Low carb and emotional eating
chickyniki_99
Posts: 16 Member
I would like to cut my carbs down to under 100. How ever I have so much stress and when I am stressed and emotional I can't control what I eat. I feel horrible about it but I can't control it. It's insane. Help. Any tricks or ideas
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Replies
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A few quick ideas: try to remove as many high-carb/off plan foods from the house as possible. Have low carb friendly snacks/meals prepared and ready to go. Look into ways to better manage your stress both long term and in the moment (i.e: when you are stressed in the moment: consciously remind yourself you are not actually hungry, have a large glass of water and practice deep breathing). Easier said than done, I know.5
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Make sure that wherever you live or work, there's nothing but LCHF/keto goodies around, so that when you DO decide to go crazy, it's not full-on bad for you.4
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I was the same way.
First I mentally committed to my low carb level (my goal was 20 grams net) and set a start date. I researched a ton to convince me that this was a good choice...not only for weight loss, but for overall health. I started with a menu that was appealing and one I could stick to and that I planned out two weeks in advance. I did not try to restrict calories at that point.
And then I just stuck to it. This was key: the mental part. Yes, there were days that were hard. Really hard. Day 2 I walked into a grocery store planning on buying sugar free candy because I was jonesing bad. I realized that that was no way to change my habits, so I bought 3 string cheeses and walked out.
And it has gotten so much easier! Carbs, even sugar, no longer have the hold on me that they had. I think going as extreme as I did actually helped. Had I allowed a higher carb limit there would have still been things that fit in my meal plan that would easily escalate out of control.
Best of luck to you!!7 -
Oh, and you CAN control it. You can. I understand what you're saying because I have been there. I have shoved chocolate in my mouth that I didn't even really want...it tasted gross and made me sad and ashamed, but calmed the stress so I shoved it in (honestly, that was my turning point). But until you change that mentality you won't succeed. Because ultimately, you DO have control over what you buy and what you stick in your mouth. You are not helpless.9
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IMO, availability of such carbage is key. If it is not easily accessible, you will have less.
As for replacements, I would avoid nuts based on what you stated as they are very easy to overdo. Some options which may work are pumpkin seeds - not just the kernels, but the whole seeds. They should easily fit into a plan only staying under 100 carbs. For those staying under 20, they may not be as good. The reason I suggest these is 1) they taste good, 2) they are something that you can't eat as fast as many other LC snacks from a calorie standpoint because they require more chewing.
Sunflower seeds are an option if spitting out shells is an option. Again, this is a food that takes much longer to eat than most. However, unlike pumpkin seeds, I can't imagine actually eating the shell portion.
Gum can also be a good option for some.4 -
cstehansen wrote: »IMO, availability of such carbage is key. If it is not easily accessible, you will have less.
As for replacements, I would avoid nuts based on what you stated as they are very easy to overdo. Some options which may work are pumpkin seeds - not just the kernels, but the whole seeds. They should easily fit into a plan only staying under 100 carbs. For those staying under 20, they may not be as good. The reason I suggest these is 1) they taste good, 2) they are something that you can't eat as fast as many other LC snacks from a calorie standpoint because they require more chewing.
Sunflower seeds are an option if spitting out shells is an option. Again, this is a food that takes much longer to eat than most. However, unlike pumpkin seeds, I can't imagine actually eating the shell portion.
Gum can also be a good option for some.
Great way to get extra sodium too. I used to eat them quite a bit and stayed under 25g with no problem. You really don't eat very many because they take too long to eat!
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Everyone recommends getting rid of carbage, but many times that isn't feasible (like having a Bob, like me).
I do keto, so it's much more detrimental to eat carbs. Ketosis gets harder to get into, for me, when I yo yo in and out.
Anyhow, YES YOU CAN! Thoughts are very important! Believing in yourself is very important! Can't is a word that you can eliminate from your vocab. If you choose to do it, then you effectively WON'T be making better decisions regarding food.
Does that make sense?
Believe me, I'm an emotional eater too and have succumbed plenty. BUT. I CAN and I WILL keep trucking, one I CAN at a time.
