[Amberkkski]

Anyone else have this problem? When I wasn't dieting I obsessed over what I could eat next and what would be for dinner as in mcdonalds or wendys and what I would order. Even on my bad binge days now ill be like oh I wonder what would taste good and eat something and have a stomach ache and just be so out of control ill keep eating because I want to taste it or I just don't care.

Even now that I try eat healthier I obsess over looking for recipes that are healthier and what im going to eat for breakfast and I watch the clock for when I can have my snacks. wondering if ill have enough points for an after dinner snack and if what im having for dinner is going to fill me up. Its like a sickness I cant get rid of. Just wonderings if anyone else is like that?

[IanG]

Yes. I never had obsessive thoughts about food before losing weight and now I think about healthy food a lot. It does get better though, I have found.

I would often spend time researching foods on the internet or spend time buying healthy foods. I would also build small stockpiles of the stuff I like to eat.

For me, I found these thoughts helpful as they helped me stay focused on my diet. It was definitely a thin line to walk though.

[Munchy]

I find meal planning to be slightly obsessive, but a good way to spend my time. If I look for recipes, batch cook, freeze, and plan around that, I'm setting up my entire family for success with healthy eating.

I don't cook during the week. It's a general rule I have and I almost never stray from that (for over 7 years!).

Having a plan in place keeps me sane and makes my family happy.

[CheesecakeBrownie]

I do this too... thinking about lunch during breakfast, thinking about what I can eat next. it`s a hard habit to break out of... I`ve been doing it forever.

[chubbysmall]

I can relate, but I also struggle with OCD habits across the board and can easily become obsessive about anything. All or nothing mentality thinkers raise your hands!

I find it best to meal plan out for a week, and actually cook mostly on Sunday or Wednesdays then eat the leftovers at work for lunches etc. I pretty much rotate between two breakfasts always. They say the habits of successful people are to minimize choices in general and this is intentional.

If you want to stop obsessing over food, move your focus elsewhere. Find a new hobby, learn a new skill (not food related), start a blog, etc. I am planning a wedding, so that's where all my obsessive energy is currently funneling.

[Amberkkski]

I do meal plan and I was good and did it during the week and would print out my recipes and grocery list on Friday and shop on Saturday now I have about a months work of recipes and shopping lists lol Then I start getting frustrated when I cant find new recipes. The other problem is I work for family and my Fathers brother in law works for herrs so we have literally a 5 shelf set up in the back of chips, cheese doodles, cookies and candy etc... so ill start thinking about a snickers and almost go nuts until I finally have one and its a downword spiral from there. Its draining really lol

[alaskanlaughter]

Originally Posted by Amberkkski

I do meal plan and I was good and did it during the week and would print out my recipes and grocery list on Friday and shop on Saturday now I have about a months work of recipes and shopping lists lol Then I start getting frustrated when I cant find new recipes. The other problem is I work for family and my Fathers brother in law works for herrs so we have literally a 5 shelf set up in the back of chips, cheese doodles, cookies and candy etc... so ill start thinking about a snickers and almost go nuts until I finally have one and its a downword spiral from there. Its draining really lol

it's exhausting to be thinking about food 24/7....my mind does that too...two things have helped me out 1) eating lower carb food choices that don't mess with my blood sugar as much and 2) i use 5htp, not every day, but most, and that helps get rid of the food thoughts

[Amberkkski]

ooo! I just looked up the 5htp and it sounds great! Ive actually been more stressed since I switched jobs in February so may help with that as well. What dosage do you take?

[Firecracker777]

Yes! By 10 am I am thinking about lunch and can't wait to eat it. Then after lunch I am like ok what can I snack on now...

[FluffyFat]

All or nothing mentality thinkers raise your hands!

Waving hand here. I agree with everything Chubbysmall said, actually.

Amber, you look so pretty in your avatar picture!

I get thinking about food all the time, too, and I hate it. Here's what really helps me;

Plan ahead. (As others have said)

Don't snack. Except perhaps before bed if it helps you sleep. If you limit snacks, you have more calories left for meals, and you give your body more of a chance to go into your fat reserves for fuel.

Limit your choices! This is a biggie for me that I learned from Dr. Oz. He suggests we eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day and alternate a few dinners that keep repeating week after week. It's what he does ( I remember he said he has a veggie sub for lunch every day.)

I do this, and it really settles my brain down. It has also given me a chance to fine tune that lunch and dinner so that I know exactly what works best to keep me from getting ravenous for the next meal while still being healthy and low cal.

If the foods we eat are healthy we don't need endless variety three times a day. We who have weight problems don't need to be reading recipes and shopping the supermarket all the time, it's self torture.

[Palestrina]

Oh absolutely. I used to think about food 24/7 and dieting would make it worse. I was either on a strict diet or a full on binge, no in betweens for me! It was one of the reasons I stopped dieting and started intuitive eating, because it promised to help me stop binging and stop obsessing about food. And luckily I have achieved both!

It's easier said than done but the key to stop obsessing about food is to allow yourself to eat anything you want. It sounds counter intuitive but that's what works for me and for anyone who does IE. If you notice the people around you, the people who have never dieted a day in their life are the people who eat anything they want and stay thin. We don't think to tap into their skills because we brush those people off as "lucky" or "naturally thin" or think that they have "fast metabolisms." That's all BS, they just know the real secret to being thin: stop obsessing about food, stop feeling guilty for everything you eat, stop monitoring yourself and stop dieting and then you can begin having a normal relationship with food.

