Control?

iona_ellen

Hi,
I really struggle with knowing when to stop. I seem to eat and eat and eat. I dont feel full and i dont feel hungry. I used to eat when i was upset but it has just turned into snacking constantly.
Anyone else have this problem? Anyone managed to get rid of it?
Thanks

nvmomketo

I got rid of that problem by eating very low carb high fat. It's not a popular choice though.

Perhaps skip most meals and just commit to grazing?

Spiderpug

It's just habit! You need to retrain your brain to listen to your belly

Spiderpug

Awwh it chopped 95% of my reply off - I wasn't blunt enough to just say the above but basically wait 20 mins after a meal before deciding if you are still hungry and log everything!

jaga13

I prelog my meals, then measure them out and eat. MOST of the time I simply stop when I've finished that amount and trust that i will feel full in 20 minutes. Occasionally I go for more food because it just tastes good and I'm human but then I edit my next meal(s) so I can stick to my calorie budget.

airangel59

I am with jaga13, I pre plan, pre log my food and after I eat, I then clean the dishes so I don't go back for seconds. I find that the 20 minute post eating time does satisfy me. I'll chew gum or get coffee or continue filling up on liquids (no calorie of course).

I too am an emotional eater/grazer and eat for something to do vs being hungry. I make sure when I pre plan my food logs I put enough cals/carbs etc into day & nite snacks so I can have what I want if I need some snacks and I can also adjust food thru out the day if I eat something I didn't plan to or changed the menu etc.

katie_moreau

I used to be like that too! You need to be diligent about logging your food, and drink lots of water! Every time I want to snack I get a bottle of water and go back to whatever I was doing. After 4 weeks, I actually have overcome this terrible constant snacking habit!

kommodevaran

I overate out of habit, after being force-fed as a child. I hate to waste food and didn't know about portion control or meal planning. I believed I had to be stuffed to get enough. I love flavor and variety, and believing I should eat diet foods made me so desperate for flavor that I turned to grazing on candy and chips, which never satisfied me either. I believed I didn't have an on/off switch for satiety, but I just didn't know what hungry and full was supposed to feel like.

I started logging on MFP, picked up some tweaks, learnt to trust the process, and at the same time listening to my body's signals. I found out what foods I like that I can eat to satiety, how to shop and plan meals. After 18 months of counting calories, I felt ready to move on - just continue to follow a rough meal plan and weigh every day. It takes some attention and fine-tuning, but I feel so much like a normal eater now.

I've read a lot about this and similar subjects, this article is one of the many that resonated with me: What is Normal Eating?