Over eating (in Gen. Diet & weight. and food & nutrition)

Maidofmer

Didn't really know which to put this in, so I'm putting it in both. I think that's my biggest problem is I over eat. Not just because I work graveyard and keep weird hours, but in general. Yesterday, I think I had a pretty good day. remembered to log what I could, the rest is usually at work and I don't have access to phone or internet.

I know the main thing I have to do to lose weight. eat healthy, portions, and exercise. I drink at least 9-12 16oz bottles of water a day, staying away from soda, but I can't stop eating. right now all I want to do is sit in the kitchen and stuff my face. don't care with what. water isn't filling me up, and if it is, it's not making the impression. What I mean is, even if I feel full, I still want to eat. haven't had this issue until recently. I don't know if its stress related, and there is a lot of stress going on now. I can't see a doctor cause I don't have insurance and cant afford out of pocket, especially if I get laid off this week.

there's some info on my situation. my question is how do I stop over eating? I really don't know what to do. Should I pad lock my fridge? Even while typing this, i'm thinking about the caramel flavored rice cakes in my pantry. Please help!!!!

runningwoodpecker

I have the same feeling from time to time. I ask myself 'ok you're hungry, do you want an apple?' if I would rather have a bag of chips or a chocolate bar then I know im not really hungry, it would be emotional eating. when im hungry I want the apple!

You could always stop buying junk food so the only options you have is to overeat on carrots or fuit, for example.

I also completely cover my fridge in motivational pictures and also picture of portion sizes like this:

http://www.google.co.za/imgres?num=10&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&biw=1370&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=a7aSASxznoRKQM:&imgrefurl=http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/your-guide-calories-and-portion-sizes&docid=RGOa9yUEVFSuxM&imgurl=http://www.prevention.com/images/cma/portion_control_chartFULL.gif&w=888&h=1284&ei=6ArgULneHqKt0QXpsICYBA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=402&sig=110193897084380696202&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=90&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:114&tx=47&ty=92

This way if I do want to pig out I know just two handful of chips are 150 calories.

I hope this helps in some way

elyelyse

ok first thing... you gotta log it all. no access to phone/internet? get a good old fashion pen and paper to note what you had, and log it later. It's the ONLY way to really know how many calories you are taking in each day. This "Yesterday, I think I had a pretty good day." can get you into trouble if you don't really KNOW.

As for the "how" to keep it under control... learn what to eat. Learning what to eat has been instrumental in getting control over how much and how often I eat. If you eat a good amount of protein and fats (don't be afraid of fats!), your body will feel more satisfied than if you eat anything else. Then veggies of course because they are good for you, and also, for me, because I can eat a lot of them and feel like I had a huge meal/snack. Yes of course there are other emotional reasons for eating, but if you can get your body to a place where its getting the right nutrition, then it becomes easier to work on the mind part.

edited to add: if you are truly hungry (not just the munchies), don't go for those rice cakes that don't provide a lot of nutrition, if it's actual hunger, eat some protein/fat. That will satisfy you for much longer.

Maidofmer

thoses are great tips, and im sure they will help me. my trouble with logging tho, is that my breakfast isn't till about 5-6 pm, lunch at 11.30, and this restarts at 12am. Pretty much skip "dinner" and even though I've been getting off about 30 min to an hour after getting to work, i'm not hungry till those times and I just start munching. I stay away from junk food. i'll grab a pear, banana, an apple, some more salad, but then I wont start to care and i'll eat cereal and my rice cakes, and I wont stop.

at work, I work at a new amazon building, they're really strict about the pens. same reason we cant have phones in the building, don't want to steal secrets or something. I had one in my hair yesterday, just so I could write down the types of boxes I need when the water spider (I don't know why they call them that, he gives us boxes) came so I could give him the list and keep my rate up without having to look and go over what I needed. got a warning, and they took my pen. said I could keep it in my locker, which I don't have. Paranoid much? I mean, they got cameras, audio and visual everywhere you think they could see stealing secrets or writing down information. Even in the lunch room, I asked a guy to use his pen and unless I was one of the ones marking rates or something, I can't use it.


more to the eating part. good fats? I barely know what a calorie is and I am still a but fuzzy on that. I use measuring cups for everything, even when I over eat. like, if I had salad, the serving size says half the bag, but then I will end up eating the rest of the bag later on. 3/4 cup cheerios with 1/2 cup almond breeze milk.

elyelyse

at work, I work at a new amazon building, they're really strict about the pens.


more to the eating part. good fats? I barely know what a calorie is and I am still a but fuzzy on that.

