Why do I think about food ALL THE TIME?

OneBryteSmile

I'm constantly thinking about food. I wake up in the morning thinking about it and I go to bed at night thinking about it, wondering what I will eat the next day. I'm in a constant battle with my own mind about food. I eat and then start thinking about what I'm going to eat next. It's frustrating. I think about it whether I am hungry or not. For example, I just had lunch and I'm perfectly fine but yet I want to go in the fridge right now and eat something else so I am literally fighting with myself to stay out of the kitchen. At least I have been temporarily distracted by writing this post. I'm just tired of the battle wtih my head and the constant obsession with food.

Does anyone have this same issue and if so, how do you deal with it?

azeria

I have that same issue! Some days are worst then others... when I'm at work, I am usually fine, but if I'm off at home and bored... I could just keep on eating and eating. The only thing that works for me is to keep busy... the less time I have to think about it, the less I will actually eat.

Good Luck and let me know if you find other tricks!

farmers_daughter

Ditto. I've started sucking on a hard candy. Gives your mouth that feeling that it's eating, or it tastes something, but not as horrendous as actually going back for more.

Lets_Do_It

I do too! I used to just eat when I am hungry (Before the weightloss) but now, before each meal, I look at the calories, the fat content, etc. I calculate how much of the food I am eating. (Measure the servings out). I must check how much calories I have taken in, and if I should exercise more to burn off extras. It's bad, but a good thing I think. I mean, I'd rather think about food in the since of losing weight than not thinking about what I am eating and gaining weight back!

TheKitsune6

I do that too. I distract myself by reading a really good book, going for a run, calling my sister, etc

Pandorian

Those kinds of thinking of food usually comes with me wanting something particular. Check your dietary balance and make sure you're getting everything you need firstly. Second, have something heavy in protein and fiber if available (I add psyllium fiber or wheat bran to my smoothies when I want more fiber) Between the protein and the fiber bulk it usually works for me.

milaxx

I do, but I don't think its a bad thing. Before I often left what I was going to eat as an afterthought or thought about it only when I was too starving to think straight, which often lead to making poor food choices. Now I think about what I want to eat, how much I can eat, and how it will effect what I eat the rest of the day. I plan what I will eat now and that means I eat regularly and healthier. I *want* to be conscious of food all the time because if not I will fall back into the old eating habits that got me here in the first place.

HeyLisa

I do too but this site has helped at least push me in a positive way toward my obsession. Instead of mindless food thought, now I plan meals, snacks, calories.. run each through before I decide what I want.. if its early plan less so I can eat again. Oh yea.. def an obsession. LOL

maddelin711

I konw what you mean. I'm always willing to eat, i think it's because i give myself the benefit of the doubt like "this won't matter cause i worked out this morning." When in reality it does matter. I was always the person people told "you can eat anything you're so lucky." Now, i'm seeing that is not true. It's all about calories in, calories out like Jillian Michaels said.

I have a problem with food at work. There's always snack offerings and food being shared. Makes it tough to resist.

:flowerforyou:

Mandalay0622

I think we all do girl!!! I have to try and keep myself busy.. whether its turning on the radio and dancing around, cleaning stuff I wouldnt normally clean, taking a walk, cleaning out my car... just anything to keep myself out of there!! Its hard, I know!! But the post above, about candy.. thats a good thing too, or gum! Good Luck!

Janet39

I have heard a theory that your sub-concious mind does not hear negatives.

So you think , I shouldn't eat X.

It hears Eat X.

On this note the less time you spend thinking about food the better you will be. Try to plan your meals the night before and then stick to them.

Other than that, focus on other things, sort your wardrobe etc.

BKRUSE1950

I have the same problem and I find it stirkes me most when I am "bored" (which is nearly always that I am avoiding doing something which needs to be done like cleaning the rooms, doing laundry, or enjoying that book I couldn't wait to buy). Also, I have found I needed to change my routine such as eating at the dining table and not my computer or in front of the TV as I lounge on the couch.

Another trick I do is make my meals more "special" by trying new recipes for old standards like spaghetti with less fat, salt and carbs then taking my time to TASTE it.

