Is it healthy to be obsessed?

gazter

gazter

needs to get a life
I was accused the other day of being obsessed with dieting.

Yes, it is true, it seems to eat into my life. I am either thinking about what I'm going to eat tonight or tomorrow, thinking about the food i need to purchase, thinking about how long it is since i weighed myself, thinking about if this is the week I will gain. I'm thinking about the exercises i'm going to do, thinking about the new clothes i'm going to buy, thinking about how long it will take to get to target.

Because my efforts are visually noticeable i have about three to four conversations about it a day with people who havent seen me for a while.

I post repeatedly on this forum and our local sw facebook page

Ok, writing it does certainly seem like I am obsessed. The question is, is it unhealthy to be so single minded?
 
I suppose it depends as an obsession can be a positive or negative thing. Positive if it helps you do something good and doesn't cause you distress or impact negatively on your life. In your case (and prob mine) what you are doing is keeping your goal in mind much of the time and as it is in the pursuit of a healthy goal, it would appear to be positive. The difficulty comes when it tips over and, say, you couldn't stop at a point where you were at a healthy weight or if you somehow continued to think you were overweight even if you had moved to a point where you were clearly underweight. This is what happens when people develop an eating disorder. Or if it got to the point you were over exercising and unable to stop or keep within reasonable boundaries. I suppose a bit of balance is required but when you are happy with what you are doing it can be difficult. Keeping perspective is the main thing and if you have that then it could be considered to be a healthy obsession. it is difficult when something is working really well and you are really enthusiastic about it not to keep wanting to do it but if you feel it is taking over your life to the exclusion of other things then maybe time to include something non weight related into your life. Minimins is my secret obsession and allows me to talk about things I wouldn't discuss with others as I don't think they'd be interested but I think it's ok cos we don't just discuss weight on here do we? I read off topic stuff too! :)
 
At last! someone else who eats, sleeps food/diet. I thought that I was the only one who was like that, as you say people who haven't seen you for a while always comment on how good you look and ask why, I carry a copy of my cookbook with me so that I can show people what I eat and I now try to encourage people to try the SW way!
I don't care what people think, I feel good, my blood pressure is normal, my diabetes had almost gone, my joints have stopped hurting, I am the winner!
Go for it.....
Pete
 
To me, when on a journey like this, the only way to not lose focus is to be that way. If I'm not thinking about what I'm doing then I'm more likely to lose track, it needs to be something I throw myself into 100% to succeed.

Same with exercise etc, we all have busy lives and the only way for me to fit it in is to be thinking about when I can fit something in, even if it's 15 mins before bed at home, so as I ideally want to workout 5-7 days per week I'm always looking for opportunities to fit something into my week.

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
As long as u don't feel like its taking over and you still believe in what you are doing. Too often our friends and loved ones become jealous of our success and control over our lives!
 
I have posted on Minimins before about this but felt I needed to add to this particular thread. Just want to say please be careful because being obsessed with slimming world really can ruin your life. I lost 7 stone 10 years ago, maintaining a healthy weight for a while and now I have anorexia, am addicted to exercise and am still ridiculously obsessed with slimming world. Don't get me wrong slimming world is fantastic and I will always advocate that if followed properly it can change your life for the better and be a way of life rather than a diet. I took it too far and am now paying the price so I guess I just wanted to share my story in hope noone else suffers the same thing. Good luck on your journeys guys....just be careful :) xx
 
I have to be this focused to stay on track. I have to be thinking about what I will eat/ buy/ cook, or I get tempted by other non-SW foods.
And thinking about clothes and being slimmer helps me to steer my choices towards the healthier options.

Lea, so sorry to hear what has happened to you and I hope you are getting the help you need.
 
Lea C said:
I have posted on Minimins before about this but felt I needed to add to this particular thread. Just want to say please be careful because being obsessed with slimming world really can ruin your life. I lost 7 stone 10 years ago, maintaining a healthy weight for a while and now I have anorexia, am addicted to exercise and am still ridiculously obsessed with slimming world. Don't get me wrong slimming world is fantastic and I will always advocate that if followed properly it can change your life for the better and be a way of life rather than a diet. I took it too far and am now paying the price so I guess I just wanted to share my story in hope noone else suffers the same thing. Good luck on your journeys guys....just be careful :) xx
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that.
 
Frequently, when someone says "you are obsessed with xxxx" what they really mean is "I am bored with hearing about xxxx". I had this happen recently when someone told me that I am obsessed with the voluntary work that I do.

I am certainly not obsessed with it, but she is clearly bored with hearing about it, so from that day on I have never mentioned it to her again. Problem solved.
 
