Why do we want to eat so much?
kais79
Posts: 41 Member
Portion Control. Its a big problem of mine. I just don't understand why I feel the need to eat so much of one thing when I'm eating a meal including multiple items? Is it like a drug or an addiction? I've considered the possibility that I could be addicted to food or types of food but I mentioned it to a psychologist once and it was dismissed with the wave of a hand. Is this how others feel? I'm very interested in hearing others' take on this.
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I think of this when I go to a place like IHOP that has all types of foods and I want EVERYTHING. Some times I catch myself thinking that I'm going to miss out and not have the chance to eat XYZ later so I want it now. I've learned it helps me to focus on 1 thing and keep my meals simple to keep from over eating.0
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Eating the wrong stuff. Try shifting the balance to more lean proteins and fibrous veggies. They are filling and nutritious. I find that when I eat lots of simple carbs, I get hungry again faster....0
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CUZ I'M HUNGRY!!!!!!!!And still hungry
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Gah, this is what I've been taught, I don't know much, so anyone with more knowledge should correct me.
Because eating releases happy chemicals. See, it's hard to rewire thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years of evolution to say, "Hey, we're not constantly looking for food all the time, so maybe I shouldn't eat when I don't get the chance." It's honestly an incredibly complex system of chemicals that I don't fully understand, but I can get the oversimplified tl;dr version.
See, the feeling of absolutely needing to eat as much as we can, and crave specifically salt and fatty foods, is what kept hunter-gatherers alive for long enough to pass on their genes. Food wasn't as easily as accessible before the invention of agriculture; it was always a hunt for the next meal, always a desire, and a need to consume as much as you could, because you had no idea where the next meal would come from. Pack up as much energy as you could, and continue on.
It's that kind of mentality. Plus eating releases happy hormones, so could definitely get psychologically addicted to eating (so I've been told by a psychologist).0 -
I don't know if my appetite has adjusted over time, or if I'm just not paying attention to it in the same way as I was before. In part, I'd guess it's just habit. You're used to a certain amount of food so your body expects it. When it isn't getting what it thinks it should be getting, it makes sense that it would give a signal that you haven't consumed enough. I don't think that means you're addicted.
It may take some experimentation, but try to find foods that are more satisfying than others for you. Take your time when you're eating if possible so that you're giving your body enough time to realize it's getting food. Try to drink a fair bit of whatever low calorie beverage you prefer with your food. It may help you feel sated.0 -
Because food tastes good and is fun to eat, that's why!!! I know it sucks but its true.0
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I know I use food for my pleasure zone as a person uses drugs. Any time a problem comes up around my home I open the frig and get a fix.0
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Because its so freaking delicious and for that 4 minutes it takes to inhale it our brains think that we must have more now or it will be gone forever? LOL
Carbs and sugar are almost like an addiction for me. I have to be really careful. I got fat eating mostly "bad" foods, and not necessarily in huge quantities but oftentimes I did. I don't overeat on chicken or veggies ever! (unless they are coated in sugar like SESAME Chicken with RICE). I will totally overdo those. lol.0 -
I just love to eat until I burst. Portion control has been an issue for me too. I'm a tall woman and a big strong girl, so I had it in my head that I needed more food than others did. And then it got to the point where I didn't care. I figured that if it killed me, I would at least not have to die deprived of my favorite foods. Until I realized that I had become my mother. *shivers*
Now I rely a lot on the portions the packages give then double or triple them depending on the calories.
Though I would love to hear what others think about it as well. I do think you can be addicted to food or certain foods. Perhaps not physically, but mentally. It takes a lot of will to break that addiction, but it can be done. With the right determination and will.0 -
I too have a HUGE problem with portion control!!! I feel 100% I am addicted to food. I have been known to eat to the point I want to throw up. I know sad but the truth is ugly sometimes. I've used the smaller plate trick, filled up with low calorie foods at a meal first(broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage)(steamed) The thing that has helped me the most is the moment everyone has their food on the plate I take the food OFF the table!! I also try to make ONLY the amount of servings we need. I deal with chips, snacks etc.. by weighing them out and putting the bags away and STILL there are times NONE of this helps and I pig out. It truly has gotten better over the years. I use to binge for WEEKS at a time and put back on 20-40 lbs back on but now I rarely binge more than a day or two and I get right back on track and try not to beat myself up. I also look at before pictures A LOT and constantly ask myself IS THIS FOOD WORTH IT and normally it isn't!! NEVER give up every day gets a little better!!!! :flowerforyou:0
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yeah, it definitely sucks and requires A LOT of self-control.