Wow on the pens! You could, instead, plan your meals/snacks the night before, and log the night before. Then just bring with you what you have planned to eat.

regarding good fats...it's simpler than you might think...
good fats: lean meats (poultry and fish especially), nuts (but high calorie,, so watch your portions), avocado
not-so-good fats: fried foods, cakes/cookies, ice cream

now that isn't to say you can't ever have the "bad" fats, i can't live without chocolate, and I need a little ice cream now and then. But there is a misconception that to lose weight you have to cut out as much fat as possible, and that isn't true. We do need some, and the good kind helps us feel satisfied after a meal/snack.

MrsPixelbark

I would be tempted (for now) to eliminate anything trigger worthy from your fridge/cupboards/freezer. Just get rid of it- and in it's place bag up more healthy portioned control snacks (so a bag of 100 calories worth of dried fruit/carrot sticks/nuts- if you want a chocolate fix, hot chocolate (like options) are fab- for ice cream try banana ice cream - just bananas blended etc). That way if you are going to grab for something- it's going to be something slightly healthier. Also, this is two fold- sometimes you really, really are going to crave that chocolate bar/packet of crisps but if you actually have to get out of the house to grab it then I find it gives you a five minute break of 'do I really need this'? The Mr found that whilst sometimes, yes, he would justify that chocolate bar- he'd get a smaller size this way and not overindulge quite as much. It just gives you that five minutes of breathing space rather than having the instant satisfaction of X food being there where you can easily tuck into it.

I did this for my other half and it was quite literally the only way to get him started on the right track. We only needed to do this for a month or two, and now we can have those foods back in the house without them vanishing overnight (for him it was jars like nutella that really kicked it off- he'd quite literally spoon it out of the jar). Best of luck, it's NOT going to be easy by any means, but it can be done!

Maidofmer

at work, I work at a new amazon building, they're really strict about the pens.


more to the eating part. good fats? I barely know what a calorie is and I am still a but fuzzy on that.

Wow on the pens! You could, instead, plan your meals/snacks the night before, and log the night before. Then just bring with you what you have planned to eat.

regarding good fats...it's simpler than you might think...
good fats: lean meats (poultry and fish especially), nuts (but high calorie,, so watch your portions), avocado
not-so-good fats: fried foods, cakes/cookies, ice cream

now that isn't to say you can't ever have the "bad" fats, i can't live without chocolate, and I need a little ice cream now and then. But there is a misconception that to lose weight you have to cut out as much fat as possible, and that isn't true. We do need some, and the good kind helps us feel satisfied after a meal/snack.

wow is right. wonder if theyre going to install full body scanners too. b

you have no idea how much easier you have made my life. you're awesome, thanks

HolsDoinIt

i have the same issues...im an emotional over eater...whatever im feeling i want to eat!!! what i learned here recently is if i feel like im hungry and ive already ate my meal, i ask myself, "am I really hungry, or am I bored?" .....to answer the question i go for a walk and if im still hungry ill grab something light to eat...it helps me...there are also groups that help with over eaters...i think you can google overeaters anonymous and itll pull up a listing of meetings in your area or will give you access to people who can counsel you with it on the phone or through email...and i believe its free...