I think to be successful at losing a significant amount of weight it's necessary to become a little bit obsessed. It has to be at the forefront of your mind or you just wouldn't do it otherwise. Obviously taken to extremes it's not healthy though as Lea C points out above. But losing weight is no easy feat and it's perfectly normal for it to be something you think about and want to talk about a fair bit.
 
Hi all,

I agree - I think you need to be a bit obsessed to succeed. I have read articles about people that have turned their lives around and they all say it is down to being super organised - planning everything. They can't allow themselves to just 'wing it' because it doesn't work. I guess to be that organised you need to be a little obsessed...

On the other hand I have become obsessed about the 'hows' and not the actual 'doings'. I am constantly reading up about different diets, different exercises, planning how I am going to do things, but never actually following through beyond a few weeks at most. I need to learn how to obsess about CONTINUING and not fall off the wagon again!

Spots xx
 
In the beginning I was very obsessed I think but now it's sort of settled down and whilst i still plan and organise everything as before it's become such a way of life that i do it without thinking.
 
A few definitions of the word obsessed I found......
the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

something that you can't stop doing because you are officially addicted with it.

A word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated ;)

So there's a chance you are obsessed but this would only be a problem if you couldn't stop doing it if you needed to and kept losing weight when it wasn't healthy for you to do so but you can still continue with sw and exercise to maintain a healthy weight so hopefully it is a healthy obsession to have!
 
clairebrookes said:
In the beginning I was very obsessed I think but now it's sort of settled down and whilst i still plan and organise everything as before it's become such a way of life that i do it without thinking.
Click to expand...

Yes. I agree it requires dedication, but it seems to have grown in the obsession, not settled down. There are so many things that i couldnt do in the past, that i didnt even think of, that i want to do.

I think i will be a lot more comfortable once I get out of the 'obesity' class. I'm about four pounds away from that :)

When I check on line, looking at people who fit in the 25 to 29 bmi category, I just dont see them as fat. Ok, you can see, they have a bit of a small wobble in the belly at the top end, but they dont have a fat face, fat arms, fat chest.

I have to pinch myself to remind me i am only a small push away from that....
 
There was a study on semi starvation which showed that a low calorie diet lead to obsession with food among other things. The daily allowance was 1500 cal which is a fairly standard slimming diet and probably around an average sw day. So I think the obsession comes partly from being a little bit hungry at a basic level as well as the enthusiasm for losing weight and the healthy diet.
 
Lea C said:
I have posted on Minimins before about this but felt I needed to add to this particular thread. Just want to say please be careful because being obsessed with slimming world really can ruin your life. I lost 7 stone 10 years ago, maintaining a healthy weight for a while and now I have anorexia, am addicted to exercise and am still ridiculously obsessed with slimming world. Don't get me wrong slimming world is fantastic and I will always advocate that if followed properly it can change your life for the better and be a way of life rather than a diet. I took it too far and am now paying the price so I guess I just wanted to share my story in hope noone else suffers the same thing. Good luck on your journeys guys....just be careful :) xx
Click to expand...

I can relate to this, I followed the plan correctly with great success however have become obsessed with everything to do with food and now have unhealthy eating habbits and i know this, but really trying to get over it, made a break through today and had some lunch at work for the first time in about 3 month, i usually eat nothing till tea time. I think it depends what sort of person you are in my opinion like somebody posted before, an article was posted on the daily mail about the fasting/feasting diet which made me think about my own habbits and i quote "However, the regime has drawn criticism from nutritionists who believe that any weight loss on the diet would not be sustainable — and claim that it could even trigger eating disorders.‘I did this during my late teens and early 20s. It was called bulimia. My biggest concern is that it’s an approach that could encourage disordered eating in people who are prone to that sort of behaviour."
I guess im just prone to this sort of behaviour :(




​
 
Who says being obsessed is a bad thing? I don't understand what's so wrong with being obsessed about anything, especially something as great as losing weight! the whole reason it never worked for me before was because I was NOT obsessed, now that I am obsessed with losing weight it's actually working.

Steve Jobs was obsessed with Success.
Michael Jackson was obsessed with Music.
Nikola Tesla was obsessed with Science.

All the greats get obsessed.
So be GREAT!
 
Grae said:
Who says being obsessed is a bad thing? I don't understand what's so wrong with being obsessed about anything, especially something as great as losing weight! the whole reason it never worked for me before was because I was NOT obsessed, now that I am obsessed with losing weight it's actually working.

Steve Jobs was obsessed with Success.
Michael Jackson was obsessed with Music.
Nikola Tesla was obsessed with Science.

All the greats get obsessed.
So be GREAT!
Click to expand...

I see where your coming from but being obsessed with loosing weight when you've already lost enough can become dangerous, i understand that most people on here are still needing to loose weight but its a whole new ball game so to speak once you reach target
 
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