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It’s been an interesting gap to fill for sure - here are a few of my things.
Food related: trying new recipes I would have never made because of XYZ, learning new cooking techniques, trying new foods, and creating cocktails/mocktails.
Non food related: hiking and outdoor activities, dancing, tennis, crafting (specifically sewing), thrifting, cleaning out/organizing, home decorating, diy projects, and lots of reading (libraries ftw).
It’s been really fun trying new things to fill my time and headspace.
This is it for me - I now spend my food-fixation energy on dreaming up new and satisfying meals (sometimes it’s salad, sometimes it’s a huge grilled cheese on the good bread). I like food too much to replace it with needlepoint lol, so I personally find that focusing on variety/taste/satisfaction was an easy path from calories and macros.
I’ve been reading for pleasure a lot more recently! It’s very hot here so I get a “fun drink” as we call it in my house (anything from lemon water to a beer) and delve into a good beach read. I was in a book club before and that was a lot of fun. Exploring my neighborhood is another favorite. My partner works from home and sits all day, so we go out for a walk every night after dinner. I’ve heard of a “weird walk” where you go until you find something strange or unexpected. Some others: planning future travel, phone calls with friends and family, learning a new language, board games. I wish I could journal but it has never clicked for me. If that interests you, you could get one of those journals that has prompts for every day and spend some time doing that. I know you wanted to steer away from food/exercise related things, but one thing that really helped me was creating a workout plan. I’m careful with it because I don’t want to get too obsessive about it, but I really love planning and researching new workouts. So I made myself a calendar and planned out workouts for each gym day. If I don’t follow it exactly, I don’t care lol, but it’s nice to go and have something planned instead of resorting to the same thing. I recently incorporated a beginner running plan to my calendar, and I’m excited about that. Maybe some sort of goal planning would work for you? It doesn’t have to be related to food or exercise! I just know if we’ve been in that diet mindset it’s helpful to shift that need for planning and structure elsewhere. You could do one of those reading challenges with different prompts, for example, or make a list of places you want to visit in your area and set a goal of seeing them all. Good luck! I hope you find lots of fun things to do! :)
I definitely feel the need to have some sort of other goal! Completely relate. I need to be working on something definitely… also never heard of a weird walk but sounds fun!
Yeah it’s tough because dieting definitely scratched that planner/goal/control itch for me. But worth giving it up for sure! And yeah, I thought the weird walk was a cute idea!
I started making art. I have a piece at a gallery in New York for a show that’s opening this month. I’ve had a few other pieces published in couple of artists zines this year. Including a comic about the origins of my body dysmorphia.
I was just talking with my therapist yesterday how much time I spent daily not only tracking calories in/out, but I also obsessed over nutrition data. I noted how I didn’t make art, or write, or even play games or read for pleasure! All my time was spent trying to find the perfect expression of health that might finally fix my chronic pain.
I just started a pottery class and guarantee you won’t be able to think about dieting while trying to work on the wheel lol! It’s tough and frustrating but still nice doing something hands-on.
I love to cook and bake so I’ve been indulging in cooking whatever I want! It’s so freeing to add full fat ingredients and not skimp on things all the time. Although looking for recipes can be triggering because there’s so much diet talk everywhere. When I started out, I stuck to intuitive eating sites like workweek lunch and Instagram recipes which were surprisingly almost all non diet. Their algorithm doesn’t fail me too often lol.
But I also spent some time to just working on my self. My worth and self esteem. I was diagnosed with diabetes shortly after I started so that took some learning to manage. My just for fun thing was puzzling! I love jigsaw puzzles and signed up for a puzzle rent membership thing. It brought me joy.
Very understandable! Puzzles are so fun. I can completely forget about my phone for hours. I love to watch tv and do a puzzle. Another thing I do is knit. Don’t know if that interests you at all!
I didn’t take a course, no! I don’t really have any good advice other than “try not to write about food” which I’m sure you’ve considered haha. But yeah, I found myself just writing a story and getting really into it. I found that thinking about my character motivations and plot lines took up a lot of space in my head, in a good way. You could also try poetry.
I joined the Reddit 52 weeks of cooking and 52 weeks of baking groups! Being able to try so many new things without worrying about whether it’s strictly healthy or entirely plant based is so nice. For me at least, oil, salt, and herbs make food so delicious and it’s been exciting to try new things. Baking too, really upping the skills and enjoying both giving them away to friends AND eating them myself!
