Overeating
shirleygirl910
Posts: 503 Member
I have been on a long journey with weight loss. Thru surgery, emergency surgery, gains and now trying to lose the rest. I have discovered after all this time I have a problem with not knowing when to stop. I notice myself saying I need extra because I don't want to be hungry in a couple hours. Or I find I've portioned out my food and still look for something more until I am so full I'm sick. I know it's my head not screwed on straight, but how do I fix this?
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Perhaps try going back to basics. For me, if I cut out carbs I find the cravings and "head hungry" go away - bread, rice, pasta, sweets and alcohol...every time I let them creep back in I regret it. Produce and protein keep me satiated. And I still keep shakes and low carb protein bars handy as mid-morning and afternoon snacks. They're not tasty enough to crave, burn they will fill my emptiness. You could also go back to liquid diet for a few days and work back through mushy to solid foods as a re-set.9
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I definitely can understand where you're coming from. I have been struggling with the same issues lately. I think cabennett99 has it right. I feel like when I started letting myself have a few carbs and a few sweets here and there it just became an out of control landslide. It sucks when we know what we have to do and still feel out of control. But for me, knowing that I am not the only one who has this problem helps me gain the confidence to stand up and try again. I hope it helps you too.5
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Yep, going slow with the food helps, as does remembering when to drink water. I give myself 15 minutes before eating, and 20 minutes afterwards. Otherwise the liquid helps to flush out the pouch faster, supposedly0
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As I am making my way back to the straight and narrow, I am amazed at how dense protein and eating slowly gets me full. I am not a huge proponent of carbs being evil, but they certainly affect fullness and satiety.2
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I once read in a self help book that "overeaters are afraid of feeling hunger and undereaters are afraid to feel full."
It made me realize that I was stuffing myself before a shift because I was afraid I would be hungry at X time and not be able to eat. I started to just prep myself for those feelings. "I might get a little or a lot hungry and not be able to eat right away. That is okay, I won't die or starve, I will get my break eventually and eat. If I get so hungry I feel faint then I will speak up for myself."3 -
I can so relate to all of this. I know what I did to get myself to the point of WLS, and yet here I am, only a year and a half out and I find myself slipping into old habits, eating carbs and sweets and wanting them, which is driving me crazy. And then feeling disgusted with myself, almost to the point of loathing! I haven't consistantly been keeping a food diary, mostly because I can't begin to admit to myself that I am back where I started. I find myself feeling depressed, which as we all know can be a vicious circle. I wish I knew how to fix my brain, but as of yet...it is a struggle for me daily. I go to a WLS support group once a month, and for the most part, have a supportive family. I'm thinking it's time for a professional, maybe they can help me figure out why I can't stick to a program that I know has saved my life and given me so much better quality in my life. I was lucky enough to be given this tool and it has made my life better, so why the need to eat the crap, am I just trying to fulfill my life long proficy of failure?2
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I think lizzieloo934 hit it right on the head for me. I do find myself eating too much because I know my schedule won't allow me to eat for hours and I'm afraid to be hungry. At least this gives me more to work on. Thanks0
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It's from the book "The rules of normal eating" I highly recommend this book! It's not about eating and how to lose weight - it's about developing a normal healthy relationship with food. Something that I think many of us WLS patients struggle with.4
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It wasn't at the library, but Amazon has it. It looks like the author Karen Koenig specializes in eating disorders. I tried my medical facility, but I guess they haven't had enough people ask, because they didn't know what to tell me. They wanted to blame it all on stress and give me anti depressants. Then I tried Overeaters Anonymus and that was weird. You couldn't discuss any thing back and forth, you could "share" but no one was allowed to comment or give advise. Thanks for the ideas.0
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