What I've noticed helps is eating slower, it gives your body more time to digest the
food you've already eaten and you realize you're fuller sooner rather than after you've eaten
a 2nd or 3rd helping and are miserable
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Yep, I know where you are coming from, and even when you know your full you still carry on :noway:
I use a smaller plate nowadays and it does seem to work. I also never buy the large bags of crisps ( chips) as cant stop til they are gone, it's gotta be psychological, hasn't it?0 -
i constantly feel hungry and it drives me insane, i believe it was triggered by some anti depressants i was prescribed some years back, as before that i had never been skinny but i was not huge like i am now either, and i didnt feel a constant hunger!
im finding that whilst calorie counting i can actually add more bulk to my dinner( bulk isnt the right word) for example, if i have turkey instead of chicken i can have more for the same calories but more turkey, and therefore am not so hungry,.
I also eat a punnet of strawberries in the evening, this seems to stop my craving for sweet food so much. i dont know about other people but although i eat a large green salad every day it really doesnt fill me for more than about 20 minutes, and on a bad day thats just soul destroying!0 -
I still eat huge quantities of food. I'm just better about my decisions.
I bring party bowl sized salads to work and with dinner I'll eat entire heads of broccoli, bunches of asparagus, multiple squashes, or a full bag of green beans along with my (ordinary, human sized) serving of protein and serving of carbs.0 -
now that a lot more of my cals are from protein i dont really feel that way. its when i was eating pasta, bread, etc..as my main source of cals that i felt like i could eat it all.0
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i dont know about other people but although i eat a large green salad every day it really doesnt fill me for more than about 20 minutes, and on a bad day thats just soul destroying!
You're salads probably aren't packing enough punch!
Start with a base of greens. Add as many veggies as you want. Add a serving of protein. Add a serving of something fun like avocado, cheese, quinoa, or crunchy noodles, whatever.
I don't use dressing, it doesn't have enough depth or mouth feel. Try half a cup of Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of hummus, 1/2 cup of salsa, cottage cheese, OR double up on the fun, skip the dressing, and go with some vinegar or lemon juice.0 -
I think that you could be addicted to certain foods because when you eat your brain gives off a good feeling chemical that makes you want to eat more. Mainly it's just will power and determination that will make you change your habits.0
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I still eat huge quantities of food. I'm just better about my decisions.
I bring party bowl sized salads to work and with dinner I'll eat entire heads of broccoli, bunches of asparagus, multiple squashes, or a full bag of green beans along with my (ordinary, human sized) serving of protein and serving of carbs.
That's so smart 0 -
There is a lot of controversy around the idea of food addictions. Personally, I fall in the 'you can't be addicted to a substance your body requires for survival' camp.
Having said that, the existance of eating disorders is well document and over eating, taken to an extreme, falls in that category. Eating disorders aren't limited to anorexia and bulemia. Disordered eating comes in mutliple varieties.
Another perspective - in an effort to bring in more customers and, therefore, make more profits, the food industry creates ads and runs specials of the 'get more for your money' variety. If you compare the average serving size (meaning, what people actually eat) today to what it was 50 years ago, the difference is astronomical. The reality is that most people have completely lost perspective with serving sizes.
For me, it's taken quite some time to feel satisfied with a reasonable portion. Once you feel, on a gut level, that a reasonable portion size is adequate, you'll stop feeling deprived when you have only that. I believe it's entirely psychological. When your instincts tell you (because they've now been conditioned to tell you) that a serving size hamburger is really a half pound or a serving is really two hamburgers, instead of one, you aren't going to be satisfied with anything less. It doesn't matter that your BODY doesn't need that much. Your MIND thinks it does.
It just takes time to re-wire the thought process. At first, measure everything. After a while, once you've fully internalized what your body ACTUALLY needs, you'll no longer need to measure everything. Be careful though, the advertising that tought you the wrong serving size will still out there.0 -
there are just certain foods I know I cannot keep in the house. the kids hate it, but we have compromised. I dont eat ice cream much, dont ask, but if there are brownies in the house or anything homemade it doesnt last a day. so the foods i should eat, i make sure are always on hand. that way, i dont over eat them. over time you will learn which foods they are. in ww they called them red light foods, for me, brownies, cheesecake, pringles, chips, dip, crackers etc. figure out which foods trigger you to overeat and stop buying them. find new ones to love. i can eat just one fiber one brownie and be ok.0
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Also, I find that days I don't do a solid cardio workout, my appetite is much, much higher. Medium to high intensity cardio seems to curb my appetite. Sometimes, I'm not even able to eat my normal calorie alotment, let alone eat back my exercise cals, though that doesn't happen often.0
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those are good ideas, i usually addthin sliced ham, i am wheat and dairy intolerant, and wheat free pastas are so high in calories i just stay away and have a bowl once a month as a huge treat, avacado seems a good idea too, thanks.
I think whats going on is my body is craving carbs badly, i have been dieting 3 weeks now and having to write down what u eat really shows u the rabs etc that u would normally consume, am also a goats cheese monster lol!....so i only ever have max 150gm in the house for the week, and so far i have ignored it calling me for 5 days.......heres hoping!0 -
I grew up eating large portions. My mom was a excellent cook, and she liked to cook large amounts. Now I was one in a 6 person family, but she still cooked more then we really needed.
