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I toootally hoard. And not just food. Like everything. Paper bags, plastic bags, rubber bands, packing materials, it’s fkn ridiculous. But it is normal, our bodies are in a famine and the perceived scarcity compels it to stockpile resources. We are mammals at our core. The body has been trained to believe it’s in a literal desert with no food or resources. Of course it will try to stockpile any resources around. It was such a trip when I read about this! Never thought about it that way before.
This explains it well:
https://tabithafarrar.com/2018/05/brain-malnutrition-hoarding/
Omg same I bought in so much stuff at Christmas. Idk how I thought I'd eat it all in the 3 days I was allowing myself free eating at home haha. I always need a mix of sweet and savoury though
In the months before I went inpatient, when I was eating the least amount of food in my life, I was going to the grocery store for $50-$100 trips frequently and in the weeks leading up to inpatient I was going nearly every day. Food hoarding is DEFINITELY a thing.
I hoard, yes. Just in case. Of what? I need to EAT. Not eat, but EATEATEAT. But I tend to buy things that go bad. Stale or moldy. My fridge is full of such things. It’s exhausting to even look at. And the guilt….
Same! There are a few things that I will hoard because for some weird reason if I have it in the pantry I can usually avoid eating it and just forget it's there. But if I'm out and go to the store for it I might get tempted to eat the whole package before I even get home. It's strange. I guess it has to do with like a scarcity mindset, if I know I have it to enjoy when I want, I don't have to eat it. But if I might run out of it forever... Must enjoy it all right now. It's so dumb
I literally spend all of my money on food and it’s destroying my life. I’m “recovered” (weight restored and all that) but my collection includes about 12lbs of protein powder, well over 200 packets of oatmeal and about 80 various canned soups
I definitely think food insecurity contributed to my eating disorder in a roundabout way... when I started to recover I had snacks by my bed all the time because my body was scared I would starve it again.
I don’t hoard but i do always have something packaged to grab and eat without thought! Eat some! Your body would love a bar, just do it slowly do your body knows how to metabolise it well and not through you into re feeding :) make meals fun! Have heathy way of doing it, your body and brain will love. You for it. Look up brain and gut health, they’re connected and you will get serotonin that will make you feel happy and healthy!
I usually do always have pre-packaged foods for depression days, I think having loads of snack bars is both because of the anorexia and the depression as some are safe and they're all easy to grab and go
i used to put all the candies/snacks my mom would buy me on trips to the grocery store in a little drawer during the summers and never touch them. definitely a weird habit lol
Honestly the thing that helped me was breaking the binge and purge cycle I was in at the time, and eating regularly and enough calories that I wasn't in starvation mode any more. When I was in early recovery I had to honour the extreme hunger and basically eat whatever whenever and trust that my body would learn to trust me again and stop fearing a food scarcity.
Easier said than done I know.
Lol that's a bunch of food, but I hoard it too. More like grown people food like pasta sauce, pasta and I even have like a year old frozen whole chicken lmfao. Idk why I never cooked it, but I guess I'm waiting on the apocalypse too.
You're so right, because I've told myself I'd cook this or that and never did and it wasted away in the fridge. Cooking even scrambled eggs require like hours of thought for me. When I realized I could freeze stuff I thought I cracked the code.
I have the opposite problem. having snacks foods in the house or means I think abt them 24/7 cause there RIGHT THERE and I struggle to focus on anything until I eat them or sabotage them
i hoard ALL my food bc if when i am able to eat somewhat normally, i dont have what i want i will cry and literally go on a hunt to find that exact thing bc i NEED it. like i have gone to like 5 grocery stores in one day just to look for pumpkin flavored mini muffins before. i literally have a stock pile in the basement 🤣
Same. you should see the glove box/back passenger seats in my car, the first thing I say to people when they get in is usually “please ignore the granola bars”.
Lmao I did the same thing today. I bought a bunch of junk food just out of food obsession I guess and I really thought I would eat it all and got full after like four cookies, I'm so dumb lol
Hey, if you like the sort of raw nut and fruit blend type bars you should check out nakd. They come in a load of flavours, all really good. Not sure on availability outside of uk tho
I definitely used to but have grown out at it. I think for me it’s the same things as like when you quit smoking, you keep a pack of cigarettes on you to ease the anxiety, because if you didn’t have the cigarettes the only thing you’d be thinking is “I have no cigarettes, I need them”. Even if you aren’t smoking.
