy obsessive people, but I don't FEEL crazy, but maybe a little obsessive.

"they" say you replace one 'compulsive' behaviour (eating) with another (exercising, etc ...)

i am not sure if that would be the case with me or not. yes, i do work out pretty much every day for 30 - 45 mins. i do use myfooddiary.com to track my cals because i was so low in cals for awhile (under 800 / day) that my body was holding on to everything and i wasnt losing. it took a lot to get thru my (very thick) head that in order to lose i need to consume cals...

i am at optimal restriction now ... eat 4-5 bites and i am finished so i need to up the cals some how... i chose muscle milk and so far it is working very well. i have lost about 6 1/8 pounds since starting it on 2/5 and have already noticed the inches dropping a little bit... but everyone is different, you need to do what works for you...

i 'reward' myself for working out by hopping on the scale..

is this obsessive? i dont really think so... i've been fat / obese / super obese my entire life. i finally have the tool to help me get the weight off and i am going to do all within my power to get rid of the weight as soon as possible.

Jane, I think we share a similar personality. I am a very focused person. My therapist calls me "intense" (yes, I have a therapist now, and I highly recommend we all get one LOL). That intensity can lead to obsession. Occassionally this is a good personality trait - we can become very good at whatever we set our minds to. But many times the "all or nothing" mentality ends up hurting us.

For me, right now, my focus is on completing the triathlon in June. And it's okay because I have to follow a certain workout schedule to be able to complete it. But my focused personality trait has also moved onto other things that aren't healthy, things like having to look perfect and finding perfect-looking men to date, and feeling like a failure if I'm not able to do both. Of course, getting rejected for a prettier woman has played a part in that, but nonetheless, other people wouldn't be nearly so obsessed with looking perfect. It's an endless pursuit that will never be satisifed.

I'm starting a new thing called NLP - Neurolinguistic Programming. I'm trying to "talk" myself out of this obsessive personality trait I have and into a more easy-going, care-free person. Anyone else done this?

I am a big believer in the benefits of neurolinguistic programming, it is amazing how reframing your thoughts to focus on the positives rather than the negative can have such a positive effect- again, it is different for everyone. I have had a psychology lecturer say that there is no scientifical proof that neurolinguistic programming works- there certainly is a good deal of empirical evidence though!!