How did you stop overeating ?

yondaime8

I had issues like this, but it was directly and entirely related to boredom eating. I can't sit through a movie or football game without something to drink or eat. What I did to avoid this, is just got myself busy.
This is why I workout after work, and take my time too, so that when I get home I eat dinner and its already bed time.
However I'd be interested if any of you have tips on how to make this fix more sustainable.

kcmsmith0405

I had issues like this and I discovered it was because I was trying to eat too few calories for what I burned, while my body was trying to eat what I burned. I figured out my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and then changed my macros to include a LOT more protein and the cravings for the sugar and donuts went way down (though I do still eat them sometimes - just never more than one at a time). I also made it a hard and fast rule for myself that I do not drink soda or juice or any sugared drinks (other than coffee) at all except on special occasions (I.E. less than once a month). The emotional eating and constantly thinking about food has turned into logging and keeping my protein and macros balanced.

cerise_noir

I started logging my binges and over eating. That opened my eyes.

untameddestiny

I'm also an emotional and boredom eater. And find it hard to stay full with a healthy meal for long. Honestly though, what helps me a lot is logging but to fight off the hunger i try to eat 5 times a day and it'll be homemade, unprocessed stuff. I eat more now than I did before and intake less calories. I've also just got out of a emotionally abusive relationship which had me eating terrible for a month after, but during that time I thought a lot about that relationship and everything that was said still haunts me but it's also motivated the crap out of me. I say, if it helps you with motivation use what your bf did to you as fuel and just log your meals. I just started but I've already lost 7 lbs In 2 1/2 weeks.

wellthenwhat

cerise_noir wrote: »

I started logging my binges and over eating. That opened my eyes.

See, I'm always scared to. It makes me panic more, and really want to eat. I'm slowly getting better, but in my head it feels like I failed worse if I see it, vs if it's hidden. I know that's part of my problem.

fitoverfortymom

This was the hardest part for me. I wasn't necessarily a binger, but I had to feel full, and not feeling full would cause me to overeat and give in to fast food cravings.

The first thing I did was be mentally ready to lose weight. It is so much easier said than done, but I Googled and read a lot of bout the mental strength to lose weight. Having quit smoking a few years ago, I knew the stuff in my head had to be stronger than the physical need to eat. I had to try and quit smoking MANY times before it stuck, just as I have with losing weight. But this time feels different and right, so I feel like I've nailed it in the way I did when I finally quit smoking for good.

The second thing I did is equip myself with the tools to be successful. This was a good working scale to weigh myself and a food scale to weigh everything I ate. Then I made a commitment to myself that I wouldn't eat anything that I couldn't measure AND that I would stay within my calorie deficit. Otherwise, any food was "on plan" as long as it fit. However, knowing myself the way that I do, I like to eat a LOT of food so by default there was a lot of healthy eating going on so I could get the most bang for my buck. At 1250 calories a day (because of course I had to have my settings at 2lbs a week), my calories were spread pretty thin. Not only did I eat "healthy," but I also ate "boring." I planned the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch so it was easy to prep and pre-log for the week. Dinners were "sensible" and I cooked the same thing for me as I did for my family--I just ate less. I tried to save between 50-75 calories a night for a treat like a piece of toast with jam or some popcorn so I wouldn't feel so ravenous in the morning. I also had a low sodium V8 as soon as I woke up because often times I WAS ravenous on waking!

The third thing I did was stick with it. I had big, early successes which helped a lot. The weight started coming off right away. I was 252+ when I started, and within weeks I was into the 240s and moving. I read MFP success stories every day and started making connections with "friends." I made weight loss my hobby. I made tweaks to my diet and became familiar with weight loss misnomers like starvation mode and eating clean. I focused my time on energy on what I CAN do to improve my weight loss journey and worried less about the noise and fads and bad advice that's out there. I made tweaks to my food to make sure I could feel full. Nothing is worse than feeling panicked that you can't eating anything! I'm always a little hungry, but I kind of power through it and use some tricks like drinking a lot of water, drinking black coffee to suppress appetite, and taking walks as a distraction. Those things help a LOT.

I have about 35lbs more to go before I reach a healthy BMI, which is my primary goal. I've lost 65+ so far and keep inching toward my goal. I'll reassess when I get there to see if I want to drop more and I've always wanted to get muscles, but don't have the schedule in my life to get serious about lifting yet. If I could go back in time and do things differently, I wouldn't have done 1250 calories/2lbs per week. I would have set it at 1lb per week and probably would have achieved just about the same amount of success. I've had to really tweak my calories the last month or so to keep my deficit in a productive place, and starting with higher calories would have been better than starting with fewer.

Sorry this is so long, just know that there are people on MFP who have been where you are, who are where you are, and you CAN do this.

(I will add a footnote that I do eat at restaurants and use their calorie information and sometimes I eat junk food as long as it fits in my calories. And by sometimes I mean a few times a week...)

laur357

If you're overeating and eating as a way to deal with stress, you might find it helpful to understand why you're doing it and learn other ways to cope. There are lots of good ideas in this thread, but if you need more help:

If you're a student, you may want to check your university's health and wellness options - many offer free counseling sessions and support groups. They can help with overeating and emotional eating.
Therapy using a therapist you find yourself (psychology.com has a good listing by location of mental health professionals and their specialties) could also be helpful if you can afford it or if you have insurance that covers it.

