Controlling compulsion...

lizzymat10
lizzymat10 Posts: 7 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi there world of my fitnes pal... I am a 29 year old with the goal of loosing over 100 pounds. I am currently struggling with compulsive behavior when it comes to food ( you know the feeling of having to have it or else, or crazy cravings for food, or when your brain says hey just do it... Just this once it will be ok... ) I was wondering if anyone out there has some tips of how to get out of the compulsive/ repetitive thought patterns/behaviors. Sometimes I feel like I'm just short of tattooing my goals to the back of my hand to keep reminding myself of them when I'm struggling. I am being open and honest about these things because I truly want support in finding something that will help me gain control of my life in these moments. I would greatly apritciate some ideas. Thanks so much!

Replies

  • danequin
    danequin Posts: 20 Member
    for me it's chips...have to limit it with out depriving your self...nothing has to be fat free, low fat, or low sugar etc...but you spend calories on those things...enjoy them though portion control is key....for me with the chips to weigh out 28G out of a huge bag...nope going to have a huge bowl ful...I but the more expensive mini packs or the 28 gram bags of assorted chips I know I can have one of those. If you go over today don;t worry about it track your calories...and get back at it in the morning have a treat day...know you are going to have your favourite sinful snack on a certain day...and plan around it...need to munch try carrots or cucumbers...cut those baby carrots in to 4 pieces each that's 40 bites of food 5 calories...takes longer to eat and wil fill you up...need a side with lunch bring veggies....popcorn can help, if its chips you are after too...low fat hot air popper a bit of butter...instead of microwave popcorn but kernels at the grocery store and put a 1/4 cup ina paper lunch bag and nuke like microwave popcorn...mini packs of cookies because you need to eat a bag of cookies and you get 15-20 little ones in a mini pack 100 calories...brush teeth at evening snack time...drink water instead of pop...tea coffee etc...cut back on sugar instead of a double double...have 1 milk one sugar...then cut the sugar out after a few weeks...as for the just once it will be OK...do it as a reward after you weigh in and plan the calories around that...know that you are going to have that one treat and when....go for a walk if you really need that treat...change your pattern your behaviours...do stretches of its raining...hope I helped went on a bit of a rant sorry
  • tnuoci
    tnuoci Posts: 2 Member
    edited August 2015
    Prepare. I have the same issue. The only thing that helps me is to be prepared. Have all the right foods on hand and just a few things for a moderated treat. Even then sometimes... I too have about 100 lbs to lose. I've lost and gained around 40 in the last year. I won't say "Good Luck" because luck has nothing to do with it. To our health!
  • lizzymat10
    lizzymat10 Posts: 7 Member
    danequin wrote: »
    for me it's chips...have to limit it with out depriving your self...nothing has to be fat free, low fat, or low sugar etc...but you spend calories on those things...enjoy them though portion control is key....for me with the chips to weigh out 28G out of a huge bag...nope going to have a huge bowl ful...I but the more expensive mini packs or the 28 gram bags of assorted chips I know I can have one of those. If you go over today don;t worry about it track your calories...and get back at it in the morning have a treat day...know you are going to have your favourite sinful snack on a certain day...and plan around it...need to munch try carrots or cucumbers...cut those baby carrots in to 4 pieces each that's 40 bites of food 5 calories...takes longer to eat and wil fill you up...need a side with lunch bring veggies....popcorn can help, if its chips you are after too...low fat hot air popper a bit of butter...instead of microwave popcorn but kernels at the grocery store and put a 1/4 cup ina paper lunch bag and nuke like microwave popcorn...mini packs of cookies because you need to eat a bag of cookies and you get 15-20 little ones in a mini pack 100 calories...brush teeth at evening snack time...drink water instead of pop...tea coffee etc...cut back on sugar instead of a double double...have 1 milk one sugar...then cut the sugar out after a few weeks...as for the just once it will be OK...do it as a reward after you weigh in and plan the calories around that...know that you are going to have that one treat and when....go for a walk if you really need that treat...change your pattern your behaviours...do stretches of its raining...hope I helped went on a bit of a rant sorry
    It was a good rant! Thank you for the feedback. I think I definitely get into the depriving myself of things mode. I do need to remember that I can have things that I think are "bad" within moderation.
  • lizzymat10
    lizzymat10 Posts: 7 Member
    tnuoci wrote: »
    Prepare. I have the same issue. The only thing that helps me is to be prepared. Have all the right foods on hand and just a few things for a moderated treat. Even then sometimes... I too have about 100 lbs to lose. I've lost and gained around 40 in the last year. I won't say "Good Luck" because luck has nothing to do with it. To our health!