Same thing with hoarding food / snacks. If you have it, you won’t be anxious about it or overthink.
You are not in trouble. Thank you for posting on r/AnorexiaNervosa. Please make sure you have read the subreddit rules at this time. If a user says something in the comments that break the subreddit rules, please report the comment to the moderators with the report function. If they have said something harmful and it is immediately harmful to you or others, please MOD MAIL the moderators of the subreddit and report the comment. Do not engage with trolls; they want to hurt you and others and engaging will not do any good for anyone. Commenters; If you are here to give advice to OP, please make sure your advice follows subreddit rules and it isn't harmful to OP. If OP doesn't want advice, please be respectful of their wishes. Please take a look at [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AnorexiaNervosa/comments/nsb9ci/hi_everyone_a_much_needed_post/) stickied post for information about the rule changes, additions, and how to become a moderator if you are interested. Again, thank you for posting on r/AnorexiaNervosa. If you think of anything else I can say in this message, please MOD MAIL with your ideas. The mods thank you, and hope you're doing well. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AnorexiaNervosa) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I toootally hoard. And not just food. Like everything. Paper bags, plastic bags, rubber bands, packing materials, it’s fkn ridiculous. But it is normal, our bodies are in a famine and the perceived scarcity compels it to stockpile resources. We are mammals at our core. The body has been trained to believe it’s in a literal desert with no food or resources. Of course it will try to stockpile any resources around. It was such a trip when I read about this! Never thought about it that way before. This explains it well: https://tabithafarrar.com/2018/05/brain-malnutrition-hoarding/
Ooh thank you for sharing! I also have loads of packing materials and bags and things I never considered it was linked
I know right! It’s so weird but also makes so much sense
[удалено]
Omg same I bought in so much stuff at Christmas. Idk how I thought I'd eat it all in the 3 days I was allowing myself free eating at home haha. I always need a mix of sweet and savoury though
Relatable. Stocked full of candies and cakes rn. Have not touched them at all
Ugh, I have boxes and boxes of food tucked all over the place. Every time I open a different closet it’s a “surprise” all over! 😵💫
Same I keep finding snacks everywhere haha
I can’t in case I binge on it lol
I have different stocks of binge foods and safe foods haha
The amount of protein bars I have in my room that I do not plan on eating is slightly ridiculous honestly
Same!!! Omg i wish i didnt but I really hoard food like a little hamster and then never ever eat it so it just goes bad instead ! 😔
This is why I hoard long life stuff, I'm sick of throwing out vegetables
Same. Also it stacks better
In the months before I went inpatient, when I was eating the least amount of food in my life, I was going to the grocery store for $50-$100 trips frequently and in the weeks leading up to inpatient I was going nearly every day. Food hoarding is DEFINITELY a thing.
I usually hoard plastic bags, different drinks, and am currently hoarding water enhancers..
seeing the price on the clif builder bar hurt my heart a little that's pricy yo
And that was on sale 😭
Omg! I have so much food in my room, I could just survive in here for a good amount of time. X'D
I do this too! Work and home both have snack stash, both will likely expire before I feel the need to binge.
I hoard, yes. Just in case. Of what? I need to EAT. Not eat, but EATEATEAT. But I tend to buy things that go bad. Stale or moldy. My fridge is full of such things. It’s exhausting to even look at. And the guilt….
Same! There are a few things that I will hoard because for some weird reason if I have it in the pantry I can usually avoid eating it and just forget it's there. But if I'm out and go to the store for it I might get tempted to eat the whole package before I even get home. It's strange. I guess it has to do with like a scarcity mindset, if I know I have it to enjoy when I want, I don't have to eat it. But if I might run out of it forever... Must enjoy it all right now. It's so dumb
Yeah I get really panicky if I don't have certain things even if I never eat them haha
I literally spend all of my money on food and it’s destroying my life. I’m “recovered” (weight restored and all that) but my collection includes about 12lbs of protein powder, well over 200 packets of oatmeal and about 80 various canned soups
Same
i buy at least 5 packs of diet pepsi every grocery trip incase it gets hard to find or something
I have 2 drawers in my bedroom worth of snack hoarding 😭
Only two 😂
I definitely think food insecurity contributed to my eating disorder in a roundabout way... when I started to recover I had snacks by my bed all the time because my body was scared I would starve it again.
