Always hungry/thinking about food starting a diet?

summer92008

I've already lost 10 lbs and took a break for about a month eating at maintenance calories. I have maintained my weight but am ready to lose the last 10 lbs. I am trying to eat around 1,200 calories per day, but MFP says I can eat 1,550 or so a day to lose 0.5 lbs a week. But I try to stay under that - it gives me a little wiggle room.

However, the first week or so of starting back on caloric restrictions is pure hell. I'm constantly hungry and thinking about food. Even after the hunger pains go away several weeks in, I find myself driving by all of the restaurants in town thinking about what I would eat from there if I wasn't dieting. I watch Youtube food review videos. I plan food days and days ahead of time. If I have to eat somewhere and struggle to fit a meal from there into my calories, I get so frustrated I will sometimes cry. If my we can't find out what we are having for dinner, I stress the whole day because I don't know how many calories to save for dinner. These are normal things that happen throughout the whole time I'm dieting. It's just the hunger that seems to subside after a couple weeks. My boyfriend gets mad because he says it sounds like I'm developing an eating disorder because of it, but I want to lose the weight.

Is there any way to get past this food obsession? It takes over my life. I was up from 3-6:30 this morning just watching food review videos. It gets overwhelming and stressful.

Stats:
5'6'' tall
20 years old
Full-time college student (sedentary)
SW: 149ish lbs.
CW: 138-140 lbs.
GW: 129 lbs.

Over the summer I walked every single day, 2-5 miles a day. But it is getting cooler, and I have a lot on my plate between my dad being in the hospital, school work, social life, and being a bridesmaid in my best friends wedding. So I don't have much time/energy/drive to exercise right now.

Help.

summer92008

Example:

Right now, I'm looking on Wendy's website day dreaming about what I'd love to have for lunch from there tomorrow.
Homestyle chicken sandwich, small fries, bottle of water, and a jr. frosty. That would fill me up and make me completely satisfied, but that in itself is around 1,000 calories. So I would pretty much not be able to eat anything else the rest of the day lol.

I try to have 1 cheat day every 2 weeks or so in which I eat within my maintenance calories (I can usually eat whatever I please and stay within my maintenance calories), but that's about a 8 or 9 days away.

Kalikel

Of course you don't have the energy to exercise. You aren't eating enough! Duh.

Your boyfriend is right. Your eating sounds very disordered and you're going down a path that leads to so much unhappiness. Get off that path NOW. Not when you're sure you have a problem. Girls who have eating disorders usually don't realize it it until they're so far into it that they can't get out. They get diagnosed as anorexic and don't believe it. They go to their graves thinking, "No, not me. Not really."

And they're so miserable. It's part of the eating disorder. Malnutrition takes a toll on your brain. Clouds your thinking, your judgement and makes you sad and crazy.

Get in to see your doctor. Have him oversee your weight loss and follow his instructions! If he says you don't need to lose, listen to him. Your doctor is the one person who will tell you if you're too fat. Find a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and go see them. Even if you don't have one, they can help you work through your issues with food.

Can you talk to your mom? If you can, do it.

I'll also bet you dollars to doughnuts that your boyfriend is sick of it. Another problem that comes with eating disorders: the people around you don't want to deal with the crazy. It's too much for them. They bail.

Starting now, eat enough so that you feel strong and healthy and can exercise.

Get on top of this before it grows and smothers you! Doctor. Therapist. Eat.

Good luck.

z_bra

Learn how to cook some healthy meals. They will be more satisfying

summer92008

Of course you don't have the energy to exercise. You aren't eating enough! Duh.

Your boyfriend is right. Your eating sounds very disordered and you're going down a path that leads to so much unhappiness. Get off that path NOW. Not when you're sure you have a problem. Girls who have eating disorders usually don't realize it it until they're so far into it that they can't get out. They get diagnosed as anorexic and don't believe it. They go to their graves thinking, "No, not me. Not really."

And they're so miserable. It's part of the eating disorder. Malnutrition takes a toll on your brain. Clouds your thinking, your judgement and makes you sad and crazy.

Get in to see your doctor. Have him oversee your weight loss and follow his instructions! If he says you don't need to lose, listen to him. Your doctor is the one person who will tell you if you're too fat. Find a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and go see them. Even if you don't have one, they can help you work through your issues with food.

Can you talk to your mom? If you can, do it.

I'll also bet you dollars to doughnuts that your boyfriend is sick of it. Another problem that comes with eating disorders: the people around you don't want to deal with the crazy. It's too much for them. They bail.

Starting now, eat enough so that you feel strong and healthy and can exercise.

Get on top of this before it grows and smothers you! Doctor. Therapist. Eat.

Good luck.

I've talked to my doctor about my weight and I am completely normal and healthy in size. There is no medical reason for me to lose weight. I actually could gain about 20 lbs and be within my healthy weight range. I am losing weight solely for vanity purposes. Probably not the best reason, but it is the truth. I have never ever been happy with my body for as long as I can remember. I can think back to a young age of looking down at my belly, squeezing it hard, and crying because I was so unhappy with it. I was never overweight-I've just never had a flat belly. It disgusts me. And that's what I want to change. Earlier this summer I just got fed up withit so iI cut calories and dropped 10 lbs. But I don't look much different at all. It makes me so sad I could cry. So I'm giving another 10 lbs a shot. If I don't lose some of my belly by then, I don't know what I will do. I'm not aiming for perfection. I don't aim to look like a model. I just want my stomach to be smaller. Even a small pooch is fine, just not as big as it is now.

summer92008

My boyfriend gets angry with me because he says all I talk about is food and it is annoying. He also says that he loves me the way I am and that fact that I want to change that makes him feel like I don't care what he thinks. My mom thinks I am fine in size, too, but she supports me and is proud I've lost 10 lbs. She told me today to "enjoy life and eat food"

ana3067

you're not eating enough.

Estimating 8hrs of sleep and 2hrs of walking/standing (I'm a student, so I know that this is easily achievable), 1650-1750 is enough for ~.5lb loss a week, and with 10lbs left you don't need to be aggressive. You are already slim, so you are probably just skinny fat, in which case you could benefit from eating at maintenance while lifting (strength and/or hypertrophy at maintenance will be just fine, the latter might make you look more "bulky" though even though you are lifting lighter per rep), and you might be able to slowly recomp. since I'm guessing you have never lifted before, you'd benefit from newbie gains and this might help you reduce your body fat a bit.

ETA you also sound like you'd benefit from talking to a therapist/counselor. I'm unhappy with my body fat percentage but I'm not like... suicidal or hating myself because of it. It's just something I dislike. Your current methods are simply going to result in you either sitll being skinny fat or you dieting too much until you are underweight (which will probably result in you getting to a lower body fat).

OH and 1650-1750 is NET. Meaning if you exercise you would log this and eat back the cals (at least 50%). Otherwise if you are active on a regular schedule you can calculate that yourself from exrx.net and health-calc.com and subtract 10-15% from the total calorie number it estimates.

summer92008

Thanks for the responses everyone! I'm interested in eating around 1.600 calories a day, but MFP states 1.770 is my maintenance calories. I just don't see how a 100 calorie deficit would make a big enough impact for half a pound a week.

bokaba

Do some light exercises to burn around 150-200 calories a day, then you will be at 250-300 calorie deficit per day, which is .5-.6 pounds per week. This will, however, probably drop you somewhat below your bmr. With your small body size and presently healthy weight, rapid weight will probably not be possible.