Why Am I Thinking About Food All the Time? A Philadelphia Eating Disorder Therapist Explains

Written by Dr. Colleen Reichmann, owner and clinical director of Wildflower Therapy

Ok, so if you’ve found yourself wondering “Why am I thinking about food all the time?”please know this first and foremost: you’re not alone. I swear this has to be one of the most googled searches of our time. And it’s because constantly thinking about food is truly one of the first signs that really leads people to start wondering about their own relationship with food.

Because it feels sort of unignorable right? In fact, many people who eventually seek out an eating disorder therapist start here: confused, frustrated, and often blaming themselves for having “food noise.” You might notice that food thoughts feel constant or intrusive. Planning meals, worrying about what you ate, thinking ahead to what you should or shouldn’t eat later-these are all exhausting experiences. And what feels most confusing (for many people, at least) is that this can all tend to happen even if you’re eating “regularly.”

Here’s the important thing I want you to know: thinking about food all the time is not a personal failure or a lack of willpower. It’s actually more typically a signal that something deeper is going on (and not something that you just need to get better at controlling!)

Why Am I Thinking About Food All the Time?

Persistent thoughts about food don’t come from loving food too much. The vast, vast majority of the time, they actually stem back to restriction (physical or mental), stress, or a nervous system that just doesn’t feel safe.

Some of the most common reasons include:

1. You’re Restricting (Even If It Doesn’t Look Like It)

Ding ding ding! This right here is the number one culprit behind all of the food noise. Not eating enough. Before you tell me that this isn’t the case for you, please understand that restriction doesn’t always mean skipping meals or eating very little. It can look like cutting out entire food groups or types of food, eating “clean” or rigidly, only allowing yourself certain foods at certain times of the day or week, or constantly trying to eat less than your body wants (even at a low level.) Mental restriction refers to conceptualizing certain foods as bad (and then feeling very guilty for eating those foods) and is tied to an increase in food obsession in the same way that actually physically depriving yourself of said foods (physical restriction) is.

When your body senses restriction-physical or mental- it responds by increasing thoughts about food. This is biology, not pathology.

2. Diet Culture Has Trained You to Monitor Yourself

Many people spend years tracking, monitoring, and judging their eating. Even when a diet ends, the mental habits often remain. If you’ve ever thought “I’m trying to allow myself more food now. So I shouldn’t be thinking about food this much…” or wonder “why don’t other people obsess like I do? I’m eating intuitively just like they say to do”- just remember that the internal voice you are experiencing might be due to those ingrained patterns of monitoring. It can essentially be restriction lingering in your brain long after you ditch the actual restrictive diet.

3. Stress, Anxiety, or Trauma Are Present

Food thoughts also often increase during periods of:

• Chronic stress

• Anxiety or OCD

• Major life transitions (pregnancy, postpartum, caregiving)

• Unresolved trauma

For some people, focusing on food because it provides a way to engage with something predictable or soothing when other parts of life feel overwhelming. But please be aware, most of the time, even when the food thoughts are linked to stress or trauma, there is also restriction on some level going on that will need to be addressed. (Restriction is simply so common in our current society.)

Is Thinking About Food All the Time a Sign of an Eating Disorder?

So it can be, but it also doesn’t have to fit neatly into a diagnostic box to warrant seeking support.

Many people who seek eating disorder therapy don’t identify with labels like anorexia or bulimia at first. Instead, they describe:

• Constant food noise

• Guilt after eating

• Anxiety around meals

• Feeling “out of control” around certain foods

• Oscillating between restriction and overeating

Disordered eating exists on a spectrum. You don’t need to be underweight, bingeing, or purging for your relationship with food to deserve support.

If food thoughts are interfering with your concentration, mood, or ability to be present in your life- that’s it. That’s reason enough to reach out for the support of a qualified therapist.

Why Willpower Doesn’t Fix Food Obsession

Many people try to quiet food thoughts by what I like to call the “OA” route (over eaters anonymous.) That is, they get stricter, focus on trying to ignoring hunger cues, and attempt to keep the food that they find themselves “over eating” out of sight or reach.

The really cruel truth is that these techniques often make the thoughts louder, not quieter.

True relief has to involve adequate nourishment, an increased flexibility with food, and at least *some* movement towards accepting your body at the set point weight that it wants to land (when you are treating it kindly, and caring about health but not obsessing over it)

Additionally, healing comes from discovering insights into your own roots of anxiety and trauma, and then addressing that nervous system dysregulation.

(You can probably see how OA tends to fail people, because this is complex work that tends to involve a lot of creativity, a lot of intention, and a lot of trial and error!) This is where working with an eating disorder therapist can make a meaningful difference.

How Eating Disorder Therapy Can Help

As eating disorder therapists in Philadelphia, we see again and again that when clients are supported in:

• Eating consistently and adequately

• Challenging rigid food rules

• Understanding the function of their food thoughts

• Addressing underlying anxiety or trauma

• Working on body neutrality and acceptance

…the mental noise around food begins to soften. Therapy isn’t about forcing yourself to “stop thinking about food.” It’s about creating enough safety (physically and emotionally) that your body no longer needs to shout.

You’re Not Broken, and You’re Not Alone

If you’re Googling “Why am I thinking about food all the time?” there’s often a quiet part of you hoping for permission to take yourself seriously.

Let this be that permission.

At Wildflower Therapy, our eating disorder therapists provide compassionate, trauma-informed eating disorder therapy in Philadelphia (and virtually throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Ohio, and Massechusetts.) We work with children, adolescents, and adults to help people untangle food obsession, body image distress, and the emotional roots beneath them.

If you’re looking for an eating disorder therapist in Philadelphia or Pennsylvania, we’d be honored to walk alongside you. Please reach out today to book your free consultation call.