Maidofmer

I would be tempted (for now) to eliminate anything trigger worthy from your fridge/cupboards/freezer. Just get rid of it- and in it's place bag up more healthy portioned control snacks (so a bag of 100 calories worth of dried fruit/carrot sticks/nuts- if you want a chocolate fix, hot chocolate (like options) are fab- for ice cream try banana ice cream - just bananas blended etc). That way if you are going to grab for something- it's going to be something slightly healthier. Also, this is two fold- sometimes you really, really are going to crave that chocolate bar/packet of crisps but if you actually have to get out of the house to grab it then I find it gives you a five minute break of 'do I really need this'? The Mr found that whilst sometimes, yes, he would justify that chocolate bar- he'd get a smaller size this way and not overindulge quite as much. It just gives you that five minutes of breathing space rather than having the instant satisfaction of X food being there where you can easily tuck into it.

I did this for my other half and it was quite literally the only way to get him started on the right track. We only needed to do this for a month or two, and now we can have those foods back in the house without them vanishing overnight (for him it was jars like nutella that really kicked it off- he'd quite literally spoon it out of the jar). Best of luck, it's NOT going to be easy by any means, but it can be done!

getting rid of his chips may lead to a divorce lol. Those are great ideas tho, and now I really want some hot chocolate. banana ice cream? is it like sobet? or just bananas blended with ice and milk? I jave tried to hide food from myself a few times. it has worked, but then he finds it and suddenly im back to square one. but, you're all right, gotta do it to get my self control back. thank you

MrsPixelbark

You literally chop up a ripe banana (key here is ripe banana- the riper it is, the sweeter your ice cream will be), freeze it, and then blend it (add a tiny splash of milk if you're struggleing to get it started)- it blends out to soft serve consistency. If you like it more 'solid' than that, pop it back into the freezer for a wie bit.

I like adding things to mine for a bit of spice, cocoa powder is always nice for a chocolate banana, protein powders good for after a workout and my personal favourite is having it mixed with chunky peanut butter.

Could you perhaps have a chat with him? Suggest he has his chips say in his car, or in his wardrobe for a few weeks? I know it's extreme, but sometimes we do have to jump to extremes to kick start things off. I'm sure he'll be understanding if you explain you're doing it for the right reasons.

ChrissieP80

Also o_O at the no pens rule.

I do what another PP has said, which is I pre-log my food on days that I work. There is always really bad food around at work (tons of chocolates, chips, McDonald's is about 50m away from my office). I always log BEFORE I eat. If I haven't logged it, I can't eat it. This stops me from just having 'a couple' of chocolates or cookies as I walk past the communal goodies (much in the same way that if if other people don't have it in the house, they are less likely to go out and buy the junk to eat).

I also believe in portioning out snacks in advance especially if they are treats. If you have a big bag or bowl of chips it is just too easy to keep going back and before you know it the whole packet is finished. Or it's not finished, but you have no idea how much you actually ate because you just kept returning for 1-2 chips. The small pre-packs are more expensive yes, but worthwhile. Otherwise get some ziplock bags and DIY.

Also, only you can control what you eat. Don't kid yourself otherwise. Just because your other half has chips in the cupboard and is scoffing them doesn't mean that you have to eat them too. Be honest with yourself and acknowledge that it really is up to you. And there are going to be slip ups, but you just have to get back on track and not make excuses.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

I have a huge problem with over eating. It doesn't even matter what it is, any food will do. Even something healthy like fruits and vegetables. This might sound strange, but the way I fixed it was by doing intermittent fasting. Once threading switch has been turned on it's nearly impossible for me to turn it off. I only eat dinner but I'll eat a big dinner and go to sleep right after. I lost like 10 more pounds when I started doing this. I do the 20/4 variation of IF.

jkestens63

It does ultimately come down to you controllong your choices. When you are going off track, if a piece of fruit doesn't appeal to you then you are not really hungry. If you don't care and want something anyway, ask yourself what is more important to you, the chocolate/cookie/leftover porkchop, whatever it is, or your goal/health /feeling strong and confident.

Go to work with a plan then stick to it. You have to stop making excuses. It doesn't matter if you can have a pen at work if you know ahead of time what you are going to do and don't swerve from it.

That said, I know its not as easy as it sounds but as long as you keep trying you will succeed... maybe not as fast as you would like. Its only when you give up that you fail.