u/coopieg31

I kinda want advice from people who’ve been through this.

I’m really into maintaining my physical health now, which honestly used to be a huge struggle for me. I’ve been all over the spectrum with weight/body image stuff, and for a long time I was super obsessive about food and calories.

I’m 18 now, and for the past 4 years I’ve tracked calories every single day no matter what I ate or how much. Lately though, things have actually been really good. The past few months especially have felt like a huge switch mentally. I’ve been eating actual real foods instead of just low-cal/low-fat “diet” foods, I have a good routine, and for the first time I genuinely feel like I could maintain this lifestyle long term.

But I really don’t want to track calories forever.

Tracking has become so automatic and obsessive for me that it still affects how I think about eating. If I go over calories, sometimes I’m just like “let’s just self sabotage the day then,” but if I stay within them it’s like “ok good, another successful day.” It makes me feel like I always need to be in some kind of deficit even though realistically at 5’6 and around 130-135 lbs, I probably don’t need to be?

I’m also starting a physical job soon and want to focus more on having energy, being active, and just living life in general without constantly stressing about numbers.

So I guess I’m asking: if you were in my situation, how would you start letting go of calorie tracking without feeling out of control? Any advice from people who’ve transitioned away from tracking while still maintaining their health?

About a month into Keto and honestly it’s been amazing for my mental and physical health. I’m actually trying to maintain the weight i’m at right now, not really using this diet to lose weight, but regardless I like to track calories and carbs to get an idea of my body’s natural hunger needs.

Last night I was drinking, an odd and uncommon occurrence for me. Well, from that came me definitely eating way over my normal calories, but what surprised me is this:

my hunger made my body still default to stuff like grilled meats, cheese, egg salad, etc. instead of turning into a giant processed-carb event like I would’ve had before. Even my carbs only ended up around ~50g net, which is high for me since I usually stay around 20-25g, but still way better than the multi-hundred-carb crashouts I used to have, and for the activity level I am, likely kept me in at least a mild state of ketosis.

The craziest part is how different I feel this morning. Before Keto, if I overate, I’d wake up looking and feeling like a bloated swollen mess. Now it’s basically just “oh, I ate a lot,” and that’s it. No crazy puffiness, no food hangover, and I have not been hungry today, almost like my body naturally balancing itself out.

Big thanks to this Keto community too, because reading everyone’s experiences really helped me get here. Curious if anyone else notices that overeating on Keto feels completely different than overeating used to.

About a month into this low carb/keto way of eating and honestly it’s been amazing for my mental and physical health. I’m actually trying to maintain weight, yet I still like to track calories to get an idea of my body’s needs.

Last night I was drinking and definitely ate way over my normal calories lol, but what surprised me is that my body still defaulted to stuff like grilled meats, cheese, egg salad, etc.

instead of turning into a giant processed-carb event like I would’ve had before, my carbs only ended up around ~50g net, which is high for me since I usually stay around 20-25g, but still doesn’t load up my body with crap going into the next day.

The craziest part is how different I felt this morning. Before low carb/keto, if I overate, I’d wake up looking and feeling like a bloated swollen mess. Now it’s basically just “oh, I ate a lot,” and that’s it. No crazy puffiness, no food hangover, and hunger today is legitamately non-existent, maybe like my body just balancing naturally.

Big thanks to this low carb community too, because reading everyone’s experiences really helped me get here. Curious if anyone else notices that overeating this way feels completely different than overeating used to.

About a month into Keto and honestly it’s been amazing for my mental and physical health. I’m actually trying to maintain the weight i’m at right now, not really using this diet to lose weight, but regardless I like to track calories and carbs to get an idea of my body’s natural hunger needs.

Last night I was drinking, an odd and uncommon occurrence for me. Well, from that came me definitely eating way over my normal calories, but what surprised me is this:

my hunger made my body still default to stuff like grilled meats, cheese, egg salad, etc. instead of turning into a giant processed-carb event like I would’ve had before. Even my carbs only ended up around ~50g net, which is high for me since I usually stay around 20-25g, but still way better than the multi-hundred-carb crashouts I used to have, and for the activity level I am, likely kept me in at least a mild state of ketosis.

