I'm a 6'2" 150-155 lb 20 year old male. I've never ran competitively, and although I may be interested in running a half-marathon in the near future, I am currently not training for anything right now, simply running for recreation (about 30 mpw).
I never really had problems with my weight/nutrition. My family has never been a huge fan of junk food and most of our meals were homemade. However, I discovered calorie counting and MyFitnessPal due to the rise in popularity of fitness YouTubers and such advocating IIFYM/flexible dieting. This led to me doing a lot of protocols, such as intermittent fasting and OMAD, coupled with long-distance running.
To keep a long story short, I have now been viewing running as a license to be able to eat more, and I meticulously track and measure food at times, as I have a huge fear of gaining weight. I know if I just listened to my appetite and ate healthy I probably wouldn't get fat and would actually be less stressed.
However, I am struggling to abandon counting calories and being obsessive with what I eat. I also don't want to just continue running and running just to be able to eat more, as I want to incorporate other types of workouts into my training regimen. However, the only thing on my mind is that running burns the most calories and can easily be tracked (1 mile= about 100 cals). How do I stop thinking and acting this way?