Obsessed with food. How do I take control? :(

ebicon
ebicon Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My life revolves around food. Every morning I wake up, eat breakfast, log my calories, and spend the next couple of hours counting down the minutes to my next meal. And that continues throughout the day, to the point where my head is perpetually filled with thoughts of food and calories.

The irony of it all is that I have a tub of cookie dough ice cream in front of me as I type this. I know I've already exceeded my daily calories, I know I'm not hungry, but I'm enjoying it so much that I just crush those thoughts to the back of my mind. I'm telling myself that tomorrow will be different. The thing is though, I've told myself the same thing every night for the past two weeks. I start off the day healthy, but by 8 PM I've gone over 2000 calories.

I'm currently at a healthy weight (5'4 and 119 lbs) but I'm terrified that it won't stay that way if I carry on like I am. I have an extremely negative body image and my appearance (body and face) is the only thing that I obsess about more than food.

Sometimes my eating habits go in the complete opposite direction. Weeks of eating like crap leads to weeks of deprivation. I limit myself to 800 calories a day and cut out all foods except for fruit and vegetables. At first I feel powerful and in control, but eventually I get bored, lose willpower and eat a bag of chips. The next day, I eat two bags of chips. By the end of the week, I'm not eating vegetables at all, just junk.

I can't seem to just eat normally. It's either an 800 calorie diet of raw fruit and vegetables, or a chaotic diet of junk and guilt.
I feel disgusted with myself and angry that I've allowed myself to build such an unhealthy relationship with food and I don't know what to do anymore. I''m petrified of gaining weight but seriously lacking in self control.

Replies

  • RobynUnfiltered
    RobynUnfiltered Posts: 62 Member
    Sounds like you have some issues with your eating, maybe you should talk to someone professional . I only say this because you seem worried, not trying to be harsh. best of luck to you!
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    You can take control! I've been in a similar boat but what has worked for me is calorie cycling and intermittent fasting. I love food a lot!! For my calorie cycling I basically have my weekly calories then have a low day and a high day. It balances out and helps me because some days I want to eat more than others. Maybe that could help you? I also do intermittent fasting where for the most part I try to wait to have breakfast until at least 1pm. Then I have more calories for later in the day. I am more satisfied with bigger meals. Another thing that helps is to pre-log your day either the day before or the morning so you see what your day will look like and you can even fit things you're craving while making sure you don't go over and get some decent protein fat and carbs.


    You just have to find what works best for you. Its all trial and error. You can do it!!
  • seamonsterr
    seamonsterr Posts: 30
    I love food as well....but I'm in pretty good shape. I've learned to keep myself full of healthy natural whole foods and dont allow my body to get hungry and start controlling my mind.

    Will power involves mind AND body. The hungrier you get, the more likely you are to forget your weight loss goals and eat junk. If I dont have a bunch of fruits and veggies by 11 AM, I'm going to a drive through lol
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Probably shouldn't keep a whole tub of icecream in the house if you know you'll be tempted to eat it all, that sort of thing. I think that's a small change you can make and see how it works out. You're in great company when it comes to not being able to control yourself around certain food items. It's perfectly normal!
  • Mojoman02
    Mojoman02 Posts: 146 Member
    Probably shouldn't keep a whole tub of icecream in the house if you know you'll be tempted to eat it all, that sort of thing. I think that's a small change you can make and see how it works out. You're in great company when it comes to not being able to control yourself around certain food items. It's perfectly normal!


    Excellent advice here! Why keep those temptations around??
  • 10x1014
    10x1014 Posts: 18
    If I let myself I will do the same thing minus the 800 calorie days. I started off thin but those bad habits helped me get to where I am now. It is something that you need to learn how to manage. If that means seeking out a professional that can help you understand why you have this behavior then that's what you should do. It's so much easier to admit you have a problem with food and seek help with it than it is to correct the damage you've done or could do to your body.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    when diet becomes a main focus of your life you think about it so much that you fail.. it need to just be what you do.. dont think about it... u need more things to occupy your time so you dont dwell on your goals

    read this

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/marshmallow-test.html

    get it?
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Planning. Spend one day absolutely obsessed and plan your meals for the week and write them down. Prep and have them ready to go in the fridge or freezer. You can even pre log everything. Now there is very little to obsess about since everything is prepped and planned.
  • ejs192
    ejs192 Posts: 4 Member
    Consider eating more early in the day. I think there's a temptation to eat super-light breakfast and lunch in order to save up calories for evening, and then by dinner you're starving and totally out of willpower, and you end up eating more food, and less-healthy food, than you otherwise might. Instead, try a few days of eating a solid breakfast, a mid-morning snack if you're hungry, and a substantial lunch. Choose healthy foods - the idea is to nourish your body with whole grains, lean protein, fruits and veggies, and a bit of healthy fat. Then, when you want a treat in the late afternoon or after dinner, you won't be starving, so you'll be more satisfied by a small serving of whatever it is you're craving. (I know, a pint of ice cream will always be better than a small dish... but it's a lot easier to put down the spoon if you've had a filling dinner before the small dish).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,268 Member
    There's more going on here than food. Maybe talk with a councilor or health professional.
  • jill604
    jill604 Posts: 21 Member
    This is so true! When I was student teaching I lost 35 pounds and didn't eat nearly as much because I was constantly busy with things and not thinking of eating. Now that I am teaching and living on my own I try to really stay at school to get things done instead of bringing work home so I can stay away from my kitchen and having a set bedtime helps as well because then I'm not snacking late at night. I get hungry the most at 4p.m. everyday so if I can keep myself busy and eat dinner around 5:30 bed around 9:00 (and I read for about 30 minutes so really it's 9:30) then I am good to go. Like others have said you have to find what works for you!
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Not being smart, rude, or sarcastic.... but, you need help if your life revolves around.... NUMBERS.

