Complete failure.

Instead of trying to make larger changes, because you feel like you are addicted to foods, maybe you can try smaller changes over time. So this week try to cut out all soda. Next week, if you drive to BK, get a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a burger and nuggets.

If it is really an issue, go see a therapist to find what is really causing you to try and fill some void with food.

Best of luck.

It's possible that 1200 calories is too low a goal for you and your body is asking for more nutrients. I know that when I try to be overly restrictive I'm far more likely to binge on unhealthy foods. You might try setting an easier goal like 1500-1700 calories, depending on your goals.

There are programs to help you with food addictions. Overeaters/Anonymous (O/A) helps millions of people around the world deal with food issues. It's not just for people with overeating problems, but any problem with food. I am not a member, but I have a good friend who was helped a great deal by this program. Just a thought.

This. I'm not a member but I have a friend who is a member via a call in group and she swears by it.

This is just a thought, and although it won't fix the cravings, maybe every time before you get into your car, write down or audio record on your phone or something "Right now I am feeling ___________ because ___________" and keep track of those two entries. If you notice you're seeing "bored", "stressed", "lonely", etc. frequently, maybe look to a way to change that one thing a little bit.

I know for me any time I start REALLY wanting something to eat I make myself clean the kitchen first, by the time I'm done it's usually too late and I'm not actually wanting to eat whatever it was in the first place (assuming this is all after dinner that is).

You are not a failure, and I want to personnaly thank you for posting this. I, too, struggle with this almost daily. Today I brought in a healthy lunch, only to keep thinking about the $20 bill in my pocket. An hour before lunch the internal struggle began - and not that I was even really hungry. Before long I was contemplating my fast-food choices, already resigned to the fact that I was going to throw today away. In the end, I went to King Gyro and ordered a FULL SLAB of ribs (came with fries, of course). I've been depressed all afternoon, ashamed of what I've done and wondering how to even ask for support. WE ARE NOT ALONE! i, for one, will look into OVERATER'S ANONYMOUS. i wish there was a way to bottle up the horrible, nauseating feeling from having eaten like today so I could remind myself the next time this feeling comes around. WE CAN DO THIS!

i do not deprive myself ever if i want something ill eat it.
i just work out harder doing just dance just sweat for an hour or something simple like walking for a long time to burn off what i have gone over on my calories by stepping up the pace and putting in more effort. dont beat your self up about it. just dont let food get the better of you..

I just checked out your diary. You are NOT eating enough!! NOT a willpower thing -- you're trying to starve yourself and your body is trying to correct the process. This has been the cause of so many failed diets over the years ... mine included.

Try real food. Add in treats occasionally. If you exercise, your body needs more fuel -- eat those calories.

Read In Place of a Road Map ... figure out your BMR etc.

I think the posters above are correct - there is most likely a reason other than hunger that makes you want to eat like that. I know this well. I turn to food for comfort, when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed. You need to focus on what that reason is, and healthy ways to deal with it.

Some people will disagree with this, but I for one think that for many people there will always be more to food than just fuel for the body. I worked out that I ate crap to try and look after myself when I was feeling upset. I couldn't turn off the part of my brain that equated food with a reward, so I changed my thinking - now I don't eat takeaways to make me feel "safe", I cook and eat my own food, and my reward is that my meals are balanced and healthy and I'm looking after my body. That in itself is a good feeling! It's really great for your mental health. It's so hard to feel good in body and soul when you're not basing your food on nourishment.

If you think this may be useful to you, perhaps take some time to read up on nutrition. Work out how many calories your body burns in a day, how many of them you can eat for sustainable weight loss, and what they should be made up of. You could also find out about the sort of thing that goes into processed food - Not On the Label by Felicity Lawrence opened my eyes.

Good luck. It takes effort, but it does get better, if you try.

Edited to add: your diary is sporadic, but if the few entries I can see are what you typically eat in a day then there is no way you are eating enough. It's not surprising that you're craving high-calorie junk if you're eating that little and you are going to get nowhere fast trying to lose weight that way. Take the time for yourself and log everything you eat in every day. Then look at the diaries of people on here and see the difference.

There are so many great suggestions here - I may try some myself as well! lol Thanks for the topic posting.

My life with MFP has gone down like this - i had the acct for roughly 5 years, but NEVER looked at it past the 1st day i signed up for it....until jan of this year. my work has decided to allow us to access the website while we're on shift -so i figured why not.

in jan. i gave it a "god's honest try" - i said eh, what the heck - i will log...EVERYTHING i put in my mouth for 1 week - it it proves me wrong, then it does, but hey if i'm right and there's "no hope for me" - then bam i got stuff to show these people out there! lol

well low and behold - 3 lbs down 1 week - no exercise - and still eating what i enjoy.... i said hmmm maybe there's something to this...i'll give it one more week.

by end of jan - i was down 10lbs - no exercise in volved and still eating what i like.
then february came around - and so did....lady issues...you know the jist - and wham - i was up 5lbs! i was depressed hated it - didn't want to go back....

but - i found slowly , the characteristics i had developed during month 1 - had....you guessed it - become a habit! i found myself looking @ food and going "really, it's not worth it ya know?"