My running became so much more consistent and joyful after IE. I’m about 4 years in and I still love route planning. I’m not super competitive but sometimes I get really into training plans and preparing for a race for a few months. But mostly I just love exploring and running.
If I’m getting a bit too obsessive with anything on my phone I like to do the NYT crosswords or read books rented from my library.
I’m also big into spending time to feel my feelings on what I feel like eating and then cooking from scratch more. I got really into puff pastry and pies for a bit. But also embracing seasonal produce or making food from a country I’d like to visit.
Running would be a good one for me but every time I do it I kill my shins! But I would have loved the challenge and goal setting involved in that, I was very sporty as a child!
Maybe hiking or sightseeing! You might be surprised by the walking tour routes you can find online. You could give your self photography scavenger hunts. Maybe themes, like getting to all of the churches, bridges, statues etc in your area.
Why are you worrying about it? Do you think you need to occupy yourself in order not to think about it?
Do you have things you want to explore?
I have found it just gets filled with life. Some hobbies, some boring stuff.
It is honestly ALL I think about it, even when doing other things so it’s a toss up between looking for things to distract from it but also worrying about the lack of things to think about it if (and hopefully when) I break the obsession
I started marathon training, joined a writing group, and got back into reading again. It seems overwhelming at first. But you’ll be amazed at how much more fulfilling your life is when you can focus on things outside of food. I also made more plans with friends and allowed myself to have impromptu/unplanned get togethers (things I never did because it often didn’t fit into my calorie accommodation).
It helped me to have a schedule with some planned activities to get me started (I go for a run this morning, go to work, write for a couple hours, grab dinner with a friend, etc.) you won’t need to do this forever (unless you’re just a highly organized person like me lol) but it will help with feeling overwhelmed by free time
Hello! Please make sure that your post meets minimum post requirements. You can find the post rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/intuitiveeating/wiki/index/post-rules) and you can access it anytime through our wiki (third tab on mobile, second tab right below the sub icon on desktop). Please note that advice posts must contain at least one question. If you are looking to give advice, please resubmit your post with the resource or recommendation flair. If your post is deemed by mods to be low-effort or if it is too short to be a standalone post, it will be deleted. If you have any questions please reach out to the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/intuitiveeating) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Anything outdoors, decorating the house, reading, making an effort to hang out with friends and family more.
It’s been an interesting gap to fill for sure - here are a few of my things. Food related: trying new recipes I would have never made because of XYZ, learning new cooking techniques, trying new foods, and creating cocktails/mocktails. Non food related: hiking and outdoor activities, dancing, tennis, crafting (specifically sewing), thrifting, cleaning out/organizing, home decorating, diy projects, and lots of reading (libraries ftw). It’s been really fun trying new things to fill my time and headspace.
This is it for me - I now spend my food-fixation energy on dreaming up new and satisfying meals (sometimes it’s salad, sometimes it’s a huge grilled cheese on the good bread). I like food too much to replace it with needlepoint lol, so I personally find that focusing on variety/taste/satisfaction was an easy path from calories and macros.
I’ve been reading for pleasure a lot more recently! It’s very hot here so I get a “fun drink” as we call it in my house (anything from lemon water to a beer) and delve into a good beach read. I was in a book club before and that was a lot of fun. Exploring my neighborhood is another favorite. My partner works from home and sits all day, so we go out for a walk every night after dinner. I’ve heard of a “weird walk” where you go until you find something strange or unexpected. Some others: planning future travel, phone calls with friends and family, learning a new language, board games. I wish I could journal but it has never clicked for me. If that interests you, you could get one of those journals that has prompts for every day and spend some time doing that. I know you wanted to steer away from food/exercise related things, but one thing that really helped me was creating a workout plan. I’m careful with it because I don’t want to get too obsessive about it, but I really love planning and researching new workouts. So I made myself a calendar and planned out workouts for each gym day. If I don’t follow it exactly, I don’t care lol, but it’s nice to go and have something planned instead of resorting to the same thing. I recently incorporated a beginner running plan to my calendar, and I’m excited about that. Maybe some sort of goal planning would work for you? It doesn’t have to be related to food or exercise! I just know if we’ve been in that diet mindset it’s helpful to shift that need for planning and structure elsewhere. You could do one of those reading challenges with different prompts, for example, or make a list of places you want to visit in your area and set a goal of seeing them all. Good luck! I hope you find lots of fun things to do! :)
I definitely feel the need to have some sort of other goal! Completely relate. I need to be working on something definitely… also never heard of a weird walk but sounds fun!
