Overeating Triggers

kinmoratree
kinmoratree Posts: 125 Member
in Motivation and Support
I wasn't really sure which section to put this under. If it's in the wrong place, the mods are welcome to move it...

A lot of people have emotional overeating triggers. If they're sad or lonely or angry, they eat. I don't have emotional eating triggers, I have physical eating triggers. If I am cold, tired, or in pain, that's when I find myself using food for comfort. I finally realized this after more than two decades of being overweight this past winter. We had a LONG and COLD winter for Oklahoma. It really wore on me and because I was suffering, I noticed that those were the things that caused me to overeat.

I'm getting better in that I have recognized the problem. When I catch myself, I identify what's wrong and try to fix it. Cold is easiest to fix. Tired is a little harder, but for some reason if I know that's why I'm grazing, I can stop myself. It's the pain issue that I can't seem to get a handle on. I have between 3 and 12 migraine days a month. I can easily munch my way through the entire kitchen on these days. I am not on any medication for my migraines because the side effects were as bad as the pain. I manage my pain with aspirin and acetaminophen and ice packs, but those things only take the edge off.

So my question is two-fold: Is there anyone else out there who has physical overeating triggers? And what do you do to manage them?

Replies

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Being stressed, anxious, or lonely are definitely triggers that I've struggled with my whole life.
    I manage stress and anxiety through several channels. But for me, regular eating and counting calories with this website is what keeps me from caving in to those cravings/triggers. When I first joined this website last March (2013), I was in a time of transition, unemployed, and separated from my now-husband for 5 days every week because of his mom's terminal illness. It wasn't a fun time. And yes, a few times I may have indulged in sweets or cheesy pizza and cheered myself up with lattes. But the timing and counting calories gave me the structure and accountability I needed so it was less of a problem. With time, I think my willpower has improved as well.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Mine are stress and the past resurfacing.
  • abcreed
    abcreed Posts: 15 Member
    Stress is a huge one for me! My first reaction to stress is to start munching, and I usually don't stop eating until I run out of whatever was at hand, sadly.
  • sybabe35
    sybabe35 Posts: 99 Member
    I'm learning that my overheating triggers are usually due to boredom or tiredness. And with boredom, the time it starts happening and I have access to food is nighttime after a workout. So that was dangerous. After recognizing it, I am now looking for ways to stay occupied after a light dinner. My thinking is that I eat a heavier lunch is I have energy for my workout after work, and not feel deprived and eat a light dinner after work. I've realized that when I eat a light lunch, I will start snacking to prepare for the arduous workout, and then after that, eating a huge dinner. This obviously is detrimental to weight loss. So by realizing when I need to eat a bigger meal helps me feel satisfied longer. Also, when I do get bored at night, i found that doing some abs and core workouts while watching my favorite shows help with giving me an outlet for that bored but extra energy that I have. It's a work in progress. The trick is staying with this new revelation!
  • kirili3
    kirili3 Posts: 244 Member
    Is it possible to get healthier things to eat? Making healthy versions of the things you like to eat could mean you'd have more to eat for less calories. If eating is a physical comfort, maybe you could play around to see which parts of it are comforting? For example, if it's something warm you're after, some hot water with lemon or warm almond milk could be a substitute for something more calorific. If it's cold, ice cream made from frozen bananas (and a couple of soaked cashews) with fruit or other toppings blended together could work?

    If it's a particular taste, can you recreate it in a low calorie way? For example, pizza can be a tortilla with pasta sauce and cheese, coming in at less than 200 kcal if you measure the cheese.

    Sometimes I use food as a distraction. I don't know if the food is distracting you from the migraine, but if so is it possible to find something else to distract you, maybe something that makes you feel more positive, like a good book or a nap or a warm bath?
  • KaelaLee88
    KaelaLee88 Posts: 229 Member
    This is something that I have been thinking about recently too.

    I tend to crave a particular food which puts me way over my calorie target for the day - right after waking up from a nap. It infuriates me once i've woken up enough to realise what i've done and being aware of it does help to curb the behaviour.

    I think that it is an ingrained and partly natural thing to do when overeating in Winter. Our animal friends store food and gain bulk for survival in winter and this is a human survival instinct too. Also, if you come from an area of heavy industry, winter foods tend to be bulkier and contain heavy ingredients. We are normally raised with this 'Comfort Food' and continue to eat it as we go through every winter season.

    There is nothing at all wrong with the types of meal being served - they tend to be balanced and contain root vegetables. It is often how these meals are prepared.

    One of my favorite comfort foods is Mashed potato, Roasted Carrots and Chicken Kiev. This can be a very heavy meal if I make it how my Nana/Mother make it. If I make it and reduce my portion size, I can manage the full meal in under 400 Calories by making small adjustments.

    A lot of this is trial and error, finding things that work for us and we now have our ways of cooking that are lean but delicious.

    I hope that this helps you in some small way!

    Kaela
  • kinmoratree
    kinmoratree Posts: 125 Member
    Thank you for your help everyone. Now I need to pay attention to what I'm putting in my mouth when I'm migraining and do two things: have lower calorie substitutes for the same tastes and watch portions.

    Yesterday was a particularly painful day and I managed to end the day just a little over my calorie goal. The day before I didn't even bother measuring anything, so yesterday was a significant improvement. I think I'll start marking my food diary with "Migraine" on the days I'm hurting so I can look at what I ate and prepare for the next one.

    Thank you again.
  • Cycle4Life99
    Cycle4Life99 Posts: 86
    I have an overeating trigger which is depression. I tend to stuff my face when depressed, have a case of the blues, or feel just plain edgy. My secret to combating this is simply to look at my food log before I eat and remind myself that eating to feel better won't work. The more that you make eating a mindful activity, the easier it is to master these tendencies to overeat. By mastering them, you feel good and in control ... no matter how bad a day you might've had.

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