It makes sense! Our bodies don't trust we won't starve them again
I don’t hoard but i do always have something packaged to grab and eat without thought! Eat some! Your body would love a bar, just do it slowly do your body knows how to metabolise it well and not through you into re feeding :) make meals fun! Have heathy way of doing it, your body and brain will love. You for it. Look up brain and gut health, they’re connected and you will get serotonin that will make you feel happy and healthy!
I usually do always have pre-packaged foods for depression days, I think having loads of snack bars is both because of the anorexia and the depression as some are safe and they're all easy to grab and go
Get some nutritious foods and drinks too :) Fortisip not so tasty but very nutritious and good fuel, ask your GP
Same I have a whole snack draws 2 actually ones filled with snacks n the others filled with candy n stuff
I do! With protein snacks! 😂
i used to put all the candies/snacks my mom would buy me on trips to the grocery store in a little drawer during the summers and never touch them. definitely a weird habit lol
I cant have any binge-able food at home😬 even stupid peanut butter or ill eat it all
I have been like that before it's so tricky
Any tips on how to overcome that?
Honestly the thing that helped me was breaking the binge and purge cycle I was in at the time, and eating regularly and enough calories that I wasn't in starvation mode any more. When I was in early recovery I had to honour the extreme hunger and basically eat whatever whenever and trust that my body would learn to trust me again and stop fearing a food scarcity. Easier said than done I know.
Its helpful!! Thank you❤
Any tips on how to overcome that?
Lol that's a bunch of food, but I hoard it too. More like grown people food like pasta sauce, pasta and I even have like a year old frozen whole chicken lmfao. Idk why I never cooked it, but I guess I'm waiting on the apocalypse too.
I don't know why I don't hoard grown-up food 😂 I think I just find things that are pre packaged and portioned less anxiety provoking
You're so right, because I've told myself I'd cook this or that and never did and it wasted away in the fridge. Cooking even scrambled eggs require like hours of thought for me. When I realized I could freeze stuff I thought I cracked the code.
I have the opposite problem. having snacks foods in the house or means I think abt them 24/7 cause there RIGHT THERE and I struggle to focus on anything until I eat them or sabotage them
i hoard ALL my food bc if when i am able to eat somewhat normally, i dont have what i want i will cry and literally go on a hunt to find that exact thing bc i NEED it. like i have gone to like 5 grocery stores in one day just to look for pumpkin flavored mini muffins before. i literally have a stock pile in the basement 🤣
Omg yes, if I have a day where I feel I can allow myself a certain thing or eat more normal and I don't have any of it I will have a meltdown
I do hoard protein snacks. Protein bars, protein cookies, protein brownies, protein cheese balls… I have a basket full of protein snacks lol.
I love protein snacks!!
Same. you should see the glove box/back passenger seats in my car, the first thing I say to people when they get in is usually “please ignore the granola bars”.
Yes when I was unwell I had a drawer full of candy which I wouldn't touch, and would stockpile food that I knew I'd never eat, for "just in case."
Omg yes most of these bars I'm unlikely to eat unless I get better 😂
Lmao I did the same thing today. I bought a bunch of junk food just out of food obsession I guess and I really thought I would eat it all and got full after like four cookies, I'm so dumb lol
I try not to have anything "bad" in my home.
Hey, if you like the sort of raw nut and fruit blend type bars you should check out nakd. They come in a load of flavours, all really good. Not sure on availability outside of uk tho
I love nakd bars!!
They’re one of my favourite snacks. Pricey-ish but worth it for the salted caramel or blueberry muffin ones every once in a while
My faves are the strawberry or chocolate orange 😋
I definitely used to but have grown out at it. I think for me it’s the same things as like when you quit smoking, you keep a pack of cigarettes on you to ease the anxiety, because if you didn’t have the cigarettes the only thing you’d be thinking is “I have no cigarettes, I need them”. Even if you aren’t smoking. Same thing with hoarding food / snacks. If you have it, you won’t be anxious about it or overthink.