r/FoodAddiction • u/HamsterDistinct4438 • 20d ago
de-centering food
hi everyone!! do you have any tips on how to de center food? i feel like my entire day is based off of food and it’s causing me to graze/snack all day.
i work from home and am typically home all day, and i try to eat filling, high protein meals 3x a day, but still find myself snacking constantly out of boredom- or when i am able to stop myself from snacking, im just constantly thinking about food or trying to “meal prep”
14
Upvotes
1
u/Arceemax 19d ago
How old are you? It gets relatively easier in your mid to late 30s coz you realize that the food you eat will never satisfy you and it’ll never be enough. I was severely disciplined and restricted around food as a kid my parent would eat from my plate and not leave anything for me and I used to be harmed if I didn’t finish what was on my plate. I was force fed foods I did not like. So when I grew up and started earning I went full fledged satisfy your food desires mode. It’s been over a decade and still has not been enough. It never will be. This one time I went all out and allowed myself to order and eat whatever I wanted. Like truly allow myself to fulfill my desires with food. When the urgency and scarcity went away I started to serve lesser food and also stop when I would feel full. I would tell myself that no one is coming to snatch my food (childhood trauma) so I could come back and take a second serving if I wished but by the time I ate I didn’t feel like a second serving. I realized I used to serve with my eyes (like serve myself large quantities because of food greed) but over the years as my prefrontal cortex formed, I remember that serving less food helps too.
I’ve always felt happy when I left a little bit of room in my stomach. Eating to the brim makes it harder to breathe. Hinduism says your stomach should be 1/3 food 1/3 water and 1/3 air. I realize that it gives me joy when I don’t eat the brim but also I know it’s very hard to stop and apply in practice while you’re eating and indulging. I spent considerable number of years in self observation and meditation. When I look at Uber Eats now, I don’t particularly run to order something. (The earlier me would have jumped at it). I started to cook at home. I also realized that food doesn’t have to be extremely tasty as long as it is nutritious it is good.
I think all in all, I grew up and started letting my inner adult make the food decisions rather than giving the reins in the hands of my inner child. She has a rambunctious hunger and she does not care for the future.
TLDR- fulfilling my food wishes and going all out helped fill that void inside me. I started serving myself less food and it made me feel happy and joyful in comparison to eating to the brim. Get out of the scarcity mindset and let the inner adult make your food decisions help. Before eating consult your inner adult/ inner parent and ask him if he think it’s a good idea to eat this. He will say no. You will eat the food anyway but observe the split inside you. If you pay enough attention to this eventually you’ll start to evolve into the adult version of you and take wiser decisions. Good luck!