Why do/did you overeat?

tomatoey

I'm curious. There are a bunch of reasons people eat too much. Here are some I can think of (if you can think of others, please add them):

- Poor planning/lack of order (no real rhythm to meals; waited to eat until desperate and grabbed what was nearest)
- Didn't really think about calories or food choices or portions
- Lack of knowledge about food / cooking
- Lack of time to cook; overwhelmed
- Strong appetite / hunger (just hungry all the time)
- Taste buds are fierce (everything is just delicious to you)
- Emotional eating (if someone could help flesh this one out, that'd be great)
- Boredom
- Other (please explain)

If any of this went along with some other part of your life (medical condition or medication; life situation, whatever) and you think it's relevant, would be neat to hear about.

(I am wondering if different approaches to nutrition might work better for some people than others, and whether the reason for overeating (as you understand it) might have something to do with the way of eating that works for you in weight loss and maintenance. I might start another thread later, right now I'm just interested in what people think made them overeat.)

Spreyton22K

In the beginning it was:

- Intense hunger that I believe was a part of the side effects from medication that I was on. (Anti-depressants for pain control) - particularly in relation to quick calorie release carbohydrates.

- Lack of knowledge - Calorie counting was more difficult before sites such as this, the computer and MFP make it easy to log.

- On the opposite side of the coin there was also a component of disordered under-eating due to abuse in childhood....this emerged much more strongly as I lost weight....this is always a constant battle

- I have learned though is there are always challenges and changes to be faced and we can always choose to make the right choice for our. ie Prednisolone does not always equal weight gain. Osteoporosis and a back fracture does not mean I can't exercise, I just can't do what I did before.

I guess not all of this fits the parameters of overeating.....even though it started out that way

faithyang

It used to be hunger combined with psychological heeby-jeebies for me. The overwhelming feeling like if I don't eat this its the last time I will be able to eat it. That too and yes, the tastebuds are fierce thing. That sort of deprivation.
Now I guess its highly emotional. I will suddenly crave some sweet/savoury dish or junk food and obsess and obsess over it. When I buy it....I end up losing interest, not being hungry (losing appetite) or not being able to eat much of it. It becomes I guess...almost a twisted coping mechanism of conflicted cognitive dissonance.

I'm also a massive foodie...so that is deprivation to the power of ten.

I reckon some massive factors to overeating is:

- Lack of balance. (Diet is too constrained, too deprived - entire food groups are cut out and demonised and increases the craving/likelihood of overeating)
- Lack of consistency and structure (habits take time to build and if you're always dropping in and out of a lifestyle/diet plan you will not have built enough to form a habit, thus always having to go uphill in restarting and restarting)
- Fear (Fear of change. "I want to change, but I'm scared. (for various reasons)" so the sub-conscious compels them to eat more, overeat, to sabotage their own efforts.)

faithyang

Spreyton22K wrote: »

In the beginning it was:

- Intense hunger that I believe was a part of the side effects from medication that I was on. (Anti-depressants for pain control) - particularly in relation to quick calorie release carbohydrates.

- Lack of knowledge - Calorie counting was more difficult before sites such as this, the computer and MFP make it easy to log.

- On the opposite side of the coin there was also a component of disordered under-eating due to abuse in childhood....this emerged much more strongly as I lost weight....this is always a constant battle

- I have learned though is there are always challenges and changes to be faced and we can always choose to make the right choice for our. ie Prednisolone does not always equal weight gain. Osteoporosis and a back fracture does not mean I can't exercise, I just can't do what I did before.

I guess not all of this fits the parameters of overeating.....even though it started out that way

Wow it sounds like you have been through quite a few challenges in your weight loss journey...esp with coping and living with health issues. Good on you! I'm inspired that you have continued to find ways to keep fit and maintain your health!