The craziest part is how different I feel this morning. Before Keto, if I overate, I’d wake up looking and feeling like a bloated swollen mess. Now it’s basically just “oh, I ate a lot,” and that’s it. No crazy puffiness, no food hangover, and I have not been hungry today, almost like my body naturally balancing itself out.

Big thanks to this Keto community too, because reading everyone’s experiences really helped me get here. Curious if anyone else notices that overeating on Keto feels completely different than overeating used to.

I’ve been doing keto/low carb for about a month now and honestly it’s been awesome so far. I’ve noticed physical, mental, and cognitive benefits pretty quickly — more stable energy, better focus, less brain fog, and overall I just feel better day to day.

Right now though, I’m not doing super intense physical work yet. I’m about to start a house painting job, so I’ll be on my feet all day.

I’m mainly wondering how keto or low carb plays into long-term sustainability and energy levels with a physically active job like that.

For those of you who work active jobs or live a higher-activity lifestyle:
Did your energy hold up throughout the day once adapted?
Did you have to increase electrolytes/calories a lot?
Did you ever feel weak or drained doing hard physical work while low carb?
Do you feel better than when you were eating higher carb?
How long did it take before your body fully adjusted?

I really want to keep eating this way because I genuinely like how I feel on it, but I also want to be realistic going into a much more physical lifestyle.

I appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks.

I’ve been doing keto for about a month now and honestly it’s been awesome so far. I’ve noticed physical, mental, and cognitive benefits pretty quickly — more stable energy, better focus, less brain fog, and overall I just feel better day to day.

Right now though, I’m not doing super intense physical work yet. I’m about to start a house painting job, so I’ll be on my feet all day.

I’m mainly wondering how keto plays into long-term sustainability and energy levels with a physically active job like that. For those of you that are or will be higher-activity:

Did your energy hold up throughout the day once adapted?
Did you have to increase electrolytes/calories a lot?
Did you ever feel weak or drained doing hard physical work on keto?
Do you feel better than when you were eating higher carb?
How long did it take before your body fully adjusted?

I really want to keep doing keto because I genuinely like how I feel on it, but I also want to be realistic going into a much more physical lifestyle.

I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

I’m about a month into keto, and last night I was really hungry and honestly tempted to just give in and have some junk food. Keto has been so beneficial for me, mentally and physically. It has simplified eating and allowed me not to think about food nearly at all, something so foreign to me.

For a moment I started thinking I had to stick perfectly to my deficit no matter what, but then I realized something that helped me reset my mindset: it’s okay to go a bit over my calories sometimes. Keto is a lifestyle, instead of a strict “never mess up” “diet”.

Instead of grabbing junk and potentially breaking my streak of ketosis, which i have been in for a good few weeks, I decided to go a little over my usual deficit in a more sensible way and had some smoked ham. It kept me on track with keto, and I didn’t end up exiting the glorious state of ketosis.

Afterward I was browsing the community here and it just reinforced that decision, and glad I made that call instead of going off track completely.

Just wanted to say that you to the community for being so supportive to those of us who are in need of advice and assistance.

Last night.

I am a little over 2 weeks into quitting weed.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve started going through all the usual stuff that comes with it — the vivid dreams, the irritability, the occasional weird low mood, that general “something feels off” feeling. Still, I started getting to a point where I felt a bit more stable and like I didn’t want to go back.
Or at least I thought I didn’t.

Last night was one of those quiet, lonely nights where I didn’t really have anything going on and I wasn’t feeling great mentally. My brain instantly started looking for an escape, something for quick dopamine. I’ve also been cutting out social media and other instant-gratification habits, so it kind of felt like I hit a wall all at once.

And then out of nowhere, I really wanted to relapse.

I started thinking about texting my plug. I actually started planning it out, convincing myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then I started spiraling in the other direction too — thinking about how I’d probably just end up smoking daily again, even though I don’t actually want that life anymore. It turned into this anxious loop where I was basically freaking myself out from both sides.

So I stopped, put my phone down, and made dinner instead.

