ALWAYS thinking about food
Options
wenben4321
Posts: 5 Member
Lately, all I can seem to think about is what I’m going to eat next. I’ve been dieting since November and preplanning meals is always important, but it’s becoming almost endless. I can be eating lunch and thinking about dinner, or I’ll be at the movies and thinking about what I’ll be eating the next day, or I’ll be playing mini golf and just wondering what food will come next. I feel like I’ve been spending way too much time worrying about food. It’s not even worrying about staying under my calorie limit for the day that I think about because that’s not an issue for me. I feel happiest when I eat, but being distracted by the thought of what my next meal or healthy snack will be is just ruining a lot of experiences for me. Is this becoming an issue? I really have no idea how to solve it
7
Replies
-
I am guessing here. It could be that you are not completely satisfied, bored, and/or hungry too often. Are you getting enough treats? Are you getting enough variety? Are you eating enough to shut your hunger down until the next meal? You have been at this for 6 months have you taken a weekend to eat at maintenance to take a mini-break?
If you don't think any of that will help you, you may need to seek out therapy.1 -
This may be different than what you are describing as it is not continuous for me, but I have noticed that I look forward to my meals and think about them way more. Previously it was just constant eating and very little appreciation for my food. Now I enjoy the spaces in between meals, enjoy looking forward to it, I pay more attention while I am eating it and thoroughly enjoy it. I feel like it is a much healthier attitude. If it is more like an obsession for you then maybe your calories are set too low?4
-
I am not sure I would have lost the weight or be having success maintaining without a fair amount of consideration about my menu. Probably not the answer you work looking for, but 7 months isn't long enough to make it second nature.2
-
If it's an issue, I have it, too.5
-
I noticed your comment: I feel happiest when I eat.
I was like that too.
Finding other activities that gave me the same feeling helped immensely.
Perhaps that would help you too?5 -
bikecheryl wrote: »I noticed your comment: I feel happiest when I eat.
I was like that too.
Finding other activities that gave me the same feeling helped immensely.
Perhaps that would help you too?
Great advice. The same helped me too.
1 -
OP - it's not as uncommon as you think. Most of us are here because we constantly think about food. As long as it isn't interfering with the life you otherwise want to lead, you're OK.
Check your calorie targets to make sure that you're not overly depriving yourself but overall constantly thinking about food is pretty normal.
Heck, when I was in loss phase I broke my days up in to three hour periods between meals. Breakfast...three hours...lunch...three hours...snack...three hours...dinner...three hours...snack/bed. As soon as I finished one meal I was already waiting for the next one.14 -
For what it's worth, my wife has been like this for as long as I've known her and she hasn't once been on diet. Now, I'm a sucker for pre-logging/planning my days so I'm always thinking at least a meal or three ahead and spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy thinking about food, mostly from a nutrition-balancing standpoint, but I understand the feeling of wondering if you spend too much mental effort on food.
If you've been dieting non-stop since November it's possible you need a break psychologically. A controlled weekend or week at maintenance won't alter your weight loss schedule too terribly much and may help reset your mindset so you're not so hung up on your meals.
Further, what is your deficit/calories set to? If you've lost a significant amount of weight since you started it may be appropriate to reduce your deficit as you get closer to your goal. It's generally ill-advised to attempt to lose more than 1% of your body weight per week. If you're exceeding that, you may be trying to go too quickly and this is partly your body reacting to feeling deprived.3 -
Ok. Well if this is normal for some people forget I said anything. It just goes to show you we are all not the same. I rarely have unintended food thoughts unless I am hungry and that is usually just before a meal.2
-
Ok. Well if this is normal for some people forget I said anything. It just goes to show you we are all not the same. I rarely have unintended food thoughts unless I am hungry and that is usually just before a meal.
I thought your original advice was sound. I think about food because it's the one pleasurable thing in my life. Mine's a mental problem related to untreated depression rather than physical one. I'd like to be someone who only thinks about food when they're hungry.4 -
OP, you don't say whether or not you are hungry all the time. I tend to think about food when I'm hungry and don't have anything else on my mind. Some days--b/c I haven't figured out what satisfies me--I'm hungry a lot and I think about food more. If you are thinking about food b/c you are hungry all the time, then perhaps it's time to look into what might satisfy you more.1
-
If you've been dieting non-stop since November it's possible you need a break psychologically. A controlled weekend or week at maintenance won't alter your weight loss schedule too terribly much and may help reset your mindset so you're not so hung up on your meals.
Maintenance is harder than eating at a deficit. It has increased my attention to detail in my diet. If the deficit is a little larger or smaller than you think, you still lose weight and probably at very nearly the rate you are shooting for. If you are off in maintenance, you start creeping up or down.
