In my post “Food on Your Mind Much (Always)?” I defined the term food preoccupation or obsession as excessively worrying about food, calories, grams of carbohydrate or fat, etc. Thinking about food on a daily basis is normal, but worrying or obsessing about food much of the time is not. For more details about food preoccupation please read my post “Food on Your Mind Much (Always)?”.
People with eating disorders or who chronically diet tend to have food preoccupation. Part of the recovery process from an eating disorder and other eating problems whether it is anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating or compulsive overeating is working to reduce food preoccupation.
Here are some tips to reduce food preoccupation:
1. The first step is to notice when and how often you worry about food, calories, weight, etc. Notice thoughts rather than CRITICIZE thoughts about food. If we beat ourselves up about stuff it just keeps us stuck, but we are able to problem solve and move forward if we accept ourselves .
2. Ask yourself some of the following questions:
What purpose does excessively thinking about food/weight serve me?
Am I really in more control (of my life or my weight) by thinking about food/weight so much?
What things am I avoiding by spending so much time worrying about food? Often times people will focus on food rather than think about painful situations or feelings, to soothe anxiety or stress, to relieve boredom or procrastination, etc.
What am I missing out on (For example friends, family, hobbies, occupation, school, etc.) by spending so much time thinking about food?
What am I afraid is going to happen if I stop obsessing about food?
Learning more about your particular circumstances around food preoccupation may help you challenge some of your worry about food and weight.
3. When you notice yourself obsessing or worrying about food, dieting or your body:
Simply say “stop” or “halt” to those thoughts and think about something else.
Write out a pros/cons list of worrying about food.
Offer yourself reassurance that decreasing your thoughts about food is OK after all it really hasn’t helped with eating problems, most likely it is making your food problems worse.
4. Make sure you are eating enough food regularly throughout the day. Regularly skipping meals and snack or chronic under eating can contribute to increased food preoccupation.
5. Schedule time to worry about food. For example, promise yourself that between 9am-9:30am daily you can worry about food and stick to it.
6. Reduce time reading about dieting, food and exercise. You may subscribe to magazines or newsletters or spend a large amounts of time on the internet reading about food, weight, etc. which may only exacerbate the food worry.
7. Reduce the amount of time talking about food, weight/shape and dieting.
8. Consulting a counselor often helps reduce food preoccupation. A counselor can help work to reduce the underlying causes of your food/weight worry.