Do any of the maintainers here constantly talk to themselves about food? Is this "normal" behavior? I'm not expecting it to magically get better because I've been doing it ever since I lost the weight. I guess I just need a few other people to tell me that they do it too, to make me feel better.

Well, I seem to be thinking about food an awful lot---what I'll eat, when my next meal is, can I fit this or that treat in, etc. I hate this aspect of losing and maintaining weight, and I'm hoping it will lessen over time. Oddly enough, when I was fat, I was rarely thinking about food (probably because I was always eating it instead of thinking about it!).

Not any more. I broke myself of that habit. It was becoming a problem.

Jay

If you mean thinking about it constantly, then yes, absolutely. I consider myself to be a food addict and it's always on my mind, regardless of whether or not I'm staying on plan or have fallen off track. It's not fun but I have this going on and there are much worse burdens in life.

I've broken that habit. Now I only think about food when I'm writing up my menu plan/shopping lists, as I was just doing before checking out 3FC, or when I'm hungry. Planning my food a week ahead means that I no longer have to think about food all the time.

You can break this habit.

I would love to, but my problem is that I still see food as somewhat recreational. So, while I do plan, I don't plan down to the nth degree; I like some spontaneity in my weekly food. So, while my fridge might be stocked with foods that I know I can eat (although, since I'm a calorie counter, nothing is really off limits), I don't really plan every meal. That type of planning takes some of the joy out of eating for me. Also, on the occasions when I have planned out all my meals, I find that it can sometimes actually make me eat more than I normally would: After inputting all my meals into my smartphone app, I might realize that I won't reach my calories for the day, so I'll know in the back of my mind that I can eat more, and I do. Whereas, if I just eat as I go, that doesn't happen as much.

I need to get some more hobbies to take my mind off of food.

If I do, it's a sign that I'm anxious about something. But that something is generally not food. It means I feel unequal to something approaching in the near future. It could be a social occasion, in which I'm afraid of being judged or not measuring up, or a demanding day at work, or travel plans that leave me running around to get things done before departure. It's like the collective thinking when a snowstorm approaches and everyone stocks up, with milk and bread flying off the shelves at the grocery store. I do that, too: Emotional storm approaching. Must be assured of food supply.

If I'm not in an anxious state, food is more like one more thing on a to-do list, that is, mildly annoying, just another routine task to accomplish. I'm more like: "Yes, and about dinner this week? Have I figured it out yet? Do I have enough fruit for healthy snacking? Better grab a grocery ad." It's less like a lifeline I'm clutching and more of a task.

As I keep saying: For me, it's never about the food, really, or hardly ever. The food is a metaphor. I use obsessing over food as a mask for obsessing over whatever is REALLY bothering me.

I think back when I had an eating disorder, I did obsess purely about food at times, but it's because I was basically starving myself.

Not so much. Improving my nutrition profile (for me, ramping up the good fats) usually keeps me reasonably content. I think I obsessed far more when I ate more of the kinds of processed stuff with the weird ingredients; it set me up for a lot of the mindless cravings and lack of satiety.

That being said, if I am anxious or angry ... I will try to chew it away if I don't recognize the situation for what it is, as Saef says above.

Oh, yes, food is on my mind most of the time. In the background, but it is there.

I'm so obsessed with food, thinking and talking about it all the time. But I think it's normal, because food is the first necessity of life! Finding new tastes, exploring the food-universe, cooking, planning, sharing recipes and meals, sometimes (when I need to) talking myself into eating less or sometimes more... I think it counts as constantly talking to myself about food, hihi.

I try not to. I remember it consumed my thoughts 24/7 for months when I was in the "loss" and "binge/starve" stages of whatever this is (I hesitate to call it a "journey," since it's not really life-changing). I definitely talk and think about food more than "normal" people still.

krampus-I'm continually trying to figure out what normal is in the realm of weight loss. It seems almost impossible to lose as much weight as I've lost and not get a little bit obsessive about it.

I consider myself a closet foodie. I'm not well versed enough to tell anyone, though! I still have to look up some ingredients on the internet just to know what they are! But I often use StumbleUpon and Food Gawker to peruse cooking websites to get new recipes. I love cooking. I love good tasting food. That said, I usually fall back to Cooking Light when trying to figure out what to fix because they have the more diet-friendly foods.

With two growing boys (ages 6 and 10), food is all I think about, lol. I'm running to the store every five minutes. Seriously, I think about food a lot but I don't obsess over it. I try to put it into perspective, you know? Eat to live not live to eat.

Ain't that the truth, says someone else who lost over 100 pounds.

For me, there ain't no normal there.