Why do you overeat?

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gettinghealthy777
gettinghealthy777 Posts: 223
in Health and Weight Loss
For me it seems like it's due to anxiety. I notice I do great during the day, but when the evening comes, I want to eat.

I know it calms my nerves down and helps me sleep, but in the morning, I feel really yukky. A viscous circle!!! But with all the

motivation on MFP. I have done pretty good in the last month or so... Thank you everyone for your support...

I thought maybe, if we know why we eat, we can help others overcome their obstacles:flowerforyou: with some suggestions here
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Replies

  • dsreilly
    dsreilly Posts: 47 Member
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    Boredom.....when i'm unhappy....lack of willpower.....the last being the one i don't understand.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    Before, it used to be out of boredom and eating crap food that never really satisfied my hunger unless it was in hedonistic amounts.

    With proper nutrition and utilizing my cookery skills to attain flavors that would seem bland to the normal human, has definitely helped. Now, I usually have trouble getting my calories where I need them to be for the day. Go figure.
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
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    I am an emotional eater.... and it doesn't matter what the emotion is (happy, sad, anxious, frustrated, angry, etc), I have a "go to" food attached to an emotion.

    I'm slowly working through this bad habit, but it's hard going....
  • hummingbirdmovingforward
    hummingbirdmovingforward Posts: 1
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    I only overeat when I am upset/angry or stressed then it is hard to control. But I am getting my better.
    :)
  • clala82
    clala82 Posts: 90 Member
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    I'm the same way. I totally use food to calm anxiety, make me feel better, reward myself, and simply to occupy myself when I'm bored. Usually I start off the day doing well with a healthy breakfast and then can stick to pretty healthy foods while I'm at work. But when I get home from work, I'm tempted to make the worst decisions. There are a number of foods I don't even keep in the house anymore because I'll make them unhealthy by simply eating too much of it. Or I get take out on the way home from work. It's a vicious cycle, but we can stop it. Like you said, if we know why we do these habits, hopefully we can break them! I find that preparing my entire day's menu of meals and snacks helps. If I know what I'm going to eat next, I'm less likely to just eat anything that's around me or pops into my head. :smile:
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
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    G.I. Joe has always said that knowing is half the battle. My WW leader kind of extended that last night when she said, "Knowing your biggest downfall can be your biggest uplift."

    For me this is so true because in order to effectively solve a problem, you generally need to attack its root, not just the manifestations. In therapy, I recently (accidentally) uncovered the reasons for my eating issues and am working on dealing with those....since then, in just the past few weeks, I've made a ridiculous amount of progress. I'm hesitant to say this, but I think I'm getting better now that I know what the hell has been going on...
  • gettinghealthy777
    gettinghealthy777 Posts: 223
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    Attack it at the root. Never heard it put like that, but it makes a lot of sense.
    G.I. Joe has always said that knowing is half the battle. My WW leader kind of extended that last night when she said, "Knowing your biggest downfall can be your biggest uplift."

    For me this is so true because in order to effectively solve a problem, you generally need to attack its root, not just the manifestations. In therapy, I recently (accidentally) uncovered the reasons for my eating issues and am working on dealing with those....since then, in just the past few weeks, I've made a ridiculous amount of progress. I'm hesitant to say this, but I think I'm getting better now that I know what the hell has been going on...
  • brewingaz
    brewingaz Posts: 1,136 Member
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    I tend to over eat when I have a crap day. I'll eat something terrible and not just a normal portion. It will be massive intakes of it. Gotta get that under control!
  • i_love_vinegar
    i_love_vinegar Posts: 2,092 Member
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    stress, boredom, habit, flavor. If I only ate when I was hungry, I would probably eat 1/2 of what I eat now. :/
  • bunchesonothing
    bunchesonothing Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Back when, I just didn't quite realize how much it was I was eating.
  • birdlover97111
    birdlover97111 Posts: 346 Member
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    I am an emotional eater, too....Mostly when I am sad or angry... :flowerforyou:
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
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    emotions....especially angry. today at work, i was so annoyed and was eating crapbut when i got home and calmed down, I had a small bowl of yogurt and fruit...it's so weird!!
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    I overeat because I love love love love food - Love love love. Love. Love. One of the eating rules I had before I really started trying to lose weight (just when I was tryihng to keep it under control) was not to put a bite of calories in my mouth that I wasn't going to enjoy. No eating just to put food in my mouth, only eating because I love food. It actually did help a little but there are a lot of yummy high calorie foods I was still ordering so that had to go.
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
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    Emotions--all of them. Stressed, happy, sad, anxious ... I'm trying to use exercise to work out those feelings, but I fell off the horse miserably the last 4 weeks and invited two men by the name of Ben and Jerry into my room every night... and gained. Seriously gained. So, like I said, trying to curb emotions with exercise now!
  • tgtaylor
    tgtaylor Posts: 2
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    Emotional eater here too. I use to go for a walk or get out of the house, but now with 4 children that I homeschool it's quite challenging. Dinner is a hectic time and that's usually when I start sampling the entire meal before it is served. I'll even eat when not the least bit hungry if totally stressed out; it's like thowing back a shot. I started weighing my food and I can't believe how much extra calories I was eating here and there. It helps to stop, breath, and give yourself a pep talk or reality check.
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
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    For me, it's quite simple. Food has been one of the few consistent pleasures in my life, from puberty through adulthood. Once you get fat, there's no girlfriends, socializing, or sports outlets. Food is always there for you. So I developed a life-long habit of eating for pleasure. Now I'm addicted to it. I have never successfully held a diet long enough to break that addiction.
  • garyobesedeleted
    garyobesedeleted Posts: 117 Member
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    anxiety, depression, stress, not having any money, to make myself feel better; to boost my mood, because i love food, healthy food depresses me.

    I need help, i lost 10lbs but put it back on, now im probably the heaviest ive been :/ and its gonna take ages for me to lose 10lbs :/
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
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    I actually eat more when I'm happy and content with myself. When I'm upset or stressed I can go all day without food.
  • MyTime1985
    MyTime1985 Posts: 456 Member
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    I am an emotional eater.... and it doesn't matter what the emotion is (happy, sad, anxious, frustrated, angry, etc), I have a "go to" food attached to an emotion.

    I'm slowly working through this bad habit, but it's hard going....

    Me too!
  • SlimSammy2012
    SlimSammy2012 Posts: 893
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    <~~~Because I am stupid! Mostly due to emotional eating and Depression and Anger...Other than that, I'm PERFECT!

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