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Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:34 am
by Thisisnotabadidea-
I realized today the only thing I look forward to is eating, I have other hobbies that I've ignored for a good 7 months in lieu of thinking about food/diets ALL THE TIME. I know I have to think about food a little bit more than a normal person because every single thing I make is from scratch(severe food sensitivities) and that's fine I genuinely enjoy cooking but I don't like not doing anything but looking forward to making and eating food :? . So I dunno I'm asking if anyone else found they had more mental space to think about other stuff on nos, I theoretically see it happening since you only have to think about food 3 times a day and if you plan meals that you eat often even better no?

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:11 am
by Dalia negra
If it happens. In my best times of No S, I found that I often did not write anything in my journal because I had nothing interesting to say about food. This had gone into the background and I only thought about it when it was time to eat or have to cook :wink:

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 4:06 pm
by automatedeating
Dalia - I think I typically deal with the "nothing interesting to say about food" by just rambling about pretty much every other area of my life. :lol: :roll: :mrgreen:

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:03 am
by Dalia negra
:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:27 pm
by Thisisnotabadidea-
Well I'm starting to get bored again! I think that is a great sign that my food/weight obsession is lifting because my brain isn't being taken up by all of those thoughts and instead is like "Well what are we gonna do?!"

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:06 am
by Dalia negra
It's a very good sign, it means that No S is helping you in that way :D

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:46 pm
by jenji
For me, the answer is yes. I do get the feeling Reinhard describes in the book, that because certain decisions are already made, I can put eating on auto-pilot more. And this has helped me be more productive at work and home, because not every time is for eating.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 4:46 pm
by BrightAngel
For Me, personally, the answer is No. My own belief is that it is necessary to lose the weight obsession before the food obsession goes. According to current research, if we can actually stop caring about our own size, and whether we are fat or thin, thoughts of food and it's importance in our life will greatly diminish. .. However, this is something I've never been able to achieve, and here at age 74, my personal weight prejudice doesn't seem likely to leave me.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:19 pm
by margot17
BrightAngel wrote:
Sat Feb 09, 2019 4:46 pm
if we can actually stop caring about our own size, and whether we are fat or thin
Is that even possible? I don't know anyone who doesn't fuss over his/her size, for a reason or another.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 6:40 pm
by BrightAngel
There are lots of "health-at-every-size" people, and "size-acceptance" coaches that can be found online who are working to help people with that issue. Buut the world, and especially our own current western culture, has a severe anti-fat bias, to which all of us are exposed to continually every single day of our lives. It includes just about everyone,... our parents, our family, our friends, our acquaintences, strangers.... advertisers of almost everything ... the medical profession.. the list goes on and on and on.

People come naturally in all different sizes.

A current anti-diet Theory is that if each individual person who from birth on, was left to his or her own eating choices without having them eating influenced by the outside culture's hatred for "fat".... that people would eat simply as their bodies told them to eat, and some would be very thin, some thin, some normal, some larger, some fat, and some fatter. This would be the natural and healthy size for that individual person, and almost no one would be Extremely, Severely Obese.

It would simply be like some people are short and some are taller; and like people have different colored hair, and eyes, different colored skin; and some people carry their weight in their bottom and thighs, and others in their stomach area, and others in their upper body. It would be great if everyone could accept the "naturally" thin or fat body of each person without prejudice, but that's not what our culture teaches us to do.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:47 pm
by margot17
I agree that there can be a range. In Ayurveda this is expressed in terms of there being three doshas, where it's illogic to expect a kapha dosha to be as slim as a vata dosha. But I have difficulties considering physiological a higher range than, let's say, 10-12 point of BMI for women (keeping into account how much of that is fat % and how much is muscles %, so if the muscles % is higher there can be a bigger range too). Above or below that, I think that saying that it's your body that wants to be that particular weight is, in my opinion, a lot of BS. Wild animals are never particularly fat, and if they're skinny it's not because their body wants to be skinny. Now we humans are complicated and we have many very good reasons why it can be difficult for us, especially in this historical phase, to be in tune with our bodies, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. So I basically see no need to tell ourselves that being 100 kg is what the body wants, in order to feel less guity or ashamed. That guilt and shame can be addressed and resolved directly, without sugar-coating what is actually true. Also because, if you think that it's your body that wants it, and go on eating in a way that doesn't work for you because hey there's no problem, you deny yourself the chance to eventually reach out to a more fitting woe and an adequate weight, and feel much better. I think that the "health at every size" movement is moved by good intentions, but some of the reasoning is a bit flawed. JMHO
Also the whole idea that we are too fixated on appearance is a very popular thought, but I don't necessarily agree. In Italy and France people are particularly obsessed with appearance and fashion, compared to other countries, and they're averagely thin or normal. It's rare to see someone obese these parts. So that positively exclude a relation of causality between the two things, eventually it even points to the contrary.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 3:29 am
by oolala53
I think the people that No S makes this kind of release for don't spend much time here, so you may not hear from them. That doesn''t mean that the ones who are here are necessarily obsessed. It just means you might not be getting the whole picture.

Still, this doesn't sound like as hopeful a discussion and you might have wanted.

There were actually a few years on No S when I felt a lot freer than I feel now. I was willing to be the size I was, and I found a lot of pleasure in the limits I had set. I won't go into the details of what has happened now. It's just not as easy as it was for a good six years. I don't know what would have happened if I had really not lost any weight. I did and I have to admit that I would prefer to stay smaller UNLESS eating more and gaining weight would make the rest of my life as interesting and compelling. When and what I get to eat takes up a fair amount of bandwidth, but I can't blame No S for that.

