Hey there. Do you ever wonder what it would be like to go through a day without thinking about food or weight loss? I do. Even though I’ve worked hard to build a strong, long-term mindset around health and fitness, the thoughts still pop up. I still think about my next meal. I still run numbers in my head when I’m tracking. I still catch myself overthinking it sometimes.
And honestly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
If you’ve dealt with weight issues or been focused on dieting for years, of course food and weight loss are going to take up mental space. They’ve been front and center for a long time. Plus, we live in a culture where food is tied to everything — comfort, celebration, habits, emotion. So it makes sense that it’s on our minds.
What has helped me is learning to accept that thinking about food is part of my life, and then building strategies around it so those thoughts don’t run the show. I track my food now, which I used to avoid because it brought up some obsessive tendencies. But over time, I’ve figured out how to do it in a way that supports me without overwhelming me.
The key was pre-tracking and sticking with a simple rotation of meals. That repetition helped reduce the amount of time I spend thinking about every bite. I still have moments where I get that old feeling, like I’m slipping back into over-analysis. But now I recognize it and remind myself that it’s okay. I’m not trying to eliminate the thoughts — I’m just trying to reduce how much power they have.
Goal weight doesn’t fix this. Even when I was at my lowest weight, I was more obsessive than ever. The real progress came when I shifted my mindset. When I started choosing what else to focus on. When I gave myself permission to be okay with the fact that food is something I’ll always think about... but not something that has to control me.
So here’s what I want to know. What are your strategies? How are you working to think about food and weight less? If you’re stuck, let’s talk about it.
And if you want to build a long-term approach that gives you space to live while still reaching your goals, I invite you to join The YLF Experience. We’re playing the long game together, one mindset shift at a time.