Still Thinking About Food
It used to be guilt, cravings and calorie math. Now it is how do I eat enough when nothing appeals.
As I sit here, drinking my protein coffee, and reviewing some old articles I wrote about food noise, I realized that yes, I don’t think about pizza, or cookies, or wine like I used to. But I still think about food way too much.
The medication reduces the cravings, the constant chatter in your head about what you want to eat, when you get to eat, do you want pizza today? If you have pizza, how much will you regret it? How many calories is in that? Are people watching? Did I order too much? But it’s ok, you can start your diet again tomorrow. That noise was hard to manage, it consumed my days as I am sure it did yours. That noise is gone now. The quiet has allowed me to focus on other things, and not obsess about calories, or feel guilty about what I just ate.
The medication also requires you to eat. Eat more protein, Consume adequate calories, Drink lots of water. And yet, I am not hungry. I am not thirsty. I don’t want anything. Nothing appeals to me. I struggle each day meeting my protein goals. I think about it all the time. I have swapped one kind on food noise for another. The old noise was guilt, judgement, cravings, calorie math. This one is how do I actually eat enough today when I have zero interest? Same amount of thinking, completely different job.
I have breakthrough moments when I enjoy my food again. Or a nice cold glass of rosé. When I was out for dinner last week, the sun was shining, I was on a patio, the wine was cold. It was delicious. But these moments are fewer now. I mostly eat to sustain myself. To prevent muscle loss, or losing my hair. To keep the medication working.
A lot of people have written about this loss. Most of you are probably experiencing it. I am not unique. I am grieving the joy I used to get from a great bowl of creamy pasta, a slice of chocolate cheesecake, a margarita. I am grateful the food noise is gone. But what replaced it tedious and occasionally discouraging. Same hours in my head. One of them was an assault and the other is a to-do list.
One ask, and it is a small one. Please restack this article. Or click share and send it to notes.
A like is kind and I do notice them, and appreciate them. A restack is the only thing that puts this in front of someone sitting exactly where I was a year ago, who has no idea I exist and has a lot of the same questions I had, and you do.
Are you new here? I write every Wednesday about what a GLP-1 actually changed. The stalls, the protein, the drug switch, and the parts nobody warns you about. Free, always. Jax makes regular appearances despite contributing nothing.
There is a paid side now too, two essays a month, the same honesty with the how attached. If the free writing has been worth something to you, that is where the rest of it lives.
I am a GLP-1 stalker. Reading everything I come across on the topic. I’m hoping my Dr. will prescribe one for me and really hoping insurance will cover it. Thank you for posting on your journey. I appreciate it.
This is a very good point. It’s like trading one thing for another. For me, the food noise is turned off but I still think a lot about getting the nutrients in while staying in a calorie deficit. Instead of feeling desperate to eat all the time, I am trying to put together the daily puzzle of making sure I get the right amount of protein, fiber, and water.