The psychology of over eating

brcossette

I'm 6'0 and started my journey at 316 lbs with a goal of 180 lbs and i'm currently 245 lbs. One of the biggest problems i have had is with thinking about food. I grew up in a large family and good food and drink were always associated with fun and happiness in my young life. My weight loss so far has been good but lately i have started to bog down a bit. One of my biggest obstacles now is when i go out to eat i have a hard time eating healthy and i dont know why. I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies. I'm really good the rest of the week but when we go out i slip. Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to train your mind to always make the right choices?

WalkingAlong

I think it's human to associate food with comfort and fun. It's part of every culture. We're born soothing ourselves with food.

I think the key is finding other things to also soothe and reward yourself with so it doesn't have to always be food. Though sometimes it should be, because you can't never have buttered popcorn again or a good restaurant meal! Balancing mostly low-cal meals/portions with some that are more treat-like works for most people.

Good luck!

disneygallagirl

Food can be associated with feel good happiness or an attempt to "fill up" because we feel lonely or sad. (for me anyway)
I think the key is AWARENESS.....Why am I eating? is the answer because I am hungry or something else.
If you aren't hungry, then food is not the solution......so, figure out what can replace the real "need" instead of food.
Good luck, and awesome progress!!!! :flowerforyou:

Branstin

Do you mean eating healthy as in meeting your nutrient requirements (carbs, fat, protein, iron, vitamins, etc.)?

Do you mean making the right choices as in sticking to your calories budget?

msf74

I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies.

Do you ever wonder why when you go to the movies you crave popcorn? Why not doughnuts or a massive bag of crisps? If I said to you would you like a large slice of cake when you go to the movies would you think that was a bit odd?

It's conditioning. We condition ourselves to associate certain foods or eating in general with certain situation (cues) which generates unconscious behaviour which brings with it a reward.

The cure as someone said earlier is to be mindful and conscious of the choices you are making. If you find yourself eating blindly or on autopilot stop and bring yourself back into the moment and consider "Do I actually want this? What am I achieving here? Am I making a choice?"

SideSteel

I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies.

Do you ever wonder why when you go to the movies you crave popcorn? Why not doughnuts or a massive bag of crisps? If I said to you would you like a large slice of cake when you go to the movies would you think that was a bit odd?

It's conditioning. We condition ourselves to associate certain foods or eating in general with certain situation (cues) which generates unconscious behaviour which brings with it a reward.

Agreed. Additionally every time you go to the movies you are presented with a strong smell of popcorn which then may cause you to choose whether or not to purchase the popcorn. Whereas when you're driving in your car on the way to work, you're not influenced to have to make this choice to begin with (you're probably not even considering popcorn in this environment).

The cure as someone said earlier is to be mindful and conscious of the choices you are making. If you find yourself eating blindly or on autopilot stop and bring yourself back into the moment and consider "Do I actually want this? What am I achieving here? Am I making a choice?"

Agreed.

I would add to this "Am I hungry?".

tulips_and_tea

Good answers so far. Also, it's a matter of changing HABITS. I highly recommend a book by Charles Duhigg called "The Power of Habit". It's really logical and makes you think about why we have such strong habits but actually how easily we can re-train ourselves. Give it a try!

BarbellApprentice

I have been a chronic over eater (sometimes binge eater) most of my life. I am still trying to work through this and improve, but here are some things that have helped me recently.

1. Process before indulging. Am I really hungry? Or is this just habit, comfort, stress eating?
2. Increasing my calories to a slight deficit. This can vary quite a bit from person to person, but more food allowed decreases the odds of feeling famished and over doing it.
3. Eat macro friendly foods until I hit my protein and fiber goals. This keeps me on track and satiated throughout the day. Once I hit my p goal at the end of the day, I usually have calories to play with and fill in with treats. I never really feel deprived and do not exclude any food groups.
4. Careful with alcohol. I have a drink here and there but those calories add up and are truly empty.
5. Keep observing, learning, and tweaking things.

msf74

Agreed. Additionally every time you go to the movies you are presented with a strong smell of popcorn which then may cause you to choose whether or not to purchase the popcorn.

