I am desperatly trying to recover from short term (1 year) disordered eating, but it is so much harder than i ever imagined. I am a calorie counter, and have been using that as my coping mechanism for all the stress I have delt with over the last year. This week my nutritionist has me up to eating 1300 calories (I am gradually taking away restrictions) and I am having such a hard time. Has anyone been in my place before, and if so how did you get past needing to restrict your calorie intake to feel better. I just need to be as normal as possible because I want to be able to go back to college this fall, and I am so scared. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to overcome this?

Hi,

I have been in your shoes before and also had an addiction of counting calories for years. It is not easy and it is going to take as much discpline as it ded when you started. The key... stop adding! I know it is hard, but you really have to trust me on this one. Try to eat foods that you do not know the calorie content and focus more on the healthy effects food gives us. Remember too that a 1300 calorie diet is only a guideline, we are not robots and required blank amount of food a day. Some days we need more fuel to feed the brain and our bodies depending on each individual day. Our bodies are quite good at signalling our hunger pangs, dont ignore them. I dont even like doctors setting calorie limits because it does not end the obssesive counting. Obese people count calories to loose weight, normal people do not. You can do it! :)

and I just wanted to add.. you do eventually forget the calorie content of most food, I have. It does take a little time and self displine but it is soooo worth it. Good luck

Ocean

I have the same problem. It has gotten so bad for me that i compare the amount of calories that i eat to how many calories my roommates eat. That's just sad that I even keep tabs on them. I just feel like such a "beast" when i see that i eat more than them. Sometimes they eat so little, and they aren't skinny at all so I fear that if i eat more than them I will gain weight. I have been counting calories since i was 14 and i am now 19 going on 20. I developed bulimia about a year ago because i would feel so guilty when i would exceed my calorie limit that I would purge whenever i would go over. Then it got to the point that once i did go over my calorie limit, i would just have a full on binge because i was going to throw it all up anyway. I really need to stop hurting myself. I find that days that i dont focus on limits, i actually eat less. I have no idea why, but i am working on not focusing so much about the calories of what i eat and just eat more healthy foods. Counting calories has taken over a big part of my life and it needs to stop. I hope that you can conquer this problem. I know that i will be working hard to stop this obsession i have with counting calories.

Take care,
Meli :wave:

I have that problem. I constantly count my calories. I eat way under the amount I should. I am losing weight that I should not lose. If I eat something that has 250 calories, I will count it as being 300 calories. Sad, I know.