Do you obsess over food?

workoutgirl23

Is normal when your on a strict calorie counting diet, to obsess and think about food. Even if i can't have it, i will always be looking up recipes for fattening treats to make. and all day, i will think about the little bit of food i will get to eat later, and i will spend so much time thinking of it and looking forward to it. its like since dieting, i appreciate food so much more. is this. normal to feel. does any one else feel the same way.

LiddyBit

Yes. I'm not sure if it's normal, but it isn't uncommon.

Martin0524

I'm the same way.. I will watch the Triple D on food network every chance I get.. And watch all those people eat that good food that I should not even think about. When I'm working I'm constantly thinking of my next meal and always asking others what they are eating for the day...

I'm a food addict and work had to keep that bad habit under control. But sometimes i just can't help it and will induldge...

mollyW2012

Yes. I'm not sure if it's normal, but it isn't uncommon.

Agreed.
Totally not uncommon. I think anyone who has either lost weight in the past or has been on a diet for years, constantly thinks about eating, calorie counts, and what time they get to eat again.

raeraeti

I was like that at first, but now I'm getting used to MFP and eating better/less so I don't think about food as much.

gaiareeves

I think about food far too much.

Audrey403

Yup, I'm right there with you. I think about food all day, look up recipes, count calories in everything, read nutritional labels till I'm blue in the face. Daydream about my next meals, too.

jg627

Entire cultures were created based on their available food sources, so I would probably say that it's normal. What isn't normal is the high availability of food that we have now. I don't think it's healthy for us as a species to not have to work for our food in some way.

graelwyn

I have found that I tend to constantly be eyeing up cakes in the windows of bakeries, and looking at ice cream, and cookies, moreso if I am hungry and have been out cycling without eating first. I also find that if I deprive myself too much, I get even more obsessed with wanting everything bad in sight, lol, hence today I allowed myself some mascarpone and cherry ice cream from a sundae shop while out after cycling, and for tomorrow, I have a couple of small, rather expensive tarts to share with my bf for dessert(one is white chocolate and raspberry).

I think the key is not letting yourself get too hungry and keeping yourself busy so there is less time to focus on food. The problem with starting to count calories and count exercise is that it seems to send natural instincts out the window and everything becomes about food, and how many calories is in it, to the point that sometimes you even end up denying yourself a healthy meal with the nutrients your body wants, simply because it might be over the calories you decided to have for dinner.

ddrobins1956

Entire cultures were created based on their available food sources, so I would probably say that it's normal. What isn't normal is the high availability of food that we have now. I don't think it's healthy for us as a species to not have to work for our food in some way.

You are so right. That's why we are all overweight. If we had to grow the food or raise the food or hunt for the food and then cook everything from scratch. We wouldn't have refrigerators and freezers and pantries stocked to overflowing as if we were expecting a famine at any time. I know that's my problem too much easy access to food and too much processed food.

Meikmeika

I know I do.....I'll be eating lunch and thinking about what dinner will be.

wftiger

I don't know if I obsess but I do have to plan my day every single day to make sure that I do not go over on my calories and carbs. And if my plan gets rearranged for some reason (potluck, dinner out) I get quite stressed out about it. So yeah, I guess I do obsess.

sarah3333

Yes. I'm not sure if it's normal, but it isn't uncommon.

Agreed.
Totally not uncommon. I think anyone who has either lost weight in the past or has been on a diet for years, constantly thinks about eating, calorie counts, and what time they get to eat again.

That makes me feel a little better! I am always looking at the clock

wilmnoca

I totally used to do this. I would be eating lunch and fantasizing about dinner. Now i eat the same few meals thru out the week. They are my favorite meals with little variations and I can honestly say the I love it and I rarely get sick of it. I love not having to think about all the possibilities that I could induldge in.
As a result, I dont obsess over my meals. They are set in stone with no option to change. I guess I truly eat to live now.

MoreBean13

Switching to an IF style of eating has REALLY helped with this for me.

thelovecatway

Switching to an IF style of eating has REALLY helped with this for me.

I'm not familiar with this, what's the IF style?

lucylou9701

I'm the same way.. I will watch the Triple D on food network every chance I get.. And watch all those people eat that good food that I should not even think about. When I'm working I'm constantly thinking of my next meal and always asking others what they are eating for the day...

I'm a food addict and work had to keep that bad habit under control. But sometimes i just can't help it and will induldge...

Omg i am exactly the same... i love watching those shows. I know that i cant have that stuff but i still watch it :P btw triple D is my fave show!

MoreBean13

Switching to an IF style of eating has REALLY helped with this for me.

I'm not familiar with this, what's the IF style?

IF is Intermittent Fasting- there are several styles of doing it, but the two main ones I've seen practiced by MFP people are the Eat Stop Eat method, where you do a 24 hour fast one or two times a week and eat and eat higher calories the rest of the time, And leangains method in which you have an eating window of time everyday- I only eat from noon to 8pm every day, and then I am in a fasted state after dinner until noon the next day. I want to stress that you eat the same number of calories doing IF as you would in a traditional eating pattern...before people tell me about how unhealthy fasting is. There is a LOT of information on the boards here and a group for IF members, if you search on the term or look in to the group. I am fairly new to IF, but there are a lot of people more knowledgeable than I that have been practicing it for a long time. Feel free to friend me or PM me if you want any more specific information.

emhow

I am completely obsessed. It annoys me and everyone around me. Wish I could stop worrying about how much to eat, when to eat, what to eat. It drives me/my friends/my family insane. When I'm not working or gymming, all I'm doing is sitting at the computer looking up recipes I CAN cook and what foods are the lowest in this and that. Wish I could just not worry about it. It's very good in a way because it's making me look and feel better physically.. But I swear it's completely ruined my whole perspective on indulgence and enjoying food for the rest of my life! I can't eat anything unless it's a bloody carrot without feeling guilty!! I also do constantly think 'when's my next meal' and sit planning my food diary all day!

sonjalucia

IF sounds IFFY to me..

