Compulsive over eating

Elf_Princess1210
Elf_Princess1210 Posts: 895 Member
edited October 6 in Motivation and Support
Does anyone else over eat out of compulsion? Am I alone?

Replies

  • angeldelight13
    angeldelight13 Posts: 177 Member
    Nope :sad:
    Im constantly tucking into things and lm like "wtf you doing Sally your not even hungry" :mad:
    I also need to teach myself to stop eating when full, but after years of being on a very tiny budget and not letting things go to waste, its a hard habbit to break.
  • DonaGail
    DonaGail Posts: 190 Member
    me too, I even eat when im sick and have no appetite. Its just filling a hole in the soul, nothing to do with nutrition at all. I hate to waste too. Lots of reasons/excuses!
  • Mel36Run
    Mel36Run Posts: 114 Member
    Your not alone. I will binge eat from time to time. I have gotten a lot better at recognizing the signs of when I am going to do it. It feels almost like an out of body experience when it does happen. Usually my triggers are stress, boredom or being in uncomfortable situations. I think talking with people experiencing the same thing difinitely helps.
  • ellekay22
    ellekay22 Posts: 147 Member
    There is a group, if you want to join. I too am a binger. For no reason sometimes. I've eaten whole boxes of cereal - even "healthy" cereal, just 'cause I feel like I have to.

    I'm learning to control my binges - little things like slowing down while I'm doing it and giving myself permission. Sometimes that takes away the "NEED."

    All I know is you are not alone.
  • bonastigg
    bonastigg Posts: 3
    I understand and while I thought I had completely beat it for several years, it seems now that I cannot. I found that stress triggers binge eating for me. Emotions definitely trigger it too. I have found that once I can identify what is causing the eating, I can be aware and stop myself. I often think it's for no reason, but everytime I come up with something that led me to it. Good luck. It's hard to break and life keeps throwing lemons at us. If we make lemonade, we need to make sure it's sugar free at least!
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    You probably have a lot more company than you could ever imagine -- myself included.
  • amoffatt
    amoffatt Posts: 674 Member
    I am bad at eating for no reason or just because the food is there. I wont even be hungary or dont want the food, but I cannot seem to always talk myself out of it.
  • chatnel
    chatnel Posts: 688 Member
    hands up over here. The afternoons are particularly bad for me, I just want to eat everything in my work drawer for no good reason another than it is there.
  • denellelaine
    denellelaine Posts: 5
    This is my number one problem. I can't get this under control... does anyone have any advice?? :(
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    Binge eating support group:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/726-binge-eating-support-group
  • b3kah5
    b3kah5 Posts: 280 Member
    You are not alone. I think it's one of those things people don't talk about.I am definitely a compulsive over eater. Sometimes I feel afraid to eat because I don't know if I can stop. It's getting better through the grace of God. Is there a group for this on MFP?
  • karenlw75
    karenlw75 Posts: 30 Member
    I have this problem too. Especially late at night. i can go all day and stick to the diet and go to the gym etc, but once I get that 'binge eating' feeling at night I CANNOT control it. :(
  • SomeMorr
    SomeMorr Posts: 220 Member
    I have had this problem my whole life too. I feel like a lot of it comes from growing up, my family situation was basically "you eat what you want now because there wont be leftovers".. meaning my parents always ate big portions and so I got in to the habit of eating a lot of something at one time almost as an obsession becasue I felt like it wouldnt be there later for me to enjoy. I still have that problem sometimes. I has Subway last night and I was full after the 6" and could have saved the other half for lunch today. But I didnt, I stuffed my face with the other half :(
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    Does anyone else over eat out of compulsion? Am I alone?

    Asolutely not! I have that problem. I can't leave any food on my plate 95% of the time. Force of habit!
  • weightlosshippie
    weightlosshippie Posts: 31 Member
    You're definitely not alone. I found that working on my self-worth and self-esteem really helped me. I think most addictive type behavior comes from within. Not to mention, looking at the ingredients of snacky foods really made me not want them anymore. LOTS OF CHEMICALS! We're here for you if you ever need someone. This is a great site for accountability!
  • carrieo888
    carrieo888 Posts: 233 Member
    Holy heck you are not alone! In fact, I'd say that most of the folks one MFP - who are looking to lose weight - are compulsive overeaters. Here are my strategies:

    1) Find your binge foods (you know, the ones that trigger The Snack Attack) and be careful with them. Potato chips can be a binge food for me. But if I were to avoid them completely, I would not learn how to "master" them and I would crave them constantly. SO, I never take the bag with me. One serving goes in a small bowl, and I savor every SMALL bite. Then I drink a large glass of water. There are times when I know I don't have that kind of control, which is when I just avoid those foods; other times I am fine.
    2) When you eat, EAT. Do not watch TV, do not talk on the phone, do not text, do not read. Sit at a kitchen/dining room table and EAT! Take small bites and taste each one. Relish the flavors. Thoroughly enjoy your eating. You will get full faster and your brain will register that you ate.
    3) Use a dessert/luncheon plate as your dinner plate. This is a bit of trickery, actually. Your brain will register that you have a completely full plate (even though you have a half portion), and you won't feel deprived.
    4) Do not finish your meal (unless you are actually hungry). This was tough for me, cuz I was the Queen of the Clean Plate Club. Giving myself permission to NOT finish what was on my plate was a HUGE deal. At home, I will set aside leftovers for lunches. And at restaurants I will either split a meal with a friend, or ask for a box immediately, so I can put half in the box before I start. If I have something not worthy of leftovers, I will either cover it with a napkin (outta sight, outta mind REALLY) or dump my water on it so I am not tempted to pick at it (I'm thinking french fries here!).

    Hope some of this is helpful to you! Good luck!
  • lorro
    lorro Posts: 917 Member
    No, you are not alone. If you are interested in getting help to overcome this problem, I can reccommend a great online course which is available free from here: http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/infopax.cfm?Info_ID=48 One of the modules is on Binge eating. Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • RaiTay
    RaiTay Posts: 21
    I do it, mainly at night out of boredom. I hate it but I have this mentality of , "well I've already gone over my calorie limit for the day so screw it." It's horrible. >.<
  • kaaabney
    kaaabney Posts: 42 Member
    I am the same way. If there is food in front of me, I eat. It doesn't matter if I am hungry or not. Even I get hungry half way through my meal I will continue eating and end up feeling sick to my stomach. I know it is going to make me feel this way and yet I keep doing it. It is not something that I do daily, but I know I have to learn to control it.
  • PeggyWoodson
    PeggyWoodson Posts: 337 Member
    I call it emotional eating because usually I'm binging when I am upset or angry or bored or worried. I know why I do it. I just don't know how to fix the reason I do it. It started when I was six years old. I will be checking out the group mentioned here. thanks for the posts. And no indeed you are definitely not alone.
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    Nope, not alone. I tend to go on binges in the evening/nighttime, right before bed. I manage to control myself usually in the daytime, but even sometimes after a long bike ride, I have to battle an intense urge to buy packets of cookies and eat them right then and there. I just seem to crave sugar and sweet wheat based things constantly, and it is a real pain, even though I am not overweight and never have been.(other than a brief period when I was about 11 and got a little bit pudgy).

    It is a horrible feeling of being out of control, and the real issue comes when you want to get rid of it somehow, anyhow to minimise the weight gain.
  • jplord
    jplord Posts: 510 Member
    Another support group is Overeaters Anonymous. Classic 12-step program that sees compulsive over-eating as an alcohol addiction. It helps to guide your answering the question "Why do I do this to myself?" when you go to meetings and hear lots of people talk about their issues. And it is free.
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