    Thank you for another great idea. I have forgotten over the years of eating pre prepared foods and going out to eat (part of what got me to my weight) that planning would help a ton. I will start planing grocery trips/ meals. I think I also need to stop going to some places for a while. Like wawa or out to dinner... At least Until I can get my feet planted firmly on the ground in a new direction and feel confident in my actions.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    For me I have to keep trigger foods out of the house. These are foods I will drive myself crazy thinking about if they are in the next room such as potato chips, cookies or chocolate. I will allow myself small amounts while out in public but there's something about eating at home that can make me overeat. I'm getting a little better if these foods happen to be around. Also don't let yourself get too hungry. I was really hungry the other day and my husband had bought Pringles. Not good, but it happens sometimes.
  • lizzymat10
    lizzymat10 Posts: 7 Member
    dramaqueen45 wrote: »
    trigger foods

    I have heard foods referred to as trigger foods before in the mindset of food being addictive. I do think that it is true that certain foods can and do act as an addictive agent (as science is starting to investigate/ maybe prove). This may or may not be what you meant by trigger food, but it's interesting to think about. I have wondered myself if I was addicted to certain kinds of foods. Or at least have wondered if the cravings and feelings I get for certain foods is grounded in addiction. I mean I don't know if anyone has felt the extreme anxiety that comes with trying to avoid a food or foods. Is it the act of avoiding something you want, therefor you can't stop thinking about it that creates the anxiety? or is it the urge, craving and compulsion to eat highly fatty and caloric foods while knowing it's not healthy to do but you seemingly can't stop yourself? Interesting.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    lizzymat10 wrote: »
    I do need to remember that I can have things that I think are "bad" within moderation.

    And try to stop calling them bad. It seems like such a small thing, and I see you used quotation marks, implying that you know they're not bad. But language is so important! Even if you allow yourself to have those foods, if you're still thinking of them as bad, you're going to feel like you're doing something wrong. I think it sets you up failure (not just you specifically!).

    The other day I thought to myself that I had been eating badly, but then I remembered I didn't want to think that way. When I thought about it I realized that what I meant was that I hadn't been eating mindfully. So next time you think of a food as bad, force yourself to think of a different way to describe it. Maybe you mean it's high in fat. When start thinking about food that way, I think it takes away any morality, which in turn takes away self-deprecation and shame.

    Sorry to go on about one detail, but I truly believe language shapes our reality.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    Last year at 63 I wanted to leave off foods containing sugars and grains to see if it would reduce my joint pain. I could not because after a few days I would into my cravings. Finally facing starting Enbrel injections with huge side effect potential I went off sugars and grains cold turkey. It was a hellish two weeks then the cravings just started to fade away quickly. Now a year later the cravings have not returned but I eat < 50 grams of carbs daily.

    I never realized I had been addicted to carbs for the past 40 years.

    By the way in 30 days off sugars and grains my pain level was managed by my diet only.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    edited August 2015
    I keep the foods that I can blow it on out of the house. That would include chips, cookies, candy and so on. I keep healthy foods in the house because I figure that if I don't want it badly enough to go to the store for, then I can live without it. Sometimes I will get up and go buy the ice cream but 90% of the time by the time I'm sitting in my car the craving has passed. I keep plain almonds to snack on with bitter sweet chocolate chips. I don't like either of those a ton, so it usually does the trick.

    I also found that after a few successful battles with cravings I got better at not getting them. I think giving in to a craving and then pigging out on it must trigger some neurochemical release in the brain because it can seem almost like a drug. Keep at it so that you give in less and less. Say, once a week, then once every other week, then stop. Then you can eat what you want and even choose to overeat, without the compulsion. Just record all that you eat, even on bad days.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    lizzymat10 wrote: »
    Hi there world of my fitnes pal... I am a 29 year old with the goal of loosing over 100 pounds. I am currently struggling with compulsive behavior when it comes to food ( you know the feeling of having to have it or else, or crazy cravings for food, or when your brain says hey just do it... Just this once it will be ok... ) I was wondering if anyone out there has some tips of how to get out of the compulsive/ repetitive thought patterns/behaviors. Sometimes I feel like I'm just short of tattooing my goals to the back of my hand to keep reminding myself of them when I'm struggling. I am being open and honest about these things because I truly want support in finding something that will help me gain control of my life in these moments. I would greatly apritciate some ideas. Thanks so much!