In a way, it almost doesn't matter what happens to other people. No one can tell what will happen for any one person. It's just about odds.

I agree that there is a relationship between the ability to be relaxed about appearance and being able to be relaxed about eating. In cultures where there is more permission to be bigger and to eat a lot, I'm pretty sure those women don't worry about it much. It's expected that people eat hearty and look bigger. In some, it's even admired. In fact, they might worry they will lose weight and lose allure.

I feel for you! And wish I could offer more solace.

No matter what, I wish for you that you do at least enjoy the food you do eat. And perhaps let yourself off the hook. There are slim cultures where people do spend a fair number of their time anticipating and enjoying great meals, and they don't feel bad about it.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 4:06 pm
by kccc
I did find that I gained a lot of mental bandwidth from not snacking, not debating internally whether I should/shouldn’t eat, and far less beating myself up for food choices I regretted.

There’s a good bit of research about how eating can be emotionally driven. It’s a great avoidance strategy for not dealing with other areas of your life. And when you add structure that reins in the eating, you may find those issues waiting for you. Or you may find a hole “what else do I do?”

Some gentle curiosity may help - it did for me. But do be gentle with yourself and allow yourself to explore other things.

(I do still spend some mental energy on food, but in a much more positive way - less guilt, more planning/enjoyment.)

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:23 pm
by Whosonfirst
kccc wrote:
Thu Mar 07, 2019 4:06 pm
I did find that I gained a lot of mental bandwidth from not snacking, not debating internally whether I should/shouldn’t eat, and far less beating myself up for food choices I regretted.

There’s a good bit of research about how eating can be emotionally driven. It’s a great avoidance strategy for not dealing with other areas of your life. And when you add structure that reins in the eating, you may find those issues waiting for you. Or you may find a hole “what else do I do?”

Some gentle curiosity may help - it did for me. But do be gentle with yourself and allow yourself to explore other things.

(I do still spend some mental energy on food, but in a much more positive way - less guilt, more planning/enjoyment.)
This sounds dead-on accurate in my case too. Although I approach it in the opposite way; find some activity that uses my brain and/or body to occupy my thoughts away from snacking. Either way, your idea sounds better.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:31 pm
by liveitup
Same for me this week! It's like if I allow myself to snack, then I'm off searching for snacks, and then I'm trying out new ones, filling some void, and then if it's salty I think oh, I need something sweet, and then I have a new pursuit, and this happens until I feel full and guilty.

When it's just off limits, I can avoid all that. Don't get me wrong, when it's close to mealtime I'm thinking about food, but that's fine because I'm hungry!

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:04 am
by automatedeating
When it's just off limits, I can avoid all that.
Yep. It's easier to have black and white rules, which I guess is very human of us.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 1:50 pm
by gingerpie
I don't really know how to answer this question. It's complicated. I do still think about food quite a bit but my thoughts center almost entirely on it's preparation (I cook entirely from scratch for 5 people. Three of whom are vegetarian and all of whom are quite health conscious and are "picky" in the sense that we want a lot of vegetable choices but limited carbs and/or fat at each meal) This means, I have to know the night before what is on the menu so that I can defrost what is needed or perhaps prepare something ahead of time so that I'm not rushed between work and kids' activities. I also think about it during the day just to review what the plan is for the evening etc. Naturally, reviewing what's on the menu means, I have to have made a menu at some point as well as a shopping list and I have to to have shopped. So,do I think about food a lot? Probably yes when compared to someone who cooks more prepared items or eats out more but I definitely don't think about food in the sense of looking forward to a treat or with a feeling of "I can't wait". When I find myself headed down the road of eating too much or eating the "wrong" sorts of things, I feel physically gross the next day. I don't have to think about it other than to realize that I'm not going to like if if I make certain choices. I certainly don't "debate" with myself about whether I should or should not eat a particular item. It's not a matter of "should". It's a matter of "am I willing to accept the consequences?"

I should mention that I've been at this game quite a while now and I have made a million little changes that have translated into big changes. Allowing for the truth that everyone is different and we all have to travel our own paths. I think there is a good chance that you will reach a point in your life where food/eating is not the focal point of your day.

So, If I'm not thinking about food, why am I even on the boards today you ask? :) Because I'm at work and there is literally nothing to do right now . . . I used to "need" to visit the boards for motivation and support but now I drop in every 6 or 7 months just too see what's happening. :) My life is busy and full with lots of ideas, thoughts and activities that have nothing to do with food. But,food remains an important focus of my family and therefor it must remain important to me as an individual. That's okay.

I hope my message give you a measure of hope and I wish the best of luck to you on your journey.

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:24 pm
by sam128
Thisisnotabadidea- wrote:
Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:34 am
I realized today the only thing I look forward to is eating, I have other hobbies that I've ignored for a good 7 months in lieu of thinking about food/diets ALL THE TIME I know I have to think about food a little bit more than a normal person because every single thing I make is from scratch(severe food sensitivities) and that's fine I genuinely enjoy cooking but I don't like not doing anything but looking forward to making and eating food :? . So I dunno I'm asking if anyone else found they had more mental space to think about other stuff on nos, I theoretically see it happening since you only have to think about food 3 times a day and if you plan meals that you eat often even better no?
the answer is no :(

Re: Does the obesssion with food go away with Nos?

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 5:00 am
by Soprano
I guess we are all different but I only think about food when planning the weeks meals and when I cook and eat it.

So you may lose your obsession in time. Certainly more chance with Nos than most other firms if diets...

Jx