So - stepped in the scale this a.m. - at the end of february - with not much logging from me at all.....and shhhhh it's a secret for now i'm hoping it holds true til my march 1st official weigh in- but....i'm actually 3lbs LOWER than the last time I weighed in! woohoo. So i lost the 5lbs back down, and then some.

MORAL OF THE STORY lol - try to make it a daily habit to LOG LOG AND LOG SOME MORE - if you do it for 1 month, you should start viewing food differently - and then when you get a craving for something - you'll look at your #'s and see if it's worth it or not.

Also - feel free to add me - I will cuss food with you as the day is long - and also support you on that journey to birthday weightloss.
My birthday is March 16th - and I've got a dr's appt - hoping to come in lower than when i was last in 6 months ago - woohoo!

If I forbid myself from eating something it becomes all I can think about. I have to phase out of the need to eat it by not making it special. Let yourself have BK for dinner every now and again (note- not for second dinner, just dinner!) and LOG IT. Pretty soon it may no longer be the special thing you can't stop thinking about.

A side note- you mentioned feeling criticized by your family. I know for me, my overeating is often cause by the judgement I feel from my family. Its this weird twisted response to it, like I feel they should love me no matter my size and leave me alone so I want to eat out of spite just to show them that their judgements don't effect me and I don't need their approval. Backwards? Totally. Unhealthy? Absolutely. Overall unproductive? Definitely. But I would still always think....if I lost weight that's like saying THEY'VE won, like THEY'RE right....all the while I desperately wish I was thinner. I don't know, family relationships are complicated. In order to get past it I had to decide 100% I was doing it for me and me alone and haven't breathed ONE WORD of any of my new diet/ and exercise plans to my family. They won't know I've been training vigorously for a half marathon until I send them my finish line photo. I cut them out of it entirely and made it about me and me alone. Anyhoo, that's what worked for me, maybe it could help you too.

You have lost a seriously significant amount of weight and you WILL lose more if you keep at it. You are NOT a failure. Good luck!!

Consider speaking with a doctor about your hormones. Specifically someone who specializes in this.

Also, many people with similar issues have success with a low carb diet lifestyle. It's almost like the addiction gets switched off. It's worth a try!

Just a couple of things...

1.) don't think of this as "dieting" and depriving yourself of things you like. Fit it into your calorie goal and you'll be fine.

2.) consider a smaller caloric deficit for your goal. I see that you've done the standard 2 Lb per week, 1,200 calorie, most aggressive approach...not really the best approach for many as that goal has about an 800-1,000 calorie per day deficit from your maintenance level of calories in it. Just go slower...smaller deficit...you won't feel the need to binge so much.

3.) take baby steps towards changing your overall lifestyle...you don't have to do everything at once. When I first started, I made my "better decision for this week" every Sunday. I believe the first week was no sodas for the week...then, at least 4 servings of veg the next week, etc. Until ultimately, I was making better nutritional decisions 80-90% of the time and actually craving nutrient dense, "healthy" foods while treating myself to a little junk now and then. I know longer treat the word diet as a verb...I treat it as a noun.

4.) Try to change your perception of food as either good or bad...there's really no such thing...too much of anything is bad just as too little can be bad. Just meet your calorie and macro goals and you'll be fine.

5.) it's not a sprint...this is a marathon and you have to be in it to win it for the long haul. Everybody rides off the rails from time to time...you just have to get back on track when you do. Like my toddler says when he falls down and I ask him, "what do you do when you fall down"..."I get back up." We all fall down, we just have to dust it off and get back up.

I only do well with diets as long as I set small goals for myself! For instance, I started out with no sodas. Then, eventually went to very limited sugars. I ended with only fruits. This process I took one week at a time. Now, it doesn't bother me to do without, but I can "cave" and enjoy a diet Dr. Pepper, without all of the guilt or dwelling on it. I was very frustrated two weeks in though, because I had actually gained weight! Just remember, it takes time for your body to adjust to ANY changes you throw its way! Now, it's been two months and I have lost 17 pounds!

Nobody said it was easy.
Believe it or not skinny people have to work hard at their weight

I have no on/off switch to tell me to stop consuming food so have to limit myself through calorie counting and exercise.
Used to stop for six cheeseburgers on way home to lovingly prepared dinner but eventually decided to do something about it.

Need to eat and need to exercise if you want to eat more.
Plenty of support here.

Log everything
You can have a bad day you can have a bad week but no to two bad weeks in a row.

It can be done

Good science would have you consider the possibility that your "mental" addiction is actually physiological in origin. There is more and more research into addiction to substances, i.e., drugs, alcohol, food, and behaviors, i.e., gambling, pornography, and spending to mention a few. As some have indicated, you may do well with a support system like Over-eaters Anonymous. You might want to consider a therapists who specializes in mental health issues combined with addictive disease issues. Sometimes there can be an addiction AND psychological issues. They may or may not be related, but surely one feeds the other. If addiction were simply "mental'" then all folks would have to do is stop! That does not work. You cannot overcome addiction with will power any more than you can diabetes or the need for reading glasses. Good luck.