Unable to pinpoint where the compulsion to eat comes from

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rorschachsfreckles
rorschachsfreckles Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am a 27-year-old female (5'2", 200 lbs).

I had a happy childhood, and we were always allowed to have treats in moderation. My secret eating started in college; I have no idea why. I preferred to eat alone in my dorm room, probably because I would buy the crappiest food. When I started dating my now-husband, eating together was a great social thing that we did ALL THE TIME during college, and we just haven't stopped. I blame him sometimes, but I eat secretly without him as well, even now.

I know I should just rely on him and not food, but we both really enjoy going out and/or eating crappy foods (duh!). We're addicted, I think, but I don't know why I have this compulsion to eat. I don't have the symptoms of a food addict, I don't have the symptoms of an emotional eater.

I have done meal prep with healthy foods, and yet I ignore all that and still go out to eat. I have tried everything: promising myself I would cook at home, meal prepping, keto (which worked for three months), low-calorie with lots of veggies, but I can't stop myself from eating anything I am craving. I sometimes feel like I eat as if I won't be able to eat tomorrow.

I am constantly telling myself I will start the next day, so I go crazy and eat everything bad I can think of. Then the same thing happens the next day.

Can anyone relate or crack the case or find a solution??

Replies

  • rpkg62
    rpkg62 Posts: 44 Member
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    If you want to go on a more healthy diet with better eating patterns start with small and easy changes. You won't get fast results, or even results right away, but it will help in the long run. My partner and I ate a lot of junk/crap food together too. One of our big ones was frozen pizza twice a week. Instead of totally cutting out our favorite meal, we opted for a new brand that was a bit healthier (compared to the old one). Again, it's not a big change, but it was one we could do together and something easy for him to support. I added a little change about every week or two. In about 17 weeks, I had lost 15 lbs. although it's not a huge difference it didn't feel like a lot of hard work either.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,997 Member
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    Yeah, it took me a while to crack the code, so to speak.

    Keep at it, religiously log every bite and keep looking for small things to do to improve.


    My inner fat girl kicked and screamed, but I finally starved her out...mostly. I'm at a healthy weight now but it was difficult in the beginning to establish thought patterns that supported my decision to lose weight.

    I would also add, don't cut your calories severely to lose weight - for me that leads to a lot of over eating when I get stressed/tired/frustrated/etc. Start at "Lose one pound per week." It's sustainable and better than the restrict/binge cycle.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
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    Don't rely on food. Don't rely on your hubby/SO.... rely on... *yourself*. I think I've written the words "Sheer willpower" like 3 times on the forums today. Don't eat in secret. The only person that has control over if you eat in secret or not, is YOU! Don't give in to cravings for eating too much, because the only person who has control over that is YOU!

    Ultimately you are responsible for all of these actions. You can still eat food with your hubby, just eat *less* !

    Unfortunately the solution is "simple" but it is not "easy". It takes a lot of effort and dedication to build better eating habits, but you stay strong, you can do it. Many of the people here have as living testament.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,948 Member
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    Honestly, you are probably just doing it because you like it and you associate it with having a good time. Not all compulsions are because of bad events.

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