I’ve been watching mukbang videos more than I should, and they’re messing with my eating again. At first it felt harmless, just something to have on while I relaxed. Now I catch myself skipping meals, then watching people eat huge amounts while feeling hungry and weirdly comforted by it.
It brings back that whole restrict, obsess, overeat cycle. The videos make food feel both exciting and completely out of control. I deleted a few apps today, but I still find myself looking them up when I’m stressed or lonely.
I hate how quickly it can get under my skin. Has anyone else had to cut out this kind of content because it affected their eating?
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The part about skipping meals and then watching while hungry sounds like the biggest warning sign. I’ve had certain food content turn into a way of keeping myself activated around eating instead of actually relaxing.
Deleting the apps was a good first step, but I’d also try having something predictable to eat before the urge gets strong. When I noticed myself searching for those videos during stressful evenings, I replaced them with a quiet podcast and made tea. It didn’t fix everything, but it broke that particular loop.
The hungry-but-comforted feeling makes sense to me, and it’s also a pretty clear sign that the videos aren’t neutral anymore. I’ve had to stop certain food content when I noticed I was using it to avoid eating rather than simply watching something.
Deleting the apps was a good move. One small thing that helped me was keeping an easy meal or snack ready before stress made the decision harder. I’d switch to a non-food video after eating, even if I still felt the urge to search.