Should I be feeding my food obsession/addiction?

.... MENTALLY, I mean.

I am obsessed with food.

I think about it all the time - what to eat next, what's healthy, what's not, nutrition, etc. Whenever I'm online, I'm always on food forums, checking nutrition facts/ingredients, looking up restaurants, etc. Whenever I turn on the TV, its the food channel or any other cooking shows. Whenever I read, its looking at food deals/flyers or articles or magazines. Sometimes I visit several grocery stores in one day.

Food is all over, so hard to avoid.... even if I'm not watching a food program on TV, the commercials come up and advertise about food! And same with the newspaper, etc.... which ultimately leads me back to thinking about food.

Should I be trying to 'restrict' myself from food thinking/activities?

But sometimes the more you try and 'restrict' yourself, the more you want to do it....

What do you think? How can I get rid/fix/decrease this unhealthy food obsession?

I'm not sure how old you are but you could channel your "obsession" with food into something good, like being creative in the kitchen, baking things to donate to the poor, going to culinary school, studying to be a dietician, etc. It's ok as long as your thoughts are along the lines of "food appreciation" instead of negative feelings associated with eating.

I'm a little obsessed too. I just got back from Vegas and one of the highlights for me was going to Whole Foods!

i agree you should try to turn it into a positive passion.

everyone is obsessed w food in one way or another i think.

if you're not lettin it interfere w enjoyin life or make you unhealthy, i say embrace it.

have fun w it, play around w it

Original Post by broom_closet:

.... MENTALLY, I mean.

I am obsessed with food.

I think about it all the time - what to eat next, what's healthy, what's not, nutrition, etc. Whenever I'm online, I'm always on food forums, checking nutrition facts/ingredients, looking up restaurants, etc. Whenever I turn on the TV, its the food channel or any other cooking shows. Whenever I read, its looking at food deals/flyers or articles or magazines. Sometimes I visit several grocery stores in one day.

Food is all over, so hard to avoid.... even if I'm not watching a food program on TV, the commercials come up and advertise about food! And same with the newspaper, etc.... which ultimately leads me back to thinking about food.

Should I be trying to 'restrict' myself from food thinking/activities?

But sometimes the more you try and 'restrict' yourself, the more you want to do it....

What do you think? How can I get rid/fix/decrease this unhealthy food obsession?

i have had this problem in the past and continue with it still sometimes. it sounds liek you're going down an unhealthy path with the obsession being that you are constantly searching calories and things of that sort. in the height of my ED i did the same things. i would say watching tv shows with food and things like that can be normal if you do it with the intention of appreciating and preparing the food...not ruminating on calories and optimization. i feel like it fuels ED related behaviors. this is just my experience and i'm not saying it out of harshness at all. i hope this helps =] you said yourself that it is an UNHEALTHY food obsession and merely a general interest in food, so just try to occupy yourself with fun activities. surround yourself with others who you would feel uncomfortable engaging in those activities around!! 

Hey, I love the support I'm receiving around here!

HOWEVER.... :(

I'm pretty sure if its an overly unhealthy obsession, because sometimes I find that food distracts me from other things as well (ie. im so busy thinking about food, i can't carry a proper conversation with my full attn while i'm eating or something)

I also religiously look at nutrition facts so much, I have calorie #s for food memorized :S

Also I tend to binge a lot as well... once I start with my trigger foods, I can't stop until I'm very very uncomfortable.

Chrissy, your response was not harsh at all :)

I was thinking something along the similar lines actually.

But I'm wondering if I should try and STOP myself from thinking about it, cause sometimes the more you do this - the worse it gets (we all want what we cant have/restrict ourselves to)

Or should I just keep feeding it and try and turn it into something positive....

I'm just not sure I guess.

Original Post by broom_closet:

Chrissy, your response was not harsh at all :)

I was thinking something along the similar lines actually.

But I'm wondering if I should try and STOP myself from thinking about it, cause sometimes the more you do this - the worse it gets (we all want what we cant have/restrict ourselves to)

Or should I just keep feeding it and try and turn it into something positive....

I'm just not sure I guess.

no...turn as far away as possible. just eat. eat when you feel hungry and stop when you're full. if you have  a good idea that something you want is really high cal then just have a tiny bit and pat yourself on the back for indulging but within reason. =]

Wow I thought I was the only one who memorized the cals of every food in the world (I've also memorized the protein and fiber contents).

Anyways, I'm the same way. I plan all my meals, constantly using my cell phones calculator to calculate how much cals i burned and ate, how much protein and fiber, and I'm always on the net or watching tv on food. I've given up on changing...I really think its just something I have to live with now, and there is no going back. I mean how can I unmemorize something right? Like in the previous posts, I try to make the best out of it, but sometimes I wish I never started this in the first place.

Original Post by broom_closet:

 I'm wondering if I should try and STOP myself from thinking about it

 If I say 'think of an animal, any animal, except an elephant'... what immediately pops in your head?   The more you tell yourself 'stop thinking about food' the more you'll think about  it.   The only way to stop thinking about a subject is to find another thing to think about instead.  If your life is full, busy and challenging then you'll have less time to spend obsessing.   

Find ways to fill your time usefully that have nothing to do with food.  Absorbing hobbies, joining clubs, doing sports, creative crafts, learning a new skill.   If the adverts on TV are distracting, watch DVDs.  If you deliberately seek out food-related sites on the net, lose the links or don't use the net for a while... read a book instead.  Anything you can do to break the habit will help and your food-obsessed thoughts will hopefully recede into the background.

Of course, if you find this obsession refuses to be quelled, starts interfering with your ability to lead a normal life and you have difficulties getting a better balance then you may need psychiatric help... For that you'll need to see your doctor and ask to be referred.