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When I quit smoking a key thing for me was to deal with the feelings that made me want a cigarette. I think the same applies to comfort foods. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, food- all handy ways to avoid feelings.7
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Things that help me:
start the day with something high fat and protein like an avocado omelette with cheese and sour cream - if my first meal is high in carbs it's practically a recipe for a high carb day and there's no way for me to get off that train once I'm on it, if my first meal is high in fat and protein then I don't even usually get hungry for 5-6 hours and generally get no cravings for the whole day - I try to save most of my carbs for dinner or dessert so I'm asleep before the carb cravings really get going
find comfort foods that are low carb - everyone says don't comfort eat, but the reality is humans are hard wired to take comfort in food, so if you are going to comfort eat keep it on plan and keep portions under control...I find a big tablespoon of peanut butter every bit as calming as a whole box of chocolate and much easier to fit into my calorie/carb counts. Find an equivalent to whatever your favorite comfort food is - if it's salty and crunchy try nuts, if it's pasta try zucchini noodles, if it's mac & cheese try a cheese omelette or some shiritaki noodles smothered in cheese - stress will always come, but coping mechanisms can be altered to fit your goals
track everything - even when you are over and you know you are having a bad day and the log is going to be ugly, tracking gives you accountability and a baseline number, plus it becomes a habit. One bad day is not the end of the journey, but you can look for trends over time and hopefully the bad days come less and less frequently as you get further along in the process, you will never see those trends or that progress unless you track every day including the bad ones
exercise - so calming and such a great mood boost, any kind of activity will do the trick, turn on some music and dance, take a quick walk, do squats while cleaning out the cabinets, try some online exercises in your house, go to a local gym or yoga studio and make new friends, anything that moves your body will help alleviate stress
measure - don't just rely on the scale, take measurements and/or photos so you can really see your progress...I see changes in the measurements way before I see changes in the scale and it's nice to have those encouraging metrics when the scale is being a little shazbat8 -
If hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution.
Mark it. Star it. Repeat it. Remember it.
If hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution.
If hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution.10 -
If you can avoid drinking Drano (even just strawberry Drano), you can avoid other toxins!
Very much worth watching:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10445274/carbohydrate-addiction-for-real3 -
It has taken me a long time to realize how much stress affects everything.
Besides all the above good advice about a cleaner environment, I have added a real effort to deal with stress. Sometimes stress is the environment but most of mine is my response to that environment.
I have started a program of meditation and I am working on other things as well. Until I identified stress separately from eating, I was trying to control it from the wrong end.7 -
Thank you all. I am moving Saturday. So I will be trying to get myself back on track during the coming week3
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2 things.
1. The less carbs you eat, the more control you have over your eating. I was never able to control my eating (emotional or otherwise) until I cut carbs out of my diet. Not under 100, but under 50 and then under 20).
2. While I don't buy into that tree-hugging hippie self help rubbish I do know that negative self talk will guarantee you fail. Whenever you say "I just can't" you are actually saying "it's out of my control so I don't have to be responsible, I don't have to try because I know I'll fail, I am not accountable for my actions". This sounds harsh, but you're not 6 years old, none of us are. You can. If you want to and if you're serious. Stop indulging your inner whiny child.9 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »2 things.
1. The less carbs you eat, the more control you have over your eating. I was never able to control my eating (emotional or otherwise) until I cut carbs out of my diet. Not under 100, but under 50 and then under 20).
2. While I don't buy into that tree-hugging hippie self help rubbish I do know that negative self talk will guarantee you fail. Whenever you say "I just can't" you are actually saying "it's out of my control so I don't have to be responsible, I don't have to try because I know I'll fail, I am not accountable for my actions". This sounds harsh, but you're not 6 years old, none of us are. You can. If you want to and if you're serious. Stop indulging your inner whiny child.
Along the lines of the second point, when offered carbage, I don't say "I can't eat that," but rather "I DON'T eat that." Word choice matters.8 -
I prefer the weasel words, "I'd rather eat a bowl of broken glass."2
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With dog stools.2
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Sugar free jello has been a lifesaver for me when I want to binge and feel guilt free about it. They run 10 cals for 1 cup of jello and about 2 grams protein and that's about it. It's actually quite filling too and makes u feel satisfied. I love sweets and desserts are my downfall so I made a Pinterest board of low carb desserts that I can indulge in without the guilt. I love cheesecake and chocolate anything so those were fun to find in low carb recipes. I actually tried a chocolate pudding that I found so yummy and good for cravings. 1 tbsp special dark cocoa powder, 1Tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 c milk or half and half (I used a combo of almond milk and carbmaster milk by Kroger brand but coconut milk is good too), a dash of sweetener (stevia), microwave for 1 min and stir and chill in fridge for about 4 hrs and it's so yummy. Anyways yea I'm an emotional eater too so I get the struggle. Feel free to message me if you wanna chat. It's helpful to think about your triggers and what make u feel the need to binge and then go from there in finding how to use different behaviors and tools instead of over eating. Anyways hugs ❤1
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I hope the move goes well and you can get settled quickly.
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chickyniki_99 wrote: »I would like to cut my carbs down to under 100. How ever I have so much stress and when I am stressed and emotional I can't control what I eat. I feel horrible about it but I can't control it. It's insane. Help. Any tricks or ideas
@chickyniki I had the same issue. With my health failing fast as of Oct 2014 I went off sugar and all forms of all grains. Yes it was a hellish two weeks for me and the family then my carb cravings just faded away quickly. Most days now I stay under 50 grams without focusing on it.
I am not cured from my memory of how carbs taste but they no long control the way I eat. My health/health marks at 65 are better then when I was 45.4 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »Stop indulging your inner whiny child.
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