Can't stop eating

If you can't cook, you must find healthier options out until you can.

Salads with grilled chicken are almost everywhere, and so long as you nix the heavy dressings and nuts, you can do a good job with those. One benefit of fast food at least is that most have nutrition numbers public to make them easier to track.

And then as you learn to cook, challenge yourself to make the things you like to eat out, but make them healthier at home.

Good luck. You can do this.

Hey lady, this is something I am struggling with TODAY!! I woke up late, it's too hot to be outside, forgot my snacks, the list continues. It's so easy to go to the dollar menu, but ease isn't worth the way it makes me feel later.

I've been a struggling college student, here are my suggestions!

-Buy when you find a sale! Chicken is currently on sale at the grocery near me, I bought more so I could freeze it.
-Know seasons, watermelons are $4 here, apples aren't. So buy what's in season!
-Recently learned, don't be afraid of frozen fruits and veggies! They're often times much cheaper!

That's all I have for now. I have a case of the Monday's, if I can think of more I'll let you know! Feel free to add me, if you want. I've been there, desperate, only affording grilled cheese, I can help keep your spirits high!

Start by eliminating the word can't from your dictionary. It sounds ridiculous. If you want to say you CAN"T beat LeBron James in a slam dunk contest then that's acceptable. Saying you CAN'T stop putting food in your mouth is just dumb.

Once you've eliminated that mentality then you should be fine.

I can relate. Been in battle with food addiction as long as I can remember. As has been said it is a powerful addiction and food manufacturers target it on purpose to make money.

As with any addiction the only way to be free is to get yourself off the drug. Food is more complicated than most as need to eat to live. However if you want to live a life that you feel is really worth living I think you will need to get clean with food. It is not easy as temptation is everywhere but for those of us who are truly food addicted I think we have no choice but to put the effort in to get clean or be stuck in same miserable loop for rest of our lives.

I think what getting clean with food means can be quite individual but as has been said a general good rule to follow is to avoid processed foods. I agree with others. It is very much in your best interest to learn to cook, nothing fancy. I used to live in a little room with a two ring plug in mini stove. I got a basic steamer, a sauce pan and a mini frying pan. I did all my cooking that way. Steamed food is very fast, simple and healthy.

I have spent two decades trying to find how to master my relationship with food. Trust me it is so not worth looking for ways to eat the junk food in moderation. I can't do it, after 20 years trying i really really know i cant do it. Save yourself the same fate. Be really honest about what foods you are addicted to and then cut them out and go back to basics of whole natural foods. I used to think i was addicted to all food but mostly when it came to healthy veg for example it was what i put on it that i was addicted to.

It takes a little while to get used to natural foods without all the added extras but once you get through the detox and your body is free of the junk, you will feel so much better and the craving really does stop. I am doing a dairy and grain free version of ketogenic food plan. That is working well for me but only you can discover what works best for you. Just be really honest about what specific foods or additives get your cravings turned up and then cut them out. Also i avoid sweeteners because they make me crave too.

Reducing food portions would be a good place to start, try serving your meal on a smaller plate so it gives the illusion of a bigger portion. If you weigh out ingredients before cooking you'll find it easier to calculate the calories.

Food-wise try not to think you're on a diet, instead just eating more healthily. Salads, soups, fruit, veg, nuts, Quorn if liked, yoghurts etc are ideal but you can still have your treats; I like to allow 200 calories a day for snacks so that could be grapes, an apple, banana with yoghurt, or even a bag of crisps, cereal bar or chocolate bar as long as it's within my 200. I find it helpful to look up menus online before going out to a pub/restaurant as a lot of them show the calorie information now.

Exercise-wise I recommend walking for half an hour or more every day (with or without a dog/friends), buying a Zumba/Rosemary Conley/other exercise DVD to do at home or buy an exercise bike/cross trainer to use at home to save on gym fees.