Hope these help ... and remember you are not alone in the journey

swinginchandra

I'm so the same way! I figure the next part of my psychological diet battle war is to get myself out of the habit of obsessing over food. Dunno why it is... I try to do something else interesting when I start thinking about food... I should be able get through a few meals without it... lol.
I actually think one of the culprits may be my 5 meals a day eating plan. I know it's healthy, but it's got me eating every other minute!!! I'm considering dumping it when the school year starts... I'll be close to my goal weight hopefully, and want to start working towards "normalcy" as opposed to stringent diet grounds...

lil_pulp

It's kind of comforting for me to know that other people do this too. I am very careful around real life people, even my husband, not to talk about food too much. Even when I'm eating, I'm thinking about how soon I can eat next and what it will be and when I can start prepping it and how I can draw out the meal (sadly, I'm only focused on the eating part, never the company part).

I don't have any unique strategies for dealing with it (stay busy, try to stick to healthy food, log everything regardless, plan meals ahead of time so at least I'm thinking about what I'll actually be eating, etc). It's been helpful for me to learn, though, that my food issues all seem to stem from stuff from my childhood that I'm working on with my therapist. Hopefully as I continue to make progress with that stuff, I'll develop a better relationship with food and it won't dominate my thoughts so much.

Feel free to add me as a friend.

-LP

OneBryteSmile

Thanks everyone for your advice. Will definitely put them to work. As a matter of fact, going to chew a sugar free gum right now.

muffin111

Hello C25K Buddy! I have the same problem. I think I'm slowly getting better though as I train my mind to make smarter food choices so that it will eventually just come to you naturally without thinking about it too much. Also those Extra dessert delight chewing gum flavors are awesome!! I chew a piece of the keylime pie or chocolate chip mint gum and it takes my mind off of food if I'm obsessing over it.

OneBryteSmile

Hello C25K Buddy! I have the same problem. I think I'm slowly getting better though as I train my mind to make smarter food choices so that it will eventually just come to you naturally without thinking about it too much. Also those Extra dessert delight chewing gum flavors are awesome!! I chew a piece of the keylime pie or chocolate chip mint gum and it takes my mind off of food if I'm obsessing over it.

Thanks Muffin. Are those gums sugar free? They sound delicious. I'll have to check them out. The gum did help me today and I distracted myself with MFP.

wolf23

It's funny I was just reading an article about this in my "American Fitness" magazine and what is said made perfect sense.
The article is "When Food has too Much Power Over You. That's a symptom - not the problem." I would link the article but it is not available online so I will just paraphrase the gist of the article.

It states that "Food is not the problem. Food is fuel. Food is health. Food is an inanimate object, just like a desk, rug or a book." If you feel as if food has power over you, the article states that you may be allowing yourself to get too hungry and as a result you crave eating a certain food such as "bread". As a result getting too hungry you will crave carbs and offers the solution that you should eat sufficiently to prevent hunger in the first place. It also goes on to state that if we restrict certain foods (such as carbs) we tend to obsess about the bad food and we should "learn to routinely enjoy bread and other carbs, which are the foundation of a quality sports diet.

This is the part I found interesting... "Living by rigid restrictive "food rules" can be a symptom that something has gone awry. Food rules serve a purpose, they can be a coping strategy to block out emotions and distract you from feeling your feelings. That is if you are spending 99% of your time obsessing about food you are not thinking about how angry you are with your husband or how sad and lonely you are since your dog died, or how overwhelmed you are about your job.

The article does go on to more serious issues that are eating disorder related and focuses on how to cope with those issues as opposed to how to not obsess about food 24/7.

Not that I think everyone who obsesses about food is a smidgen away from an eating disorder, but I do think that part of the reason I occasionally obsess about food has to do more with the emotional aspect as opposed to the physical.

Just thought I'd share.

Viewparadise

I have heard a theory that your sub-concious mind does not hear negatives.

So you think , I shouldn't eat X.

It hears Eat X.

On this note the less time you spend thinking about food the better you will be. Try to plan your meals the night before and then stick to them.

Other than that, focus on other things, sort your wardrobe etc.