EDIT - @SoulOfRusalka commented below and in the spirit of full disclosure, I do have some issues with obsession. However, I still maintain that maintenance only intensifies it.1 -
Everyone is acting like this is okay when it's one of the most imprisoning aspects of an eating disorder. Obsession is not a good sign. Sure, appreciation of food is good, but it sounds like you're not even appreciating the food you're eating because you're thinking about what to eat next, and you can't enjoy other activities or the moment you're in because it distracts you. That's not a healthy way to live. I agree with @NovusDies.
People on here are telling you that it's okay because it's common. Not so. Obesity is common too, and that doesn't mean it's not a problem. You deserve to live your life presently and freely.
One major cause of this is eating too little. You might want to increase your calories (even to maintenance) and see if it helps. Take a break until you feel better. If that doesn't work, it wouldn't hurt to see a therapist if you can make that happen.8 -
Just to be clear I know very little about eating disorders or how to recognize them. I have no idea if the OP fits some criteria or not. My original response was based on my previous experiences in which I was dieting and being too strict, staying too hungry, or doing something like Slimfast and became incredibly bored. At that time food did fill my thoughts until the diet inevitably failed.8
-
SoulOfRusalka wrote: »Everyone is acting like this is okay when it's one of the most imprisoning aspects of an eating disorder. Obsession is not a good sign. Sure, appreciation of food is good, but it sounds like you're not even appreciating the food you're eating because you're thinking about what to eat next, and you can't enjoy other activities or the moment you're in because it distracts you. That's not a healthy way to live. I agree with @NovusDies.
People on here are telling you that it's okay because it's common. Not so. Obesity is common too, and that doesn't mean it's not a problem. You deserve to live your life presently and freely.
One major cause of this is eating too little. You might want to increase your calories (even to maintenance) and see if it helps. Take a break until you feel better. If that doesn't work, it wouldn't hurt to see a therapist if you can make that happen.
By definition, all of us who track calories or macros have a version of an eating disorder. OP, I have the same problems. It just gets worse when I am stressed or at work. I think it had to do with several factors. First, when we lose weight the brain kicks in and makes some of us food focused. Now I have always been food focused, but being leaner just makes it worse. Survival and all that good stuff. Lack of sleep can make this worse. As we lose weight, leptin, one of our hunger hormones produced by the fat cells goes down. When people don't get enough sleep, it also goes down. It has an effect on our hypothalamus, which is our hunger center. One last thing I think it has something to do with, is control. Some of us live under a calorie restriction. I am coming to believe when you restrict something, it just makes you think about it more. Just my thoughts.6 -
I used to think about food all the time when I ate more high carb/high fat foods that didn't satiate me. Upping my protein helped considerably.
For example, I can eat 400 calories of popcorn and butter and want more food an hour later. But 400 calories of chicken, broccoli, potato, and butter, will keep me satisfied for hours.
If tweaking your macros doesn't help, these are good suggestions as well:I am guessing here. It could be that you are not completely satisfied, bored, and/or hungry too often. Are you getting enough treats? Are you getting enough variety? Are you eating enough to shut your hunger down until the next meal? You have been at this for 6 months have you taken a weekend to eat at maintenance to take a mini-break?
If you don't think any of that will help you, you may need to seek out therapy.
4 -
What is the nature of those thoughts? Are you happy or worried? If worried, are you just worried about the fact that you're thinking a lot about food? As an adult, you have to think about food. As an adult in a society filled with food, you have to think a lot about food, and you can't avoid being reminded of food. Having enough to eat, and delicious and safe food as well, is a great gift, but a gift that has to be used responsibly.
If you're worried, do you feel restricted, or are you over-restricting?2 -
When I started I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what I could prepare for my next meal. I have tended now to push all that time together into one session a week when I plan my week's menu and draw up a shopping list. With that done I don't need to think about food again for the week, other than a nice anticipation of my next meal, or to actually prepare it. Life happens and sometimes the meals need swapping about but they are generally nutritionally pretty similar.0
-
I reckon I spend about 90% of my waking hours thinking about food. What I'm going to eat next, what I can fit into tomorrow's calories, how I'm going to offset a restaurant meal.... it seems to take up waaaaay too much thought! Am really hoping I can move away from this mindset at some point.2
-
Youre body is starving. That's the whole point. If your body hadn't evolved to keep its fat stores then your ancestors would have died out. Once you get to your desired weight, hold at maintainance calories for 6 months to a year and you'll feel fine0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 395 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 960 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions