How to stop thinking about food

@Isapizza13

Hey Isa,

Why do you want to stop thinking about food? 7cups is a support community that isn't here to help disordered eating habits. I just want to make sure that you aren't trying to stop thinking about food to fuel your eating disorder.

We are all here to support you and help you work through your problems, and I'd be happy to talk to you.

@brightForest97 I know, what I mean is that I want to eat healthy, and I cant stop thinking about food, I want to eat healthy, not compulsively

@Isapizza13

That's really good that you're putting in the effort to eat well. Eating well can be hard. Something that's helped me in the past is taking the junk food out of my house if that's possible for you. Then, if you have an urge, it's a lot harder to act on it if you actually have to go out of the house to get the food.

Being around other people can be a good distraction too. Also, journaling my thoughts has been helpful to me.

To stop focusing on negative thoughts, I like to listen to music or do some kind of art to distract myself. Taking walks or doing something active to get your mind of things could also possibly help.

I am very glad that someone asked this question about how to stop thinking about food. I am also struggling with this, and it is good to know that I am not alone. I wish I had some advice, but this is an ongoing issue for me, and I don't know what to do.

@Isapizza13

First try to understand why it happens. Are you an emotional eater? Do you find yourself alot of times locked inside the house with nothing to do? Do you have a balanced diet? (like getting natural sugar with fruit for example)

I used to eat ALOT and think about it all the time because I dealt with my feelings that way.

Nowdays I think about food alot of I'm bored or I don't have anything to focous in.

My advice is to really analyse your life and see if any of these things relate to you. FInd hobbys, try to constantly be active , try to go out of the house even in a small walk.

Best of luck

I have this same problem. When I'm on a roll *which is more often than not these days, thankfully* as soon as the "eat something now" thought arrives I quickly check with stomach to see if really hungry (most of the time the answer is no) and when it is no I get up and move, do something different than what I'm doing. If I'm at home, that will be going outside and walking for 15 to 20 min. If i'm at the office, it will be getting up from my desk and going to the natural light and doing shoulder shrugs or getting out of the building for a quick 10 min wallk.

what ive learned is that the thoughts don't stop arbitrarly popping into our heads but when we take action with our bodies it can quiet them and take us to a better place that does not attach and obsess over them.

I have the same issue. Recently I got a new job in a cafeteria and have improved my vegetable intake but continue to eat too much of other things especially containing sugar.

I really recommend personifying your eating disorder as someone in your head who you can't really get away from, but you can shut him up for a second. A lot of people call him Ed, as you may already know, and when you're eating, he's the one making you think about food, so sometimes its good to tell Ed to shut up and leave you alone, because until you can find a way to work through him and his negative words he says, it's always going to be super hard.

@UnpleasantUtopia5678 I like it. A similar thing I have used is a mantra to take control back over my thoughts. "I am not my body, I am not even my mind. My body does not control me, my mind does not control me. I control my body, I control my mind."

Some practices only work in some situations. Some only work for a while and you have to come up with something else after a while. It's an active process.

I think about food too much also. I am overweight and seditary. Not a good combination. I think I eat to cope with anxiety and depression. I also have this phobia of not wanting any food to go to waste. I am currently torn, as I am making BLTs for my son and myself. The tomato is pretty ripe and the lettuce won't last forever. But there is also manwich that needs to be eaten up and some sort of potato dish that my wife made. I am the family food disposal as my wife and kids don't seem to care for leftovers, which makes me sad, Not much help for you in my post, but thanks for opening my mind on the subject. Have a great day

This was a good thread for me because I am also dealing with a food addiction/eating disorder. I stress eat mostly, tending to go for sweet junk foods/cookies.

I can manage short term success, but always fall back off the wagon when stress picks up, and it doesn't help that I work in a grocery store where im surrounded by trigger foods and the stress of retail.

Like others have said, physical activity usually works for me for a while, but the thoughts continue to assert themselves as stress picks up and I see my triggers all around me, though I do like the idea of personifying the problem. I will try this.

@DinGirDuMu Hi there. I know how obsessive the thought of food can be. In middle school, I used to throw up after I ate and in high school I started restricting my calories and exercising a ton. Exercising can help some, but for me it can also make me obsess over my food as well because i think of what Ive consumed or what Im going to consume while working out. I am now in college and had developed a binge eating habit thats getting better. Trying to keep busy is best for me. When Im busy with something I enjoy. Food does not cross my mind. The best thing to do is make sure you still eat and take care of yourself. Try to limit yourself to healthy foods that may not give you the same cravings as bad ones. Eat those healthy foods until you are full to help resist temptation. I know this is hard.

@Isapizza13

For me, I know I think more about food when I am trying to avoid eating certain foods. The more I try to avoid them, the more I think about them. The only way I don't think about food at all is when I stay really, really busy.

Who else is here to feed their eating disorder. Not because they want to healthy

help

@straightforwardField6651 Welcome to my world.