Hoarding food but not eating

faithyang

I've noticed this problem I've developed while on my weight loss journey.

I'll make massive lists of the weekly supermarket discounts of junk foods like chips, chocolates, biscuits, ice cream etc in addition to my weekly grocery shop. I head out and buy handfuls of junk, then store it in the pantry in my junk food area.

But I very rarely touch them. In fact, I've amassed so much junk food I've got junk food I bought last year - for example, if its chips it may have been opened with a few chips missing during moments of calculated indulgence during cheat days or the occasional weekday guilty pleasure of one or two chips. But for the most part, 70% of them are unopened, except for what my husband has eaten.

I've developed this obsession with hoarding food - including meat (strangely, not fruit and veggies - I buy them and eat them, but I do buy a little more than I can eat because I tend to overestimate as a habit). But I very rarely eat them. The worse part is that I keep buying new junk every week and have to literally go through an internal monologue to stop myself consciously from buying more every week.

I still have a stack of Lindt chocolates in the fridge from mid-year last year of the one or two squares I have sampled and chucked in the fridge during summer to stop from melting.

I do think of eating them but I seem to either not be able to bring myself to eat them during my cheat days or do not touch them because I am very strict on not eating sweet foods during weekdays.

I did an inventory count just yesterday and I have amassed since the beginning of last year:

• 10 boxes of granola/oat bars,
• 2 large pantry boxes filled with at least 2 flavours from 5 brands of chips - two or three are opened
• Over ten share-pack sized blocks of chocolates of assorted flavours from different brands,
• 1 jumbo family size block of Cadbury chocolate,
• 5 bars of various chocs (i.e Twix, Mars bar, etc)
• More frickin' chocolates (i.e. After Eight mints, etc)
• At least 2 packets of 3-4 types of biscuits (i.e. Italian Amaretto, oreos, etc)
• A massive family sized tin of cashew biscuits
• More frickin' biscuits
• Not including the 5 opened blocks of Lindt chocolates in the fridge from last year which have 2-3 squares of chocolate missing

I sometimes feel like I should finish them because I've been brought up to really really dislike wasting food, but again, I can't bring myself to eat it for the sake of "not wasting" the food.

Just today I bought share pack of salted caramel filled Cadbury chocs on discount, and had to stop myself from buying more. In fact, I've consciously stopped myself from going on a massive chip buying spree for the past 2 days because I was about to buy at least 6 large bags of chips of different brands and flavours, and the new flavours of oreos and biscuits that have recently come out.

Does anyone else have this problem, and is it an indication of a deeper issue?

lishie_rebooted

Probably.


Donate unopened food to a food bank or shelter

NoIdea101NoIdea

I was also going to say donate them!

If this had been only been going on for two-three months, i would say it was simply a case of you haven't broken out of the habit yet of buying that junk with your weekly shop despite having broken the habit of eating it constantly (assuming you had no problems eating it in the past). But seeing as it sounds like this habit has been going on for a while, it may be worth talking to a professional about it-your bank balance will thank you in the long run

ohmscheeks

Pseudo-therapist says that an "obsession with hoarding food" is a symptom of a deeper issue. The more you practice saying "no" to the obsession, the easier it will become.

healthygreek

Throw away the food that has expired.
Donate or give away all the other food.
SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!!!

TavistockToad

healthygreek wrote: »

Throw away the food that has expired.
Donate or give away all the other food.
SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!!!

All of this

greekyogurtandpuppies

If you're good at baking, you could always make baked goods with the chocolates and candy to give to friends, family, and coworkers. I did this with all of the candy I received last Easter. You can probably use a lot of the chips for when company comes over.

Cortneyrenee04

I do this too, though not to the extent that you do. If I had a bigger kitchen, I might...

For me, I like to see the food and know that I'm in control of it, NOT the other way around. I like to know that it's there if I "need" it, but I usually don't touch it. Exposure therapy? I don't know.

Hopefully you can find a way to part with it and figure out what's triggering the impulse to over buy.

faithyang

@lishie_rebooted and @NoIdea101NoIdea - thanks for the tip! I think donating them would really help since I know that the food won't go to waste and I can just reset it without feeding the obsession!

NoIdea101, yes its quite a hit on the wallet because these 2 for $5 hits really add up!

@greekyogurtandpuppies, thanks for the idea - I do a fair bit of baking and dessert-making (more than the hubby can eat lol) because I get the compulsion to do something with my cravings but I do not eat them. So its a great idea to sort of distribute them to friends and family, or even to charities if there are no safety issues (ie. food poisoning liabilities, etc)

@Cortneyrenee04, oh, I'm the same! The feeling of control of hoarding the food and just not touching it, not allowing myself to consume it...I guess its like fear of flying. I was afraid of flying for a while but after I had to do some extended travelling for work I got over the fear of flying because of the number of transits and flight legs...I actually enjoy flying now!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and the suggestions, I appreciate it!

silverarcheress

One tip that could help when you are shopping is to take a photo of your pantry on your phone and refer to it when you go to pick up another box of whatever junk food you are craving. On the plus side, at least you go for things with long shelf lifes Definitely donate if you can, or even if people are coming around and you open a box of something, encourage them to take the rest with them.

jolinearmitage

I know this is an old thread but i also do this and i recently started to think on it. I believe its pretty basic human nature. If you were living out in the wild and your body knew you were getting enough calores to maintain your regular weight your survival skills would tell you to do what you need to keep going. So when you see food you need to save it so your body wont have to be in a deficit anymore. I think people with these kind of impulses where probably better survivers, however since it has little benefit in your current life you need to mentally or verbally remind yourself you are not starving and do not need a survival stock pile.

88olds

If you don’t want that stuff, the money was wasted when you bought it. Eating food you don’t want, not to mention blowing up your plan, won’t turn it into something useful.

Maybe take some pictures and give them a look when you’re going into the store. May keep you from adding more. You may not understand what it is, but having that junk food around serves some kind of purpose. But it sounds like you have plenty.