Help me, please. I can't stop eating!

I started going to a 24/7 workout place at around 9pm when I would normaly veg out on the couch, watch tv and snack. This seem to help me with late night snacking. I no longer go there but do the majority of my exercise in the evening for this reason.

Hey there,

You sound like you are an emotional eater.

I hear you.... I am one too.

This is what I do.

When Im at home....

I find that having absolutley NO junk food in the house helps. The only food I have there is fresh fruit or veggies and things that are low calorie. Also when i feel an emotional eating moment coming on..... I drink a glass of water and have an apple. This gives me an surge of sugar and Apples are negattive calories so eating them and walking to the fridge to get it burns it off.

When Im out....

Menus are tricky..... Its so easy to just order what you feel like without thinking about it. So i dont look at the menu..... I just ask the waiter what fish they have and get that...... AND NEVER LOOK AT THE DESSERT MENU. When im upset or sad the first thing I do is eat sweets.....so I just avoid them.....Dont look at them!! THEY ARE EVIL....LOL

Anyhow, hope this helps. Also, Im really sorry to hear about you going through a hard time. I wish you lots of luck. Take Care .

I forgot to say the most important thing!!!......Talk to someone... you shouldnt be going through this alone, even if you just post on here. There are tons of people who will think of you and want to help.

Hey Robin42,
I know how it's like being an emotional eater, I have done scary things like polishing 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting, followed by a packet of chips. The good news is, it is possible to change. And I am a realist, I am not talking about using sheer willpower. Even the bible says "flee from temptation". I am still on a constant battle with emotional eating. However, I am happy to share some lessons I have learned, which works fine for me:

1) Especially during vulnerable times like this, minimise food in the house (don't leave temptation in the house), go food shopping with a list so you can zip in and out, bypassing the candy & ice-cream section.

2) Plan ahead what you're going to eat for the day - if possible, even what time you'd eat, and stick to it. Sometimes it helps me if I feel like snacking (though not hungry), "my next meal time is in xx hours).

3) Keep a food diary - this one on myfitnesspal is great - and it makes you more conscious of what you eat. when you see it all listed down. And note down the time, the moods you felt when you eat more than you should. It's useful to help us understand what made us binge.

4) Plan for your vulnerable hours - we all have that. And plan activities during those times, eg. arrange to go for a walk with a friend, or a call to a supportive friend, or hit the gym.

5) Accept that this battle is one for "3-steps-forward-2-steps-back), especially in the beginning, and if we fall off the wagon, get back on. Don't finish the whole packet of chips just because you started to eat a few.

Nobody said it's gonna be easy, but take it a day at a time, and with a good strategy and good tools to help us, all of us can fight this. All the best to you!

I'm right there with ya, sister! I lost 20 lbs when I was so committed, and have gained back 7. I know what I need to do, start out right in the morning. and then eat-eat-eat at night. When it worked, I was counting calories and exercise, but I lost focus, and now have more stress in my life. I need to just be able to say no while I am sitting home at night. I found sipping on ice water with lemon helps, but I think I need to go to bed earlier so I don't have the lure of food.
And the fact that I was so successful before makes me feel that much more confused about my failure now. You are definitely not alone.:explode:

First off, *hugs*. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you! Second off, you may want to see a doctor about possible depression. Couldn't hurt to have yourself checked out! And if you're lonely when you're alone, maybe get a dog or a roommate so that you're NOT alone. You really have to fix the root cause of the binge eating before you can stop. Good luck!

Hi Robin,
You're doing great! I believe that bingeing is usually just the tip of the Iceberg and we need to go to the root of the problem. And I also believe in harnessing the power of virtuous cycle. As we are doing something positive for ourselves, eg. Start a healthy habit, it can make us respect ourselves more and it is another step towards putting out lives back together. And when you feel up to it, you can start looking at the underlying issues. One step at a time.

I am also a stress eater. I have learned in the last couple of weeks I can control this. I also find the blog section great. While your stressed out come online and start reading others blogs. make your own about your feelings you may be inspirational to someone else going through the same thing as you. Start reading the message boards and participate in them before you know it you will be filled with new friends who you can share your feelings with and are here for your support as much as you need them

Hi Robin! I can feel where you are coming from with the emotional eating. I, like many on here, was once and emotional eater due to a lot of stress and un-managed baggage that was in my life. I knew better also, but I would do it anyway and then totally guilty and helpless afterwards. I wouldn't eat junk, I would eat extra portions of dinner (lets say I would stuff myself with chicken and rice till I wanted to vomit), tons of fruit (which is just as bad as sweets when eaten in huge quantities) and for some reason, almonds....like a whole huge Costco jar of them.
I cared about my future and my health, so I knew I had to get real with myself, so I sought help. Know that you are not alone in your feelings but you may not be able to help yourself alone as well. I would say seek therapy for the underlying issues behind the eating. Don't under estimate the power of therapy. And therapy could be a good group of girlfriends (of course, ones you can trust, who are reliable and good listeners, and ones who won't lead you down the wrong path) or maybe a church group, an online group (like us) or a professional.
Also, when you focus on others, sometimes your problems don't seem as big as you think. What I did was volunteer at a homeless shelter. Seeing all of the people in need and stuggling to survice made my problems seem miniscule in comparison...and made me feel extra bad for eating all of that food when I could be sharing it with people who had none.
I like the idea someone said about getting a dog. They are a lot of work which will keep you busy and your mind off eating, as well as you can meet tons fo new people just by having a dog. Walking your dog and/or going to a dog park invites people to approach you and start a conversation...for some reason people love to talk about dogs (or kids).
Night exercising is a good idea too. The gym isn't as crowded and you may meet a dedicated group whom you can workout with consistently.
So good luck! I'll be praying for you, but it looks like you have a lot people who care about your success, so I would say don't hold back if you need someone to talk to.

~Kells

I'm not much help with questions like these because I'm not a binger or emotional eater. I just wanted to say that I hope you can take control and feel better.

My advice (take it for what it is) is to find something else to do, even if it means laying in bed with a book. I don't know if it will work, but it's something to try.