I can't stop eating

kiluhf2

I can't stop binge eating after school! I try to eat healthy and normally eat a small and healthy breakfast, but when I get home from school I seriously eat everything in the house! I eaten around 5000 calories per day for 2 weeks and have gained 20 lbs! I try to stop but I can't! Any advice?

lkniebuehler

do you eat lunch?

Ian_Stuart

When people say they binge on food, they usually mean carbohydrates. Hardly anyone binges on chicken breast. You see, carbs beget carbs. Eating a sugary dessert or high carb food spikes your blood insulin level while the sugar is processed, but then you run out of sugar to process and still have high blood insulin levels. This insulin finds nothing for it to bond with, which causes your body to think that you are low on sugar (because in our ancestral environment there weren't such things as cupcakes), which makes you crave sugar so you go in search of something sweet. Basically it is millions of years of evolution insisting that you must be starving because your insulin levels are higher than the available sugars suggest and thereby messing up your diet plans. It used to be that fat and sugar were rare and our ancestors had to work hard to get them, which burned more calories. Our bodies learned to crave them so that we would be willing to expend the effort to climb that tree and get the sweet fruit, or hunt down the heavier (larger) fat carrying animals. Things like cupcakes and Snickers bars are super-stimuli. They push all of our ancestral craving buttons, but offer none of the nutrition that fat and sugar used to represent (healthy meat and nutritious fruits). One cupcake can be upwards of 500 calories. Do you have any idea how much meat that is? How many apples or oranges? I tell you all of this because knowing it has helped me to say no to those things. It doesn't fix the cravings, but it gives me a mental anchor to hold on to when those cravings try to pull me into the local bakery. My suggestion would be to change your macro goals to be higher in protein (at least 1g per lb of bodyweight (2g per kg) and then make your fat and carbs at least a 50/50 split for the remainder of your calories.

iLOVEbabySARA13

I do that when I'm not drinking enough water. Its easy to mistake being dehydrated with hunger.
Could that be a possibility for you?

fbmandy55

TROLLLLLLL

p4ulmiller

school

I hope you're over 18 otherwise you are violating the site's terms and conditions.

thickerella

When people say they binge on food, they usually mean carbohydrates. Hardly anyone binges on chicken breast. You see, carbs beget carbs. Eating a sugary dessert or high carb food spikes your blood insulin level while the sugar is processed, but then you run out of sugar to process and still have high blood insulin levels. This insulin finds nothing for it to bond with, which causes your body to think that you are low on sugar (because in our ancestral environment there weren't such things as cupcakes), which makes you crave sugar so you go in search of something sweet. Basically it is millions of years of evolution insisting that you must be starving because your insulin levels are higher than the available sugars suggest and thereby messing up your diet plans. It used to be that fat and sugar were rare and our ancestors had to work hard to get them, which burned more calories. Our bodies learned to crave them so that we would be willing to expend the effort to climb that tree and get the sweet fruit, or hunt down the heavier (larger) fat carrying animals. Things like cupcakes and Snickers bars are super-stimuli. They push all of our ancestral craving buttons, but offer none of the nutrition that fat and sugar used to represent (healthy meat and nutritious fruits). One cupcake can be upwards of 500 calories. Do you have any idea how much meat that is? How many apples or oranges? I tell you all of this because knowing it has helped me to say no to those things. It doesn't fix the cravings, but it gives me a mental anchor to hold on to when those cravings try to pull me into the local bakery. My suggestion would be to change your macro goals to be higher in protein (at least 1g per lb of bodyweight (2g per kg) and then make your fat and carbs at least a 50/50 split for the remainder of your calories.

Good answer!

Also, I could seriously binge on some chicken. Or bacon. Or steak. God, I'm ready for dinner.

mwooderson

When people say they binge on food, they usually mean carbohydrates. Hardly anyone binges on chicken breast. You see, carbs beget carbs. Eating a sugary dessert or high carb food spikes your blood insulin level while the sugar is processed, but then you run out of sugar to process and still have high blood insulin levels. This insulin finds nothing for it to bond with, which causes your body to think that you are low on sugar (because in our ancestral environment there weren't such things as cupcakes), which makes you crave sugar so you go in search of something sweet. Basically it is millions of years of evolution insisting that you must be starving because your insulin levels are higher than the available sugars suggest and thereby messing up your diet plans. It used to be that fat and sugar were rare and our ancestors had to work hard to get them, which burned more calories. Our bodies learned to crave them so that we would be willing to expend the effort to climb that tree and get the sweet fruit, or hunt down the heavier (larger) fat carrying animals. Things like cupcakes and Snickers bars are super-stimuli. They push all of our ancestral craving buttons, but offer none of the nutrition that fat and sugar used to represent (healthy meat and nutritious fruits). One cupcake can be upwards of 500 calories. Do you have any idea how much meat that is? How many apples or oranges? I tell you all of this because knowing it has helped me to say no to those things. It doesn't fix the cravings, but it gives me a mental anchor to hold on to when those cravings try to pull me into the local bakery. My suggestion would be to change your macro goals to be higher in protein (at least 1g per lb of bodyweight (2g per kg) and then make your fat and carbs at least a 50/50 split for the remainder of your calories.

