I hope I don’t sound crazy! Today is my first full day towards my lifestyle change. I am realizing why I have such a hard time dieting!
I am thinking about food way to much! Obsessed! Crazy---- my mouth is watering all day!
How do I change my mind set from “the next meal” to just fueling my body?
I am blown away at my lack of self control and even after eating I am worried about tomorrows’ meals!
PLEASE HELP!!!

Deep breath now... relax... that's good, just calm down a bit...

It's your first day. Of course you are obsessed. This will change the longer you stay with your plan. Really! It will change. Especially if the plan you're following is a healthy, nutritious way to lose. Lots and lots of 3FC members go through these feelings when they first begin a weight loss program. It's normal, especially if you weren't used to paying attention to foods in the past.

What plan are you following, btw?

Hang on! It will get easier!

Jay

You know what has helped me ... if I am thinking about food, then I channel it in a positive way.

Start thinking about your eating plan for the rest of the week.
Do recipe searches on line for low-cal or on-plan recipes.
Look up the calorie and fat counts of your favorite foods (this one will scare you into eating right! )
Make shopping list of healthy foods that you love.

It's what I do when I get obsessed. (For example, DH had pizza for himself tonight - so I spent about 45 mins looking up low-cal pizza recipes on Cooking Light! )

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When I feel obsessed about food all day, I eat all day, but in a good way. I always make sure the house is stocked with my favorite, low-calorie, nutritious snacks, and I eat something every hour or two. That way I know I'll never have to go too long without eating. Of course, this would depend on your plan. I follow my own plan (whateva, I do what I want!), so I'm very flexible.

I feel the exact same way. I haven't actually started my diet yet because I am unsure which one would best fit my lifestyle. However, I think about food, it seems like every minute of the day. I just keep telling myself that I eat to live and not live to eat. I think of all the health concerns that comes with poor nutrition. Now if I can only figure out what to do. I really wish I could assist you but I'm in the same boat. If you row on the left, I'll row on the right and hopefully we will both get there!

I totally know how you feel! I stay home with my son during the week and that is all I think about. I have realized I need to find things to do to keep me busy so i dont' think about food. I have no problem on the weekends while I'm at work. Maybe if you found some activities to take up your time and keep you busy you could overcome the obsession. I'm going to try it. Good Luck!

No offense to anybody who found success on WW, but the whole points or calorie counting doesn't work for me for that very reason. I found I am always thinking about food. It really is true, different things work for different types of people. I know many say to plan all your meals out etc but for me that means I'm obsessing about food all the time. For me what works is to concentrate only on the upcoming meal and then try to put food out of my mind until the next time it's time to eat. The first week was agony, growling stomach all the time. It's only been about 2 1/2 weeks and now I'm automatically eating only about 1/3 of restaurant meals and taking the rest home and find my appetite has diminished quite a lot.

Best of luck on whichever way you are able to lose!

I have been at it for about 2 weeks and I count calories. I am constantly talking and thinking about food, and I am still hungry (though not as bad as I was in the beginning) but my mind set has changed. I think, oh my, XXXXX sounds good, then when I say no and eat something healthy I do a little happy dance. I battle with myself every day but I feel so much better! I have lost 5lbs in two week and it is SO SO SO worth it.

I know how you feel... I can only imagine the things I could accomplish if I focused that energy into something else... It gets easier the more you do it. Can you take a Yoga class or meditate? Something to relax you and refocus your attention?

I think about food all the time, I definitely live to eat, look forward to meals, love eating, love food AND I lost 70 lbs and kept it off for 3 years.

In my opinion, if you want to eat well and live a healthy life style, you have to think about food more than a "regular" person. I just don't think a person can eat well without a lot of planning - healthy food/snacks don't happen by accident.