Is it normal to want to eat until your full Everytime you ea

Josh, welcome to MFP and thank you for your honesty - that's going to be a really important quality and strength for you on your journey.

Well done for admitting there's a problem - that's the crucial first step. I dont have any practical suggestions right now, but I'm sure the great MFP community will have some ideas.

Very best wishes for your success.

You have made the first step by committing to writing what you eat. This site will help you if you keep it up. Good luck, you CAN do it!!!!

Josh, welcome to MFP and thank you for your honesty - that's going to be a really important quality and strength for you on your journey.

Well done for admitting there's a problem - that's the crucial first step. I dont have any practical suggestions right now, but I'm sure the great MFP community will have some ideas.

Very best wishes for your success.

Yes welome

Good luck on your journey

Your honesty is amazing, truly you will do well with MFP.

Remember if you have a bad day, tomorrow is a new beginning!

You have picked a wonderful site to help you along. As stated, you have already lost 9lbs, good for you!! Support here is AMAZING. We all want to succeed....we want YOU to succeed! It really is a big step by being honest about intake, which is why logging your food is SO important. I have 4lbs I want left to lose.(May not be much, I realize, but it is relevant to the point) I have not done a good job logging in about a month. So...I am at a stand still with my weight. I know this is why. Log EVERYTHING. Some people log BEFORE they eat it, to simply see what it does to their numbers. Maybe this would work for you. Maybe not? Either way you are gonna succeed.....Log your food to be held accountable, drink LOTS of water, and if you eat, start by making simply a "better" choice. You CAN do this! Good luck to you!

I think it's really fabulous that you've identified what's wrong and want to make it right.

Do you have a state-run hospital near you? We have a state hospital here, and you can go apply for assistance to get any kind of medical care -- including therapy. We also have a non-profit mental health clinic that provides free therapy for those who meet the income requirements. Check around in your area. Therapy is very expensive, yes, but you might be able to find it free or for a low-cost.

Good luck on your journey! I know you'll do fabulous.

Hey Josh! First of all congratulations on taking this first step towards getting fit, joining MFP. :flowerforyou:

I understand what you mean. I have this scare that if I don't eat right now, I might not have food near by when I get hungry later. Even today at lunch I had some bread and was kinda full, but was thinking about having some rice because I might get hungry later and what if I don have anything to eat then. Then I realized I have some nuts with me and my office pantry is loaded. So I stopped then, and it has been around 4 hours after lunch and I am not that hungry.


So there are a few things you can do. Whenever you order anything, have till you are full. Take the rest of it with you, so you know you can always eat when you are hungry. Maybe you need to tell yourself that you can eat when you are hungry, there will be food around. And also you can drink loads of water.

After this, work towards getting your portions right. Also, you can start of by walking around a little. That will make you feel good.

Friend me if you like. And remember. we all make mistakes. :flowerforyou:

edited to say: read around the topics in the forum, you will find so many ideas.

I'm going to be quite honest and blunt here, and I hope I don't hurt your feelings, or have it come off rude.

I think the first step is to seek counseling....it's awesome that you understand there is a problem and WANT to fix it! And WANT to understand it...so BRAVO!

But I think it's CRUCIAL that you get your head completely around what you are about to do...there is no going back. A person in your situation, if relapsed, would probably not be able to get back out. So get your head around it, and get yourself ready for a whole new way of doing things and thinking.

It WILL be hard, VERY hard for the first few months, then it'll become second nature, and you will take less time in preparing your meals etc.

But get with a professional first...then I would possibly try to get with a nutritionist. They will help you to understand what you are eating and how it effects your body. Also how to come up with meal plans etc

Good luck on your journey and I wish you the best of luck!!

I don't think you come off rude at all. I would like to go to a therapist, but They cost a lot of cash, and I dont have any insurance or very much money, so I need to try to find alternatives. You have good advice though. Thanks.

All you need is your desire to succeed, there is no magic pill. And your right - IMO it;s a lot of cash that no one has. As for a nutritionist, there is all kinds of information already out there on the net - you can read everything they are going to tell you.

