I can't stop eating!

peachybum21
peachybum21 Posts: 22 Member
edited December 2 in Food and Nutrition
Ok, so for those who are pedantic - I can stop eating, its not like i'll die if I stop stuffing my face. However! I quit smoking just over 2 weeks ago and I want to focus on my eating to prevent me from now piling on the lbs!
I just love food! Not to healthy stuff but junk food. I can budget for my day in terms of calories, but then just eat other rubbish too. I guess it's mainly boredom, its certainly not hunger. I drink about 6 pints of squash a day so I'm not desperately dehydrated either.
Even if I've eaten loads and feel a bit sick, when I go to the kitchen for some more drink, i'll pick up a packet of crisps and start eating them.

So please! What can I do?? I know you can buy tablet versions of "Appetite Suppressants" which
A) are probably so bad for you
B) don't even work
and c
C) aren't solving the problem long term

I know that it is down to self control, which I don't seem to have much of the past couple of days, but the suggestion to simply stop putting it in my mouth isn't going to be a helpful one!

Please if you have any suggestions to help me stop eating please let me know! If all you're going to do is tell me to man up and staple my mouth shut, it's not helpful so don't bother!!!!

Thanks :smiley:
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Replies

  • juxtapose13
    juxtapose13 Posts: 27 Member
    I struggle with self control too ...I suppose one thing that helps is not keep junk food in your kitchen
    i hope somebody gives u more helpful advice
    good luck
  • blackmantis
    blackmantis Posts: 165 Member
    Eat real fool.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Are you currently in a calorie deficit or eating to maintain?
  • amyj514
    amyj514 Posts: 53 Member
    Sometimes when I get the insatiable urge to much I will pop a piece of strong mint or cinnamon gum or dip some veggies in some super hot hot sauce. It knocks my taste buds so out of whack that munching isn't nearly as desirable anymore.
  • grace914
    grace914 Posts: 139 Member
    Girl, I'm with ya. I can exercise almost daily, but I will throw down food - good and bad. All day :neutral: I agree with juxtapose. Don't buy junk food. Pack your lunches or prepare your food for the week on Sundays. That has helped me in the past. I recently threw away my junk food at work, but my coworker has a huge pile of chocolate saying, "eat me! I'm delicious!" Good luck! I'm looking forward to what other people will say too. Anyone can add me as a friend. I'm hoping with an open food diary, I will feel accountable for my food decisions and learn new food ideas from others.
  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
    Find something to keep your hands busy. Knitting, crosswords, playing a musical instrument, adult coloring books, anything that will keep your hands occupied so that you cannot snack. And if it's the oral fixation habit that is prompting you to snack this way, think about gum, or a lollipop - something you can keep in your mouth for extended periods of time that won't contribute many calories to your daily intake. Or find something physical to do first - walk around the block, something like that, until the craving has passed.

    Good luck.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Boredom and availability. You've said so yourself. Coming off of cigarettes means your willpower is likely depleted anyways, so I suggest other strategies to take care of the boredom and availability.

    Twenty questions; how can you reduce availability? (Hint: put it up high and out of sight)

    How can you deal with boredom? Pack on a few more activities during your day. I find activities that keep my hands busy helps (knitting, crochet, gaming) or going for a run for double bonus points. You may need more mentally stimulating activities other than drinking squash. How many calories is in one squash?
  • kbarrett0701
    kbarrett0701 Posts: 54 Member
    I tried Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut butter in the beginning of my journey. It helped to simmer down the cravings. Now it's 149 pounds lost later. :smile:
  • nancyleephillips
    nancyleephillips Posts: 6 Member
    I would never tell you to "man up" because I experience the exact same problem! It seems like the more junk food I eat, the more I crave. And I have actually found that there is scientific data to back this up!! Which made me feel tons better that maybe I wasn't a freak after all. I mean, other people can control their food intake, why couldn't I???

    I finally had to realize that I just can't have certain foods in my house. If they are here, I will eat them. I have no willpower to resist their siren call. What works for me is to limit my carbs and get enough protein, which helps in keeping me feeling full. And I asked my nutritionist for a short term of appetite suppressants. I figured if I could just have something to take the edge off for a short time while I worked on getting my carb obsession under control, that was better than continuing on the path I was on. I think I ended up taking them for about a month, because as my body began to get rid of the carbs I didn't crave them quite as badly. That's not to say that sometimes I don't have a meltdown and run through the kitchen and pantry looking for something (anything) sweet. But those times seem to be fewer than they used to.

