Hoarding

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zukkiz
zukkiz Posts: 362 Member
I can't seem to stop hoarding my calories. I have an actual total of 2600 (300 added for BF), I still try to have a lot left over at the end of the night. So then "just in case" I can eat more. This mindset is just baffling me.

This morning my breakfast consisted of 700 calories, so I put in my BF calories so it's only 400. I have 1900 left for the day, and I am already a little antsy about that. I don't know what my problem is. Ugh, yes I do, it's my OCD rearing it's ugly head!!! I hate it! I am not over indulging at night, I don't know what rainy day I am saving them all for either.

Sorry for this random rambly (not a word) post..

My goal is to set up my meals to make sure I space them out correctly.

Any advice would be welcomed, even if they are just words of encouragement.

Replies

  • Mistymath
    Mistymath Posts: 146 Member
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    I tend to be the same way, but I find that (loosely) planning my day out in advance helps me a lot. Just seeing on paper how the calories are distributed throughout the day makes me more apt to try to even them out, if that makes sense.
  • jyska
    jyska Posts: 728 Member
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    it's a left over habit from VLCD'ing. it took me 9 weeks to learn to stop doing that! LOL. It does get better...especially if you find (like I did) that you just couldn't eat that much at night.

    Best way to retrain your thinking is to plan your day ahead (including your evening snack) as much as possible. Allow yourself to be flexible of course, but try to stick to it as much as possible. It'll take some time to trust that what you planned is good, but after a while and much practice you'll notice you get better at not hoarding.

    Small caveat though...plan to 'hoard' if you know you are going to need them for some special event in the evening where the calories will be high per item :tongue:
  • bsinno
    bsinno Posts: 358 Member
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    agree to the plan ahead thing. after breakfast i take sometime at work to log what ill be having for lunch and what ill probably make for dinner. ive been doing it for a few days and its be great resource so far.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    agree to the plan ahead thing. after breakfast i take sometime at work to log what ill be having for lunch and what ill probably make for dinner. ive been doing it for a few days and its be great resource so far.

    This is what I do...I roughly log EVERYTHING I know I will eat in a day, or at least up until before dinner, to see where I am at calorie wise. That way If I am coming in WAY short, I can eat something, drink a protein shake ect during the day, as not not "hoard" calories :)
  • Leigh14
    Leigh14 Posts: 871 Member
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    I agree with the above poster! Definitely plan your meals. Make your OCD work to your advantage ... I sure have! I plan my meals sometimes over a week in advance. I plan to stick to it, I know what I'm going to have throughout the day and when, so my stress level is lowered.

    Good luck!! :flowerforyou:
  • zukkiz
    zukkiz Posts: 362 Member
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    You have all been so helpful!! Thank you so much!

    What I like about this process, is I never stop learning. Each time I learn something new I just put in my arsenal and go find out something else I need to know.
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
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    I think it's just a habit to get out of from eating low calories. One thing I try to do is target eating a certain amount of calories by a certain time so that I don't have a bunch left over. Basically turn it around to be a positive: Instead of saying 'I am saving this many calories for later', say 'I am eating this many calories by this time so I can meet my goal'.

    For me I know that dinner + evening snack is 600-900 calories on average. I aim to eat 1600 calories before dinner so that I know I can make my calorie goal and not feel like I have to stuff my face in the evening.
  • MichelleRenee13
    MichelleRenee13 Posts: 363 Member
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    I can't seem to stop hoarding my calories. I have an actual total of 2600 (300 added for BF), I still try to have a lot left over at the end of the night. So then "just in case" I can eat more. This mindset is just baffling me.

    This morning my breakfast consisted of 700 calories, so I put in my BF calories so it's only 400. I have 1900 left for the day, and I am already a little antsy about that. I don't know what my problem is. Ugh, yes I do, it's my OCD rearing it's ugly head!!! I hate it! I am not over indulging at night, I don't know what rainy day I am saving them all for either.

