I can't control my eating.

here's your sister - I hear you and UNDERSTAND every line of your message and every sentiment behind those lines.

I've been trying to lose 17 kilos (started at 10 kilos a couple of months ago).

Granted I'm now 15 weeks pregnant but that's no excuse because I've been trying to lose the 10 - 15 kilos for about a year now.

It's a vicious circle.

I'm currently paying to attend Sl1mm1ng World meetings once a week, and like u I don't have money to burn but still can't (don't) stick to the plan. The worst part is it's a very doable, healthy, balanced plan but the fault lies with me.

Interested in responses you get.

First you need to admit it is you doing it and you do have control over it. Something overrides your decision to eat well. Conquering that will change your habits.

I am exactly the same I had two weeks like this which has only just ended. I am glad I kept up the exercise which balanced it out. I just didn't care and didn't think about what I ate and ate when I wasn't hungry.

I can't think of a few things that 'make' me stray:

Laziness - can't cook wont cook attitude
punishment - why bother? I'm fat anyway?
Bad attitude - crap day, crap week
Just plain kidding myself

There are so many tips I could give you for different situations. First I really do think you have figure out why you do what you do. Think about the emotions around binging and try to work on improving your relationship with your own body and yourself. For me martial arts helped me look at my body mechanically and now I think of food in the same way.

Your body is amazing and can do amazing things so equip it to do so. Eat well and eat things you like and be active in any way that makes you happy. Exercises is a necessary medicine, binge eating, low mood and a negative attitude are all linked and your body needs endorphins so get moving.

The only other tip I'd give you for now is don't punish yourself. If you fall off jump back on.

I think it really is about keeping yourself accountable. You are much more capable than what your mind tells you sometimes. So when you say you can't control your eating, you really can, you just don't know how.

I think you should scrap all the junk food you've got in your kitchen/pantry. If you don't have it available, then you won't eat it, right?

I understand that food can be addictive. But you need to realize that this is a psychological addiction and not a physiological one. You don't NEED to be constantly eating, so you need to train yourself to restrain yourself.

Good luck!!!

Hello my name is Stacey and I am a binge eater! I can do great all day but at night when everyone is asleep I stuff myself! I was so gung ho on losing in the beginning but the bingeing has got the best of me! I have to keep some stuff in the house for the kids and my husband so it is very hard! I don't have great advice for you because I am still trying to overcome this but having someone with the same issue to help you thru may help. Friend me if you would like.....I need a cure too. I am a closet overeater!!

I have had it before where I have been curled up in bed crying with a type of pain at the concept of not being able to have junk of some type.
I found this really difficult to break. I forced myself to drink a pint of squash, or have a boiled sweet. Something to give me a bit of sweet but not to much.

The only way I have overcome this is by re evaluating my entire diet. The reason I was craving such instant gratification from crap is because my body was lacking in what it needed and should have gained from a healthy and well balanced diet. Since I have changed my eating habits and am eating more healthily I no longer feel the need for constant junk. I wont say I never crave chocolate or crisps, because I do from time to time - but with nothing like the desire I did before.

You just need that little bit of will power to get you started - and it is in you somewhere - you just need to find it.

Have faith :-)

Maybe figure out why you are doing it. Binge eating is almost always an emotional issue, not a physical one. Are you sad? Lonely? Bored? Tired? Excited? Really try to focus on what you are feeling. It will take a lot of effort but if you feel like you want to binge take a break, go for a ten minute walk, clean a room and try to think: "What am I feeling right now?" If you eat because you are feeling down (very common), you need to address the real issue be it a singular event, seasonal/long term depression, anxiety etc. Binging only makes you feel worse, I know from experience.

There might also be support groups in your area or of course on-line. You could always go see a counselor to help you determine why you do it. It's prob not just your "greed" or "wanting what you want".

I was the same way... until I started tracking every single ounce of food, soda, liquid ect that I put into my mouth! I was in SHOCK! The amount of calories I was consuming on a daily basis was insane-- and for what reason?! I wasn't getting anything from it-- no comfort, no weight loss (clearly), NOTHING! I just felt worse about myself.

You can't STOP doing that until you are truly ready to commit to changing! I wasn't ready for a long time, and that's okay. What's important is that you eventually get to a point of being ready. I now eat all the same things I used to, just in healther ways. I substitute greek yogurt for high-carlorie sour cream. Special K Cracker Chips for potato chips. Skinny Cow bars for Dairy Queen blizzards!

ONLY YOU CAN DO THIS....

Totally agrees! Once I started tracking and looking at food as fuel versus comfort, my perspective changed. And on instance that I would mindless finish up my kids' plate, my trainer made me rethink things. Do 10 push ups for each offense I made. I so Dislike push ups! But needless to say, I can do 10 regular push ups without breaking a sweat for the amount of time it took to sink into my brain why I do what I did. :grumble: Remember your body is not a garbage disposal.

I also can't control myself with certain foods.. The solution I have found that works is.. Don't even get started! I do not eat White Flour or Sugar.. Once I eat anything with those I go into binge mode! Sugar is a drug (seriously, recent studies have proven this), so you need to treat it as such! Stay Away COMPLETELY from Sugar or Flour! Within a day or two you will feel much more in control! It's hard to say no to all the tempting treats, but once you have a few days without you will for sure feel more in control! Good Luck, and feel free to add me for support!

nice, supportive reply :flowerforyou:

Makes sense too

I gained weight for many reasons.

