comfort eating

bexylex528
bexylex528 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know its mind over matter but I find some times the mind is stronger. If im tired or run down I tend to comfort eat...may be a couple of 25g bags of crisps or a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. At the time it feels so good (although not actually hungry or thirsty) but then when the dead is done I feel guilty...thus repeating the cycle and feeling fat and ashamed. How can I try and break this cycle? I guess the responce is dont keep food in the house which is tempting.

Replies

  • Rhaynestorm
    Rhaynestorm Posts: 62 Member
    You could try building them into your daily calories maybe? A little bit here and there isn't going to do any harm if you're allowing for it.

    But yeah, one solution is just not to keep those types of foods in the house.
  • bexylex528
    bexylex528 Posts: 6 Member
    Dont get me wrong I dont do it all the time....for instance this week ive been having relationship problems. So during the day im fine as im at work and in the evenings im either at a class or at the fym. But by the time I get to bed ive had a bowl of cereal or a sandwich. Was mainly wondering if anyone else gets these fads (which is what they are as they dont last long) amd how others cope? X
  • meluhneekay
    meluhneekay Posts: 82
    I suffer from dysthymia (random bouts of low-grade depression) and often I cope by eating comfort foods. When I feel it coming on, I simply make allowances for it in my calories. Sometimes I even bump up my calories to maintenance so I have some extra leeway and don't have to worry about gaining. That said, I also don't have a whole lot of weight to lose, just a couple of "vanity pounds" so my weight loss situation isn't exactly dire. Honestly, if all you're eating is a bowl of cereal or a sandwich (assuming these aren't GINORMOUS cereal bowls or sandwiches) I honestly don't think you should worry yourself too much. Maybe work a little harder in the gym? That way you'll have the extra calories to spend in case you do go for the cereal.
  • kimothy38
    kimothy38 Posts: 840 Member
    Food is my go to drug when I feeling any sort of anxiety, pressure, reward, boredom etc. I gained 20kg in a year doing a really stressful job. I can usually talk myself out of eating something because I know that 1. it won't fix the issue and 2. it will trigger a binge. Sometimes though I get bloody minded and it do it anyway knowing the outcome won't be pretty. There's absolutely not point in beating yourself up about it and like you say it's not every day, so rather than make yourself feel bad about emotional eating how about celebrating the days that you didn't do it. Don't keep tempting food in the house, write in a journal or something to acknowledge what you are feeling rather than trying to stuff them down with food. Make a phone call instead. Eat well during the day so your body is nourished and get a decent amount of sleep. Aim for progress, not perfection.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    I used to do this a little, and developed several strategies.....

    1. Try to include it in my daily calories
    2. Keep an eye on my rolling weekly deficit to catch up a bad day
    3. Eat something like fruit or raw carrot throughout the day when I see a difficult time coming
    4. Nip it in the bud by having something that satiates the desire to eat
    5. Do something to distract me from the situation - walk the dog, go to an Aikido class, call a friend for a chat

    It was hard but eventually I managed to break the habit. I hope this helps!!
  • Zohar94
    Zohar94 Posts: 25 Member
    hey i really do the comfort eating a lot too. I mean, i often feel like a cow: just eating all the time. I just make sure that what i eat is really lowcal so i can do it whitin my diet. So i love to eat:
    fruit!
    esspecially watermelon or frozen watermelon (yum)
    tictacs
    carrots
    cucumbers
    chewing gum.
    hope it helps you! :)

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