I can't stop eating!

I found that recording everything I eat, slowed my 'snacking' down. Before MFP I used to do it in a notebook. Hope this helps.

Museli bars and fruit would also leave me hungry in the morning, I need protein. Maybe try eggs or yoghurt for breakfast?

You can try increasing the fat and protein as others have said - your diet is focusing on a lot of carbs. Pay attention to your body and what it's telling you about your hunger cues. I found I needed to have a breakfast with a good amount of protein, a couple of light snacks during the day, and a good sized dinner with a bunch of protein and good fats to tide me over (I'll have an entree, some veggies, and Greek or Icelandic yogurt with fruit and a little granola or a protein heavy smoothie for a dessert). You should be getting a little hungry when it's time for a meal, but I find being ravenous isn't good since it leads to overindulging. Fiber also can help with the hunger - I shoot for 30g a day, and make it most of the time.

When you're craving sugar, try having a protein rich and/or fatty snack instead of something carb heavy (one of my favorites is some cheese with a few Triscuits or Ak-Mak crackers, which gives me fiber as well as protein and fat). I found this helped me learn that I can be satisfied by a snack that isn't sugar heavy. It's a matter of tweaking your palate.

I agree with the less carbs more fat and protein advice. When I ate cereal or toast for breakfast I'd be starving and ready to pass out by 10.30am. Now I eat bacon eggs avocado coconut oil etc for breakfast and I power all the way through to lunch no problems. Also at work, try some different herbal teas. A raspberry or sweet flavour tea might help you get through the day without so much sugar.
Good luck.

I have RA and also was addicted to sugar. It's usually not actual hunger , it's hunger for sugars. You feel hungry you feel like you can't NOT snack. break that habit , it takes about a week of really low sugar for me. I had headaches, sad I know , but it made it much easier after that hump. Your body inflammation will go down too. I ate extremely low sugar for a few weeks and almost all my RA pain went away

chickennugger13 wrote: »

My calorie goal is 1600 calories per day. I never achieve it.
I should also mention I'm a vegetarian, but the idea of increasing fat and protein sounds good.

My general diet:

Breakfast: Oats with berries and soy milk

Snack: fruit, museli bar

Lunch: Couscous, nuts, mixed vegetables

Snack: Often rice crackers but end up so hungry and sugar craving i end up getting ice cream or chocolate by 3pm.

Dinner: Very variable as my partner has different taste to me - often salad, potato gems, and egg, or quorn products

Just getting heavier and super hungry

I'm a vegetarian, too. I would be hungry eating what you are - but satiation is very individual, so you'll need to experiment. It sounds like you eat dairy, from the ice cream, and eggs?

Here are some variations that you could try- just ideas -if you enjoy these foods:

Breakfast: Plain Greek yogurt instead of soy milk (more protein, probiotics). Maybe add a few walnuts for fat?

Snacks (AM & PM) Dry-roasted soybeans, crispy chickpeas, cheese, hard-boiled egg (protein). Whole fruit is worth keeping, especially in PM when you crave sweetness. Low-cal raw veggies that require lots of chewing, like carrots, celery, radishes, jicama, cucumber (for volume).

Lunch: Add tofu or tempeh or black beans, sub quinoa for couscous (protein). Consider black bean or edamame pasta instead of grain (warning: it has a chewy texture)? Maybe a peanut sauce for extra fat, or just a dash of sesame or walnut or olive oil?

Dinner: Add a big green salad or a plate of raw veggies for volume, maybe instead of potato gems. Note that you can perhaps vary your sides or relative portion size from what your partner eats, but still eat basically the same meal. Avocado in reasonable portions has healthy fats.

Eating at least 3 whole fruit servings daily helped me reduce cravings for less nutrient-dense sweets. That doesn't work for everyone, but it has worked for others besides me. There are also sweet-tasting but negligible calorie herb teas you could try. A single serve really good quality chocolate can be savored instead of getting a whole big regular kind of boring candy bar.

Drinking enough (not excessive ) water, having some hot miso or veggie broth, or drinking hot herb tea can also help with hunger/cravings, sometimes.

Best wishes!

I had the same problem and realized it was largely contributed to high sugar intake and anxiety.

Cut juices and soda from your regular diet and only drink water. I can guarantee you’ll notice a drastic change in your sugar cravings.

Notify your doctor about your food binges and ask if it could be caused by anxiety or any other mental related illness.

I was given anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants. I tried the anti-depressants for a week and felt it negatively impacted my body more than benefited it. I discontinued it. HOWEVER, my anti-anxiety medication actually helped significantly and I haven’t binged eat/stressed eat since I’ve started it. With the assistance of my doctor, I realized my desire to eat all the time was emotionally related than hunger related. I’ve managed to go back to my normal weight and have no longer yo-yo’d because of it.

A multi-vitamin might help. Sometimes people don't get enough micronutrients, and their body becomes starved for those nutrients, so it makes them want to eat trying to make up the deficit.

Also, your body regulates blood sugar or else you would die. When you eat a lot of carbs your pancreas releases insulin which pulls glucose from your blood and forces it into your cells where it either gets used or stored.

When blood glucose starts getting lower than your body would prefer it can send you one or more signals such as fatigue, irritability, brain fog, or hunger.

Maybe reducing carbs, like fruits, crackers, muesli bars and replacing them with higher protein or healthy fatty snacks could curb your hunger a bit.

If all else fails, why not drink more water? There's only so much room in your stomach. If the space is taken up already and you try to consume more, there is nowhere for it to go without making you uncomfortable.

I feel you! I’m an office worker on the maternity floor at the hospital and patients are always bringing us treats to celebrate and thank us. It’s always a struggle and now that I myself is a parent I find that it’s getting harder to avoid because I’m always thinking “I do so much, I’ve earned this treat” once I give in... I go nuts! I fall for it every time!

chickennugger13 wrote: »

Thanks so much! It's sunday night and I'm dry roasting some chickpeas - fingers crossed it makes a difference

If you think of it, come back & let us know how it's going, OK?