I used to play many sports to a high level, got some very serious injuries (intensive care unit sort of serious) so had to stop, but did not change my eating to my new activity level.
I ate junk food too often.
My portion size was too large.

There are some very personal reasons why my thinking changed that I am not prepared to share with the general public but something clicked in my head and I became truly determined.

I cut out all the takeaways.
I did not buy junk food at the supermarkets, making a shopping list and strictly sticking to it.
I started going down the gym and swimming pool, starting slowly but pushing myself to improve as much as I can.
I researched nutrition and started to understand what my body needs, and checked this with a dietician and doctor.
I have total support from my amazing wife.
Whenever I felt like I wanted to quit I reminded myself of why I am doing this and why I want to be healthy.
I have been very strict with myself (I am the sort of person that cannot be slightly strict, it is all or nothing)
I reviewed where I have gone wrong before on diets and did not repeat the mistakes this time (fads etc)

Yep - I think we all know how we got fat. The only way to get healthy is to change what we were doing and eating.

A couple of tips:

1. You have to want it - REALLY bad! If you don't really want it none of the following will even matter.
2. I have some form of chocolate EVERY day at the end of the day. Sometimes Skinny Cow ice cream or candy - sometimes just a Diet Swiss Miss cocoa (25 calories). So - what I am saying here is that you need to find foods that satisfy you because there is no going back - ever - this is for the rest of your life - skinny people eat this way.
3. Lower your expectations and goals - try losing .5 a week - that way you can eat more.
4. EXERCISE IS A MUST. I do something 7 days - low impact, strength, high impact, whatever - GET IT DONE if you want to eat!
5. Weigh your food and use portion control. A steak that I once ate is now two or three meals with lots of veggies.
6. I am NOT full after dinner. So - my trick is to sip on hot sweet and spicy tea (Good Earth makes caffeine free - 0 calories). Once I finish it - I AM full. The tea - and the diet cocoa - really help me nights.
7. Don't buy the things you should not have - don't bring them into the house. This only works if #1 is followed though - you still have to eat food you enjoy!

Good luck!

Realizing "why" is the biggest obstacle, I think. Awareness is next. You are aware that this binging is hurting you-get an accountability partner that you can call when you have these urges. TELL people you do this so you will be accountable! When you are in an eating mood change what you do like exercise, scrapbook or take a bath and give yourself a miniucre...can;t eat with wet nails and goop on your face.

Try cooking healthy foods creatively...make your meals and snacks interesting with color and hot sauce.

As someone in the field of psychology, I am thinking this IS much bigger than just eat, want, eat, want. And I'm surprised only 1 or 2 people mentioned it, but there are lots of people that feel if you can go get what you want, you can stop getting what you want. I am here to tell you it is not that simple, if that were the case people who were alcoholics, pedophiles, crack addicts, and even exercise addicts, shopping addicts, could just stop it when they realize the liability outweighed the benefits.

This is clearly a situation which you admittedly state you can't control, that is more than enough evidence that you are in a position where you will need help to tackle your goal immediately. The fact that you mention eating disorders previously that were only "stopped" (I doubt that seriously, but that they morphed into something else and have evolved into where you are now) with pregnancy is a huge, flashing, neon light, with sirens that your behavior is possibly the result of deeper unresolved issues. There is nothing wrong with needing to rectify other deeper issues in order to uncover the source of your relationship with food and conquer those in relation to your treatment and feelings about yourself, health, and your body. I would advise you to seek professional help via your employee assistance program or your insurance and go from there. And keep me posted on your progress I would love to know how it goes for you, I had something vaguely similar going on as I've never had weight issues, but developed them as I wanted to protect myself after my mother died, (much more detailed than that and I am willing to share in private) so I can understand that deeper issues drive our habits. I am thinking this may be somewhere for you to start.

I am sincere in my desire to know how you are doing and if you will take the steps necessary to get to the bottom of your feeling that the eating is out of control. Once we understand things we are usually able to conquer them..... It could even be something medical as well, I know people don't like to hear that but there are specific symptoms of illness that result in what you are experiencing. I say start with your PCP (primary care physician) and go from there..... Have a great day.

bump- hoping I can glean some advice too.

Even @ goal, I STILL struggle. Emotional triggers didn't end when I reached maintenance mode.
The mind need reprogrammed.

hi there , I have just joined this site and your post is the first one I have read . I hate to say this but I am absolutely appalled at some of the responses to your cry for help . I have been battling with my weight for as long as I can remember and I recon anyone with a weight problem knows how difficult this can be . From a very early age I was completely addicted to sugar or any sugar based foods and it caused me major problems but I am pleased to say I have not had sweets, chocolate , ice cream , cakes , biscuits or any sugar based foods for 3 years and 5 months thanks to OA ( overeaters anonymous) which taught me all about food addictions and trigger foods ! although I only attended meetings for 1 year and havent been for about 5 years ,this organisation taught me so much . I am still over a stone over healthy BMI and am still struggling with my weight and probably always will but the addiction to sugar is no longer there which makes life one million times easier ! I really hope this helps . all the best xxxx

I have the same problem with eating ,i do it with out knowing