Absolutely. Subway for example pump out the scent of freshly baked bread from their stores to entice customers in. Smell is the most powerful sense when it comes to accessing memory I believe and it is in our unconscious where these associations reside.

Good answers so far. Also, it's a matter of changing HABITS. I highly recommend a book by Charles Duhigg called "The Power of Habit". It's really logical and makes you think about why we have such strong habits but actually how easily we can re-train ourselves. Give it a try!

Yes, exactly. I am pretty sure it was Duhigg's book where I read about the movie popcorn example in fact!

allanakern

when I was trying to limit myself to 800-900 calories a day, or would be actually proud of myself for only eating 750 (yes I'm aware of how unhealthy this was) I would always end up binge eating within the week.

now I lift weights/cardio.. exercising every day and 'allow myself' 1600... just the fact that I'm allowing myself that much makes it so much easier not to overeat. some days I only hit 1400 anyways but allowing myself more room to breathe makes it a whole lot easier to maintain

SezxyStef

I'm 6'0 and started my journey at 316 lbs with a goal of 180 lbs and i'm currently 245 lbs. One of the biggest problems i have had is with thinking about food. I grew up in a large family and good food and drink were always associated with fun and happiness in my young life. My weight loss so far has been good but lately i have started to bog down a bit. One of my biggest obstacles now is when i go out to eat i have a hard time eating healthy and i dont know why. I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies. I'm really good the rest of the week but when we go out i slip. Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to train your mind to always make the right choices?

Congrats on your progress so far btw...

I grew up in a large family as well and we always celebrated with food, comiserated with it, mourned with it...

I don't think "training your mind to always make the right choices" is possible...

I personally don't believe that when it comes to the types of foods we eat there is a right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy.

There is nothing wrong with movie popcorn with butter....I usually get them to squirt butter in the middle then again on the top...

It's about staying in goal and fitting in those things you love. I personally love chocolate...cadbury milk chocolate...I have a whole bar everynight...without sacrificing anything and always did from Sept 2013 into the future.

When I go to a resturant I order what I want...typically it will be pasta with white sauce with seafood, bread, wine and dessert...so good...but I enjoy it...I savour it and when I am full...I ask for a to go box.

But What i have found is that if I am spending calories on food it better be really good...better than I could make at home good.

Just keep focused on your goal but don't give up that food you love just eat smaller portions of it...make it fit in your daily/weekly goal...

HardyGirl4Ever

I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies.

Do you ever wonder why when you go to the movies you crave popcorn? Why not doughnuts or a massive bag of crisps? If I said to you would you like a large slice of cake when you go to the movies would you think that was a bit odd?

It's conditioning. We condition ourselves to associate certain foods or eating in general with certain situation (cues) which generates unconscious behaviour which brings with it a reward.

The cure as someone said earlier is to be mindful and conscious of the choices you are making. If you find yourself eating blindly or on autopilot stop and bring yourself back into the moment and consider "Do I actually want this? What am I achieving here? Am I making a choice?"

Also, the smell of the popcorn hits you the moment you enter. That's what often gets me. But I pass up popcorn for TCBY (which is just as bad). Great advice!!

MinnieInMaine

I agree too - a lot of this can be habitual and/or the result of certain environmental factors. And it takes a lot of time and patience to change these habits.

When I was in Weight Watchers (WW), our leader presented a nice thought for going out. If you go out to eat a lot, you have to start thinking of it as just another meal and make the same kind of choices you would make when trying to prepare a healthier meal at home. Just because you're not the one cooking and doing the dishes doesn't mean you can just eat whatever you please.