Josh,

I understand your pain. I struggled with a smaller version of the same problem. I felt that if I wasn't full it wouldn't be okay and I would get hungry again really soon. Joining was step one and way to go on that one! Admitting there needs to be a change is always the hardest step. What really helped me was having to put in that I had two or three servings of something on here. It just made me feel bad. I knew that I couldn't just jump in the deep end though. It takes time to shrink your stomach and your eyes. I now make sure I never sit food on the table in front of me. If I'm at a restaruant or something, I ask for a box pretty much right away. If I get it out from in front of me, I'm less likely to keep picking at it even after I'm full. I also eat as slow as possible and think about what I'm eating. I avoid distractions like TV or working during my lunch. If I focus on the fact that I'm eating and how much I'm enjoying it, I get more satisfaction from each bite. I also work my days around my favorite foods. If I really want tacos for dinner, I put that in my log first, that way I have the calories already set aside for it and then I build the rest of my day around that. It really helps to have the day pretty much set up for you already. If I know I'm going out for dinner and will have too many calories there, I avoid a midmorning snack. Water seems to help too when I feel I'm getting hungry and shouldn't be. I drink plenty of it to keep my stomach from growling or having pains that I can't bare. It's hard at first to avoid over eating but now that I've gotten used to it, I get full after only a single sandwich! It's amazing! I never thought I could eat a portion and be full! My biggest suggestion, start small! Don't take away your favorite foods and don't go straight from having 4 servings at a time to barely 1. Gradually take it down. Instead of 2 footlongs, have 1.5. Then next time have 1. Slowly bringing it down will make it easier.

Good luck! You will do amazing!

I love your honesty, and I'm SO glad you're here. I know I'm merely repeating what others have said, but this is a very positive step, you being on MFP. This place's lifted me out of so many discouraging moments, I've failed and picked myself up again in a community supportive like no other. Just take it a step at a time - 100, 200 calories down from the day before is good progress everyday. I can't wait to hear of how you're doing, you'll be amazing, Josh. xx

Couple of suggestions - some of these might be duplicates:

1. Obviously, get professional help - if you can.
2. If you can't afford #1, don't have insurance - look for some kind of local over-eaters anonymous type support group.
3. If you can't find #2, save the 2nd and 3rd serving food costs and join Weight Watchers - it's a paid support group. $40 US a month.
4. Drink water, water, more water. When you're done, drink water. I do it this way - drink a few cups, pee, repeat. The water in your stomach will reduce your physical feelings of having an empty stomach. Additionally, they'll make you feel feel (or stuffed in your case) faster, without adding calories.
5. Vegetables are your friend. You want to eat until you explode to get the feelings of being stuffed? Fine - as long as it's vegetables (not fried). You can literally not eat too many vegetables. Salad - see #6.
6. Salad - vegetables on your salad are fine - other stuff not so much. If it's a veggie, you can use it to make a MONSTER salad. If it's not a VEGGIE - it's OK in moderation. A Tablespoon (or few grams) of egg, bacon, ham, you get the idea. Salad Dressing #7.
7. Salad Dressing - do NOT DROWN your salad in BAD dressing. Salad Dressing is my splurge, as long as it's in moderation. I like Thousand Island - because it's very fattening of course. So, I limit myself to 2 Tbsp (tablespoons) per salad. If you go with something lite, low fat, or no fat (like balsamic vinegar) you can have more. This is where you need to have some control.
8. For your sweet tooth: EAT FRUIT. It has natural sugar, and it's healthy!!! You get vitamins, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, stuff you can't get anywhere else. Eat lots of different colors orange (obvious), yellow (grapefruit), peach (obvious), red (strawberries) blue (berries), black (berries), red (watermelon).
9. WATER MELON is your go to PIG OUT FOOD. It's bulky, it's sweet, it's mostly water, it's relatively low calorie.
10. THE LESS YOU EAT, THE LESS YOU WANT TO EAT. THE MORE YOU EAT, THE MORE YOU WANT TO EAT.
11. EXERCISE. It's good for you, it takes your mind off eating, it helps lose calories, and if you sweat your @$$ off, trust me - mentally, you'll think twice before you slam down 200 calories in a couple bites - that will take you an HOUR OF SWEAT to work off.
12. Set a calorie goal to stick to - say 1500 calories (this is all day, not a single meal) - you are hungry, you want to eat more - fine ONLY IF YOU EARN IT BY EXERCISING. So, you want another 500 Calories - that means you have to exercise 500 calories. WHY DO YOU THINK BODY BUILDERS CAN EAT WHATEVER THEY WANT, MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY!?!? Because they exercise their @$$ off.
13. Get a lot of sleep.
14. Avoid your triggers - mine is French Fries - once I start, I don't want to stop. Buffalo wings. Pizza. AVOID YOUR FOODS YOU CANNOT CONTROL.
15. DO NOT EAT AFTER A CERTAIN TIME AT NIGHT - NO MATTER WHAT. You set the time - like 8PM, 9PM. If you are tempted, DRINK A PINT OF WATER FIRST. WAIT 10 MINUTES.
16. DON'T KEEP JUNK FOOD AT HOME. I've done the 10PM chocolate run, a lot of us have. But at least, you have to get dressed, go out and drive to the store.
17. I'm not a psychologist, but I took psychology in college. One of the things we had to do was Behavior Modification. The basics were - get a token - could be a Dollar coin, a poker chip, marble - whatever. If you do something good, a behavior you want to modify, give yourself a token as a reward. If you don't meet the goal, you DO NOT GIVE YOURSELF THE TOKEN. When you have 10, 100, whatever, you take the tokens and "cash them in" for some reward (NOT FOOD). Could be a movie, clothes, whatever - something you like to have or do, but you can wait for. You will EARN the reward, and mentally, feel good about yourself for doing it. I read somewhere it takes 3 weeks to form a habit.
18. I'm out of ideas - I hope these help you!

