Why do I think about food all the time?
What am I going to eat next? Am I really hungry? Should I eat this much? What am I having for dinner? Am I greedy?
Maybe it’s just happening in the evening, or maybe it’s happening all day.
If you’ve been stuck in that cycle of constantly pondering food, this read might be for you.
Increasing food thoughts is often a sign that your brain & body are trying to tell you something pretty important.
You might be thinking about food because you aren’t eating enough.
When you’re eating less than your body needs, your brain becomes increasingly focused on food.
A really good example of this dates back to 1944-45. A study called the Minnesota Starvation Experiment put 36 otherwise healthy men on a calorie restricted diet for several months. During that time, the men noted constant thoughts of food, to the point of losing interest in anything else. This transpired into behaviours like talking about food, dreaming about food, hoarding recipes, and watching others eat. In response to insufficient energy, their survival instincts kicked in.
When you’re not getting enough energy in, your brain makes it harder for food to be ignored. It’s a normal and important physiological response to an unmet need.
It might feel like:
· Thinking about the next think you’re going to eat.
· Looking at recipes and food videos.
· Feeling out of control around certain foods.
· Eating more than you planned to after trying to restrict.
· Feeling like you’re never satisfied.
You might not realise that you’re not eating enough. This can happen when you skip meals, skip food groups, or wait until you’re feeling hungry before eating.
Restricting certain foods can make you think about them even more.
The moment you put a food in ‘food jail’, it seemingly becomes more desirable.
The more you restrict it the more you think about it. And when you do eat it, you feel out of control. That creates guilt which is often managed with more restriction. And so the cycle repeats.
Including variety in your food choices and consciously including your favourite foods on a regular basis is a really important step in improving your relationship with food.
Diets increase preoccupation with food.
A diet in of itself encourages you to think about food more frequently. Depending on the diet you’re following, you might be thinking:
· How many calories was that?
· How many calories do I have left for the day?
· Is this food ‘healthy’?
· What constitutes ‘healthy’?
· Have I eaten too much?
· Do I need to exercise to make up for this?
· Was that enough protein?
· What oil do I use?
· Can I have dessert?
Food becomes a full-time job, often served with a side of guilt if you feel like you haven’t stuck to the plan.
More often than not, another diet isn’t the answer to uncomplicating your relationship with food. In fact stepping away from dieting might be the very thing that uncomplicates it most.
Social media consumption can make food thoughts worse.
Everywhere you look on social media, there’s nutrition content. Some of it isn’t even intended to be nutrition content, but it still adds to those thoughts of food.
Content might cover:
· Recipes
· What I eat in a day videos
· Food challenges
· Restaurant reviews
· Weight loss advice
· Nutrition advice
· Wellbeing advice
Some of its really helpful, some of its evidence-based, but some of it is entirely misinformed and fear-driven.
If you’re dealing lots of food thoughts, toning down your exposure to food-related content can be a really helpful strategy. You can do this by muting or unfollowing accounts you’re not finding helpful.
It might be a sign of disordered eating.
Mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, preoccupation with food can be a sign that you’ve crossed into disordered eating territory.
While it’s not always a concrete sign, it’s something worth exploring if your food thoughts:
· Are taking up a significant proportion of your day.
· Making it hard to concentrate on other things.
· Causing distress, anxiety, or guilt.
· Affecting your social life and relationships.
· Leading to cycles of restricting and eating beyond comfortable fullness.
How do I turn down the food thoughts?
It’s going to depend on what’s causing the food thoughts. It might be one of the above, it might be all of the above, or it might be none of the above.
It can be a case of eating more regularly and increasing nutrition.
It can be a case of consciously including more of your favourite foods on a regular basis or challenging food rules.
It may be taking a break from social media.
And if you’ve made it to the bottom of this blog and you’re not sure, know that you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Who do I speak to?
Working with a dietitian or a psychologist or both can help you to better understand what’s causing the increased food thoughts. Working with a professional is all about finding a more peaceful and flexible relationship with food.
So if you’re thinking about food more often than usual and you’re wondering whether support might be helpful, you can explore my services or book an appointment through my website. I offer online dietetic consultations throughout New Zealand with a focus on improving relationships with food.