    Another thing that I learned was to take a daily dose of L-Glutamine, which seems to help with the sugar cravings.

    I don't know that I have any really good advice for you, but if you ever need someone to talk you down from the ledge, let me know. I'm happy to help if I can.
  • SashEdwards
    SashEdwards Posts: 78 Member
    Brush your teeth ;) After every meal, when you wake up and when you go to bed....sounds odd, but it helped me - I quit almost 5 months ago, gained nearly 15 pounds in 3 months....I know what you're going through. I also at a LOT of sunflower seeds.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    SashEdwards wrote: »
    Brush your teeth ;) After every meal, when you wake up and when you go to bed....sounds odd, but it helped me - I quit almost 5 months ago, gained nearly 15 pounds in 3 months....I know what you're going through. I also at a LOT of sunflower seeds.

    Love that suggestion, Sash. I will often fill the kitchen sink with sudsy water when I am baking. It keeps me from dipping in to the batter.
  • LauraJo2778
    LauraJo2778 Posts: 4 Member
    I echo the sentiments of the people above suggesting keeping junk food out of easy reach and/or not buying it at all. Also, something that has helped me lately is only buying foods that have to be prepared (not "pre-cooked"/"ready-to-eat")... when I go into the kitchen and realize I'm going to have to spend 30 minutes or an hour cooking, it tends to "magically" makes the craving go away, hehe.
  • peachybum21
    peachybum21 Posts: 22 Member
    Wow thanks for all the replies to far. It's nice knowing I'm not alone.
    I'm currently on a calorie deficit...well I'm supposed to be, but today with all the binging, not so much!
    Some of these ideas are amazing. Might try some supplements but I like the colouring book.and teeth brushing ideas!
    My worst time is the evening when im watching the television. But if I'm colouring that will hopefully be a good distractions!
  • cabwj
    cabwj Posts: 843 Member
    Kudos on quitting smoking!
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,744 Member
    Yes, congrats on quitting smoking! Smoking occupies the hands and the mouth so finding activities to keep both busy is a good idea. Someone already mentioned it, but sunflower seeds are a good alternative, as long as you don't have sodium issues and you still don't want to go overboard with them. The calories will add up.

    Activities using your hands is probably your best bet. Brush your teeth and replace the food habits with anything other than food. It's just a matter of developing a new habit. You can do it!
  • PhedraJD
    PhedraJD Posts: 1,392 Member
    When my husband quit he used cinnamon sticks. They taste pretty good, you can still play/hold them like you did a cigarette, and suck on them as well. 1 stick would usually last a day or two because you don't eat it.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    peachybum21 wrote: »
    Wow thanks for all the replies to far. It's nice knowing I'm not alone.
    I'm currently on a calorie deficit...well I'm supposed to be, but today with all the binging, not so much!
    Some of these ideas are amazing. Might try some supplements but I like the colouring book.and teeth brushing ideas!
    My worst time is the evening when im watching the television. But if I'm colouring that will hopefully be a good distractions!

    Stop the tv habit. Sitting down in front of the telly, or the computer, at night is one of the worst things for many of us that have snacking issues! Go for walk. Or stand up and walk in place if you must watch tv. Make yourself MOVE instead of eating. You have to get out of that sitting down at night watching tv/eating habit.
  • DanSTL82
    DanSTL82 Posts: 156 Member
    Don't keep snack foods in the house. You can't eat a bag of crisps if it isn't there to begin with. That's really the only thing that will help if you can't stop yourself otherwise.
  • the_new_mark_2017
    the_new_mark_2017 Posts: 149 Member
    This was me. This is me.