In my opinion, this was in part due to my mom was 1 of 10 kids growing up, and food was well controlled in her family. (It would have to be with 10 mouths to feed). So when she became an adult, she didnt want her kids to have the feeling that there was not enough food, thus she overcompensated.
Now, dont get me wrong, my mom cooked some AWESOME meals! I loved her cooking! Now, on the downside, I can remember as a kid, having to wash the dishes, and scrubbing out HUGE pots and pans. I'm talking catering size pots. I particularly remember a tall spaghetti -or- sauce pot that when set on the floor was taller then my KNEES! And I could have probably fit most of my body in it as a kid!
But I digress, I grew up on large portions, so I naturally always felt the need to eat larger portions even after I was an adult. It was the "i better eat it now while its available' way of thinking. I never became obese, but now in my 40's and after having a child, things are starting to show a bit more then they should.
Now I am working on smaller portions (according to the labels on the food containers) and just more variety of healthy foods. It seems to be working, but there are still times when I want triple the amount of one certain food. It happens. I just get right back on track as soon as I can.0 -
This. Well put. We evolved to gorge and fast. It wasn't until VERY recently that food was readily available in practically unlimited amounts. It's human survival instinct. Eating = GOOOD.Gah, this is what I've been taught, I don't know much, so anyone with more knowledge should correct me.
Because eating releases happy chemicals. See, it's hard to rewire thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years of evolution to say, "Hey, we're not constantly looking for food all the time, so maybe I shouldn't eat when I don't get the chance." It's honestly an incredibly complex system of chemicals that I don't fully understand, but I can get the oversimplified tl;dr version.
See, the feeling of absolutely needing to eat as much as we can, and crave specifically salt and fatty foods, is what kept hunter-gatherers alive for long enough to pass on their genes. Food wasn't as easily as accessible before the invention of agriculture; it was always a hunt for the next meal, always a desire, and a need to consume as much as you could, because you had no idea where the next meal would come from. Pack up as much energy as you could, and continue on.
It's that kind of mentality. Plus eating releases happy hormones, so could definitely get psychologically addicted to eating (so I've been told by a psychologist).0 -
From the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, "The Obesity Epidemic and Food Addiction: Clinical Similarities to Drug Addiction":There is a lot of controversy around the idea of food addictions. Personally, I fall in the 'you can't be addicted to a substance your body requires for survival' camp.
"There appear to be several biological and psychological similarities between food addiction and drug dependence including craving and loss of control. Nonetheless there is at least one apparent difference: acute tryptophan depletion does not appear to induce a relapse in recovering drug-dependent individuals, although it may induce dysphoria. In some individuals, palatable foods have palliative properties and can be viewed as a form of self medication. This article will examine environmental factors that have contributed to the obesity epidemic, and will compare the clinical similarities and differences of food addiction and drug dependence."
Reading the article, the effect is very much highlighted and discussed in animals and humans that have consumed a large amount of sugar in short intervals, and that even binging on sugars caused behavioral changes in rats and extremely similar neural pathways brought by addiction from substances.
The controversy isn't "Does this really exist" it's more like, "Okay, how can we classify, treat and learn more about this phenomena?" Food addiction is a well documented behavior that has little controversy concerning its existence (anymore), and there are many documented chemical changes in the brains of people with this issue.
Like, I don't know of any credible source that refutes the existence of food behavioral issues these days.0 -
Portion Control. Its a big problem of mine. I just don't understand why I feel the need to eat so much of one thing when I'm eating a meal including multiple items? Is it like a drug or an addiction? I've considered the possibility that I could be addicted to food or types of food but I mentioned it to a psychologist once and it was dismissed with the wave of a hand. Is this how others feel? I'm very interested in hearing others' take on this.
Yes....I absolutely do believe that it is possible to be addicted to food! My own personal experience tells me that people can and do over eat and use food the exact same way that an alcoholic abuses liquor or a drug addict abuses crack. In taking personal responsibility for my current overweight physical condition...I really had to come to terms with changing and controlling my own eating habits and behavior.
One of the things that I have been doing since I came to mfp is re-examining every aspect of my relationship with food. I now eat only non processed food which I faithfully weigh and measure. Thus far, I have had only one instance where I felt the need to eat more food then was on my plate. Do you know what I discovered from that incident? I discovered that whenever I am distracted or upset. (((My new lamp had been broken))...I can eat an entire meal without having any memory of eating the food! Needless to say...Now...I don't pick up a fork to eat unless I am (a) hungry and (b) undistracted.0 -
Some people think it's because of too many carbs, combined with not enough protein and fat. Personally, I am trying to stay under 50 gm / carbs per day, and no grains whatever. It seems to help a lot with food cravings.0
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Because it's sooo goooood.0
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We've been brainwashed by food companies and TV, the zombie maker.0
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Maybe that's why they consider some things "comfort food". Usually comfort food is generally thought to be unhealthy. Do you have certain foods that make you feel "warm and fuzzy" or foods from a time in your past where everything was going good for you. Maybe you associate those foods so you want more and more.0
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