Reema_capricorn

I am hungry all the time and also bored due to my unemployment due to mental health issues. I am also a bit of emotional eater because I had a severely abused childhood. I was orthorexic at 17 and also had exercise bulimia till I was 20. But then years and years of abuse caught up and I slipped into depression and lost control of my eating. But thanks to mfp, I am improving myself and cleaning up my diet.

jennifer_417

2 primary reasons- mindless eating, and emotional eating. With a dash of, "Man, I just really love all the foods!"

onthemesa

I was always overweight as a child, and looking back, I completely blame my parents for that. Every other aspect of my childhood was amazing, but there was no kind of nutritional education. Food was a reward, an activity and a cure-all.

Its like my parents had laid this shoddy foundation, and everything I knew about building I got from them, so when I start working on it myself, the whole structure is corrupt. Does that make sense?

So I become an adult (barely), and can buy whatever junk I want, whenever I want. I just go nuts - the weight piles on. I eat normal meals, I eat to celebrate, I eat when I'm bored and I especially eat when I feel down.

I get heavier and feel worse and worse about myself. I'm spending so much money on food and booze I have little left over for any other activity. It gets to a point where the only moments of my day when I am happy are when I eat something I like.

Now I'm daydreaming about losing weight almost constantly - "the diet will start today!" etc, but when it comes time for a meal, it's almost inconceivable to deny myself that little bit of happiness in an otherwise miserable day. That was what made it so difficult to begin a change of lifestyle.

Also I think one of the reasons I kept failing is because even when I successfully started a diet, I was still very embarrassed of my size. So I would stew at home, alone, thinking "when I'm thin I can go out and do all those physical things, I just have to power through this first period". But until then I had nothing, really, and usually went back to eating.

Those two things, and I believe an addiction to high sugar / fat foods, are what caused me to overeat.

Spreyton22K

faithyang wrote: »

I hope this I have this quote thingy happening right but nevertheless I wanted to say Thank you to you faithyang for the kind comments.

Yes it can be tricky, finding that balance; truly finding it can be elusive and it the scales are always changing tipping one way or the other....you just have to keep on plugging away at it.

Spreyton22K

^^^ Nah didn't get it......

barbecuesauce

-Lack of self-control. The "oh what will a doughnut in a meeting hurt."
-Eating breakfast. It sets me up to be hungry all day.
-Medications that lowered my BMR and increased my hunger.
-I put on much of the weight so gradually that it was easy for me to deny that I was overeating, especially since I was eating "unprocessed" and "clean." I think I once worked out that I was consuming an extra 117 calories a day to put on 1 pound a month.

PAV8888

Eat to celebrate, eat to commiserate, eat because it tastes good, must stop eating late at night and start eating breakfast (which means eating BOTH breakfast and late at night). The belief that weight loss can only happen with great sacrifice and dietary restriction, and since it will all be regained within a few months of relaxing the restriction, why bother to try and stop over-eating?

Mauthos

One of mine was simply because I was not controlling my diabetes well and not eating regularly or properly balanced meals. This resulted in nearly every afternoon experiencing a hypo which in turn caused me to become ravenously hungry and therefore I would binge on whatever I could, eating far too much and a lot of the time far too much junk food as I didn't have the time to cook something decent due to the fact I was trying to stop the shakes, nauseous feeling and faintness as quickly as I could.

MamaBirdBoss

-My TDEE was REALLY low.
-Goldfish. And pretzels.

slaite1

I've always been a big eater. Overeating is immediately rewarding (tastes good, feeling full is pleasant, even feeling overly stuffed can be pleasant).

You asked for the emotional part to be fleshed out, but I'm not sure what you are looking for with this. Personally, I think overeating/bingeing was a way to self soothe. Some people completely lose their appetite under stress-and some of us become ravenous. You feel like you are always starving and MUST EAT. It's very compulsive, and quickly turns into a habit that is hard to break.

Unknown

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ExRelaySprinter

For me, it was a number of things.
I've always had a big appetite....so ate big portions
I thought i could carry on eating like i was still a Teenager
The Foods i like tend to be high calorie.
Not actually thinking about what i was eating (calorie-wise).