Just so you know, I used to binge daily. I used to lie to my husband about running an errand, then I would sneak off to the drive through and buy enough food to feed 3 people, eat it secretly and dispose of it in a trashcan in some remote parking lot somewhere. Then I'd come home and eat dinner with my family. I used to hide food in my purse, closet, car, under the bed etc. I was a constant binger. And then I would go on a diet and even moderate restriction made me obsessive about calorie counting, eating, buying healthy food. There was no peace anywhere. Not to mention that most diets tell you have to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day which meant I had to eat every couple of hours. It's exhausting.

Now, I eat 2 meals and a snack every day. I had to delegate to my family to help me with cooking and food shopping because I can't stand to think about food more than 2 or 3 times a day. I can go several hours without thinking about food. I can feel the stirrings of hunger without panicking. I can sit down next to my husband while he eats a bag of chips without feeling the need to taste even ONE! I can pass on dessert without feeling deprived, or I can indulge without the slightest stirring of guilt.

I know I know, it sounds impossible and surely if you allow yourself to eat anything you want you'll bury yourself in a mountain of cheesecake. Yeah I thought so too and so did the all the people who first embarked on IE. But it didn't go like that. Among all the positive things that have happened that I listed above I am most surprised to see that I know eat less than I ever have before, have less cravings than ever, eat more nutritious food than I ever did while dieting, and enjoying fitness like a teenager! There are many diets, and many ways to lose weight (and most of them lead to regain anyway) But there is only ONE path to freedom from food, and that's actually freeing yourself from all guilt and all the rules. Seriously girlfriend, cross over this way and stop feeling crazy around food!

[rainbow84uk]

For me, trying out low-carb was genuinely life changing in this aspect: for the first time ever, I'm not obsessing about food. For as long as I can remember, I was constantly thinking about eating, whether what I could binge on next, or if I was dieting, when it would be time to eat again and what I was allowed to have.

Now I eat satisfying meals, don't get cravings, rarely snack and am never hungry. I honestly can't believe all that low-carb "nonsense" (as I imagined it) is actually true and working for me. This way of eating makes me feel incredibly stable and has completely stopped my interest in binging.

Unlike when I tried to restrict calories, now I don't feel like I have a limited time to diet as quickly as possible before I inevitably fail and fall back into bad habits. I'm taking my time now and if I have a day where I eat more carbs, I'm relaxed enough to just have a better day tomorow - I know that long-term, I'm still losing weight and getting healthier. I've never felt so in control before and I absolutely love it!

[Terra1984]

I dont have a problem with binges but I do think and talk about food all of the time, Its because I love food, My mom says I need to get a handle on it.

[chubbysmall]

Originally Posted by rainbow84uk

For me, trying out low-carb was genuinely life changing in this aspect: for the first time ever, I'm not obsessing about food. For as long as I can remember, I was constantly thinking about eating, whether what I could binge on next, or if I was dieting, when it would be time to eat again and what I was allowed to have.

Yes, I have found that going through a brief "attack" period of no carbs/sugar greatly helps to cleanse your body of those cravings. I have found that the carb slope is slippery because your insulin levels/sugar greatly drive most cravings. After a week or two I start adding back in low glycemic carbs slowly and it really helps.

I understand the concept of "eat when your hungry" but what if you are always hungry because of carbs and sugars that are driving it.

[Palestrina]

Originally Posted by chubbysmall

I understand the concept of "eat when your hungry" but what if you are always hungry because of carbs and sugars that are driving it.

The reason low carb "diets" never worked for me is because I held on to the belief that food was the problem. But food wasn't my problem, I was my problem. My obsessive thinking about food was my problem. I could hold off on carbs for a period of time, a week or a month or even a few months, but inevitably I would go back to binging on carbs specifically. The feeling of deprivation and restriction would eventually cause me to cave in, especially under emotional circumstances. By regarding food as good versus bad it left me feeling guilty for eating and guilt usually always leads to binges for me.

If I eat a bowlful of cereal in the morning you bet your life I'll feel hungry all day. But that's not because carbs are bad, it's because I didn't give my body what it really needed to sustain me throughout the morning and into lunch. Instead of giving up something that I like I eat it in moderation and I pair it with much needed protein and veggies or fruit. When I was a dieter I was always chasing the low carb lifestyle. Now that I'm more in tune with what my body needs rather than what my mind wants to eat I eat carbs in a way that sate me. I'm more low carb now than I ever was when I was trying to control my carb intake. When people observe how I eat I am often asked if I am gluten free or low carbing. And I tell them the truth which is no, I'm not a low carber but I find that my body feels better when I eat a potato instead of bread, or scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of cereal. I most often pass on the bread basket and I avoid sandwiches. The good thing now is that the desire to do so does not stem from a philosophy about food because I really don't disallow myself to not eat carbs - it comes from asking my bod "what do you really want to eat right now?" and not arguing or trying to control its needs. Learn to trust what your body needs and after a while it will start to trust you and will stop asking you to feed it crap.