Just saying.

KuroNyankoSensei

I think the first time I dieted, I thought of food way too much. After falling off the wagon and starting over again, I decided to not sweat about my food. Plan ahead maybe, but not be too hard on myself if the food I put in my mouth that day wasn't exactly how I wanted things to go. And if there was something I really wanted, I would just make room in my calories to have it, rather deprive myself and suffer for it XD.

Cherp18

I don't obsess about food. I start to think about the next meal and what's on hand to create it. The only time I MIGHT obsess a little is when I'm out. That is still a bit of an issue. When I'm running around, doing shopping etc & don't think to eat/snack and then I'm STARVING!! Then I worry ... What am I going to eat "out here in the big bad world??" That causes a bit of anxiety if I haven't planned ahead. BUT, that's how life is and I have to deal with it. So far, so good. No ones going to die if I can't find a low cal snack for one Saturday afternoon. lol

emhow

Also, trips to the supermarket are a nightmare. If all I need to buy is lunch and dinner, I can spend up to an hour going down every aisle reading every label and end up buying like two items. I always need someone to come with me to snap me out of obsessing over what I can and can't eat. Fabulous.

lacroyx

I was in the past, specifically with my carb intake. I started on this because of diabetes. I'd analyze EVERYTHING. Trying to make sure I stayed within my daily carb intake goals as recommended by my doctor. I think it was 150-200g? I can't remember but as I dropped weight and became more active my diabetes improved to the point that I reversed it and no longer need to take meds to control it. I've been diabetes free since Jan. 2011. Now I am much more easy going about it. I do have bad stuff but I'd say 80% of the time I am good.

lacroyx

Switching to an IF style of eating has REALLY helped with this for me.

I'm not familiar with this, what's the IF style?

IF is Intermittent Fasting- there are several styles of doing it, but the two main ones I've seen practiced by MFP people are the Eat Stop Eat method, where you do a 24 hour fast one or two times a week and eat and eat higher calories the rest of the time, And leangains method in which you have an eating window of time everyday- I only eat from noon to 8pm every day, and then I am in a fasted state after dinner until noon the next day. I want to stress that you eat the same number of calories doing IF as you would in a traditional eating pattern...before people tell me about how unhealthy fasting is. There is a LOT of information on the boards here and a group for IF members, if you search on the term or look in to the group. I am fairly new to IF, but there are a lot of people more knowledgeable than I that have been practicing it for a long time. Feel free to friend me or PM me if you want any more specific information.

I sometimes do this. With my weird work sechdule and sleeping habits I don't always have time in the day to eat 3 meals a day. Usually I eat 2x but there are times where I just eat once a day. With me I found sleep was important above all else. I always make sure I get plenty of sleep 7 hrs. minimum. In the past when I didn't sleep well I would be tired all the time. Working nights I'd be constantly snacking and grazing to keep myself awake. Exercise was completely out of the question since I was too tired to even attempt it.

kiddoc88

I couldn't agree more. our ancestors didn't have the capability to create highly processed food, and had to hunt and gather.. there was definitely no obesity problem then!

TamaraHaase

I had been about to say, nooooooo this is not normal, and suggest drinking more water or finding small snacks to eat every couple of hours or so. Then I read on and saw maybe I'm not normal! When I first started it was a challenge, but now it just feels like life and I'm really not concerned about food until it's time for me to eat a meal. When I do get hungry, I eat a snack. I don't obsess over staying within my cals/day; my thoughts are it's actually good to go over by a couple hundred calories now and again! That said, it is a rare occasion when I do - I'm typically under.

I remember one other point in my life when I had dieted and there came a point when my relationship with food shifted - it was no longer my friend but just a fuel. I didn't even think about it during the day, or lust over thoughts of what sounded sooo good. Instead it was a secondary part of life, an 'oh yeah, time to refuel'. It was so freeing!! I felt like a new person and wondered if that was how 'normal' people lived everyday! Unfortunately, my dysfunctional love affair returned and here I am. I'm praying for the day that mind-shift returns. It will. It was my love affair with food that got me here in the first place.

CassieReannan

Yup, I'm right there with you. I think about food all day, look up recipes, count calories in everything, read nutritional labels till I'm blue in the face. Daydream about my next meals, too.

This.

dotti1121

Yep...totally obsessed with food!

raeleek

Is normal when your on a strict calorie counting diet, to obsess and think about food. Even if i can't have it, i will always be looking up recipes for fattening treats to make. and all day, i will think about the little bit of food i will get to eat later, and i will spend so much time thinking of it and looking forward to it. its like since dieting, i appreciate food so much more. is this. normal to feel. does any one else feel the same way.

You're an addict. No shame. A lot of us are on here. One day at a time!

mommasox

I was like that at first. The first 2 weeks all i could think about was candy and all the fast food places in our building. It was crazy! I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I have gotten much better, but still do think about it on occasion.