Anyone else have this problem? I haven't dieted in some time, I've been eating when hungry, stopping when full, but I think my past dieting and food obsession has ruined me forever. My body is well fed, so naturally, you would think my mind would catch up as well. But years later, and it has not. Food is still on my mind daily; HOURLY even when I am not hungry and just ate. I've tried the distraction of friends and hobbies, but nothing works and I don't want to be dependent on these things for my sanity.
The thoughts of food make me want to eat more, make me crave the hunger signal so I can have an excuse to eat.
It's not normal and it's disgusting to me. This is no way to live - having a schedule and day revolving around food.
I used to be normal and remember what it was like. I was normal weight, never thought about food except when hungry, and had a real life. Food was just food. I don't know if I'll ever be that way again. I feel ruined forever because of my little trip into diet land. I will never see a shrink, because they will try to say I have emotional problems and that's why I can't stop dealing with food and that is b.s.
Anyone else have such all consuming food thoughts?
I'm only 24 and I feel like I am wasting my life with such a pathetic obsession. And it is pathetic. If I could walk outside of myself, I'd slap myself for being so vain.
Last edited by QuarterLife88; 09-18-2012 at 08:48 PM.
Food was and remains my obsession. I try to find healthy ways to channel it --cooking, locavore shopping, vegetable gardening, government food policy, sustainable agriculture. I assume that a substance that I abused but nevertheless need to consume to survive is never going to have a place in my life that feels "normal." So, I'll find a way to live with that. There are worse things that people live with.
Yes. I think it's because I don't have much to do. I also worry about calories, so I try to plan out in my head what I'm going to eat the rest of the day.
I know exactly what you mean! For as long as i can remember, I've always wanted to be a little thinner. But I've never thought about food this often throughout the day! A couple months ago I started a diet that, in hindsight, was probably not very healthy. It was a very calorie restricted diet with no sugar, fat or carbs. I've since been off it, without having success, but now cannot seem to stop thinking about food. Instead of thinking about which foods are healthy, some days I begin to think that no food is "healthy" and I'd be better off without any of it. Obviously I know thats not right but I feel like food is controlling my brain. I'll start planning my next meal while still eating the first. I know I just have to force myself not to act on the "wrong" thoughts and make it a habit before it becomes an ED. Maybe through our actions we can train our thoughts...
These thoughts of food that eventually lead to an obsession that were induced by dieting reminds me of the Minnesota Starvation Study (look it up, it's a good study about the damaging effects of caloric restriction on the body, and especially the mind) in which the men who were all once normal eaters of normal weight, once their calories were cut to 1500/day during the study, they became obsessed with food and their bodies, whereas before the experiment, they never had such thoughts. Some ended up as binge-eaters and bulimics! Even after the re-feeding period, their obsessive thoughts persisted for months even after their weight had been regained.
Last edited by QuarterLife88; 09-18-2012 at 09:55 PM.
i think id have a really hard time doing the intuitive eating thing. ive always stuck with calorie counting because when it comes to eating, my intuition isn't great.
i still think about food a lot (embarrassing) but its easier when i have calorie constraints on myself. thats awesome for you if you can do intuitive eating, but im pretty sure id be obsessing over hunger signals too much. it sounds like that's the part you're struggling with. have you considered trying a new plan?
Last edited by juliastl27; 09-18-2012 at 10:02 PM.
I would never ever do anything besides IE (I don't want more food obsession, I want to get rid of what madness I already have). It's the only natural way to eat that is in line with the body's natural cues. The way children and babies naturally eat. How adults should eat as well. How the naturally thin eat without even knowing they are doing it. Everything else is external and I don't want or need it. To be frank, I would rather die than try calorie counting, fasting, IF, low carb, slim fast, weight watchers, south beach, etc. I'd only end up fat in the long run on those anyway. That's the nature of dieting. Drop 15, gain 20. Drop 25, gain back 30 until you are morbidly obese. Or worse, you actually do lose, maintain, but have to be so strict and vigilant you can't even have a slice of pizza or you'll blow up. God, I cannot believe I ever fell for this dieting b.s. I used to sneer at all of this stuff, never knew what a calorie was and I was so happy that way. Ignorance was bliss.
IE is fine and has worked for me to keep my weight steady without much thought, it's the food obsession that lingers because of the other dieting attempts that is the problem.