DeguelloTex

I suppose I just didn't really think about the calories. The fat was so gradual that there just wasn't any "OMG" moment for a while. Plus, since I'm tall, even a freakish amount of weight gets spread around so that I didn't necessarily look as heavy as I was.

Jenskiski

My eating was very mindless. I love food - there's no getting around that - and I chose what tasted good and filled me up. I didn't give much thought to calories and as a result ended up fat.

The hardest thing now is not the food choices, it's never eating until I reach that satisfied, full feeling. I wonder if I'll ever get used to that.

OldAssDude

I never really changed my eating habits. My problem was a career change. I was in the industrial maintenance fields for 17 years, and decided to go to school for computer programming. Once I got my first programming job, I went from working on big heavy things using big heavy tools to sitting on my butt in an office all day.

I never changed my eating habits, so over the years my weight just kept going up.

Maybe that is why what I am doing now seems to be working so well. I am set to lose a pound a week so it takes about 500 calories a day off. I have increased my activity lever through walking and bike riding to get at least 500 active calories a day. So I am still eating the same, but being more active to make up for it.

Ioras88

The thing is, I WAS on the right track.
Then depressions hit again and the only meals that were okay for my body were the ones I prepared for work. I can't digest some things properly, so preparing is a must.
Unfortunately I ate too much stuff I shouldn't eat and now I have too much weight. ):

Btw, I got help for my depressions so things are looking up again, which is why I'm trying to lose weight. I also got back on track with eaty healthy (or actually: eating healthy for my gut).

Horrorfox

Alone, and sad when multiple things went wrong in my life. Cheap, garbage food became my crutch. Then the vicious cycle of "I eat like a fat *kitten* because I am sad, and I am sad because I eat like a fat *kitten*" happens, until I manage to force myself out of that constant orbit. I do suffer from depression from time to time, and it mostly revolves around my financial situation. They say money can't buy happiness, but the people who say that should try being a single dad who can barely afford to rent an apartment and pay bills on time.

Francl27

For me now when I overeat it's usually because 1) I'm hungry (PMS, typically), 2) it's a special event and I just want to enjoy the food.

Before it was just because it tasted good.

Lounmoun

I became more sedentary but just ate the same as when I was more active. I didn't know how many calories I was eating or how much I needed.

JudithNYC

Because the food was there. Yep, I am one of those. If it's there I will eat it. Which in a way makes dieting a little bit easier in the sense that it's mostly out of sight, out of mind. Luckily for me I live by myself and I am retired so I don't have to deal with watching other people eat all the stuff that for now is either off limits or carefully portioned.

JanelleG0122

I used to be extremely active as a child/teenager and than 6 months after my graduation, I rolled my car and broke my knee, shoulder and ribs. I was laid up for a while and gained a bunch of weight, but the relationship I was in, my boyfriend never said anything about it, so I just let it go. I started to not really care about anything and cared about making him happy (yes, that was the beginning of a horrible relationship) I found out he cheated on me five years later, and I was done. I lost about 60 pounds through MFP then. I ended up getting a desk job and messed up my shoulder yet again, and had a shift 12-930, which resulted in no exercise and bad eating habits. Gained about 35 pounds of it back. About a month ago, I decided enough was enough, so i'm back and trying to control my overeating. Not letting my horrible schedule or anything stop me this time! Good luck to everyone!

professionalHobbyist

I like food.

Nothing changed

Now I see the other edge of the sword...

I have to exercise it off if I eat extra and I can choose more filling veggies to make room to eat my lusty foods!!

I had some baked chicken wings last night. I could eat 30 of them I'm sure.

I just didn't. There are more important things in life now.

Food has been kicked out of God status.

So my body is the se old body, food is still the same. The only thing that changed was how I think about it.

lemurcat12

The first time I gained weight, in my late 20s, it was probably: (1) Didn't really think about calories or food choices or portions, and (2) lack of knowledge about food/cooking, plus (3) became more sedentary than I had been.

