Anyone else think about food ALL the time when on a diet?

[Nothingforthcoming2020]

I need to lose lots of weight. I am following a very low calorie meal replacement diet and since starting it, I can’t stop thinking about food 24/7.

OH practically has a panic attack every time I even look at real food and they say they just don’t want me to ‘mess up’ because they know how much I need to lose weight for my health etc. I know it’s their way of being supportive but it doesn’t help.

I honestly don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. Before starting this diet I didn’t obsess over good but it’s actually unhealthy how, I literally think about food all the time.

I know weight loss doesn’t come easily and I need to put the work in but I’m not sure I can keep going with these bars and shakes for weeks on end.

I'm losing weight and think about food a lot so I sympathise. For me food is what I turn to for celebration and commiserations.
I have in the past dieted with meal replacements but I'm now happier to eat food instead - low carb.
For some people meal replacement works well as it breaks the connection with food, for others it doesn't because they need to stay in touch with real life eating.
How much do you need to
Lose?

10 stone so I know it’s not gonna be a quick few weeks and then done.

I would prefer to do keto/low carb but due to work commitments and family life I have little time to cook for myself.

I know my relationship with food in general is an issue for me, I am in the process of seeking therapy to help me address this.

Ok realistically I have to lose 9 - I may be able to get away with 8 - I've lost just over 5 since the start of Feb.
I have previously lost 6 with Cambridge - I'm great at losing but even better at putting it all back on!
Good work for looking at the emotional side of eating.
If it's long haul I do think it needs to be something you can cope with for a long period of time. And then be able to incorporate into the rest of your life. It sounds like meal replacement is not the easiest of options for you.
How you lose weight is a personal choice . A vcld can work very well for those with a lot to lose as the initial weight loss is very motivating.
You've done so well to decide to improve your health and get going.

I think that is pretty normal. A VLCD is a starvation diet and your body reacts accordingly. If you are also eating for psychological reasons then your body also wants to know where its comfort/crutch has gone. I felt exactly the same way the last time I attempted a diet. This time I spent six months just not eating my main trigger foods. Once I had got into the habit of saying no and out of the habit of expecting to eat them, I started calorie counting again and was really surprised at how well I could eat on 1500 calories. The key I think is to be able to use all of your calories on tasty and filling savoury foods rather than spending 300 calories or more on pudding or snacks and then skimping on nourishing food to make up for it. But I did have a lot of therapy to examine why I ate the way I did and I don't think I would be where I am now without it.

I have started working with a therapist too, although we haven’t got to my food issues yet

Same. I'm using meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch with a low-cal meal for dinner for a couple of weeks to kick start some weight loss and I'm always thinking about my evening meal!! It's been hard but I've lost 7lbs in the last week so that's keeping me going.

I recommend Brain Over Binge which is a book and podcast. Many people become obese due to binge eating issues (I definitely did). The problem is that extremely low calorie diets will make binge urges stronger and you can only realistically resist for so long. It’s probably not what you want to hear but I would ditch the VLCD (sorry). It won’t fix your food issues and the weight is likely to come back if it does come off. And to lose 10st you can’t do VLCD the whole time because it’s only meant to be short term (and is awful for people with binge eating issues). If you’re 10 st overweight, you could eat 2,000 cals a day and still lose about 2 lb a week for a good while before needing to drop the cals a bit. Personally, I would do that and focus on walking as much as possible but I totally appreciate if that’s not the route you want to take.

You'll get there in time. It wasn't actually directly what I went to therapy for but it turns out that my food issues are directly related to my other issues.

I was always the same when I was on really restrictive diets. I started doing 16:8 a month ago, I'm 12lbs down, but more importantly for me, food is not an obsession anymore.

I have been eating out a lot (thanks Rishi) and I've not been able to finish my meals .... That's unheard of!!!!!

You don't have to calorie count on 16:8 but because I have about 9st to lose as well I wanted to get off on the right foot. Somedays I am perfectly full on 800cals and other days I might go up to 1750cals, but my weekly average is about 1300, which is quite low for someone my size but apart from one day last week where I had done a hard work out the day before on about 800cals, had given up smoking 5 days before and not got a lot of sleep, I just wanted to binge on carbs and I couldn't stop thinking about food, it's been amazing.

I highly recommend reading The Obesity Code and Delay don't deny. Both avaliable on Amazon, but I just Google searched for a pdf version. I have been on diets and lost 50-60lbs before but felt deprived the whole way through and put it all back on again. This is something that I am finding incredibly easy and can see being able to maintain forever. I don't feel deprived in the slightest and more importantly, I don't even think about cake and chocolate! I have a packet of aldi racer bars (my fav) in the cupboard, I've eaten 1 in the last 2 week's, not because I am restricting myself, but because I just don't fancy it.

I have got The Obesity Code and The Diabetes Code but will look up Delay Dont Deny and add it to my collection.

Your experiences of fasting are really helpful to me and something l want to do as my current meal replacement low calorie diet isn’t helping me lose the weight.

I’ve been on a diet for the last 3/4 months, the last month or so I’ve sort of forgotten I’m on a diet and only think about food when I’m hungry and start thinking ffs have I got to cook food again.
My trigger is losing control and eating everything in sight when I’m hungry. So I cook a batch of freezer soups and curry’s each week so I can just cook one quickly, eat and then get on with my day.
I used to binge and constantly think of food, now as long as I’m not hungry I don’t give it much thought.
It’s taken this long to get here though, I would find something you can stick to long term.

I'm by no means an expert, but the only thing that appears to work for me is to eat what I like within a generous calorie count (1500-1700), and to look at this as something that needs to be sustainable. If I restrict too much either on calories or type of foods, my mind fixates on all that I "cannot" have. That's not to say I indulge in ALL my favourites ALL of the time, I do try to eat more healthily, it's just that doing so all the time backfires on me. Nothing should really be off limits, and I am finding by learning moderation and envisaging that I'm here for the long haul as I also have about 10st to lose (3 gone already!) I'm eating what I like and losing weight.