The erge to eat is overwhelming

MizzMaamI1
MizzMaamI1 Posts: 73 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm not hungry but I'll eat just to eat. It's almost like I'm in a trance and nothing else is going through my mind but grab this and eat it now. Then once I snap out of it the damage has been done.

I don't know how I can overcome this. Any suggestions on how to overcome this issue?

Replies

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Have you tried drinking something or chewing a piece of gum when you get these urges?
  • tmn4honesty
    tmn4honesty Posts: 3 Member
    Omg I have similar issues. However I'm trying something different. Don't buy anything you know you shouldn't have near you. We are at a Vulnerable state and we have to be very careful what we all around us. After her take that first step when I feel like , I'm craving for something I go into the kitchen and grab some fruit and I know that sounds silly but it helps and for me I choose grapes because they're small so even if you eat a lot of i, it feels like it's a lot but it's not really a lot hopefully that helps as a starter.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    I log immediately before I eat. I don't eat unless it's logged. That gives a bit of a time buffer to rethink if I really want to eat. Also, if I'm too lazy to go log it then I must not want it that much.

    Logging lets me see how many calories it will be and make an informed decision about whether I really want to eat it or not.
  • MissElectricEyeliner
    MissElectricEyeliner Posts: 122 Member
    I have a binge eating disorder and I find that eating large amounts of protein help curve my appetite. Example, I'll eat 12oz-16oz of chicken breast at a meal.
  • MizzMaamI1
    MizzMaamI1 Posts: 73 Member
    I'm almost 99.8 % positive I'm a binge eater too. I will also eat in secret and hide any evidence.

    I do drink water before and I'll feel really full but the erge to eat will still be there. I have no self control.

    I wish I could be one of those people who can set ground rules and follow them to a T.

    Even if I don't have my temptation foods around I'll still manage to make myself like what's in front of me. If that makes sense. Like anything goes type of thing.
  • Protranser
    Protranser Posts: 517 Member
    If you're looking to just have something to graze on all day, then keep low calorie high volume foods nearby. If you're choosing the high calorie stuff to graze on, then you're going to have a harder time trying to reach your goal weight if you don't increase your activity.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    MizzMaamI1 wrote: »
    I'm almost 99.8 % positive I'm a binge eater too. I will also eat in secret and hide any evidence.

    You'll only be cheating yourself there.

    One option is also learning to snack on stuff like celery sticks, baby carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, watermelon... Stuff like that where you can eat a lot for little calories. You could even dip them if you find a low calorie dip you like.

    I am kinda like you, I pretty much can't have anything nice lying around in my kitchen cabinets. I will eat it all. But I choose to snack on veggies/fruit a lot.
  • jacklifts
    jacklifts Posts: 396 Member
    Similar feelings here. The strategies to reduce hunger don't work very well, because I'm not eating because I'm hungry (and being full doesn't stop me). I describe that feeling to eat more as a gnawing mental anguish that can only be satisfied with food. I'm trying to find ways to overcome it, but a couple of things that seem to be helping (a little):

    1. Limiting time to eat. I find I can double my daily calorie allowance just from snacks. So by limiting the time I eat to 6 or 8 hours a day, it reduces the time I have to snack in between meals. This helps a lot.
    2. Low calorie foods readily available: celery sticks, sugar-free jello, baby carrots
    3. Protein fluff. I get a lot chocolate cravings, and have recently discovered protein fluff. I'm still messing around with different recipes to get it to taste good, but today I added sugar free-pudding to protein powder and put it in the fridge, and it almost worked (too runny). Eating the entire bowl was about 350 calories and really filled that gnawing feeling.
    4. Eat lower calorie main meals to allow room for the snacking. Shirataki noodles instead of regular noodles for example.
    5. Eating a high protein/fiber combo

    Everything helps a little but nothing is foolproof (yet). People say, you just need to want to lose weight bad enough....well, that's not really actionable nor practical advice for this situation, in my opinion. I think developing actionable strategies that work for you is essential. Good luck!
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
    edited January 2016
    MizzMaamI1 wrote: »
    I'm not hungry but I'll eat just to eat. It's almost like I'm in a trance and nothing else is going through my mind but grab this and eat it now. Then once I snap out of it the damage has been done.

    I don't know how I can overcome this. Any suggestions on how to overcome this issue?

    I needed to relearn normal. What I was eating was generally fine....I just ate too much of it. At the same time, I didn't binge on any one thing, so it didn't seem like I had a problem. Years of slowly gaining weight suggested that I did have one.

    Tracking calories for several weeks without trying to change anything showed me irrefutable evidence that I did not NEED to eat so much. I was hitting my maintenance calorie level by the end of dinner, and yet hadn't had my "2nd dinner" or ice cream yet. It was NOT hunger and I would NOT be depriving myself if I ate less. I didn't need to feel full all the time. What seemed like "emptiness" was not hunger--it was normal. The occasional real hunger pang before I could get to my next meal would not be abnormal and was not going to screw up my metabolism.

    Do you eat while waiting for your "real" meal to cook/heat up? I sure did. For example, I'd mindlessly make and eat a sandwich while waiting for spaghetti to boil. I found that habit to be one of the first and easiest to eliminate.

    I still like to eat most of my calories in the evening, so now I eat 25% of them for breakfast, 25% for lunch, and 50% for dinner. I'll hit my calorie goal and brush my teeth whether I'm going to bed right away or not. I swear it helped flip a switch.

    Tracking my activity/exercise and eating back 50%-75% of those calories is really important to me. If I'm more than 100 calories under my goal I will eat something to get within 100 calories. If I don't I'll be extra hungry the next day and have a harder time sticking to my goal. I do better eating to my goal (plus 50%-75% exercise) every day rather than under one day and over the next.

    I keep in mind that I always have my "deficit" calories in my back pocket if I really want to eat them. That can be 250-1000 extra calories depending on your goal. Just keep in mind that every day you use them you slow your progress down by a day, but you "shouldn't" gain any either.

    I'm down 35-40 pounds since September with 15-20 to go before I change my goals from weight loss to building back muscle mass.

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