Help me "reset" my brain

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  • moledew
    moledew Posts: 71 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Here's some ideas I blogged because this does come up quite a bit. I picked up these tips along the way.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/halting-a-binge-session-715131

    I like how you've analysed the situation and ruled out hunger as the cause, and that you are likely fighting old habit patterns.

    One thing I've learned about the brain is the more you resist a thought, the more powerful it becomes. What helps a lot more is replacement. New activities, distractions, hobbies, and interests crowd out the old habits. There's the Buddhist mindfulness practices as well, where you learn to allow the thoughts to wander through unimpeded, but observe them dispassionately, not attaching any emotion to the thoughts (anger, guilt, sadness). They are just thoughts. Let the thoughts come and go.

    This is more than just a "woo" idea. Mindfulness techniques have been very helpful for instance, for people with obsessive compulsions, to overcome those compulsions.



    Thank you for sharing this. I'll give the 10 minute rule a shot tonight and force myself to drink water in between. Its incredibly weird because I feel 100% motivated but like my self control is hanging at about 6%. You'd think the motivation would be enough to boost my ability to say "no" to myself when I want to raid everything in the kitchen but this is a battle I've been losing my entire life. I just don't want to be defeated yet again...I feel too confident for that this time but old habits die REALLLYYYY hard :(
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    That's why I try not to depend on my "willpower" because that's a limited resource. I build my environment and my strategies to avoid temptation wherever I can and depend on "willpower" for critical moments; not every hour of every day.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    moledew wrote: »
    I was also doing great with water and drinking about 90oz a day but that's gotten old so fast and probably the reason this has gotten harder. If I buy flavored water does that count? I hate drinking water with my food...it makes everything taste disgusting!

    Yes, flavored water "counts". You don't have to drink plain water to get the benefits of water. After all, the water doesn't disappear just because you add flavoring. ;)

  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    Don't hit the couch!

    I have a couch...I literally NEVER sit on it unless I have visitors.

    Find something else to occupy your mind, hands or body. New hobbies and activities are a good thing! This time of year it is great just to get outside and enjoy the sun...go for a hike in the mountains, go for a walk in the park, go jump in a lake or river...you get the idea.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    There could be something about your diet that is keeping you from feeling totally satisfied.

    If you want feedback and ideas about that, open your diary.
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
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    So you went from a 750 calorie deficit (1.5 lbs) to a 1000 deficit (2lbs), is that right? That is probably not helping matters. Most people slowly decrease their deficit, not increase. Definitely go back to 1.5 lbs. allow yourself room to snack.

    Then implement the ideas above regarding distraction etc.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Try:

    Drink a big glass of water and wait 20 minutes to see if you are actually hungry or just thirsty.
    Take a walk.
    Do something with your hands, learn to crochet, knit, draw, quilt, whatever you're interested in that will keep your hands occupied.
    Do something with your brain, sudoku, crosswords, puzzle games, read a good book, anything to keep you occupied.
    Brush your teeth, take a bath, go to bed early.

    After trying one or two of these things, if you're still hungry, you have two choices: Eat something sensible (preferably low cal, high protein) or accept that hunger isn't the worst thing in the world. I know it can be distracting, but I've done fasting days and found that as long as you stay busy, you actually forget about being hungry.

    You might also plan ahead for next time by saving some calories for a snack and keeping sensible snacks on hand...slices of Canadian bacon with a little squirt of mustard and a little square of cheese, for example.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    edited June 2015
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    moledew wrote: »

    I was eating 1,500ish per day (-1.5/week) and was doing just fine so ...

    You are doing so much right! Go back to 1500ish. It worked for you. If you found ways to work more protein in, you would probably feel even better. Eggs? Protein powder in fruit smoothies? Legumes?

    Jgnacta said it: better to rely on sound strategies (e.g. sustainable deficit, satiating foods) than willpower. Best of luck!

    Eta: beautiful profile pic !
  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
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    I have similar thought processes/habits. One is couch+evening+TV=cravings=overeating. Another is major study deadline+procrastination+anxiety about procrastinating=cravings=overeating. Sometimes its like a worm chewing away in my brain and ruins a whole day of good work. I never feel better afterwards but that doesn't seem to always stop me at the start.

    I did a bit of reading about habits, things like cravings/overeating and smoking are intimately interwoven with habits for many people with the end result being you get some sort of reward from the behavior (eg temporarily reduced anxiety). One way to break the behavior is you need to identify the habits around it and then see if you can alter some of the habits but most importantly see if you can introduce something that replaces the behavior but gives you a similar reward.

    It takes time and trial and error and you really have to look at what you do before the craving arrives and figure out the triggers and rewards. Then figure out how you can react differently to the trigger in order to get a similar reward.

    I felt really powerless in the face of my cravings and overeating by giving in to them. I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and I found it made a lot of sense to me and now I am a work in progress. I haven't totally quit over-eating but I am getting better at not doing it.

    azulavioleta6 you have inspired me to consider a ban on the couch all together!

    Good Luck with it, it can be so heartbreaking and frustrating!

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