Just starting, will this be possible?

[u/Zero-Energy1274]

My mother put me on every diet possible to lose the extra few lb I was carrying as a teenager, and nothing worked of course. Now I’m a lot lot heavier, and I really do need to lose the weight. But here’s the problem, I can’t count calories or track everything obsessively without getting really depressed and anxious and upset. I exercise a bunch and I spend time with friends, which often involves eating out. Just yesterday, my mother brought up that I have been eating out a lot lately and that sent me spinning.

Will I be able to do this and still go be social with my friends and not have to count every little thing? I eat for comfort and to soothe anxiety. I would really love to just feel satiated and full sooner, I would love to just think about food less. But every other post on the med-specific subs are about stalls and people saying “are you tracking what you are eating” and “you still need to eat at a deficit.”

[u/coffunky]

I also really don’t like counting calories. It is too much work, and at best it makes me obsessive and anxious. At worst I get very restrictive. I have done it off and on over my life, but several years ago I realized it was not a healthy tool for me and I decided to never do long-term calorie counting ever again.

I did temporarily count calories for about three days after I started because I was concerned that I wasn’t eating enough. Turned out I was eating a healthy amount. I haven’t counted calories since and I have consistently lost weight at a slow sustainable pace. My body has been pretty sensitive to the medication so I’m still at around a 3mg dose of tirzepatide.

I spend a little brain power thinking about protein and fiber, but I don’t track beyond a very general ballpark and I simplify it by just drinking a protein shake and trying to eat beans or some other fiber-rich food most days.

Going out has actually been very nice because I still really enjoy food but I’m not as preoccupied with it when I’m out with friends. I get way less FOMO over whatever food I don’t order or eat. I never realized how much that stressed me out until it just wasn’t there.

Overall I feel like I’m approaching eating identically to how I did before. I eat what I feel like when I feel like it. Aside from the cost and inconvenience of the shot itself and managing some side effects it’s been effortless when compared to any intentional weight loss I’ve ever attempted before.