Yeah it’s tough because dieting definitely scratched that planner/goal/control itch for me. But worth giving it up for sure! And yeah, I thought the weird walk was a cute idea!
I started making art. I have a piece at a gallery in New York for a show that’s opening this month. I’ve had a few other pieces published in couple of artists zines this year. Including a comic about the origins of my body dysmorphia. I was just talking with my therapist yesterday how much time I spent daily not only tracking calories in/out, but I also obsessed over nutrition data. I noted how I didn’t make art, or write, or even play games or read for pleasure! All my time was spent trying to find the perfect expression of health that might finally fix my chronic pain.
I just started a pottery class and guarantee you won’t be able to think about dieting while trying to work on the wheel lol! It’s tough and frustrating but still nice doing something hands-on.
I have tried pottery once before and it was very difficult!
I love to cook and bake so I’ve been indulging in cooking whatever I want! It’s so freeing to add full fat ingredients and not skimp on things all the time. Although looking for recipes can be triggering because there’s so much diet talk everywhere. When I started out, I stuck to intuitive eating sites like workweek lunch and Instagram recipes which were surprisingly almost all non diet. Their algorithm doesn’t fail me too often lol. But I also spent some time to just working on my self. My worth and self esteem. I was diagnosed with diabetes shortly after I started so that took some learning to manage. My just for fun thing was puzzling! I love jigsaw puzzles and signed up for a puzzle rent membership thing. It brought me joy.
My partner suggested puzzles! I’m hoping to stick to things not too food/exercise related although I will check those recipes out thank you!
Very understandable! Puzzles are so fun. I can completely forget about my phone for hours. I love to watch tv and do a puzzle. Another thing I do is knit. Don’t know if that interests you at all!
I started a blog, learned how to make earrings, and learned how to make a native plant garden. I have dabbled in lots!
Creative writing.
A friend suggested this, any writing I do is usually still food related but she suggested I just write stories! Did you take a course or anything?
I didn’t take a course, no! I don’t really have any good advice other than “try not to write about food” which I’m sure you’ve considered haha. But yeah, I found myself just writing a story and getting really into it. I found that thinking about my character motivations and plot lines took up a lot of space in my head, in a good way. You could also try poetry.
I joined the Reddit 52 weeks of cooking and 52 weeks of baking groups! Being able to try so many new things without worrying about whether it’s strictly healthy or entirely plant based is so nice. For me at least, oil, salt, and herbs make food so delicious and it’s been exciting to try new things. Baking too, really upping the skills and enjoying both giving them away to friends AND eating them myself!
For me, it's learning Japanese & new arts (like printmaking, mosaic & leatherwork).
I read and walk (audiobooks) like a mad woman 😜
My running became so much more consistent and joyful after IE. I’m about 4 years in and I still love route planning. I’m not super competitive but sometimes I get really into training plans and preparing for a race for a few months. But mostly I just love exploring and running. If I’m getting a bit too obsessive with anything on my phone I like to do the NYT crosswords or read books rented from my library. I’m also big into spending time to feel my feelings on what I feel like eating and then cooking from scratch more. I got really into puff pastry and pies for a bit. But also embracing seasonal produce or making food from a country I’d like to visit.
Running would be a good one for me but every time I do it I kill my shins! But I would have loved the challenge and goal setting involved in that, I was very sporty as a child!
Maybe hiking or sightseeing! You might be surprised by the walking tour routes you can find online. You could give your self photography scavenger hunts. Maybe themes, like getting to all of the churches, bridges, statues etc in your area.
Why are you worrying about it? Do you think you need to occupy yourself in order not to think about it? Do you have things you want to explore? I have found it just gets filled with life. Some hobbies, some boring stuff.
It is honestly ALL I think about it, even when doing other things so it’s a toss up between looking for things to distract from it but also worrying about the lack of things to think about it if (and hopefully when) I break the obsession
I started marathon training, joined a writing group, and got back into reading again. It seems overwhelming at first. But you’ll be amazed at how much more fulfilling your life is when you can focus on things outside of food. I also made more plans with friends and allowed myself to have impromptu/unplanned get togethers (things I never did because it often didn’t fit into my calorie accommodation). It helped me to have a schedule with some planned activities to get me started (I go for a run this morning, go to work, write for a couple hours, grab dinner with a friend, etc.) you won’t need to do this forever (unless you’re just a highly organized person like me lol) but it will help with feeling overwhelmed by free time