You are totally on to something there! I have read a lot about cognitive conditioning and they say that the brain does not 'hear' the negative statement. Such as "I will not slip today while walking over that puddle in the parking lot', so you slip. Your brain focused on slipping. While you should have said to yourself, 'I am very balanced and I can glide right over that slippery spot!' Athletes who use this kind of conditioning focus on the outcome, not on what they DON'T want to have happen. Still, easier said than done sometimes...:ohwell:

Viewparadise

It's funny I was just reading an article about this in my "American Fitness" magazine and what is said made perfect sense.
The article is "When Food has too Much Power Over You. That's a symptom - not the problem." I would link the article but it is not available online so I will just paraphrase the gist of the article.

It states that "Food is not the problem. Food is fuel. Food is health. Food is an inanimate object, just like a desk, rug or a book." If you feel as if food has power over you, the article states that you may be allowing yourself to get too hungry and as a result you crave eating a certain food such as "bread". As a result getting too hungry you will crave carbs and offers the solution that you should eat sufficiently to prevent hunger in the first place. It also goes on to state that if we restrict certain foods (such as carbs) we tend to obsess about the bad food and we should "learn to routinely enjoy bread and other carbs, which are the foundation of a quality sports diet.

This is the part I found interesting... "Living by rigid restrictive "food rules" can be a symptom that something has gone awry. Food rules serve a purpose, they can be a coping strategy to block out emotions and distract you from feeling your feelings. That is if you are spending 99% of your time obsessing about food you are not thinking about how angry you are with your husband or how sad and lonely you are since your dog died, or how overwhelmed you are about your job.

The article does go on to more serious issues that are eating disorder related and focuses on how to cope with those issues as opposed to how to not obsess about food 24/7.

Not that I think everyone who obsesses about food is a smidgen away from an eating disorder, but I do think that part of the reason I occasionally obsess about food has to do more with the emotional aspect as opposed to the physical.

Just thought I'd share.

Right on!! Food is legal and we can't escape it, so it makes a perfect thing to obsess over when we REALLY don't want to deal with the bad relationship, crappy boss, mean mother, etc. NOT that the OP is doing this, but it is true for some of us. I know I've sure as hell done it in the past....

OneBryteSmile

It's funny I was just reading an article about this in my "American Fitness" magazine and what is said made perfect sense.
The article is "When Food has too Much Power Over You. That's a symptom - not the problem." I would link the article but it is not available online so I will just paraphrase the gist of the article.

It states that "Food is not the problem. Food is fuel. Food is health. Food is an inanimate object, just like a desk, rug or a book." If you feel as if food has power over you, the article states that you may be allowing yourself to get too hungry and as a result you crave eating a certain food such as "bread". As a result getting too hungry you will crave carbs and offers the solution that you should eat sufficiently to prevent hunger in the first place. It also goes on to state that if we restrict certain foods (such as carbs) we tend to obsess about the bad food and we should "learn to routinely enjoy bread and other carbs, which are the foundation of a quality sports diet.

This is the part I found interesting... "Living by rigid restrictive "food rules" can be a symptom that something has gone awry. Food rules serve a purpose, they can be a coping strategy to block out emotions and distract you from feeling your feelings. That is if you are spending 99% of your time obsessing about food you are not thinking about how angry you are with your husband or how sad and lonely you are since your dog died, or how overwhelmed you are about your job.

The article does go on to more serious issues that are eating disorder related and focuses on how to cope with those issues as opposed to how to not obsess about food 24/7.

Not that I think everyone who obsesses about food is a smidgen away from an eating disorder, but I do think that part of the reason I occasionally obsess about food has to do more with the emotional aspect as opposed to the physical.

Just thought I'd share.

Thanks wolf. I don't think what the article is saying applies to me but it's interesting nonetheless.

cori314

Golly! I always think about food! More so when I'm trying to eat healthy to lose weight. My goal is to make it a habit so that I don't have to constantly try to figure what I should eat.
I know I'm an emotional eater so I totally get that thinking about food is a coping mechanism that won't let you feel your feelings.
Sugar free gum is definitely my go to distraction. I have a whole variety of flavors from different mints, cinammon and different fruity flavors just so that I have options depending on how I feel.
I've come to realize, 90% of the weight loss battle is mental.

Josephine237

I'm constantly thinking about food. I wake up in the morning thinking about it and I go to bed at night thinking about it, wondering what I will eat the next day. I'm in a constant battle with my own mind about food. I eat and then start thinking about what I'm going to eat next. It's frustrating. I think about it whether I am hungry or not. For example, I just had lunch and I'm perfectly fine but yet I want to go in the fridge right now and eat something else so I am literally fighting with myself to stay out of the kitchen. At least I have been temporarily distracted by writing this post. I'm just tired of the battle wtih my head and the constant obsession with food.

