Help! Bad Eating Habits once I'm at home

beth_aub

Ok, I've only been doing MFP for a couple of days now and have started noticing that I do good throughout the day drinking plenty of water and not overeating. Then I get home and what little will power I have goes out the window! I almost feel like I binge eat:( Does anyone have any tips that would help me keep my diary under control? Thanks!!

trishd6

I am right there with you, while I am work I do really well and then when I get home I just want to eat. One thing that I have found is right when I get home from work I have a healthy snack. This helps me get to dinner so I am not so hungry. It will get better as you go. It is hard the first couple of weeks until your body adjusts to your new eating habits. You can do it but don't starve yourself as that will make you want to binge eat. Find yourself some snacks at the grocery store that you always have on hand that you can eat when you feel like you want to binge. Good luck! You can do it!

madeleineld

I suffer from this too! Here are a few things I've found:
- Plan your dinner in advance, and once you're done, brush your teeth.
- Throw out foods that trigger a binge. I was fine for a week without eating any nutella, and then I realized I had some in my cabinet. I had it on toast. And then again the next night, and then a second helping on a rice cake, and then started eating it with a spoon. I know people say to fit treats in, which I understand, but if there are particular foods that you can't control yourself around, it might help to not keep them in the house for a while.
- How do you feel when you come home from work? Tired? Sad, frustrated? Happy to be home? Maybe if you get a handle on how you're feeling, you can figure out how to stop. If you're overeating because you're tired and it's too much effort to cook a healthy meal, think in advance about what easy and healthy thing you can have around. If it's emotional eating, try to find another release--a TV show you like, a walk, yoga, journaling. Is it just that you're so good all day and you really feel like you deserve a treat? Maybe try to plan in advance and know that you'll want something. Might help you feel less guilt about it if it's part of the plan, and might be easier to stop. If you've decided you'll have a chocolate bar, and you've fit it into your macros, that's great--if you get home, guiltily eat a chocolate bar and feel sorry, you might end up going further and further.
- Don't put yourself in a situation where you're surrounded by snacky food. Like--don't bring out a whole bag of chips or cookies or whatever and eat until you're full. Keep your food put away, decide how much you'll eat, and only put out that amount. When I'm on the couch at night watching TV, I will literally eat everything on the table in front of me, whether it's 10 carrot sticks I picked out or 10 of my roommate's hannukah cookies (sigh).

SueInAz

madeleineld wrote: »

I suffer from this too! Here are a few things I've found:
- Plan your dinner in advance, and once you're done, brush your teeth.
- Throw out foods that trigger a binge. I was fine for a week without eating any nutella, and then I realized I had some in my cabinet. I had it on toast. And then again the next night, and then a second helping on a rice cake, and then started eating it with a spoon. I know people say to fit treats in, which I understand, but if there are particular foods that you can't control yourself around, it might help to not keep them in the house for a while.
- How do you feel when you come home from work? Tired? Sad, frustrated? Happy to be home? Maybe if you get a handle on how you're feeling, you can figure out how to stop. If you're overeating because you're tired and it's too much effort to cook a healthy meal, think in advance about what easy and healthy thing you can have around. If it's emotional eating, try to find another release--a TV show you like, a walk, yoga, journaling. Is it just that you're so good all day and you really feel like you deserve a treat? Maybe try to plan in advance and know that you'll want something. Might help you feel less guilt about it if it's part of the plan, and might be easier to stop. If you've decided you'll have a chocolate bar, and you've fit it into your macros, that's great--if you get home, guiltily eat a chocolate bar and feel sorry, you might end up going further and further.
- Don't put yourself in a situation where you're surrounded by snacky food. Like--don't bring out a whole bag of chips or cookies or whatever and eat until you're full. Keep your food put away, decide how much you'll eat, and only put out that amount. When I'm on the couch at night watching TV, I will literally eat everything on the table in front of me, whether it's 10 carrot sticks I picked out or 10 of my roommate's hannukah cookies (sigh).

Some great advice and ideas in here.

I'll reiterate and expand upon a few points:

1. Throw out the junk food and/or your trigger foods. If there's food you can't have just one or two of don't buy it in larger quantities. If it's not in the house, you can't eat it, right?
2. Buy healthy snacks for eating at home. Pre-plan that snack and log it into MFP in the morning so you know you have it coming. Pre-portion those snacks and only take that portion with you into the other room when you eat it. Don't eat in the kitchen and don't go back for seconds. Once your portion is gone, it's gone, so eat it slowly and enjoy it.
3. Try to determine if you're actually hungry or just eating out of habit or boredom. If you aren't hungry try to find something else to do with your hands. I play a slot machine game on my phone while I watch TV. It occupies my hands and it's not distracting enough to interfere with the show I'm watching. You could also do crafts. Some people find that it helps to get up and drink a glass of water or go for a walk or do a few jumping jacks or anything that will distract them for a few minutes until the urge to eat something goes away.

exstromn

I started the same way and had a serious sugar addiction! If I saw it I wanted to compulsively put it in my mouth and eat it. Right away I knew I had to come up with alternatives. Currently I have popcorn = (2 T unpopped) and 15 m&ms after supper at night. I put it under snacks on MFP at the beginning of my day so I don't run out of calories at supper. I also threw out tons of processed foods, white sugar, white flour, high fructose corn syrup items, and stopped all artificial sweeteners. That took me a good 3 months to get to that point. I don't buy junk at all anymore and If i do get myself into a situation I try to look at my calories as money to spend. Is it worth it? If not, then I view it as "too expensive". Fiber and water will also be your best friends to help keep you feeling full. Good Luck!