I've been running Reta for about 6 months now, down 70lbs, and I'm basically sitting at my goal. The hard part turned out to be figuring out how to eat like a regular human again. My birthday lands next weekend and we've got tickets to the beer and food festival we hit every year — dozens of vendors, all sorts of food and drink, and it has always been a highlight for me. This time I'm actually anxious about it. I've kept a tight diet for months, alcohol has been almost nonexistent, and I've gotten weirdly rigid about food. Part of me would rather skip the whole thing because I keep running calorie math and dreading the scale, and I really don't want to become that person. I want to enjoy myself, eat and drink, and not fixate like someone with a problem. A couple pounds isn't permanent — I can just reset the following week. I keep repeating that to myself, but it bothers me how much convincing it takes just to let myself have fun. So, anyone else out there driving themselves nuts, or heading toward a full-blown eating disorder?
How do I stop obsessing over food?
- Thread starter ambot88
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ochoseis
Explorer
To start with, eating badly for 1-2 days won't add a couple pounds of fat. That's the voice of an eating disorder forming, for sure. The scale might tick up, but it'll drop back down again.
There have been way too many moments in my life when I skipped out on something or held myself back because calories or gaining weight scared me. Tirzepatide silenced my food noise, yes, but the fixation on my weight & body stayed. Therapy has been a help. I realize that's not an overnight solution at this moment, but it's something worth pursuing down the road.
Go to the thing. Enjoy the thing. Graze on the foods. Overeating there isn't required. You can sample things and set them aside. You can split them with others. Finishing the food isn't mandatory. What's helped me most with the restricting is simply allowing myself to TRY the food. If I want more, great. But at minimum, let myself try it and take pleasure in it. Once I start saying I can't have it at all, or that I shouldn't enjoy it, I usually over-restrict and then binge on something much worse or duller later, because I get all tangled up in my feelings about the FOMO.
Edit: and I understand where you're coming from, and I'm sorry you're feeling that way. You deserve a fun weekend at a festival without your weight on your mind.
There have been way too many moments in my life when I skipped out on something or held myself back because calories or gaining weight scared me. Tirzepatide silenced my food noise, yes, but the fixation on my weight & body stayed. Therapy has been a help. I realize that's not an overnight solution at this moment, but it's something worth pursuing down the road.
Go to the thing. Enjoy the thing. Graze on the foods. Overeating there isn't required. You can sample things and set them aside. You can split them with others. Finishing the food isn't mandatory. What's helped me most with the restricting is simply allowing myself to TRY the food. If I want more, great. But at minimum, let myself try it and take pleasure in it. Once I start saying I can't have it at all, or that I shouldn't enjoy it, I usually over-restrict and then binge on something much worse or duller later, because I get all tangled up in my feelings about the FOMO.
Edit: and I understand where you're coming from, and I'm sorry you're feeling that way. You deserve a fun weekend at a festival without your weight on your mind.
john_askins
Explorer
You already gave yourself the answer. These “tools” exist so we can reach a healthier state and a better weight. After that, then what? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life miserable and unable to enjoy anything? 70 pounds came off, which proves this works and proves you're capable. In a few months I've got a 12 day Europe trip lined up, and my plan is to quit Reta 2 weeks ahead of it. Food, booze, good times — I'm going to enjoy all of it. I'll aim to keep my eating sensible. A few pounds up? Who cares. They'll come off again. Everyone out there insisting you must never stop, calling it a gift, and so on — they suck. Is it a gift? Sure, it’s a great tool to help us get where we need. But I’m not going to give up enjoying myself because of it. Go out. Have fun. Be happy and stop stressing.
5byfive
Explorer
My thinking matches yours on this, but I've reached a point where I see that while I believe I enjoy those activities, the truth is I no longer enjoy them in the same way. There was a time when I'd happily go all out and spend a whole vacation week eating nonstop. That's not something I do now, simply because the desire isn't there. Food and I have a different relationship these days. I'm not going to impose such a rigid 'diet' on myself, yet I also don't feel any pull toward going overboard. Sure, loosening the reins even a little can be tough at times, but fun no longer has to revolve around eating, and I don't feel like I'm losing anything. It took a while for that to click.
CJsMom
Explorer
Head to the event and have a good time. To begin with, even if you go all out, the medication means you'll hit fullness a lot sooner, and pushing past that point brings discomfort, so odds are you won't go overboard by much. Assuming you've gone in past years, you likely already know what you love there. Figure out your strategy for grabbing those items before you hit your limit. Realistically there will only be space for 1 or 2, so begin deciding which ones you'll target, and in which sequence.
