Food is on my mind

24 x 7.

How to get out of it? I am getting desperate.

I also notice that has started to cause me to yo-yo diet, making it even worse.

Mon. Mar 24, 9:43am

Are you not eating enough food?
Are you tuned in to the Food Channel?
Do you read Food magazines?

Where is this coming from?

Monday, March 24, 2008, 10:35 AM

Are you starving yourself? Eating too little causes that kind of behavior, and depending on your lifestyle, "too little" can be a higher number of calories than you might think.

Monday, March 24, 2008, 12:08 PM

I feel that way too. I am always thinking about my next meal. I think partially it is because I want to stay on track, and knowing that there is a plan for the next meal really helps keep you from mindlessly snacking or grabbing something at the last minute.

I also love food. I love to cook and read about cooking. Dieting now is just making me look at food in a different way. Not just about making something that is yummy, but about finding ways to make good nutritious food.

After healthful eating is more automatic, i don't think the food obsession will be as strong. I just think that it is a way to make sure I stay on track.

Monday, March 24, 2008, 12:17 PM

I struggle with this too. I think about eating pretty much every minute. It's a constant struggle. It's an addiction. Unfortunately, unlinke some addictions, we can't stop eating. I went to an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, which helped to realize I'm not alone. Also, I'm looking into seeing a therapist.

I've lost 100 lbs in the last year, and I'm now at a "normal" weight. However, losing weight didn't solve my food addiction problem. In fact, it made it worse. Before, if I wanted to eat something, I just ate it. There was no buildup beforehand or guilt afterwards. Now, I live in fear of gaining all the weight back, so I'm constantly thinking about "the things I can't have." I think about these foods so much that every so often, I just erupt and have a binge. It's not a healthy way to live.

I'd like to add that on most days, I eat a healthy, balanced diet, around 1500 calories. So I'm definitely eating enough. This is all in my head.

Monday, March 24, 2008, 3:22 PM

OP here

Hi, OP here. I should have given some context to my issue.

Growing up, I was never big, however, I was always quite 'soft' (the so called 'baby weight'). Then, when I was about 24, I decided to finally get myself in shape, which I did. Hit the gym, re-wamped my diet. Now, I'm 28, so it's been about four-five years. During this time, there were better and worse times, I would work out most of the times, but then also take few months 'off' for a variety of excuses, I would generally eat really healthy, but once in a while have some bingeing outbursts. Over time, I gained back about 10-15 pounds over the 'ideal' weight, and since then the issues began. I would get my self-control guard up and lose the weight. Then, it would creep back. I'd lose it with eating really healthy and, well, yes, in limited quantities (although never below 1000 calories a day). Then I'd binge and it would be back. And lately, the cycle is revolving faster and faster. And the faster it goes, the more I am thinking about it all, and the more I am thinking about weight/need to lose it/food/hunger/weight/need to lose it.. Essentially, the hunger has become unstoppable. I eat, and I do not feel full. I eat more (binging days..), and I still do not feel full. And so I am thinking about it. 24 x 7.

Alright. so this next part is sad. And don't think i'm still some silly teenager, no, I'm a very ambitious and quite accomplished career woman, with a master's in sciences. It's not the food channel I 'crave' to watch. it's the celebrity makeovers, people magazine, etc! who lost weight when and how, and how terrible they looked with the weight on, and what are the newest diets (although I don't do them. .just curiousity), etc, etc, etc.

When I see what the above posters say, yes, I can admit that on my 'good' part of the cycle I might eat too little (which, again, for a few first years, when I was losing/maintaining the weight well, was not a problem, therefore I never thought it would develop into such later). I love to eat simple and healthy, and, in fact, sometimes when I eat less I feel better overall. Healthy eating IS a habit for me. But then the feeling of hunger comes, and it is unstoppable. Some days I wake up and it's good, I can eat like a normal person. I am so polarized on this.

Really, is it all only in my head? Can a really stressful life / anxiety cause this?

Monday, March 24, 2008, 8:51 PM

I am with you. I love to cook, eat, plan menus, look at cookbooks, everything....I don't know what to do.

Monday, March 24, 2008, 9:15 PM

If you're thinking a stressful life or anxiety may be at the root it could be you use food to cope.

Are you an all or nothing kind of person? If you're not right on with eating and exercise do you think you might as well go for broke b/c you blew it? Are you striving for a healthy weight and body or a celebrity body? I swear, I think sometimes just seeing those images can trigger a response that we can't quite explain, although I think it's our subconscious telling us there's no way we can look like that and eat, so if you've eaten anything you've already blown it!

I think a lot of these issues and preoccupations with food do begin with our mindset about it all. When we see food as fuel it means something different to eat and we eat differently. When we don't categorize foods as good or bad, we are able to eat them in moderation without guilt.

I don't know! There are no easy answers!

Monday, March 24, 2008, 9:35 PM

Hi, OP here again. PP, I think you might be right on the spot about about the subconscious triggers around us. In fact, more and more I am starting to think that daily logging here on the PT might act as one of those triggers. Listing everything. Thinking about food. Counting calories. Thinking about food. Commenting on other peoples' eating. Thinking about food.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 9:31 AM

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