Obsessed with food 24/7

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Angellore
Angellore Posts: 519 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been on 'diets' on and off for about 20 years now (I'm currently 34). I was put on a diet by the school nurse at 13 because I was overweight and my obsession with food has continued from then. I have lost over 100lb and regained most of it. I am now slowly on my way back to a healthy weight and this time I am not putting time pressures on myself, which helps. I am trying to get out of the diet mindset, trying to eat healthily and exercising 5 days a week. My body fat % is dropping nicely. However, I can't stop thinking about food. I have a problem with binge eating which is better than it used to be, but still there. I'm on anti depressants (sertraline) for anxiety and agoraphobia, both of which are pretty much under control now. I just wish I could live 'normally' and not think about food constantly. I feel like I am always hungry unless I have eaten so much that I feel sick. I am obsessed with calories and know the content of just about everything and if I don't I have to look. Can anyone who's been here offer any advice? Thanks.

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  • Angellore
    Angellore Posts: 519 Member
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    When I lost weight before it was with weight watchers. I am currently on 2400 cals a day which I got to by using the fat2fit radio method, and this includes my exercise calories.
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
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    ah bless you, I have a tendency to secretive eating and emotional eating/binges, but not the other challenges you are facing. Definitely staying accountable with MFP helps, exercise definitely helps state of mind... hoping that the other things being resolved/managed means that you can focus on the rest of your life, not just the foody bit. xx
  • hello50s
    hello50s Posts: 21
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    I have been on 'diets' on and off for about 20 years now (I'm currently 34). I was put on a diet by the school nurse at 13 because I was overweight and my obsession with food has continued from then. I have lost over 100lb and regained most of it. I am now slowly on my way back to a healthy weight and this time I am not putting time pressures on myself, which helps. I am trying to get out of the diet mindset, trying to eat healthily and exercising 5 days a week. My body fat % is dropping nicely. However, I can't stop thinking about food. I have a problem with binge eating which is better than it used to be, but still there. I'm on anti depressants (sertraline) for anxiety and agoraphobia, both of which are pretty much under control now. I just wish I could live 'normally' and not think about food constantly. I feel like I am always hungry unless I have eaten so much that I feel sick. I am obsessed with calories and know the content of just about everything and if I don't I have to look. Can anyone who's been here offer any advice? Thanks.

    I can totally relate to the obsession with food and I am a binge eater. I am not sure how much advice I can offer you, as I'm somewhat in the same boat, but know that there are others out there who are struggling with this too, every day, all the time.

    I think the fact that you are working away at a more healthy weight, and trying to eat and exercise and your body fat % is dropping is such a great thing, that you should try to concentrate on that more if you are able to. The problem with a food addiction is that we have to eat to live. It's not like alcohol or other addictions where you can actually live without it at some point. Choosing the healthier options and trying to eat in moderation is going to help you to still enjoy foods you really like, but also keep it in balance.

    If you want to friend me, I would like that. Maybe we can offer each other a place to vent and sound off :)
  • rachlat
    rachlat Posts: 23
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    Hi, I have times when I feel low and want to binge eat but I can't say that I have the depth of feeling that you experience because we are all different and you obviously have more things going on in your life that affect your relationship with food. What I do know is that on those days, I make sure that I have lots of healthy things to hand so that I can get bored eating them.
    I fill the fridge with carrot and celery sticks, bowls of salad and fresh fruit salad, hard boiled eggs and tomatoes, low fat cottage cheese and other low calorie foods so that I can put together different combinations of things at a moments notice.
    I enter everything onto MFP as I prepare it and try to go for a walk after I have eaten or before if I can.
    I also try to drink extra water on those days as a distraction as much as anything else.
    I don't know if this helps, but it may be worth a try. Good luck and don't give up xxx
  • Lulzaroonie
    Lulzaroonie Posts: 222 Member
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    I think more than anything you're going the right way about losing it, but your relationship with food is damaging.
    Suffering with agoraphobia doesn't help.
    How do you spend your time on an average day?

    I used to have mild agoraphobia, and I would get shopping delivered with all my favourite goodies. In the end, I had to stop buying the 'goodies' so they weren't in the house, then I wouldn't find myself wandering into the kitchen and binging on anything I could find. If I wanted xyz, I had to leave the house to get it, and if I didn't want to leave the house, I didn't want it bad enough.
  • laurachilver
    laurachilver Posts: 8
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    Hey, I can very much understand, though maybe from a slightly different angle. I am completely obsessed with food, I love it and love eating. I know a large part of this comes from my mother who called me fat for as long as i can remember, while I was growing up I though I was huge and we were never allowed to eat outside of mealtimes and always got tiny portions. I would occasionally be able to buy the snacks I never got for myself (a pizza slice, a chocolate bar, crisps etc) and would wolf them down. I realise now that I was severely underweight as a child, looking at photos of my childhood I am stick thin and so is my brother with his ribs sticking out in beach photo. Of course as soon as I got a ob I spent all my wages on food, going to cafes and getting paninis and all the things I had never been allowed, and so of course gained plenty of weight. So now as I live independently I just want to eat everything. Especially seeing as I have moved to a second world country and it is so easy to afford cheap delicious food it is a real challenge not to gorge myself.

    I find this website really helpful it really makes you aware of what you're eating, and also means you don't have to bother trying to top up everything for the whole day yourself. I know that I can't give up food, I love it too much and have been without it for too much of my life, but I find this website really helps you enjoy the things you love in reasonable quantities. Also if you have time, start cooking. There are hundreds upon hundred of delicious healthy recipes and you can find healthy versions and ways of cooking all those things you love that are usually calorie laden which makes a real difference. I also try and do things that make me feel like I deserve the food I'm eating like if I'm going to have something less healthy than usual for dinner go for a walk before hand or if I go to a restaurant walk an extra few blocks there and back, or go for an extra 15 minutes while I'm swimming earlier in the day so that I don't need to feel any guilt.
  • My0WNinspiration
    My0WNinspiration Posts: 1,146 Member
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    Eating 2, sometimes 3 big meals a day instead of 5-7 meals worked for me. I'm satisfied and I don't have to think about what my next meal is all day.
  • breezylee75
    breezylee75 Posts: 101 Member
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    I am OCD, and food is definitely one of my obsessions. I think it can't be healthy, even when I am eating healthy, to think about food so often. Glad you are here, add me if you like. :)
  • missjeevious
    missjeevious Posts: 83 Member
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    Hey just wanted to reach out and encourage you- I have a history if panic disorder and a period if agoraphobia and thinks gave improved for me immensely to the point where these things are almost a non issue- education made the difference fir me and learning about CBT really turned things around. I cannot help you, you'll have to help yourself but I an happy to offer support. Friend me if you like :smile:
  • spike90
    spike90 Posts: 704 Member
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    My husband has these same problems. I personally can eat and eat and eat until I feel like I am going to blow up because I let my taste buds make my decisions and they are always wanting more. I now try to eat the food that I like the least last so that they aren't wanting to eat more of it. (mind tricks do help me from time to time). I am trying to eat slower also so that I can feel more full. It doesn't always work and I just have to stop eating and start drinking water instead.

    You might want to see your doctor to see if you have Prader Willi Syndrome. It will cause you to never feel full as that part of the brain just won't trigger telling you that you are full and to quit eating. You might want to research it and see if you fit the signs of this.

    Good luck on your journey to the new you :)

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