    You don't have to eat 3-4-5 times a day like every magazine says.
  • Samuraiko
    Samuraiko Posts: 180 Member
    I know what you mean... I'm SLOWLY overcoming it. How I do it may not work for you, but hey, you're welcome to try.

    1) Remove temptation. If I had a half-gallon of ice cream in the house, I'd be staring at the freezer all day going, "I know you're in there... you are taunting me..." Same thing goes for soda. When I started the diet, all that sort of stuff went. If I keep snacks in the house, they're the 100-calorie packs. And given that I am sometimes just too damn lazy to get in the car and go somewhere for snacks, I eventually get past the craving.

    2) Crawl, walk, run. I started with simple changes to prove I had the willpower for bigger changes. (I think the only uber-change was "no soda." Oh Gods, was that one hard.) Stopping after finishing 80% of what was on my plate. Vegetables instead of potatoes. Cups of soup instead of bowls. Once those became habit, I tried taking them to the next level.

    3) If you must eat, go for quality. I looooooove chocolate. However, I prefer GOOD chocolate. So when I am desperately craving it, I will get a bar of Lindt chocolate (or their truffles). I will let myself have a little bit, and I savor every bite. This reaffirms I am not punishing myself, I am not depriving myself - I am focusing on ENJOYING it, while exercising the discipline that I will stop after 1/4 the bar. And I save the rest.

    4) Plan your meals. A lot of other folks have mentioned this, and I totally agree. If I know I'm going to be having a meal that's more calorie-intensive, I make breakfast and lunch lighter. And I don't grouse about it because I know for dinner, I'm having something I enjoy and I want. And you can have a lot of fun finding recipes you like that are low-calorie. There are a LOT of threads here on MFP for that (including two just for slow cookers). Plan. Scheme. Count your calories like you're plotting how to crack a safe. It makes life a lot easier.

    5) So what happens if you overindulge? No problem. Hello, exercise. Get out and walk. Just last night, I was hungrier than I thought I'd be at dinner so I went over my daily calories. Once I got home, I gave myself a bit to digest, then pulled up Sworkit on my phone and got in a quick 10-minute workout to balance it out. On the flip side, if you know you're going to be eating more heavily at some function or whatever, get in your workout earlier, and just resolve to enjoy yourself that night. (That's how I survived Christmas.)

    6) Talk to a counselor. Psychological dependence on food is nothing to really sneeze at. And don't look at it as "oh my God, what's wrong with me?" Look at it as educating yourself. No sense in subconsciously sabotaging your genuinely sincere efforts. If you're giving your body its long-deserved tune-up, do the same for your mind. Happy and healthy go together more often than not. :)

    7) Stifle the craving. For me, I use water and/or Quaker Rice Cakes. If I am absolutely starving, but lunch isn't for another hour and a half, I drink a large glass of ice water. If I need something to gnaw on, I munch on a rice cake. (I prefer the Caramel Corn ones - 50 calories for crunch and I like them.) The water tends to shut up my stomach, and at the risk of TMI, the distraction of needing to use the bathroom shortly afterward derails the "I want lunch" thinking.

    Does this work? Well, since Oct 1st, 2013, I'm down 30lbs. And I don't really exercise much.

    Hope this helps! :)
  • Macstraw
    Macstraw Posts: 896 Member
    when diet becomes a main focus of your life you think about it so much that you fail.. it need to just be what you do.. dont think about it... u need more things to occupy your time so you dont dwell on your goals

    read this

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/marshmallow-test.html

    get it?

    ^This - the problem (from experience) is allowing food to overwhelm your thoughts. One of the things that has helped me, although it took time to really get there, is to remind myself when I started thinking about it between meals that I can think about the next meal/snack when it's time to prepare/eat it. Try to make an eating plan where you know when you'll eat & pretty much what you'll have. Instead of depriving yourself of the things you enjoy (like the ice cream), build it into your meal planning for the day so that you control the portion & fit it into your calorie planning. Take the serving you've allowed for & put the container away. The biggest change that helped me was to take the portion & put the container away, it got to be pretty easy to do fairly quickly.....

    My other thought is that you are at a decent weight, instead of focusing on calories and/or weight gain, maybe tweak your planning more toward body composition. The weight lifters on here could speak more on that, but you would be able to eat more to maintain your weight while sculpting more. An upside to that is the time spent lifting/exercising would occupy your mind & you wouldn't be dwelling on the next meal.......

    Best of luck to you, I hope you have great success in accomplishing what you want......
  • Olivia
    Olivia Posts: 10,137 MFP Staff
    Dear Posters,

    I wanted to provide a brief explanation for locking this topic.

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  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I agree that your obsessive thoughts and compulsions are something that you need to see a professional about. I used to be obsessed with food until I was diagnosed with GAD and depression and appropriately treated. Food is now a necessity and (very occasionally) a comfort thing. But no longer an obsession.

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