Does anyone have this same issue and if so, how do you deal with it?

I used to never be satisfied and always felt hungry until I added more protein to meals and snacks..Now I'm rarely hungry.

zedmeaway

Hello,

Hope this post finds you well and truly. Let me guess, you're still battling with this..... Well Josephine, for your information and everyone else who has/is reading this, we call this: O.C.E.D. Obsessive Compulsive Eating Disorder. I have had this for four years. Today for example is my sixth day eating healthy; however, I am starting to itch It's like a need for drugs, the more you battle it, the weaker you become and give in.

I am the same. I would consume within 30 minutes what an average adult would eat in a week, mind you it would only be 8am, and I would have the whole entire day to fit more in my stomach until I am about to explode.

No need to brag on about it. Sad but true, there's no cure. I find that if I have breakfast my mouth won't stop operating throughout the day. So I skip breakfast and try eating A healthy meal anytime between 3:30-7:00pm and that is it. Everything else and all the advice given is a lie.

My only advice is, once you (F**K UP, as I call it) have overeaten you can't aviod the guilt trip, just accept it, brush it off, and start again, for everyday is a new day. Oh and don't bother with telling the whole world, it only drags people into your problem, whom give you nothing but multiple advice, which causes confusion.

If you need be please feel free to email me z.o.e.smith0302atg***.dotcom

kri1977

Reviving an old thread but this is exactly how I feel but I never really overeat. My weight goes up and down but always in the BMI ranges, so I can control myself BUT i think about food the WHOLE freaking time. I have breakfast and think abotu "what's for lunch?" right after lunch I think about the snack and so on...

Even now (10 pm) am sitting here, not hungry, but feeling like somethiing and it is a constant battle not to give in.

How does one get rid of that? This has been going on all the time, I am conscious of it now but it has been there forever I guess...

kellyr730

I'm the exact same way - it drives me crazy because I work at home for the most part and am stuck at a computer all day so that's where my mind goes because I get so bored. I chew ice ALL DAY though - it's the only thing that even slightly helps because it's no calories but I know that's not good for my teeth. Distractions are good but I can't even focus on my work because I want to just keep thinking about going to get a snack

Zakiya05

I do too! I used to just eat when I am hungry (Before the weightloss) but now, before each meal, I look at the calories, the fat content, etc. I calculate how much of the food I am eating. (Measure the servings out). I must check how much calories I have taken in, and if I should exercise more to burn off extras. It's bad, but a good thing I think. I mean, I'd rather think about food in the since of losing weight than not thinking about what I am eating and gaining weight back!

Yes! I do the same thing. I am wondering how long I can keep this up before I say forget about. I don't think I can go on for the rest of my life calculating calories and ploting how much I need to exercise to burn it off. It can't be normal.

silhouettes

It's weird. I do to now.. but before dieting I never did... and it's been so long since I started I can't remember a time I didn't stop thinking about it

queenbree13

I konw what you mean. I'm always willing to eat, i think it's because i give myself the benefit of the doubt like "this won't matter cause i worked out this morning." When in reality it does matter.

I do this too. All the time. Until I realized that the only thing I'm doing is ruining what I have already accomplished! The workout was hard enough, why eat again to make myself have to do the same routine the next day and be even more upset with the results I deserved.

Anyway,
I think about food non-stop. It's an addiction and I'll admit it. I try to plan out my food, because if I'm on a schedule and know what I am going to eat next, I don't have to think about it.

1longroad

I constantly think about food! I didn't think anyone else did this! I feel somewhat normal now!!

So..... even though I am constantly thinking about food, I have been trying to channel it into searching for recipes that fit my macros and calories, I can use to replace old favorites, or ways to use up what I have on hand.

So far it is helping, but it's still all about food. Wish I could be 'normal' and not fixate on food!

Tindo765

I'm in the same boat as all of you. I think about food all the time weather i'm hungry or not and i'm always thinking about when i can eat again and how much i can eat before i have to stop because of calories. I'm really starting to get concerned about this as its a relatively new development.