    Brushing teeth
    Chewing sugar free gum
    Meditate
    Find a hobby
    Go for a walk
    Don't have junk food in the house

    These help me, especially the minty options. Try drinking orange juice after you brush your teeth *yuck*

    Good luck, its an ongoing challenge.
  • cranor130
    cranor130 Posts: 65 Member
    How about munching on dill pickles? They do help with cravings.
  • pdadhich721
    pdadhich721 Posts: 24 Member
    I'm struggling with this too. I've been doing the gum - it helps !
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    i love to eat, its my hobby, my drug of choice. I started my journey as a chef and culinary school at 17 and now 12 years later with a masters in nutrition. Suffice to say my entire adult life has surrounded itself around eating amd food. I have no adive other then if you dont wana stop munching go be more active. I want to eat like an adult male body builder, and i am a 5'2 120 pound sedentary woman haha. My bmr is 1300 :( I go and work out and do active things litteraly for the point of getting to eat more.
  • karina014
    karina014 Posts: 2 Member
    !!!!Out of sight out of mind, so don't buy snacks you will regret eating later!!!!

    Let's cut right to the chase, so what I use to help suppress my hunger or desire to eat is this protein shake- advantage edge protein shakes. I use the milk chocolate, fudge, or vanilla flavors. It curbs and suppress hunger for hours and it is only 100 calories. I use it as a meal replacement with a piece a fruit for breakfast or dinner depending on my food intake. You can buy it at a lot of places such as walmart and cvs but I buy it at sams club. (Cheapest I've found)

    I like that it's not sketchy or unhealthy for you so give it a shot. Hope this helps!
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    Cough Drops. Strong ones that make you not want to put food in your mouth.
  • silvilunazul
    silvilunazul Posts: 59 Member
    Few things that have worked for me: drinking coffee or green tea during the day (in the evening they tend to disrupt my sleep), eating big portions of non-starchy veg with every meal, getting a good high-protein breakfast everyday, eating something prepared with casein protein supplement before bed. In addition to these "tricks", probably the best thing you can do is to keep yourself busy. I struggle less with cravings when I have a lot of activities in a day!
  • CalorieCountChocula
    CalorieCountChocula Posts: 239 Member
    edited June 2016
    peachybum21 wrote: »
    Ok, so for those who are pedantic - I can stop eating, its not like i'll die if I stop stuffing my face.

    Technically speaking the opposite of this is true. If you stopped eating eventually you would in fact die. You'll die one day anyway even if you keep eating. Just later. Unless something non-food related kills you sooner of course. Tons of variables here.

  • Golbat
    Golbat Posts: 276 Member
    I had this problem and it killed my diet attempts, and my doctor told me to stop worrying about fat so much, and eat more protein. I haven't been nearly as hungry as I was and I'm doing better this time.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I'm going to be pedantic and tell you that you're not supposed to stop eating, you just have to stop overeating.

    I'm maintaining a healthy weight now, and I love food too. It hasn't been easy to figure out, because of all the conflicting "information" out there. But it's quite simple. This is not about self control, but about environment control and getting in habits and attitudes that support health and don't damage it.

    Eat food you like. You don't have to choose between "healthy stuff" and "junk food" - there's a wide range of foods from all over the world available. Learn to cook if you don't already. Anything made from real food ingredients will become healthy meals, unless you mess it up completely.

    Plan your meals and spend some time and effort to look for nutritious food that you also find appetizing. Structure your eating to match your schedule, work, play, family and social life. Reserve time to sit down and enjoy your meal. Serve yourself a decent portion and eat until satisfied. Not full, but satisfied. Allow yourself to get hungry before meals. Hungry, not ravenous.

    Write shopping lists based on what you need to make/prepare your meals, take the list with you to the store, and follow the list. Buy food and ingredients for the meals you have planned, and nothing else. Decide if typical snack foods work for you, or not. If you can't stop eating them if you have them, they don't, and you should keep them to a minimum; if you long for them if you don't have them, they do, and you should find ways to implement them in your diet.

    Maybe also try to cut back in the squash - it tastes sweet, right? Constantly having a sweet taste in your mouth often leads to cravings for more, maybe physiologically, maybe just from habit.
  • Lavender2222
    Lavender2222 Posts: 105 Member
    Thanks for the tooth brushing tip . I now even do it at work after lunch
  • lilithsrose
    lilithsrose Posts: 752 Member
    I try not to buy the junk that I know I can't stay out of. I don't buy chips or chocolate, because it never ends well. Its difficult to keep this stuff out of the house sometimes because I live with my parents, but I tell myself that its their food and I'm not allowed to have it.

    For salt cravings, I do keep 98% fat free single serve popcorn available. For sweets, I can usually satisfy it with some cereal.
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