Why can't I stop thinking about food?

[summerholidaynow]

I feel like I have constant food noise. It drives me mad. I end up grazing a lot.

If you've had this, what helped? And please don't say willpower.

Cutting out sugar and increasing protein, fibre and complex carbs really helps reduce food noise.

I do that already - I am a very clean eater

Mounjaro! Only helpful if you’re very overweight but honestly the only thing that switched it off.

We need more context here.

Why is grazing on food bad? Sounds like a perfectly fine way to eat. You don't have to eat three set meals if that doesn't suit you.

Best advice I can give is write out what you honestly eat in an average day, and pick an easy win for you to change. Then eat like that for a while.

Then have a look again and where your diet is and where you'd like it to be.

Don't aim to eliminate all the fun from your diet. 80% healthy is fine.

Those are things I've picked up that worked for me.

Next time the cashews (or whatever good it is) are calling you, ask yourself:
Am I hungry?
Will I feel bad for eating between meals?
Will I even register that I've eaten it?

Is there something you like that you find really absorbing? Books or films are the obvious ones. Could you make a list of ones you've always wanted to see it classics you should have read but never did? Just to occupy your mind while you are changing your habits.

If we're not allowed to say willpower, that's a hell of a lot of people you don't want to hear from.

Cutting out upf as far as reasonably possible.

Making rules so I could ignore the noise and disengage from the "shall I, shan't I?" to and fro to the cupboard, with the inevitable rationalisation that I should tonight but that I wouldn't tomorrow - inevitably repeating the exact same thing the next day.

Not eating breakfast. If I don't eat in the morning, i get busy and dont get hungry. Then I eat a big dinner and don't feel hungry in the morning (but of course still want to eat all night, hence I now have a rule about having one chocolate bar per night, whether I fancy it or not. The structure helps me a lot).

I find myself wanting to eat in the afternoons but not being as bothered in the mornings or evenings.

So I schedule errands or work commitments or whatever to be heavier at those times so I’m distracted and then I’m back on track by the next part of the day!

I live with food noise all day , every day ( didn't know it was a thing till I joined here ) I think about food all day

I have to control what I eat all the time. I have to meal plan, seriously think about my meals, keep them well balanced , planning ahead for meals out, parties, etc

Half a plate of veg/salad/fruit, a pile of protein, handful of carbs

If I hit the carbs then all bets are off - and I pig out

Until I changed my habits to the ones I have now, I actually didn't eat a lot of food, but that food I did eat was high carb/sugar

I do have to pile the protein on, I eat a lot of cottage cheese, greek yoghurt, tinned fish, eggs, chicken, turkey

I hold back on milk and cheese - one cappuccino a day and hard cheese - small amount once a week or so

Dont touch white bread or pasta - wholemeal only, and rice and potatoes are rare - one or the other once a week at the most

Eat lots of lentils, beans and pulses to fill me

Processed foods are down to things like ketchup / mayo / etc

If I keep it clean I can resist the noise