Still obsessed with food

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Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've always loved food, but I used to just eat whatever I wanted when I wanted... pretty much all my life. No set meal times, I was hungry or was craving something, I'd just have it. So I've always pretty much been a snacker. Now that I can't eat as much... I just think about food all the time. It's not boredom (I could be watching my favorite tv show or reading a book I've been waiting for for months, but my mind is making plans about my breakfast tomorrow), it's not emotional eating... I just have craving after craving and can't stop obsessing over the next thing I'm going to eat. It's driving me nuts!

Is anyone else in this situation and do you have any tip? I'm doing IIFYM (a bit loosely) and I'm definitely not depriving myself, but the typical day is like this... I wake up, wait until I'm hungry to have breakfast... have breakfast. Then it starts... I start craving something. I'm not hungry but I keep thinking about it... so I wait a bit then I'll have it... then 30 minutes later, I crave something else... and it just doesn't stop. I'm not always hungry when that happens, but I just can't stop thinking about it until I have it. I end up with 200 calories left for dinner or something, and some days I'm still hungry after (from eating most of my calories before 2pm, no doubt) and end up going over. Tonight at 4.30pm I had that huge urge to just eat something, after obsessing for 30 minutes about what I'd have for dinner, so I made myself dinner, even though I wasn't really that hungry, just so I'd stop thinking about it!

I try to keep busy but I'm a stay at home mom, so it's not always easy. Sometimes cooking something else helps, I go for a walk when I can, but it's not always possible... As I said, watching a show or reading only helps so much...

It's just making me miserable. Ideas? I mentioned seeing a therapist to my husband and he kinda laughed at me (plus I'm not sure a therapist would really help?).

Replies

  • sbrownallison
    sbrownallison Posts: 314 Member
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    I've been struggling with this, too, at times. With me, it's an after-dinner thing. I've eaten well all day, had dinner, then begin to think about more food. I know it's not true hunger; it's more of a boredom, emotional kind of thing. I got a book this week called The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal that I'm hoping will help me gain insight about this and give me some strategies. With me, once this "feeling" sets in, it is almost insurmountable no matter what I do to distract myself. There are books and articles about emotional eating, so I'd encourage you to investigate some of these to see if they might help. Good luck, and if you find any good tips, please let us know, as I know there are many, many MFPers who share this challenge...
  • orangeskiesinlove
    orangeskiesinlove Posts: 49 Member
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    Sounds like your on a slippery slope hun. May I ask how many calories your daily limit is? If you would prefer to PM me please do :) We can talk it out and find a away to fix it :)
    I suffered from an eating disorder for 9 years, I know the struggle of constantly having food on your mind, I missed out on a lot of things ending up failing school and dropping out of college.
    But now I am ALOT better :) It's natural to think about food when your are dieting, just not obsessively, BUT it is GREAT! than you realize your beginning to have a problem.

    Come chat? :) x
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    My goal is 1600, but I'm close to maintenance so I let myself go over a couple days a week (my maintenance is 2000 so it's still a pretty big deficit, but it's to make up for the days I go over).

    I did manage to stay under my goal today... somehow, lol.
  • ElyseL1
    ElyseL1 Posts: 504 Member
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    I think what im going to cook days in advance but i think its more because cooking is a hobby to me. Maybe if you tried to switch it into something positive like making your favorite recipes lighter it would help some?
  • UnicornAmanda
    UnicornAmanda Posts: 294 Member
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    Feel free to message me sometime. I go through the same exact thing.
  • PlaysLikeAGirl
    PlaysLikeAGirl Posts: 22 Member
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    After losing about 45 pounds and hitting a plateau, I began noticing this exact same problem. I will obsess about a food until I break down. I keep my cupboards pretty bare because I know if there's something in there, I'll just obsess about it until I eat it.

    I've since sought out professional help for obsessive thoughts and other serious addictive behavioral issues. orange is right, it's a slippery slope =/
  • millerbride09
    millerbride09 Posts: 1
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    I just want to say that your not alone. I'm actually on my second weight loss journey after gaining all my weight back with my two beautiful babies. I think about food now more than ever I think BECAUSE I'm a stay at home Mum. Before I was a Mum I didn't have to think about food unless I was going to be the one eating it. I didn't have to have a family meal ready 3 times a day (we're lucky...even though hubby is military he still manages to eat 3 meals with us most of the time as long as he's not deployed). I didn't have to keep tempting foods in the house. NOW however I think about food ALL THE TIME. Crackers and cheese are a big temptation for me but also one of my kids favorite snacks so almost every day that alone gets me. That sadly is just the tip of the iceburg lol! Hopefully someone has some tips because this is just about killing me already

    As for a therepist, you'd be surprised how much they can help! I saw one during my first weight loss journey because of some other stuff and she helped me a LOT. Turns out even my obsessing is actually emotion driven. Any emotion (happy, sad, bored) causes me to want to eat so we worked a lot on changing my self talk and self control :-) Good luck!
  • orangeskiesinlove
    orangeskiesinlove Posts: 49 Member
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    My goal is 1600, but I'm close to maintenance so I let myself go over a couple days a week (my maintenance is 2000 so it's still a pretty big deficit, but it's to make up for the days I go over).

    I did manage to stay under my goal today... somehow, lol.

    Reasonable goal :) What type of foods are you eating?

    Caffeine, sugar, stress and lack of sleep, can all increase your appetite.

    You might want to try making sure your diet is balanced, not too low in carbs, protein and good fats as these all fill you up and suppress your appetite after every meal/snack.

    If your still feeling like snacking try cooking for others and chewing gum as the smell of food and the chewing tricks your brain into thinking it's eating. I made my neighbors banana bread today (They have just had a new baby)

    If your stomachs rumbling after all this, drink some water and eat. Never starve yourself.

    I'm a grazer too! I have loads of small Tupperware boxes in my fridge full of 30, 50, 80 and 100 calorie snack pots for whatever I'm craving. Plus you can all stuff your face with a low calorie high fiber salad!

    Now you've dealt with the physical desires the mental desires are harder to combat, Try to STOP calling your food 'pet' names. It's not a treat or a goody, yumm yums or any other thing you may call it. It's food, that's it.

    Also, you need to realize, food is not a reward, it's not and enemy either. It's nutrition to keep you living. You need to disconnect your feelings from it. No more rewarding yourself or others with food.

    And last of all, when you do eat food. Savor it. Your going to crave more junky snack food if your eating the same bland food you don't like very much.

    Hope this all makes sense :)
  • GregMurphy01
    GregMurphy01 Posts: 2
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    I know that there is not a " one shoe fits all " solution, but what has worked for me in a couple of different situations is water. Whenever I feel hungry I drink water and that feeling goes away, also I eat when I'm not hungry, it helps to keep the portions sizes correct and will keep from feeling like your starving yourself.

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