Your worry makes sense to me, but my guess is the medication will come through for you - exactly as it's meant to and exactly as it has over these past months. Treat the festival as your cheat day and allow yourself to savor your favorites.
Your worry makes sense to me, but my guess is the medication will come through for you - exactly as it's meant to and exactly as it has over these past months. Treat the festival as your cheat day and allow yourself to savor your favorites.
woundcarping
Explorer
Since December I've dropped close to 50lb, and for the most part I eat whatever I feel like... mentally that's a healthy approach. Physically it's much healthier thanks to GLPs.
If steak and taters sound good, then steak and taters it is. Other times I'll go for a big stack of lean protein, say assorted sliced deli turkey or chicken, or something less lean like drum sticks out of the air fryer. Sausage rotel cream cheese dip with tortilla chips hits the spot now and then. This evening I was craving Sister Schubert Parker House rolls with A1.... I ate 10 of them, which comes to 600 calories before the A1. Maybe that was food noise, maybe my body wanted or needed carbs, maybe a bit of both.
Daily weigh-ins are my primary guide rail, more than just about anything else. It's been quite a while since I overate and ended up feeling bad because of it. I didn't drink much beforehand, but I also haven't had any alcohol since starting Reta, and the anecdotal reports of people feeling awful after drinking make me curious to try it on myself whenever the urge shows up.
My suggestion would be to pick something food wise that appeals to you and isn't part of your strict diet, but still stays within your goals. You've gotta live a little without going crazy all at once... that's how you end up feeling like crap.
If steak and taters sound good, then steak and taters it is. Other times I'll go for a big stack of lean protein, say assorted sliced deli turkey or chicken, or something less lean like drum sticks out of the air fryer. Sausage rotel cream cheese dip with tortilla chips hits the spot now and then. This evening I was craving Sister Schubert Parker House rolls with A1.... I ate 10 of them, which comes to 600 calories before the A1. Maybe that was food noise, maybe my body wanted or needed carbs, maybe a bit of both.
Daily weigh-ins are my primary guide rail, more than just about anything else. It's been quite a while since I overate and ended up feeling bad because of it. I didn't drink much beforehand, but I also haven't had any alcohol since starting Reta, and the anecdotal reports of people feeling awful after drinking make me curious to try it on myself whenever the urge shows up.
My suggestion would be to pick something food wise that appeals to you and isn't part of your strict diet, but still stays within your goals. You've gotta live a little without going crazy all at once... that's how you end up feeling like crap.
sheilarae74
Explorer
Honestly, I haven't figured out how to stay sane about it either. But in your shoes, I'd simply let myself have a good time. A couple extra pounds isn't permanent — you can shed them afterward. Sometimes I think you've got to shake up your metabolism to keep it on its toes.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
Since reta will still be in your system while you're there, it’ll keep doing its job—most likely you’ll just fill up sooner and might not feel like drinking as much. If it’s already helped you drop 70 lbs, chances are it’ll keep working just as effectively at a festival. That doesn’t mean the experience has to be ruined, but it could be smart to intentionally hold back so you don’t end up feeling ill from too much food or alcohol. Your body’s reactions to eating and drinking are going to be different because of the weight you’ve lost, the reta, and the extended stretch of eating fewer calories—so have a good time, but if you can, pace yourself.
Gt3294a
Explorer
Reta hits hard, but stumble around a festival and you'll skip eating the whole day. Kidding. Possibly.
Rolltide61
Explorer
I'll spare you the misery. What you're headed for is a hangover. You're going to hate every minute of it.
rettta
Explorer
Most likely it'll just be water weight. If some of it does turn into fat, you already know the way to take it off. Go have a good time with your friends — this is a solid practice run for you, so make it a positive one. There's no need to "regroup" or crack down harder the following week to balance things out; simply pick up where you left off. Don't blow it up into something huge — you've got an entire life ahead of you.
woundcarping
Explorer
Only once have I had a true hangover, and Milwaukee is where I earned it.
The flavor does not appeal to me, though the effect does. In the past, drinking 12oz of Crown within 10-20 minutes brought me to the drunk level I liked, with few next-day problems.
Now that I weigh less, the math is different, but my main question is whether a 6 pack (for instance, let's say 4oz of Crown) would leave me feeling rough.
For science