I have noticed over the last year that I don't seem to be able to stop obsessing (even when I am perfectly full) until I eat a certain food, that food being something that I know I shouldn't be eating. I will have my nice, lean, broiled fish for lunch - which I really enjoy and which fills me up - but I can't stop thinking about food until I have half of a peanut butter sandwich. It's almost as if I can't be happy with what I've eaten until I eat something that I know I shouldn't.

Now, keep in mind, that certain food used to be a Coke & a Twix bar and it now is something much better (although still not really good), so I am making strides but it worries me that my head can't seem to let me rest on the eating front until I partake of something that I feel like I shouldn't.

Am I the only one that feels this way? Should I make plain, raw, broccoli off limits and try to convince myself that I'm being bad when I eat it for desert? Am I crazy?

Hi Julia.

Possible its your blood sugar going to low before you eat that heathy meal.
Try and eat smaller and more frequent meals. Maybe some healty grains at the meal and some olive oil on the veggies. I am trying to control after dinner eating. Some stratergies I am using are listening to music, do some knitting (new skill for me),reading, sitting in a different seat(no TV so no snacking), telling myself no, no, no...The music is really a good tip, it is a reward for me and comfort so I don't need that nightly food hug. It is also easy, and always available. Some solutions I use like a hot bath are not always do able.
Looking forward other's ideas.

I don't have any answers to this, Julia, except to tell you that you aren't alone. I'm obsessing far more over food now than I ever did when I was fat. I have the same problem. I'll have eating fine all day, for days, but in the back of my mind I've been thinking about peanut m&m's or trail mix. Sooner or later, I break down and buy a BIG bag and eat until it's gone. Then I'm fine for a while again. For me, adding a little treat a day doesn't work at all.

Two weeks ago I tried to stop this by adding a diet ice tea a day- nice and sweet, different from my usual water, water, water. The only result was headaches from the aspartame. Now I have 2 cases of diet snapple that no one will drink.

Mel

Sounds familiar! Part of my problem was that I OVER planned my meals. I'd have this set in stone menu that I would religiously adhere to. The problem was that by the time the next day's breakfast, lunch, or dinner rolled around I sometimes wasn't in the mood for what I had planned. Like you, I would eat it and be full - but not satisfied. I still plan my menus but I keep them flexible. I always have an alternate that is easily thrown together just in case something on my menu doesn't appeal to me. Even when I vary my menus their nutritional make up is similar from day to day so it didn't take long to build up a few comparable back ups for any given meal. I put a lot of thought into what I REALLY want before I start making my meals and more often than not I'm perfectly happy when I'm done eating. Of course, this works for me because I am a stay at home mom with eating options that someone who has to pack a lunch to take to work might not have.

Another thing that I find is that if I label foods "bad" or "something I shouldn't have" I want it that much more. It is like being determined to date the guy your mother says you are forbidden to see. For me, anyway. So, there is nothing that I CAN'T have. Obviously, there are foods that I know could spell disaster for me and so I keep them out of the house. But, mentally, I'm not telling myself that I can't have it if I really want it or that I shouldn't have it. I'm just being cautious. It helps me to control the situation but keeps me from feeling "guilty" if I ever make the decision to allow myself to indulge.

Think about it, what is more damaging - a half of a peanut butter sandwich that you really enjoy, or worrying and obsessing over a half of a peanut butter sandwich that you really enjoy (or don't enjoy for all the obsessing and worrying)?

Arghhh, I wish it were something physical, but it is completely in my head. It seems to be mostly in the afternoon. I eat breakfast around 9.30 and then have lunch around 12 - usually before I even start to feel the least bit hungry. As soon as I am through with lunch I start to obsess over when I can eat my peanut butter and I have to almost chain myself to my desk chair to keep from getting it. I usually hold out until about 2.30 but for that entire 2 hours I am constantly thinking about food.
That's why I'm considering telling myself how truly horrible it is to eat broccoli
ME THREE (I guess I just ate it when I wanted it so no obsessing was necessary ) I'm so glad it isn't just me.

Right after a fulfilling supper I would still look and want something to eat. I would roam the kitchen as I am putting away the dishes and nibble. I've stopped this simply by leaving the kitchen. I make my next morning's coffee then leave, I make my coffee because if I don't and go back in at 10pm or so before bed I will start eating again. So the kitchen is OFF limits for me after supper. The unfortunate thing is that DH cleans the kitchen but he's gotten used to it now and he doesn't complain. After I leave the kitchen I come here and post... Some nights I don't even leave the upstairs area because I don't want to go near the kitchen... Oh, the mind games and tricks we must play!!

I'm with all the previous posts...It's all in our head! I sit around a boring office all day and just think of the millions of things I could be eating, or I make shopping lists, or search for recipes or surf this site and others for food tips...I feel obsessed 90% of the time too. And I get cravings like no other. I would say that small improvements made are better than none and if you have to have 1/2 a PB on bread, then do it. It's a better dessert than a piece of cheesecake! Youve come a long way from a coke and a twix. All I would say is wait at least 30 minutes after your meal to see if you are still hungry, cuz maybe youre not...but if you need to eat something else to feel full then do it. Cuz Hunger pains are the worst!

For me, that happens when I don't have enough fat. I've been tracking things in fitDay and on days when I don't get enough fat I crave Chocolate/PB/chips. Keeping almonds or peanuts on hand has helped, as well as putting canola oil in my oatmeal in the morning, and on my veggies, and eating my applesauce with flaxseed meal.

Just thought I'd share what works for me. It seems that 25% is my magic point: 25-35% is enough fat, less means I eat anything in sight!

-Amy

p.s. Ooh! And eating my carrots with 1 Tbsp of peanut butter! Tasty and fills my empty spot.

I'm sort of that way too Amy when I go too low fat or too low carb I start to get cravings.