19. Find someone you can talk to - that won't judge you, but will support you and offer encouragement. We're here virtually - but see if you can find someone in real life.

Hope these help.

20. Good job on the first day of the rest of your life!!! Keep it up! You CAN do it.

21. If you're tempted, and you have a computer, open up MFP and read through the "success stories" section. THEY DID IT! YOU CAN TOO!

Josh good luck first of all! As everyone else has said you've taken the first step.

I've just spent the past week dropping my soda count (from 4L to 1L) and one thing that has taught me is

1. WATER IS AWESOME. Even after a week of chaning I'm craving water now. Have a bottle of water on you at all times.
2. Don't go cold turkey. It will damn near kill you. Even for me dropping 3L of soda (Pepsi Max) a day was almost too damn hard. I had the shakes and the migranes from the withdrawel symptoms.

Mostly and this is the hardest part (and one I battle constantly) positivity is key. I know at my weight I'm so negative with myself. I hate myself every time I look in the mirror. But if I hate myself I'm not going to make the changes to make me a more awesome version of me. So make small cuts. The 1.5 footlong, 3 burritos instead of 4. Small steps become big steps and big steps make a big difference!

Good luck!

I myself actually was anorexic at one point and then I became a bullimic and then I became a binge eater. I know how you feel right now and to me the therapy didn't help me very much. So i dont think your really missing out there. I feel helpless sometimes that I'll never be able to eat "normal" but there is hope b/c you've idenified the problem and you want to change. I want to change too and I know how it is waking up every day on a diet and then failing at it every night. I dont have much advice b/c i'm in the same boat but I think one thing that has helped me is thinking about the future. If I eat these cookies how is my stomach going to look tomorrow? i also think about the inspirational quotes that I read here on MFP. I wish you luck in this weight loss journey

Blessings,

Elise

I agree that you should get some counseling. No shame in that; you've admitted that you have a hard time stopping yourself, why not find some one who can help you work through those emotions so you CAN stop yourself. You are already ahead of the game by realizing at least some of your motivating factors. One thing I firmly believe in is small steps. You don't have to completely change all at once if that is too hard for you. Some people do really well with complete change, some do not. An option would be to get one foot long and one 6 inch next time you go to Subway; when you realize that really does fill you enough (it's ok if it takes more than one time) then you can work your way to eating just one 12 in....or 2 six inch so you can have a couple different kinds of sandwiches. You get the idea.
I think the same theory works with exercising. You don't have to go out and get a gym membership or buy expensive equipment right off. Start with a walk to the end of the block and back. Or park at the far end of the parking lot, or stand up and sit back down a few times during commercials while watching tv...just find something that works, do a little at at time until it gets easier and then build on that.
You have gotten a great start, you can do this. Always come back to your support system when you are having a hard day...we're here for you