Also avoid eating noodles if you can. Go for buckwheat noodles. Those are carbs that only leave you hungry in a little while. Also avoid corn and peas and potatoes and sweet potatoes. Those are high starch carbs. Learn about healthier grains like quinoa, amaranth. Buckwheat, chia, flaxseed, millet, cous cous and more.

I've definitely been there! I have been battling with binge/emotional eating for the past three years and have lost my athletic body because of it. I knew I had to make a change when I wouldn't even wear a bathing suit in front of my own family. For me, what's helped...

I'm not a good cook. It's hard for me and takes a lot of time. However, eating healthy is essential to beating food addiction. There are very easy things you can prepare. Pick up fresh produce at the grocery store. Have fruit and veggies for snacks. Bring them in little plastic baggies with you. Learn what is triggering your binging - for me, I only binge at night, so I moved my workouts from the morning to the night after work. It leaves me no time to binge & I feel too good after a workout to do it anyway. Hope that helps.

Start by eliminating the word can't from your dictionary. It sounds ridiculous. If you want to say you CAN"T beat LeBron James in a slam dunk contest then that's acceptable. Saying you CAN'T stop putting food in your mouth is just dumb.

Once you've eliminated that mentality then you should be fine.

This.

You need to develop a better relationship with food. You are treating it like it's your enemy and that it has total control over you. Wrong, you are the one who has all of the control, the box of oreo's does not make you pick it up at the grocery store and does not make you eat the entire box in one sitting.

My recommendation is practice portion control and give yourself the tools you need to help. For example, if you put a giant bag of Doritos next to me while I'm watching TV, I'll single handily crash that entire bag. The Doritos aren't making me eat them, but if they're next to me in a big open bag I"ll keep going. What I do to fix this problem is I get out a kitchen scale that weighs in grams, weigh out my serving of doritos in the kitchen, record that entry into fitness pal, then go and enjoy my doritos. By weighing my servings I am practicing self control and after entering the food for the day helps me control how well I'm doing. If I want doritos I have to make an effort to go back and weigh them again and if I know I"m reaching my calorie goal for the day I'm less likely to do it.

I struggle every day with food too! It is constant battle against what I crave and what I should eat. However, I find that if I continue to eat lean proteins, whole grains and lots of veggies, I don't crave the bad stuff quite so often. Also, you can have treats, you just have to be sure they are within your calorie range.

One trick I use is to plan ahead. I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunches so it's easy on me and by doing salads every day for lunch, I'm sure to get at least four-five servings of veggies plus protien. I alternate the types of salads I eat from week to week. One week it's salad with tuna, another week it's with deli turkey or grilled chicken breast. I always choose lighter viniagrettes over creamy dressing and no more than 1.5 to 2 servings per meal.

If you don't cook, salads are a great way to get lots of nutrition w/o out too much cooking. Someone mentioned chicken breast. It's not the healthiest, but if you don't cook, you can buy frozen pre-cooked chicken breast at the store and put on salads or eat with frozen veggies and a baked sweet potato on the side (cooked in the microwave).

As for cost, I'm not a struggling college student, but a parent paying for college for two students. I have to watch every penny I spend. A weeks worth of salad stuff at the store will cost me around $20 max if i buy the organic mixed greens or cheaper with romaine heads and that covers five lunches and three-four side salads for dinners. I started making my workday lunches of salads on Sundays by using some "Mason Jar" recipes. If you follow directions, the veggies stay fresh all week. I even pack up side salads for dinner afterward with the leftover veggies...they stay fresher that way...see www.organizeyourselfskinny.com for mason jar salad ideas.

Eating healthy takes a lot of planning and work at first, but it becomes habit after a while, much like going out to eat becomes habit. You can break the cycle...many of us have done it. I'm not perfect. I slip up but the trick is to keep going and not give up.

Good luck to you. I wish you success in your journey to become healthy, confident and happy. YOU ARE WORTH THE EFFORT...DON'T CONVINCE YOURSELF OTHERWISE. YOU DESERVE TO BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY!