Trying to lose weight and obsessed with food!

[Anonymous]

I mean frankly, I’m always obsessed with food, that’s how we got here, but I need to lose 20 pounds and it’s RUNNING MY LIFE.

I’m doing a combination of IF, calorie counting, and lower carb (not keto). For IF I keep a 16 hour fast, nothing crazy. I log calories in MyFitnessPal with a 1560 calorie goal. Today I ate:

Breakfast- oatmeal
Lunch-broccoli soup, beef jerky, and some diet popcorn
Snack-Turkey and cheddar rollup and hummus with carrots and cherry tomatoes

Dinner-a little bit of roasted chicken and veggies

Once I start the fasting clock I’m generally ok. I have started going to bed early to end the late night eating.

However in the day time, wowza. Food is on my mind ALL THE TIME to the extent that it impacts my ability to work!

Does anybody have any suggestions for how to control the constant food obsession. Will it get easier? I think I’m definitely one of those people who is missing some of that hormone that tells you when you are full. I am used to eating until I feel FULL.

[Anonymous]

Yikes. Yeah the only cure for this is actually eating more. When you restrict food, it causes you to obsess and binge. So you have to get to a calorie level where you are not too restricted.

You sound like a good candidate to work with a weight neutral dietician or other professional who can help you get in touch with your hunger/fullness and eat responsively

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard good things about wegovy

[Anonymous]

I just listened to a podcast about this on Weight Loss for Busy Physicians Ep #270: [Back to Basics Series] Urges and Cravings. (Thanks DCUM for recommending the podcast!!!)

She had some really good tips on this. I really liked the suggestion to pause and "feel" where in the body you are experiencing hunger. Back of the throat, stomach, etc. Real hunger pains feel differently than craving signals. I've been trying to listen to my body when I feel hungry, and really the act of self reflection has been pretty helpful. It's been most helpful, for me, in distinguishing between "I want" and "I need". Cravings/urges will pass, real hunger pains will not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just listened to a podcast about this on Weight Loss for Busy Physicians Ep #270: [Back to Basics Series] Urges and Cravings. (Thanks DCUM for recommending the podcast!!!)

She had some really good tips on this. I really liked the suggestion to pause and "feel" where in the body you are experiencing hunger. Back of the throat, stomach, etc. Real hunger pains feel differently than craving signals. I've been trying to listen to my body when I feel hungry, and really the act of self reflection has been pretty helpful. It's been most helpful, for me, in distinguishing between "I want" and "I need". Cravings/urges will pass, real hunger pains will not.

I’ve been doing this too for a couple weeks after another episode. Turns out I feel my craving “hunger” on top of my stomach, whereas I feel true hunger inside my stomach. It’s been interesting noting the difference.

I know Weight Loss… Physicians gets mentioned here a lot, but part of her program addresses exactly what OP is facing. Dieting often ends up with us spending way too much head space thinking about food: what can I eat, when can I eat, how much can I eat, etc?? It would be freeing to get past that (I’m not overweight but I still think about food way too much). Pre planning out what I’m going to eat that day, and sticking to it, is helping free up that mind space.

[Anonymous]

Don't make yourself crazy. Switch to lower glycemic carbs or reduce by 10% over and over. Get obsessed with a hot guy or computer game or bingewatch or fitness fad or something.

[Anonymous]

What are you drinking? Are you drinking 3 liters of still water a day? Hot coffee or tea or lemon water in the morning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are you drinking? Are you drinking 3 liters of still water a day? Hot coffee or tea or lemon water in the morning?

I drink a cup of green tea in the morning. I cut out diet soda because it made me hungry. Now I drink a ton of fizzy water, like a ton. But I think it actually makes me hungry.

[Anonymous]

Add protein and a bit of veggies to your breakfast (omelet maybe)?
Jerky and soup? Sounds good, but both might have too much salt, so you were probably more thirsty than hungry after that lunch.
Also, all the food listed is fine, but low volume, no wonder you don't feel full. I would skip jerky and cheese and replace it with lean protein on top of big salad (watch out for dressings)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard good things about wegovy

I would love to try something like this, but alas my insurance won’t cover it and it’s like 1000 something dollars per month.

[Anonymous]

I am thinking you need more lean protein and less cheese (assuming cheese was part of the broccoli soup). My WW leader says cheese should be a sometimes food, not an everyday food. And, some complex carbs. A small sweet potato with dinner, or, with lunch instead of diet popcorn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just listened to a podcast about this on Weight Loss for Busy Physicians Ep #270: [Back to Basics Series] Urges and Cravings. (Thanks DCUM for recommending the podcast!!!)

She had some really good tips on this. I really liked the suggestion to pause and "feel" where in the body you are experiencing hunger. Back of the throat, stomach, etc. Real hunger pains feel differently than craving signals. I've been trying to listen to my body when I feel hungry, and really the act of self reflection has been pretty helpful. It's been most helpful, for me, in distinguishing between "I want" and "I need". Cravings/urges will pass, real hunger pains will not.

I’ve been doing this too for a couple weeks after another episode. Turns out I feel my craving “hunger” on top of my stomach, whereas I feel true hunger inside my stomach. It’s been interesting noting the difference.

I know Weight Loss… Physicians gets mentioned here a lot, but part of her program addresses exactly what OP is facing. Dieting often ends up with us spending way too much head space thinking about food: what can I eat, when can I eat, how much can I eat, etc?? It would be freeing to get past that (I’m not overweight but I still think about food way too much). Pre planning out what I’m going to eat that day, and sticking to it, is helping free up that mind space.

NP. This sounds great! I was going to say to OP that her issue is exactly the reason I don’t diet. It takes a lot of brain space just to figure out how to maintain healthy habits, and adding weight loss to the mix is just too much, especially since people usually gain the weight back. Being mindful about what you eat makes eating a pleasure, so that’s where I want to put my efforts. (That and exercise and finding good ways to manage anxiety and good sleep hygiene)

[Anonymous]

You need to eat more. You won’t lose weight as fast, but you won’t have the psychological component. Ancel Keys did a study in the 1940’s on physically and psychologically healthy young men. He restricted calories to 1600/day, and they all experienced similar food obsessions.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

[Anonymous]

Is there anyone whose ever lost 40+ lbs through mindful eating? Most people I’ve seen who’ve lost a lot of weight have done so through careful calorie counting (which does take up a huge amount of mental space, I’m doing it now 😕)

[Anonymous]

What is diet popcorn?