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

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!

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

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??

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).

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!

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!

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