Cognitive behavioral therapy - try the Beck Diet Solution book- for a low-cost, easy to understand set of techniques to change how you're eating and interacting with food. It's not a diet, it just helps you change your behaviors surrounding food and eating.

DaniG_1987

One thing I've done that has really helped me is to eat breakfast and then plan my week of meals out on a Saturday or Sunday and write out the ingredients and the exact amount I need. (I also use this time to double check that I don't already have those ingredients at my house first.) Then I take the list and go shopping for them on Sunday (we also do 4 meals with Hello Fresh--so I mostly shop for breakfasts (I eat the same breakfast every day), lunches (I rotate between 3 or 4 things) and 3 or 4 dinners). When I am shopping I only look for things that are on the list and I get as close to the amount for the recipe as possible. This helps me estimate the number of calories for each meal and know the exact amount of food I need to buy (no food waste, no extra food to over eat). I have found that since I'm planning meals when I'm not super hungry and craving junk food, I typically plan healthier things. While at the story only looking for the meat / produce I need helps me avoid the temptation to go near junk food isles. If I don't have the junk food at my house, I'm not going to be able to eat it. I've completely noticed a difference in how much I eat between days that I have planned out and days likes yesterday when we ordered the only thing available (pizza) at our monthly bar trivia event.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you. A few weeks ago I listened to a podcast that talked about the history of Ben and Jerrys and I couldn't stop thinking about their Phish Food ice cream. After 3 days of really wanting it I decided to add it to the list with the explicit rule that I could only eat it if it stayed within my 1280 calories for the day. I now have a pint sitting in my freezer and on days where I have calories leftover and the ice cream falls within those calories, I'll measure out that many calories worth of ice cream and it tastes AMAZING, better than if I just ate the whole thing in one sitting because I get just a taste of it. However, if my calories are done for the day I don't get to have the ice cream. Part of it is also making the conscious decision that losing weight and being healthier is more important to you then caving in to what you want all the time. In a way you have to treat your hunger like a child and you have to be the firm and strict parent. You also have to learn the difference between feeling like you are hungry and your body actually needing food.

FindingAwesome

As with a lot of posters... I started adjusting my quantities once I realized how much they cost me in terms of calories.

I'm not always perfect, but if I log my food as I go throughout the day, or ahead of time, then I am aware of how much "room" I have left in my budget.

At that point... When I feel a need to soothe myself with food, I am forced to make a conscious decision... If that food forces me over the budget, I ask myself...

Am I choosing this food over the success of my goal?
Am I choosing this food over the progress I've made?
Will I be able to offset these calories with addition exercise?

Sometimes I choose the food... But it's happening less and less.

caroldavison332

I learned to eat FOOD for strength and not junk. Because our bodies have difficulty regularly sugar in the morning I eat protein for breakfast, numerous veggies (but no oil) off of the salad bar at lunch and typically homemade collard, bean, meat soup at night. You don't just learn that crappy tasting Pop tarts or steamed pudding are 300 calories or 17 carbs, you learn that some food has lots of sodium in in that will eventually cause your blood vessels to blow and avoid it. I am always SHOCKED at how HAPPY eating for strength makes me feel and wonder if many folks are overfed and undernourished. I keep notes and noted that my fasting blood sugar dropped 70 points in 2 weeks. That's worth it if you want to live a long life. I've always been very active so I don't worry about that. I'm taking photos and measurements in centimeters form the back side of the tape measure tonight in order to compare the before and after. Eventually you realize that you can only attract someone as healthy as you are, so you work very hard at becoming healthy. Some day you will look back at your old loves and wonder if they were even the same gender that you are attracted to. Because its Lent and I will be continually reminded of the seasons, I disciplining myself to a very high standard to see how it will impact my health. that 70 point blood sugar drop in 2 weeks was astounding evidence of success.

markrgeary1

The biggest change was my thinking! Without that I would have failed.

Number one was I felt horrible, I'd just been diagnosed with tachycardia(resting heartrate ove 100), when I asked what I could do, doc said lose weight. I don't know why but I was really afraid and my heart constantly thumping around 110 BPM reinforced it. I thought I was dying and I used that fear.

I also threw out all the junk food. All of it and most everything in the cupboards, gone. I knew I would not diet and be successful. I had to change everything I ate. Today I let some junk in, after reaching the goal.

Best wishes to you.

deputy_randolph

I pre-log my week; I have to plan dinners for a family of 4, so logging the whole week on Sunday night helps plan my meals and plan what I need to buy to prepare family meals during the week.

I also put my plate on a food scale and serve myself that way.

I also tend to drink water if I start to feel "snacky" during the day. This helps me figure out if I'm thirsty, bored, or hungry. After dinner, I drink hot caffeine free tea to curb sweet cravings.

inertiastrength

Have you considered seeing a therapist about it?