It's really starting to wear on me. How do I stop it

When somebody has lost as much weight as you have, her body is likely secreting a hormone called ghrelin. Go Google that and read up on it. What it does is it sort of turns on the "I'm starving" reflex in your body and does as you are saying, makes you obsess about food until you gain the weight back.

One thing that really helps me a lot - and you don't have to be much of a cook to do this - is to keep a big pot of really healthy soup, usually vegetable, in my fridge at all times. Any time I am REALLY hungry, as opposed to "my wouldnt a donut be good," I can zap a cup of that soup in the microwave and that will eliminate the starving feeling 9 times out of 10. Guilt free.

Good luck and hang in there. It gets better.

Please research the terms 'satiety' and 'umami'.
Some foods are naturally more satisfying,
and will keep you from feeling psychologically hungry.
Another good research topic is
'cravings and food allergies'.
Cue the music : The More You Know!"

Best wishes!

Are you sure you're not really hungry? I mean, some of it might be boredom/psychological/something, but you're only netting 1200-something calories a day for at least the last week (that's as far back as I looked) and I don't know your stats, but I'd guess that you're probably eating less than you really need and that's what's making you obsessive about food.

It's great that you have been successful to the degree you have at your age - fantastic job! I began to have weight issues at your age, after being a very normal-sized kid and teenager. I wish I had done what I'm doing now way back then.

As a guy - with two daughters a bit older than you - I'm obviously NOT going to have the same challenges/experiences you'll have as a young woman. I can tell you this - it will be a life-long endeavor, this dealing with eating. I don't say that to discourage you - I firmly believe you can win out over the thoughts, doubts, obsessions!

What I do think is worth sharing, however, as hard as it seems now, is that it will only get harder - IF you let go and return to your prior patterns. NOW is the best time to conquer the issue - it will never get any easier. Whether you're now fighting boredom, feeling deprived, dealing with depression - you've done the hardest part in losing the weight. This is now the next phase of your battle - take it on with the same passion and dedication that made your first phase so successful!

I know the feeling where FOOD is your constant thought! It's a necessary part of our lives and can have a powerful influence over us. The thing that I think is helping me most at this point (I'm down 50 pounds, but that's only 1/4 of what I want/need to lose) is CONSTANTLY telling myself that food is "fuel". I used it as a reward, to celebrate, to gain pleasure, etc., for so long, I've had to almost re-program my brain as to what food even is. After 6 months, I'm just now beginning to find my every waking moment isn't just about food.

But that hasn't happened by trying to distract myself - although keeping myself busy and occupied is very important. I've had to REPLACE one pattern of thinking for another. Trying NOT to think about something is almost impossible. You need to give yourself something to replace that thought with, and while watching a movie or reading a book can temporarily divert your attention, you need to actually put another thought in the vacuum you're trying to fill, or the original thought will just come back. For me, that has been redefining what food is. I'm not sure I can explain it any better than that. I wish you the best!

Go talk to a therapist.

This was my problem when I first stared counting calories and everyone said eat lots of small meals. I'd plan out my food ahead of time so I knew what I could have for a snack and how much and it all looked great on paper but I was hungry all the time. Just like you said -- maybe I had just eaten, but I was already wondering how long it was until I could eat again.

The small meals thing is supposedly to prevent insulin spikes. I don't buy into that theory or how it apparently helps fat loss.

The best way to get rid of a bad thought is to replace it with a good one. Change your focus to something else and you can shift your obsession to something else.

Even when I was over weight I would eat when I was hungry.
I wouldn't worry about when my next meals coming.

Blah.

If you're not overweight anymore, why aren't you eating when you're hungry?

You won't answer this and you pre-plan your meals despite not dieting. Maybe it's time to start eating like a normal person-- don't pre-plan, don't log, eat when you're hungry. Obsessing about food could be caused by obsessing about food, y'know? It is possible to maintain your weight without obsessing and counting and pre-planning.

Have you tried increasing your caloric intake? The closer you get to goal, the closer you should be eating to your TDEE. Maybe it's your body trying to tell you something.

Not saying this is the issue, but it might be worth a shot.

I know I'm eating too few calories since I'm close to goal and I've been bumping it up 10 - 20 calories a day.
But. I'm usually not hungry when I'm craving food anyway. Donno.

It looks like your goal is 1250 a day? That's quite low. It may be as simple as increasing your cals a bit. A bit more than you have already.

You've been under maintenance for how long now? That's bound to make you think about food more than when you'll get to eat more That's why I hate having to have a deficit, lol.

Even 150-200 calories a day makes a huge difference to my body with its hunger signals. It's kinda crazy that way since lots of folks don't have that happen, but it's true

You say you aren't hungry, but you might be, I expect. You are eating so close to your BMR that I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't just plain hungry.

To play with the hormone signals, I think I'd have at least one day a week at maintenance (for your goal weight is fine since you are so close). Honestly, I think I'd just move on to goal weight maintenance levels overall if I were you. But you can cycle it instead of slowly adding a few calories daily to move it up, and you'll feel better, I think.

The speed of a 're-feed day' helping is very fast, so that's the good part. If I eat a little bit above maintenance one day a week, I'm so not hungry after that my weekly calorie averages have actually gone down by a nice amount. I'm just not hungry, which is an awesome thing for me, lol! Try it! You'll know quickly if it helps or not

Been losing now for almost a year.
I have a significant amount of belly fat to still cut down...otherwise I would switch

I think you need to switch to body composition, rather than weight loss. If you've still got "belly fat", but you're at a normal weight, you just need to tone up a bit. Forget cardio, you need yoga or pilates, or something of that sort. Something that will strengthen your core.

I tried the fasting, didn't work for me. Got severe headaches and dizziness, was worried about driving. Maybe you have to do it when you are able to stay home.