    If you truly thing it is compulsive, maybe an appointment with a therapist would help?
  • lizzymat10
    lizzymat10 Posts: 7 Member
    Thank you all for the constructive ideas. It (battles with weight and ideas about food) can be a hard thing to face alone as many people may or may not feel. Hence this app. I really appreciate the honest responses. I do have a therapist but I tend to avoid the topic of food. I will start to approach my relationship with food as I feel that you all above this comment are right. Each in your own way. That yes I need to try to fight the cravings. One week at a time is a reasonable goal. And yes labeling food bad is not a healthy way to look at something. You're right it does bring on shame and guilt when I eat those foods I've labeled bad. It is a societal frame of mind. Opening up the topic of my relationship with food in therapy will be hard if not devastating. I think it's a battle I will have to overcome if I ever want to see food as not an enemy but a life sustaining thing that I can choose to use in the right way. I have to admit that I am scared to really see myself as what I am currently. I am however comforted by the fact that I can change and have the option to change. What really got me to think about my health was the fact that if I keep living like I'm livening I probably won't be alive as long as I have the potential to be. I want to be there for my sisters and my family. I want to see my friends get married... I don't want something like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and so many more things that are more avoidable with a healthy lifestyle to take me down. I am probably not alone in any of these feelings. That is also comforting remembering that I'm not alone. So thanks again to you all for sharing your ideas and constructive criticism. Thanks.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited August 2015
    I struggle with an addictive/compulsive pattern around hyperpalatable foods. I don't know if it's true addiction, but for me, it has been helpful to treat it as an addiction. When I start eating, I can't stop. Just thinking about trigger foods makes me all jittery and obsessive.

    I've also used to overeat ordinary food. I was taught to finish my food, and I continued that habit. I had no insight into what a suitable portion was, or why I should exert moderation. I believed I needed to get stuffed in order to get enough nutrients. I also dreaded the idea of letting food go to waste.

    I have never adressed eating issues in therapy.

    What has worked for me, is setting up a few boundaries that don't feel like restrictions at all. I avoid trigger foods as much as possible. I don't keep any of it at home; I will have some out of the house, on occasion, that means very rarely, but I'm fine with it, because that makes eating it an occasion and not a habit. I stock up on foods that I like but also can eat to satiety, cook the right amount, and eat that. I will plan my meals, eat at meals and only at meals. Drinks between meals is water or unsweetened tea or coffee.

    I've been in maintenance now for ten months, using this strategy, and the faith in that it will keep working for me, grows day by day.
  • LokiDokiArtichoki
    LokiDokiArtichoki Posts: 36 Member
    As a recovering binge eater, i had to identify my triggers. Being tired, lonely, or stressed, sitting in front of the telly, or restricting too much would set me up for a binge. ID your triggers then work out how to deal with them. Get out of the house, take a bath, read, paint, pick up a hobby (fishing/archery) - these are son of the things I use. Also, for me, I had to abstain from eating certain foods for awhile (specifically chocolate, salt and vinegar chips, cookies, and pretty much all sweets). My bf and I don't bring binge foods into the apartment (talking to him has helped too). If I really want something, I'll have it but only get a single serving outside of home - like a small cone or a single good-quality chocolate bar (which I prefer to split with my bf). Amazingly I'm getting pickier about what I'm eating now that I'm not gorging on 5000-10000 calories of the stuff. If I can only have one, it's going to be a damn good one. Feel free to add me if you'd like
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    For me, it was mostly snacking out of habit. At the computer or in front of the tv I would reach for a bag of something and not realize how much of it I was eating. What I ended up doing was not keep bags of things I snack on in the house. If I really want a bag of chips, I make myself go down to the gas station and get a small bag there. Because I'm lazy by nature, I usually don't want to bother unless I'm REALLY wanting some! Anything else I have, like popcorn, requires me to go downstairs and make it, which again, I'm not going to bother with unless I'm actually hungry. Keeping those foods out of my easy reach keeps me from mindlessly munching on them, but I don't avoid them either. If I want chips bad enough, I go get some damn chips. I'll find a way to fit them into my daily goal, and getting a small bag means that even though they're not usually a single serving, it's better than a full big bag!

    And now that I live closer to a gas station, I make myself WALK there. Yeah, it won't burn off the calories I'll consume in the chips, but at least I'm doing SOME kind of physical activity!

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