Looking at pictures of food..
 

So I'm not sure if this is normal or a little odd, but since I can't eat all of the junk I would like to, I just randomly go to pinterest and look at pictures of desserts. Do you think this is a bad behavior that could trigger me to eat more junk food, or do you think this some how satisfies the part of my brain that wants these foods? Anyone have any experience with this?

Well, has looking at the pictures triggered you to eat unhealthy food? I'd imagine for some people it would, and others it wouldn't. You're the only one who can answer the question :)

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, except not with Pinterest. I like looking at recipes! Cooking and baking are things I have always enjoyed doing and I've always liked looking at recipes. For the most part I'm looking for recipes that will fit nicely into my diet, but it's also fun to look at recipes for things like cupcakes and soft pretzels and scalloped potatoes and the like :) I don't do it every day, but probably look at a few recipes every couple of days. So far it hasn't triggered any unhealthy eating for me! And while I've made several of the healthy recipes I've come across, I've not made any of the less healthy ones. Have to admit I've bookmarked a couple of them to make for special occasions, but that's it.

For me it can be triggering. I also like to watch cooking shows and Top Chef and those are triggering as well. Inevitably I'll start thinking about a snack. I've been avoiding wheat the past few days and yesterday I saw a picture of a slice of pizza and it made my heart flutter with longing. I hate that feeling! But the food industry markets food in very enticing ways. We are given cues all the time. Like walking into a movie theater and smelling the popcorn makes me yearn. The smell of cinammon reminds me of home. The sight of any food I can't have really tests me but this is individual and may not affect you the same way it affects me.

I never go to the grocery store on an empty stomach. That's a hard and fast rule. If I go there the slightest bit hungry it causes all kinds of naughty things to go into my basket. You have to know your own triggers.

Personally it keeps me away from actually eating it. I get all the rush of seeing ooey gooey fattening food, without the caloric consumption!

Only if I am so ravenous that any mention of food will cause me to crave food will food pics induce cravings, but those are so rare - maybe like 1x a month? haha. I CAN'T stand looking at healthy food/recipes because that is all I eat, so then I get sick of what I eat cause I've been staring at it all day. That and healthy recipes have those strange Barbara Walters type white lighting with reasonable portions...meh its like a little black dress - too basic for me. Monster size grilled cheese anyone?

I can't tell you if this is some sort of disordered thing to do...maybe some people would define it as such. I just know that its something I browse like I do with clothes online that I know I won't bother to buy and it hasn't made me a unhappy at all (for years!)

I do that also. Somehow it's kind of therapeutic i feel. The more I look at foods I shouldnt eat the more empowered I feel on my diet! The only thing that really triggers me is moments during this season where I want to get cozy with my boyfriend and sit on the couch and watch movies, I associate being cozy with fattening foods and sweets. Wahhh :(

During the warmer months it was much easier for me. These past few weeks I've been organizing my pins which are delectable sweets .. I am having trouble. I'm always hungry as well. I did have one Lindor chocolate the other night,it was delish. I do believe Pinterest can throw a curve ball at us .. be wary.

see, I get triggered by habit or emotional memory rather than visual stimuli. Looking at food doesn't automatically make me want to eat, and the more artistic the food looks the less I'd be inclined to want to eat it.

Its a bit more your mental position rather your hunger. But you also know that junk food and fast food are unhealthy and does not deliver any results rather harm your health as well as fitness.

Thanks for sharing information.

I love to browse cookbooks and recipes online. It's probably my favorite thing to do. When I was a kid I used to watch cooking shows and change the channel when someone was coming because I felt guilty. I was a chubby kid.

As I got older, I still watched them, but the guilt wasn't there anymore. Everyone knew I didn't eat much, so it was "safe."

After college I had my own catering business and became the resident chef for my parents in lieu of paying rent. It was a lifestyle. I still cook all the time, my friends look at me when they're having parties, and my mom asks me to menu plan and/or cater all of our holidays and any parties or events.

I don't know if it keeps me from eating, but I certainly don't eat more because I'm watching a show or cooking. While I'm cooking, I usually don't eat because I'm so busy balancing so many cooking components at the same time that I don't think of it.

one of the most fun things i ever did was help my SIL cater a wedding for her cousin...i made the wedding cake and she assembled and decorated it...and i helped make a BUNCH of recipes and arrange them all and set it up...it was so much FUN!

i love looking at recipes online but unfortunately it does trigger me to want sweets...i tend to avoid the unhealthier recipe places and stick to the healthier ones, looking for new ways to make good food

I do the same.

I have a Pinterest board called "Zero Calories to Look." The title reminds me that I'm just looking!

It varies by day with me...there are days when I don't go on Facebook (recipes) Pinterest or any food channels because I already know it won't end well. Those are the days I sometimes get irritated with pizza and fast food commercials while I fast forword the DVR. There are other days when I'm cool and collected and I can conquer anything even my sweet treats board at Pinterest.

I'm with you Maripossa, varies from day to day how I can deal. Some days the food commercials on TV make me drool, some days the food looks so fake it doesn't appeal to me.

Some of the recipes I see (especially on FB) are ok because I know I'll never make it, so it doesn't hurt to look, even imagining what it might taste like, especially if there are a lot of steps to get it to look like the picture...lol

So, what came to mind as I was reading this is that this topic is like so many other things with weight loss/fitness/healthier living, you have to see how it works for you and make adjustments so you are successful.

That commercial comes to mind, I think it's for some beer, shows these sports fans doing different things, "it's only weird if it doesn't work".

Best to all :sunny: