Can't control my eating

I have a serious issue with portion control. I like food too much. I know what I need to do and I usually make it a few days then pig out for a week. I am currently at 201 and have been flirting with one-derland since January. Anyone that would like to send a request, feel free. I need some support to eat like I know I should! I am always looking for new friends as well.

Replies

  • katekross
    katekross Posts: 463 Member
    You have the ability to control that!
  • What can of diet plan are you on? Portion control is also one of my problems which is why I can only do low carb eating (due to the large amounts of food I get to eat). It seems though after being on it for a while my food cravings have gone away and that has helped a lot with portion control!
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    I'm a former glutton myself and there's no easy answer aside from buy a food scale and buck up, buttercup.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    i love food and i love big meals. things that worked for me:

    skip breakfast. you allow yourself more calories for later in the day.

    stop snacking as much in between meals. you are eating large meals, they should be able to hold you over.

    use smaller bowls or serve yourself smaller portions, to help "trick" your mind that you've eaten more then you have.

    water or coffee in between meals to help you curb your appitite. but if you're having coffee, watch out for the calorie dense creamers and sugars.
  • trust me I've been there fro many years. the thing that help me change was just thinking of how good i looked if just cut my portions. also instead of eating 3 large meals i started eating 5 small meals a day maybe every 2-3 hours. by doing this you will always feel fed and constantly get your metabolism working to burn more fat!! try it

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • adlace
    adlace Posts: 375 Member
    eat stuff that takes a long time to eat? Soups? Salads? Takes 20 minutes for your body to decide it has been fed. Sometimes I just dole out a cup of dry Coco Puffs and eat them one by one. 125 cals. That gives me time to get perspective on the desire to eat, eat, eat!
  • sbrownallison
    sbrownallison Posts: 314 Member
    Food scale is vital, so you know what you're actually eating. Also tough love is vital: I don't know what foods act as triggers for you but for me I can't have or make desserts because I will eat the whole thing. So I don't have that kind of stuff around: Control your environment. Use meat as a small side dish: Eat healthy things instead. Healthy real food will keep your body satisfied. You have the insight you need that portion control is what you need to work on, so that's a first step. Good luck. You can do this.
  • nbalan71
    nbalan71 Posts: 4
    Decide if you are really hungry or just thirsty. Try to drink 3 glasses of water before noon and have a high protein breakfast... and be sure that you are getting enough protein at every meal. Dont fill up with carbs.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I don't think you have to have smaller meals, just bulk out the food more with low calorie veggies. You can eat a wheelbarrow full of veggies especially green ones for next to no calories and the fibre will fill you up! I also agree with the skip breakfast comment too if you aren't really a breakfast person because studies show now that it doesn't boost your metabolism so I save my calories for from lunchtime onwards. Works great. Drink herbal teas or green tea in between.
  • action_figure
    action_figure Posts: 511 Member
    I'm a former glutton myself and there's no easy answer aside from buy a food scale and buck up, buttercup.

    *massive applause*
  • RunFarLiveHappy
    RunFarLiveHappy Posts: 805 Member
    I tried the smaller portions thing for awhile and it was okay but now I'd rather intermittent fast so I can eat more all at once lol. It's not the right choice for everyone, but it is the right choice for me. I also second the tons of veggies thought. Love me some veggies!!
  • kellzi89
    kellzi89 Posts: 65 Member
    Don't think of it as a diet think of it as a lifestyle change that is what has worked for me. Once a week I sit down workout what meals I'll have through the week food shop and the prepare and freeze. I still occasionally have the bad foods like hot chips but not as often. And when you do fall of the wagon don't look at it that the entire day or week is ruined it is just one meal one day that was bad, go for a workout or even a after dinner walk that way it isn't as bad.
  • Healthy_4_Life2
    Healthy_4_Life2 Posts: 595 Member
    I'm a former glutton myself and there's no easy answer aside from buy a food scale and buck up, buttercup.

    I agree with this!!
  • action_figure
    action_figure Posts: 511 Member
    I have a serious issue with portion control. I like food too much. I know what I need to do and I usually make it a few days then pig out for a week. I am currently at 201 and have been flirting with one-derland since January. Anyone that would like to send a request, feel free. I need some support to eat like I know I should! I am always looking for new friends as well.

    This is something you just have to be a grown up about. It's the same as going to work and paying taxes. It sucks. No one wants to do it. It would be awesome if we could stuff our faces with all the tasty things and still lose weight, but that's not how reality works. Eating appropriate foods, in moderate amounts, getting enough sleep, regular activity and plenty of water is basic maintenance for the human machine. Same as changing the oil in your car. You might not want to do it. Maybe you don't have enough money / time / or you're just hoping the magic car fairy will protect your car from your own lack of care, but it doesn't work that way. You care for your car properly or it breaks early. Same thing. You care for your body properly or it breaks early.
  • HealthFitNow
    HealthFitNow Posts: 1,205 Member
    1 - Congratulations on facing your issues head on and taking a step to gain your control. I hope you gave yourself an attaboy for that!

    2 - Take off the pressure for a week. Eat what you eat...but record EVERYTHING EXACTLY and diligently here. Establish your base. If you also set up your meals in six meals a day...with snacks morning afternoon and night, after recording for a week, you may see a pattern of when your hunger strikes. I found I was always ravenous at night snack, when I didn't start the day with an early solid breakfast.

    3 - Check that you aren't 'starving' yourself which also increases hunger and desire for bigger portions: Total calories - exercise burned calories = net calories. I was inadvertently starving myself when I cleverly upped my exercise. I was suddenly netting 500 calories daily instead of 1200 and feeling ravenous, AND also gaining weight. I was in "Starvation" mode--which is terrible for your whole body. Check out your TDEE BMR and make sure you are treating yourself fairly http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ The goal is whole health, not starvation.

    4 - After you have been recording your intake for a week, check for patterns and particular temptations--certain foods etc. I find when I eat some carbs, I crave them more. If I don't eat them at all, I don't have the craving for them. They are always where I fall down and gain weight.

    5 - Review your exercise. How much cardio? Do you need to up it? lower it? Is it fat burning cardio or is it anaerobic? Do you need to up your muscle building exercises? or reduce them? You may have to do some trial and error to see what works for you so it balances the need for food (portion control) and the exercise to be fit.

    6 - Come here every day--min 1x daily. -- or more if that helps -- and read success stories. Ask questions like you just did and read encouragements or suggestions. Divert yourself from the undermining behaviors and team up with success stories of balanced healthy behaviors.

    7 - Celebrate EVERY SUCCESS -- which means, instead of fixating on the 'overeating' - me bad moments, Celebrate--write down--post here-- every time you resist a craving, don't overeat, don't step off your path. Every time. Give your body and brain the feedback that is positive when you do it right. It will begin craving that positive feedback and you'll find it will help you do accommodate it more easily. At a minimum write a post it note to yourself and post it around your personal mirror. :bigsmile:

    8. Create a warm fuzzy file--put every letter, card, note, post it note, email, etc. that affirms you in whatever happens during a given day. Over time, you will collect a hodge podge of wonderful affirmations of how good you are and how you helped/did well/achieved/accomplished/succeeded...and when you feel lowest like you can't control yourself or your portions, you can open it up and bask in the goodness of you.

    9. Make friends that will hold you accountable here. Join a group. Touch base. They will encourage you and be there for your ups and downs, which we all have.

    10. Journal your feelings - at least a sentence a day. Check if there is a correlation between your feelings and eating. See if there is something you need to address with a counselor. Get that help even if you have to go off base to do it.

    Much of this is probably already known to you. I am putting it down it print. Write out your own goals and see yourself achieving them.

    I wish you well. Well done for asking for help. That is a huge step...and a profitable one. Good job!
    I have a serious issue with portion control. I like food too much. I know what I need to do and I usually make it a few days then pig out for a week. I am currently at 201 and have been flirting with one-derland since January. Anyone that would like to send a request, feel free. I need some support to eat like I know I should! I am always looking for new friends as well.
  • runningagainstmyself
    runningagainstmyself Posts: 616 Member
    I'm a former glutton myself and there's no easy answer aside from buy a food scale and buck up, buttercup.

    *massive applause*

    Truth. Right there.
  • Mario_Az
    Mario_Az Posts: 1,331 Member
    just serve your self half of what you usually serve your self then walk away bro will power also drink a lot of water that will help you

    or we can do the extreme and break both of your arms LOL JK
  • siqiniq
    siqiniq Posts: 237 Member
    i love food and i love big meals. things that worked for me:

    skip breakfast. you allow yourself more calories for later in the day.

    stop snacking as much in between meals. you are eating large meals, they should be able to hold you over.

    use smaller bowls or serve yourself smaller portions, to help "trick" your mind that you've eaten more then you have.

    water or coffee in between meals to help you curb your appitite. but if you're having coffee, watch out for the calorie dense creamers and sugars.

    DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST! Better to eat even a little rather than nothing, because your body has been many hours without fuel. If possible, get out of the house when you're feeling like you want to overeat. If you're not near the food, it can't tempt you. I'm not going to friend you because I find I just don't have time for friends on here, but the best of luck.
  • jess6742
    jess6742 Posts: 146
    Try filling up on fruits and veggies. I really like having that full feeling as well. I like eating large portions. It's just now I eat larger portions of healthy foods. A giant bowl of oatmeal and fruit is really filling and around 300 calories, where as I used to eat a few bowls of sugary cereal that would be around 1000 calories and I'd have a sugar crash and be starving an hour later.
  • mommarobb
    mommarobb Posts: 80 Member
    this is what works for me... log all food. keep it in the green. If I want more food, I put my *kitten* on the treadmill and walk till I have worked off the calories of the food I want. After walking an hour the bowl of chips I was craving doesn`t look so good. Drink more water. I also find sweet drinks.. diet soda, coffee with lots of sugar or sweetener makes me crave more food.
  • willnevergiveup
    willnevergiveup Posts: 141 Member
    Check out this article in the New York Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/how-carbs-can-trigger-food-cravings/

    I found this out the hard way. The more I eat processed or white food carbs, the hungrier I get. If I eat 60-70 net carbs dailyof things like vegetables, berries, and no more than 1 slice of flax seed bread a day, I'm fine. I'm not hungry. I've lost 37 pounds in the past three months (I'm 5', 2"and weight about195 pounds now). I also drink lots of water. I'd heard this, but dismissed it. No more. I drink at least 100 ounces of water a day.

    I hope this helps and good luck to you on your journey.
  • simplyciera
    simplyciera Posts: 168 Member
    First, change your thinking. If you think you HAVE to do something, you're body is going to do it. If you think "I want to have a healthier relationship with food" then you will.

    In terms of eating better:

    I've learned that eating high, healthy fats make you feel full. Avocado, walnuts, almonds and peanut butter are great foods to cut the cravings. Foods that are high in sugar and salt make you feel hungry so watch that intake.

    Drink a lot of water. it makes you feel full, flushes your body of toxins and makes your skin look prettyyyy :)

    If it's a matter of having a habit of munching, try chewing on gum, sunflower seeds, sugar free gummy bears, carrots or other low calorie foods that take a lot of energy to eat.

    Plan your meals. Know what your eating and only eat what you've planned. I've found that eating 5, smallish meals throughout the day helps with the munching because I'm constantly eating. Now, I'm like "God, I don't want to eat", but I know that I have to to get in the calories that I need.

    Ultimately, you just have to work on self-control. That's important in your relationship with food as well as in life. Food isn't your addiction. Start small, like another poster said. Replace one food at a time. And then work your way up to cutting out unnecessary, unhealthy habits.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    you've got to figure this out.. try eating six meals during the day and eat three ounces of protein at each..try to get your appetite under control you can do it.

    another thing.. See if what you're eating is making you hungry. For example.. i realized that some high carb low cal snacks I was eating..along with eating fruit first thing in the day..make me hungry all day long. It was a struggle to stay on plan. When i cut that out.. i had control.

    So..see what your patterns are and play with what you're eating. Get that butt into onederland.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
    Low-calorie things that take a long time to eat have been my savior. Firecracker popsicles (the red, white, and blue ones) are only 40 calories each, and take a good 5-10 minutes to finish.
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
    This doesn't necessarily help with learning portion control, but in order to still eat a lot of food but for not a lot of calories, I often look for ways to "bulk up" my meals. If I want cereal for breakfast, for example, I'll have one cup of puffed rice or puffed wheat (like 40 cals) mixed in with whatever "real' cereal I want. Most other meals, I just add a lot of veggies. So my spaghetti sauce is pretty low calorie b/c each cup of sauce contains like a half-cup of vegetables.
  • Research high nutrition, low calorie foods. Convert to eating that way. High nutrient foods will satisfy you and journaling here will help you learn when to stop. Eating the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) in small portions is just going to torture you. Axe the sugar and refined flour, and bring in the rainbow or veggies. I don't follow Dr. Fuhrman as much as I should, but he's a good place to start. Good Luck!!