I can't help but eat. Please help??!!

ebirch · August 2008

I've only been doing this for about a month. But everyday I go over my limit. I just cannot help but eat. today I went 750 calories over and that was with a lot of exercise. I jogged, walked and played tennis for almost an hour and I still go over! :mad: I don't know how to stop eating.

If anyone has ANY advise at all for me please help!!

ebirch · August 2008

I've only been doing this for about a month. But everyday I go over my limit. I just cannot help but eat. today I went 750 calories over and that was with a lot of exercise. I jogged, walked and played tennis for almost an hour and I still go over! :mad: I don't know how to stop eating.

If anyone has ANY advise at all for me please help!!

banks1850 · August 2008

There are some things you can do. Plan your meals out ahead of time. Prepackage the correct serving sizes (get some sandwich baggies and put the correct serving amounts in them for the whole week, then when you grab for something you know you are grabbing the right amount). Find things you enjoy to take your mind off of food when you are at home. Those are some good suggestions. And sometimes it's just a matter of willpower. Sometimes you just have to tell yourself NO! I know that sucks to hear, but it's true.

Janie0001 · August 2008

Finally someone with my same problem. It is not so easy to just tell yourself no, because it is like a drive to do it. You tell yourself no and do it anyway then you get angry with yourself for doing it. I do have to say that I am doing better with it and have lost I think five or seven pounds. I don't know why it is improving but it is. I thank God for that because I have prayed he would help me with it. I don't know about you but I have five small children and people suggest getting stuff out of your house, well you can't deprive your children of stuff they love. That is difficult for me to do and then it is difficult to resist. No my children do not have a weight problem and they do eat healthy for those that are going to say well they need to eat healthy also. So I understand where you are coming from I will say a pray for you and keep trying it will get better.

kerrilucko · August 2008

it took me about 2 months to really get the hang of this, you'll get there. Banks is right, planning is key!

sindyb9 · August 2008

I know how hard it is. You need to figure out why you are turning to food. Are you stress eating? Bored eating? Think really hard and everytime you go for food think about why. I did this for the first 2 or 3 months and now it is easier to say no not today and find something else to do. Why are you trying to loose weight is it to be healthy it is a choice and you have to really want it to stick with it. Like banks said it is will power. YOU CAN DO THIS :drinker:

natalie1 · August 2008

I am in the same boat- I step forward, 2 steps back... Hang in there. Just do your best every day-It will come to you:flowerforyou:

Poison5119 · August 2008

I feel your pain, sweetie; I know a lot about compulsive behavior, and they're right, you have to look at why you're driven to eat. You're partly there, because you're AWARE that you're doing it, and that is the first very important step!

The step after that is once you can identify WHY, you're half armed to STOPPING the ACTION that follows the identification of what drives you.

The rest is willpower.

I look at it this way, whether it has to do with food, tobacco, alcohol, any of it - you have to want X worse than you want Y.

I want to look thinner, feel better, avoid health problems, and maybe live a little longer MUCH WORSE than I want to indulge my fancies on a whim (such as chomping a BK Whopper).

You will get this. Logging food helps you become aware of what you're putting in your mouth, and eventually, you will see what you need and what you don't. Then you get to make those choices - the snickers bar or the apple and a few peanuts, that sort of thing.

Stick around and keep at it. Eventually something will stick, a light will go on, and you'll become armed for the battle. You can do it!! :flowerforyou:

ali106 · August 2008

oh it was hard to adjust in the beginning....I know find choices that more voluminous and lower calories when I am really hungry and don't have many cals left to eat....like a huge salad w/ tons of veggies and then some grilled chicken or Gorgonzola cheese.....is about 300 cals the way I make it....

opposed to 1 cup of pasta and sauce and grated cheese approx 300 cals.....(btw 1 cup of pasta is not enough to fill me in a whole meal lol....)

by choosing the salad, I can eat "more" visually and get full too....if I eat the smaller portioned pasta...I feel like I'm still hungry and it looks so tiny on the plate

LOL

I'm a visual gal what can I say....but anyway you got some really solid advice here above...
and it will get easier the longer you do it hon!

I wish you the best!
hugs!
Ali

clarice9701 · August 2008

The information you guys are sharing is a big help to me as a beginner. Since learning that I have to eat my exercise calories in addition to daily alotted calories, I am finding it harder to eat that much, but am afraid of going into starvation mode. I really want to succeed.

I feel that this site is probably the best thing that I have ever done in any weight loss venture. I don't feel alone.

lotusfromthemud · August 2008

Here's the deal. You can help it. . .but you have to learn how.

Here's what worked for me:

Recognizing that I controlled my food, not the other way around. Here's a very powerful five dollar therapy tip: go buy a pint of ice cream (or whatever your major "drug of choice" is. . .for me it was a pie) bring it home, and put it down the disposal. This was a very powerful exercise for me. I had the urge to binge, I bought the binge item, and then I stopped before eating it.

Whenever you feel the urge to eat (or feel yourself losing control) journal. Not just the nuts-and-bolts journal here, but get yourself a notebook, and write two to three pages of whatever pops into your head. For me, eating was about feeling unable to express emotions. This helped me discover what the emotions were, get some of them out in a non-confrontational way, and learn which ones re-occurred enough to merit an actual confrontation.

When all else fails, control your environment. Go for a walk when the urge hits. Do not keep your "downfall/trigger" foods in the house. (odds are, you already know what they are) Stay out of social situations that lead to loss of control (within reason, you don't need to become a hermit).

And, take the word "can't" out of your vocabulary. You are very powerful (we all are) and odds are you "can". Pure and simple, IMHO "can't" is an excuse, and is hardly ever the truth.:flowerforyou:

Sallybm · August 2008

I think all the advice so far is spot on.

I know what you mean about going over.

One of the tricks I use my self is either to have a large glass ( ie A PINT) of any low calorie drink or plain water if you can stomach it, personally cant stand the stuff. I tend to have flavoured spakling water. That sometimes helps to fill me up in the sort term

or if I know i'm only eating out of boredom I will say to my self i'll have that in 10 mins if i'm still really hungary.

In 10 mins if I still want something I will have what ever it was but only 1/2 in a damage limitation kind of way. It doesnt always work but does help some of the time

jamerz3294 · August 2008

Aye yup.... I soooooo totally understand that one! I learned, in here, that planning, planning, planning is the key. And I keep my Food Diary up on my moniter all day long. That way, I enter each little thing I eat, or exercise, ASAP. That really helps as then after you submit it, you can think about what you really want! Yesterday I couldn't go workout (don't even get me started on why not, life just interferes sometimes). Si I got creative and found a way to burn off some calories (brushing out a field) that helped. It's all a balance, and you WILL find yours.

I can't help but eat. Please help??!!

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