While I was eating, I started thinking more clearly:
\- my life has honestly been more interesting in these past 2 weeks
\- my brain isn’t constantly overwhelmed and scared anymore
\- my sense of self and individuality is slowly but surely coming back

And then it hit me: how could I throw that away over one bad night?

I realized I was falling into the same pattern I’ve been stuck in before, just about to make a decision I’d regret. But this time, I actually caught it.

I decided to just get a good night’s sleep instead, and woke up feeling proud of myself.

If I can get through a night like that without giving in, I feel like I can get through a lot more than I thought.

Just wanted to share that.

Last night.

I am a little over 2 weeks into quitting weed.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve started going through all the usual stuff that comes with it — the vivid dreams, the irritability, the occasional weird low mood, that general “something feels off” feeling. Still, I started getting to a point where I felt a bit more stable and like I didn’t want to go back.
Or at least I thought I didn’t.

Last night was one of those quiet, lonely nights where I didn’t really have anything going on and I wasn’t feeling great mentally. My brain instantly started looking for an escape, something for quick dopamine. I’ve also been cutting out social media and other instant-gratification habits, so it kind of felt like I hit a wall all at once.

And then out of nowhere, I really wanted to relapse.

I started thinking about texting my plug. I actually started planning it out, convincing myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then I started spiraling in the other direction too — thinking about how I’d probably just end up smoking daily again, even though I don’t actually want that life anymore. It turned into this anxious loop where I was basically freaking myself out from both sides.

So I stopped, put my phone down, and made dinner instead.

While I was eating, I started thinking more clearly:
\- my life has honestly been more interesting in these past 2 weeks
\- my brain isn’t constantly overwhelmed and scared anymore
\- my sense of self and individuality is slowly but surely coming back

And then it hit me: how could I throw that away over one bad night?

I realized I was falling into the same pattern I’ve been stuck in before, just about to make a decision I’d regret. But this time, I actually caught it.

I decided to just get a good night’s sleep instead, and woke up feeling proud of myself.

If I can get through a night like that without giving in, I feel like I can get through a lot more than I thought.

Just wanted to share that.

Last night.

I am a little over 2 weeks into quitting weed.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve started going through all the usual stuff that comes with it — the vivid dreams, the irritability, the occasional weird low mood, that general “something feels off” feeling. Still, I started getting to a point where I felt a bit more stable and like I didn’t want to go back.
Or at least I thought I didn’t.

Last night was one of those quiet, lonely nights where I didn’t really have anything going on and I wasn’t feeling great mentally. My brain instantly started looking for an escape, something for quick dopamine. I’ve also been cutting out social media and other instant-gratification habits, so it kind of felt like I hit a wall all at once.

And then out of nowhere, I really wanted to relapse.

I started thinking about texting my plug. I actually started planning it out, convincing myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then I started spiraling in the other direction too — thinking about how I’d probably just end up smoking daily again, even though I don’t actually want that life anymore. It turned into this anxious loop where I was basically freaking myself out from both sides.

So I stopped, put my phone down, and made dinner instead.

While I was eating, I started thinking more clearly:
\- my life has honestly been more interesting in these past 2 weeks
\- my brain isn’t constantly overwhelmed and scared anymore
\- my sense of self and individuality is slowly but surely coming back

And then it hit me: how could I throw that away over one bad night?

I realized I was falling into the same pattern I’ve been stuck in before, just about to make a decision I’d regret. But this time, I actually caught it.

I decided to just get a good night’s sleep instead, and woke up feeling proud of myself.

If I can get through a night like that without giving in, I feel like I can get through a lot more than I thought.

Just wanted to share that.

Last night.

I am a little over 2 weeks into quitting weed.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve started going through all the usual stuff that comes with it — the vivid dreams, the irritability, the occasional weird low mood, that general “something feels off” feeling. Still, I started getting to a point where I felt a bit more stable and like I didn’t want to go back.
Or at least I thought I didn’t.

Last night was one of those quiet, lonely nights where I didn’t really have anything going on and I wasn’t feeling great mentally. My brain instantly started looking for an escape, something for quick dopamine. I’ve also been cutting out social media and other instant-gratification habits, so it kind of felt like I hit a wall all at once.