I absolutely agree with carb binging begets carb binging. I was binging and gained quite a few lbs in a very brief period of time. My "cure" was simple. I allowed myself to binge but only on 3 items. Turkey pepperoni, chicken and olives. Boy o' boy that was the solution. I have a small plate of any or all of those items, not a lot of calories, almost zero carbs and sometimes I don't even finish.

kiluhf2

I'm going to try that! Thanks!

jlblovely

There are a hundred things you can do...#1 is just don't put the stuff in your mouth. (and trust me when I was pregnant I went for 140 to 211...They knew me by name at the dunkin donuts!!! stupid boston cream filleds! ) Make sure you (as was stated) drink a lot more water...You should have a h2o bottle with you at all times!!!!!!!!! Keep snack s with you throughout the day like almonds to eat. Eat a bigger and better breakfast and a bigger lunch...Sounds like your using all your willpower early in the day and you body gets overly hungry and you binge. When you get home...have a snack...pre cook some chicken or have a can of tuna... then leave the house...go for a stroll or a bike ride. Start shopping better as well...I noticed when I first started my diet last year I was eating garbage because I had it in the house. You may also want to check with your doctor...your blood sugar or thyroid may have went off kilter. (but probably not it is best to rule that out! I gained a ton of weight also when I started birth control and was put on an antidepressant for anxiety....and quit smoking...but I decided to be healthy..to be a good example for my obese, chain smoking family. You can do this! and if you mess up and cave..you can stop....change a little everyday! YOU REALLY CAN ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS...Keep up the good fight! and good luck......

sabified

When people say they binge on food, they usually mean carbohydrates. Hardly anyone binges on chicken breast. You see, carbs beget carbs. Eating a sugary dessert or high carb food spikes your blood insulin level while the sugar is processed, but then you run out of sugar to process and still have high blood insulin levels. This insulin finds nothing for it to bond with, which causes your body to think that you are low on sugar (because in our ancestral environment there weren't such things as cupcakes), which makes you crave sugar so you go in search of something sweet. Basically it is millions of years of evolution insisting that you must be starving because your insulin levels are higher than the available sugars suggest and thereby messing up your diet plans. It used to be that fat and sugar were rare and our ancestors had to work hard to get them, which burned more calories. Our bodies learned to crave them so that we would be willing to expend the effort to climb that tree and get the sweet fruit, or hunt down the heavier (larger) fat carrying animals. Things like cupcakes and Snickers bars are super-stimuli. They push all of our ancestral craving buttons, but offer none of the nutrition that fat and sugar used to represent (healthy meat and nutritious fruits). One cupcake can be upwards of 500 calories. Do you have any idea how much meat that is? How many apples or oranges? I tell you all of this because knowing it has helped me to say no to those things. It doesn't fix the cravings, but it gives me a mental anchor to hold on to when those cravings try to pull me into the local bakery. My suggestion would be to change your macro goals to be higher in protein (at least 1g per lb of bodyweight (2g per kg) and then make your fat and carbs at least a 50/50 split for the remainder of your calories.

Bump to read later

trudijoy

get out of the house. go for a walk or go shopping or to a movie or something with no food. Distract yourself and remove yourself from a situation where you could binge.

AlongCame_Molly

Yes, you can. Stop shrugging the responsibility and accept that you CAN stop eating, you just don't want to.

Once you get that firmly in your head, it becomes much easier to shift from "I can't stop" to "I am choosing to stop, now". Change your mindset, take the power back and put the excuses to bed. That's the only way to really be successful. Good luck.

edited for a typo

kiluhf2

Thanks for all the great suggestions!!!

Sea_Witch

Yes, you can. Stop shrugging the responsibility and accept that you CAN stop eating, you just don't want to.

Once you get that firmly in your head, it becomes much easier to shift from "I can't stop" to "I am choosing to stop, now". Change your mindset, take the power back and put the excuses to bed. That's the only way to really be successful. Good luck.

edited for a typo

I love this! There needs to be more tough love on these boards. But I guess I respond better to "Just shut up and do it", than the ever popular "you're not losing because you're in starvation mode" BS.