I'm sorry if I sound angry. I am angry. At what I've done to myself, and at what I've become. A slave to food. How pathetic.
Last edited by QuarterLife88; 09-18-2012 at 10:25 PM.
To be honest, you might have OCD and could benefit from medication for your obsessive thoughts that you say you can't control. You say you are trying with friends, hobbies, etc and it is not working. That is my thought. Good luck.
the above poster mentioned OCD, im certainly not an expert. if you feel that might actually be a concern you should speak to a doctor! but i digress....
just wondering if IE is the thing for you though? if you're still obsessing and "craving" your body's hunger cues, is it really working for you? i love calorie counting because i can eat what i want, when i want. its mostly about portion control. im not trying to argue that my way is better by any means.
being naturally thin and eating intuitively is how i used to be. i didnt even realize it because i wasnt addicted to food. i ate to sustain myself and stopped when i was no longer hungry. its not that i didnt enjoy food, it just didnt consume me. somewhere along the line i lost that, and i think many folks here may have had the same experience.
also, calorie counting can be maintained, almost anything can. you need to make long term lifestyle changes if you're going to stand a chance at maintaining your weight. looking at weight loss as a journey that *ends* once you hit your goal is a mistake most woman pay for (im back on this forum because of it!)
is IE really stopping you from being obsessed? it doesnt seem like it is by these posts. maybe it is time to consider a new plan?
just trying to throw out advice.
Last edited by juliastl27; 09-19-2012 at 01:39 AM.
Google the 'No S Diet', it sounds like it might be a food fit for you! It's kind of similar to IE, but it has a few very simple rules. But you don't count calories or cut out any foods (sweets, seconds, and snacks are limited to the weekend). When I stuck to it, I literally stopped thinking about food. I love food, and I've been overweight my whole life, and the 3 months I stuck to No S I felt SO free from thoughts of food. I can't explain it, but it was the only time in my life where food stopped effecting me and I don't know why I went off it. The basis of the diet is you strictly eat 3 times a day, just like we use to in the old days before the obesity epidemic. I only got hungry and thought about food at meal-times. It will take a couple weeks, but after that it's like your hunger signals finally get back in order.
The only thing is, since I'm morbidly obese, I need something that is a bit faster. I plan on mixing it with calorie counting so I can stop thinking about food again, but I believe plain No S without calorie counting is the real way to go. In fact, I plan with experimenting with plain No S (that means you do the plan as is without modifying it) if I ever get to maintenance. It's a no BS diet, it just goes back to how thin countries eat and how we used to eat before getting fat. There is no counting or hassle. You don't even need to buy the book, he has the rules posted on the site. But I really loved the book and it went more into depth about why it works and why diets are mostly a crock.
Last edited by Samantha18; 09-19-2012 at 04:08 AM.
My suggestion: Don't be so hard on yourself. Instead of attacking your food obsession head-on, work on incorporating other pleasurable, fulfilling activities into your life. If you do that, I'm confident the preoccupation with food will subside to more manageable proportions.
Or worse, you actually do lose, maintain, but have to be so strict and vigilant you can't even have a slice of pizza or you'll blow up.
Just FYI, that hasn't been my experience at all. Throughout my life I've been able to maintain weight losses without being overly strict and with lots of indulgences. The only reason I ever regained weight is that I let go of all restraint. This time around, at age 55, I've been maintaining more successfully than ever, while eating an average of 2,000 cals per day and occasionally indulging in massive pigouts.
I used to be like that. It went gradually, until one day I realised I just didn't think about food until I was starving. Not always very convenient but definitely progress psychologically.
Do you think it's possible that your weight is currently a bit low for your body's comfort?
For what it's worth, I've done two stints with IE during maintenance breaks-- once for about three months, and once for about five months. Both times I dropped weight, though I intended to maintain. Even now that I'm pretty thin, I have to keep a rough count of calories to make sure I eat enough to support my workouts. IE doesn't work very well for me if I'm not weighing regularly to make sure my weight stays up; my body simply doesn't always want to eat enough. (I was also a thin teen, gained weight when I got to college due to eating out / boredom eating / not caring.)
I only had the obsessive food thoughts when I was being too strict on myself, living alone and spending too much time thinking about losing weight. But if you're doing IE, maybe your intuition is off? I am IE now and staying about the same (albeit heavier than I "want" to be depending on the day) and I spend a very low percentage of my day hungry/thinking about food.
Thinking about food all day long