And then out of nowhere, I really wanted to relapse.

I started thinking about texting my plug. I actually started planning it out, convincing myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then I started spiraling in the other direction too — thinking about how I’d probably just end up smoking daily again, even though I don’t actually want that life anymore. It turned into this anxious loop where I was basically freaking myself out from both sides.

So I stopped, put my phone down, and made dinner instead.

While I was eating, I started thinking more clearly:
\- my life has honestly been more interesting in these past 2 weeks
\- my brain isn’t constantly overwhelmed and scared anymore
\- my sense of self and individuality is slowly but surely coming back

And then it hit me: how could I throw that away over one bad night?

I realized I was falling into the same pattern I’ve been stuck in before, just about to make a decision I’d regret. But this time, I actually caught it.

I decided to just get a good night’s sleep instead, and woke up feeling proud of myself.

If I can get through a night like that without giving in, I feel like I can get through a lot more than I thought.

Just wanted to share that.

Last night.

I am a little over 2 weeks into quitting weed.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve started going through all the usual stuff that comes with it — the vivid dreams, the irritability, the occasional weird low mood, that general “something feels off” feeling. Still, I started getting to a point where I felt a bit more stable and like I didn’t want to go back.
Or at least I thought I didn’t.

Last night was one of those quiet, lonely nights where I didn’t really have anything going on and I wasn’t feeling great mentally. My brain instantly started looking for an escape, something for quick dopamine. I’ve also been cutting out social media and other instant-gratification habits, so it kind of felt like I hit a wall all at once.

And then out of nowhere, I really wanted to relapse.

I started thinking about texting my plug. I actually started planning it out, convincing myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then I started spiraling in the other direction too — thinking about how I’d probably just end up smoking daily again, even though I don’t actually want that life anymore. It turned into this anxious loop where I was basically freaking myself out from both sides.

So I stopped, put my phone down, and made dinner instead.

While I was eating, I started thinking more clearly:
\- my life has honestly been more interesting in these past 2 weeks
\- my brain isn’t constantly overwhelmed and scared anymore
\- my sense of self and individuality is slowly but surely coming back

And then it hit me: how could I throw that away over one bad night?

I realized I was falling into the same pattern I’ve been stuck in before, just about to make a decision I’d regret. But this time, I actually caught it.

I decided to just get a good night’s sleep instead, and woke up feeling proud of myself.

If I can get through a night like that without giving in, I feel like I can get through a lot more than I thought.

Just wanted to share that.

I am a little over 2 weeks into quitting weed.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve started going through all the usual stuff that comes with it — the vivid dreams, the irritability, the occasional weird low mood, that general “something feels off” feeling. Still, I started getting to a point where I felt a bit more stable and like I didn’t want to go back.
Or at least I thought I didn’t.

Last night was one of those quiet, lonely nights where I didn’t really have anything going on and I wasn’t feeling great mentally. My brain instantly started looking for an escape, something for quick dopamine. I’ve also been cutting out social media and other instant-gratification habits, so it kind of felt like I hit a wall all at once.

And then out of nowhere, I really wanted to relapse.

I started thinking about texting my plug. I actually started planning it out, convincing myself it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then I started spiraling in the other direction too — thinking about how I’d probably just end up smoking daily again, even though I don’t actually want that life anymore. It turned into this anxious loop where I was basically freaking myself out from both sides.

So I stopped, put my phone down, and made dinner instead.

While I was eating, I started thinking more clearly:
- my life has honestly been more interesting in these past 2 weeks
- my brain isn’t constantly overwhelmed and scared anymore
- my sense of self and individuality is slowly but surely coming back

And then it hit me: how could I throw that away over one bad night?

I realized I was falling into the same pattern I’ve been stuck in before, just about to make a decision I’d regret. But this time, I actually caught it.

I decided to just get a good night’s sleep instead, and woke up feeling proud of myself.

If I can get through a night like that without giving in, I feel like I can get through a lot more than I thought.

Just wanted to share that.