I'm not sure what your drives are but here are two examples:

My husband has this mindset that healthy/light means it doesn't taste good. However, this just isn't necessarily the case. Don't be tricked by thinking you have to eat salads (many times they're higher in calories/fat) or some skimpy meal. You can still have real food, just go for the leaner cuts of meat and instead of having fries, have an extra veg side. It'll still taste good!

I'm a foodie and tend to want to go for whatever is new and sounds interesting. Sometimes this is ok (say a type of fish I've never tried before) but sometimes it can get me into trouble if the dish is laden in some rich sauce or the like. In certain instances, I have to push aside my wants/desires and go for a dish that I know will be better for me. And sometimes I just go for it because we don't dine out a lot and the occassional indulgence can be a good thing.

As for the movies, while it's frowned upon, you can sneak in healthy snacks. Pop your own popcorn at home, grab a bottle of water and put them in a big purse or hide them under a coat.

freshstart180213

For me its about conscious eating yes we all find comfort in food otherwise we wouldnt be overweight but like in the cinema I think to myself ok I enjoy it but im gonna get a small popcorn so i take more control over portioning that way i cant do as much damage and I consciously take pauses when I eat as its the food shoveling we all do that means we forget to listen to the voice saying I am full especially when watching tv so I deliberately take pauses to ask myself am I eating because im actually peckish or am I just eating as a habit and because it tastes good if im hungry I eat however if I am doing it simply from habit or gorging myself I am getting better at just stopping and not having any more I have to say on the occassions I do slip guilt inevitably hits me for eating more than I needed

2kellymike

I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies.

Do you ever wonder why when you go to the movies you crave popcorn? Why not doughnuts or a massive bag of crisps? If I said to you would you like a large slice of cake when you go to the movies would you think that was a bit odd?

It's conditioning. We condition ourselves to associate certain foods or eating in general with certain situation (cues) which generates unconscious behaviour which brings with it a reward.

The cure as someone said earlier is to be mindful and conscious of the choices you are making. If you find yourself eating blindly or on autopilot stop and bring yourself back into the moment and consider "Do I actually want this? What am I achieving here? Am I making a choice?"

Also, the smell of the popcorn hits you the moment you enter. That's what often gets me. But I pass up popcorn for TCBY (which is just as bad). Great advice!!

When I worked in convenience stores years ago, we had a written procedure that instructed us to make popcorn at certain times of the day - like right before rush hour - not because it would be fresh, but because the smell of it would cause people to buy it, usually with something to drink too... see how that works? :noway:

WalkingAlong

I also like getting a huge movie theatre popcorn with butter when we go to the movies.

Also start practicing thinking in the gray area. Have a small, unbuttered popcorn with the nacho seasoning or something you like on it instead of oil/butter. It's not 'large buttered or nothing'.

tulips_and_tea

Agreed. Additionally every time you go to the movies you are presented with a strong smell of popcorn which then may cause you to choose whether or not to purchase the popcorn.

Absolutely. Subway for example pump out the scent of freshly baked bread from their stores to entice customers in. Smell is the most powerful sense when it comes to accessing memory I believe and it is in our unconscious where these associations reside.

Good answers so far. Also, it's a matter of changing HABITS. I highly recommend a book by Charles Duhigg called "The Power of Habit". It's really logical and makes you think about why we have such strong habits but actually how easily we can re-train ourselves. Give it a try!

Yes, exactly. I am pretty sure it was Duhigg's book where I read about the movie popcorn example in fact!

Probably was - that's what made me think of the book! There were some really fascinating stories and facts in that book. It seems so simple now: "Cue, routine reward". Identify your "cue", you know what you want as the "reward", so you just change the "routine". Granted, I"m not perfect at it, but I do stop and think before I do something strictly out of "habit".

brcossette

WOW!! This is why i love MFP. I love the ideas that it's a little Pavlovian in that i associate the movies with popcorn because thats exactly what i do. Thanks for the feedback everyone and i'm going to take your advice on different strategies and some new reading material.