More specifically, I'd always been an okay weight without thinking about it before then, so never bothered learning about how many calories were in things or how to cut calories. I mean, I knew stuff like cake or cheesy pasta dishes were generally higher cal, but it wasn't something I'd ever had to think about. In my mid-20s I started working a high stress/long hours job that had as a perk lots of expensive restaurant meals (including delivery to the firm when one was working late) and a decent amount of travel, that would always involve going out. (I recall that everyone would joke about how free food must not have any calories too.) I also adapted poorly to the stress by not fitting in workouts and became much less active. In that I'm only 5'3, I gained weight pretty rapidly over the next few years.

When I realized how much I'd gained and how out of control I felt, I decided to apply my skills that made me reasonably successful at school in the past and at my job and understand why I was gaining weight and it seemed super obvious once I did. So I figured out a way to add in exercise and prioritized cooking for myself, and simply exercised more sense at restaurants/with restaurant meals.

Kept that weight off for about 5 years and regained more for emotional eating reasons (which I think was part of it the first time too, but never really acknowledged), as well as because I again became sedentary. Basically, I was drinking way too much (although I didn't really gain weight as a result of that) and then got pretty depressed (related) and stopped being active at all. When I quit drinking I was kind of eating more to compensate and although I knew I was doing it I was scared that being too strict with myself would interfere with my sobriety which didn't feel secure at all yet. Once I started feeling more comfortable and maybe ready to get back to more healthy habits, like paying attention to what I ate and not using food as comfort, I entered into a 2 year period of extreme stress and crazy hours at my job and just let myself not worry about food or exercise (which was a mistake, but I'm not sure I was ready to do anything else). Once I was ready I couldn't believe how fat I'd gotten and vowed never to stop paying attention (or weighing) for that long again and got back to my old healthy habits.

The first time I lost I didn't focus on calories, so it was interesting to learn this time that apparently when I'm at or around my goal weight and sedentary my maintenance is only 1500 or so. I never would have suspected it was that low, and that explains why I can gain weight when I'm sedentary without really eating huge amounts, especially if am careless at restaurants and so on. Having this information now is helpful for me, and also an incentive not to get sedentary again if I can avoid it.

daniwilford

I was unhappy, mostly because of Men. I didn't hate them, but often I feared them. Food comforted me when they broke my heart and I felt fat protected me from predators.

callsitlikeiseeit

Because..food tastes good. Really good. Mmmmmmmmmmfooood lolololol.

tomatoey

Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies, everyone.

For me, my first major gain was definitely in some way related to a medication I took, which saw me gain 50 lbs over 3-4 months. I'm sure I ate more than I did before the meds, and probably a bit more carby/fatty stuff than before, but I didn't (and don't) feel like it was a lot more, in quantity. Certainly poor planning was a big part of it (forgetting/waiting to eat until hangry and vulnerable). I think the fact that my activity reduced by about 1 million percent might have played a bigger role. If I wasn't sitting or sleeping, I was driving. Regardless. That was one phase.

I lost a bunch of that by moving to a different city, ditching the car, and walking or taking public transportation everywhere.

Then, I gained some back, via not thinking about calories at all / eating at restaurants 5-6 out of 7 days. Dinner usually involved heavy sauces, curries, etc. Plus wine or beer. Plus dessert. Nearly every day. And I'd have a huge breakfast sandwich (let's say hoagie-sized) with a latte every morning. And a hot full lunch, as well. It's amazing I didn't gain more. I'd estimate I consumed at least 3000-4000 calories a day, at that time. (But I still didn't gain as much as I did on the medication, during which time I feel pretty sure I ate much less than I did during gain 2. Gain 1 = zero booze and many fewer restaurants visited. Didn't count calories either time, so no way to know for sure, and of course there was the addition of walking the second time... but it was really just enough to do my groceries or catch a bus to work, it wasn't purposeful activity. So that's confusing.)

Liftng4Lis