    Sorry for this random rambly (not a word) post..

    My goal is to set up my meals to make sure I space them out correctly.

    Any advice would be welcomed, even if they are just words of encouragement.

    I am OCD and my mother is also OCD. I suggested MFP to my mom and she tends to hoard calories as well. She doesn't know how to break the cycle. What happens to her is, that it gets to late and she can't eat all the calories she has saved and doesn't make it to BMR. She doesn't buy not eating below BMR, but I digress. She would also like to change how she spreads out her calories. She states that she get extremely anxious when she starts eating calories during the day.

    I do eat the majority of my calories at night and would like to change as well, but I haven't found out what will work for me yet. I eat at least 1100 calories of my 1800 between 7pm and 11pm.

    I will let you know how it goes as I try to make changes and try to see if my mum will as well. She won't friend me on MFP so I can't see what she is doing! lol yet I understand.

    Maybe we can help each other find a solution!
  • zukkiz
    zukkiz Posts: 362 Member
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    I can't seem to stop hoarding my calories. I have an actual total of 2600 (300 added for BF), I still try to have a lot left over at the end of the night. So then "just in case" I can eat more. This mindset is just baffling me.

    This morning my breakfast consisted of 700 calories, so I put in my BF calories so it's only 400. I have 1900 left for the day, and I am already a little antsy about that. I don't know what my problem is. Ugh, yes I do, it's my OCD rearing it's ugly head!!! I hate it! I am not over indulging at night, I don't know what rainy day I am saving them all for either.

    Sorry for this random rambly (not a word) post..

    My goal is to set up my meals to make sure I space them out correctly.

    Any advice would be welcomed, even if they are just words of encouragement.

    I am OCD and my mother is also OCD. I suggested MFP to my mom and she tends to hoard calories as well. She doesn't know how to break the cycle. What happens to her is, that it gets to late and she can't eat all the calories she has saved and doesn't make it to BMR. She doesn't buy not eating below BMR, but I digress. She would also like to change how she spreads out her calories. She states that she get extremely anxious when she starts eating calories during the day.

    I do eat the majority of my calories at night and would like to change as well, but I haven't found out what will work for me yet. I eat at least 1100 calories of my 1800 between 7pm and 11pm.

    I will let you know how it goes as I try to make changes and try to see if my mum will as well. She won't friend me on MFP so I can't see what she is doing! lol yet I understand.

    Maybe we can help each other find a solution!

    That would be great.

    So far today, I have planned it all out. It looks pretty good. I will try and keep it up. Like planning my day the night before hand.
  • tlhorsley
    tlhorsley Posts: 141 Member
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    I agree with what everyone else said -plan it. I do that every morning and have found that it helps me. It helps me make sure I am eating enough calories and hitting my macros. I have also found that sitting down and planning in the morning helps me from stressing out throughout the day on what and when I am going to eat.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    I absolutely do this! I like knowing that *if* I want another snack I can have it. If it's nighttime and I'm watching t.v., I HAVE to know that a snack is an option. I don't finish my day until the Ambien kicks in. :laugh:
  • jwilds1010
    jwilds1010 Posts: 33 Member
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    agree to the plan ahead thing. after breakfast i take sometime at work to log what ill be having for lunch and what ill probably make for dinner. ive been doing it for a few days and its be great resource so far.


    This is what i do as well, works out great!!!
  • seobstar
    seobstar Posts: 169
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    oh my goodness! see, this is why I love this group!! haha...now I know I'm not alone! I seriously thought I was insane! I do this all the time and I absolutely believe it's a leftover messed up habit from VLCD days! How sad!! I think when I was doing LC I tried so hard to save calories for the evening b/c I knew I'd be freaking starving and for some reason it's harder to say "no" at night! I still catch myself doing it...but like one of the other posters said I actually spread my 2500 into 3 chunks of "time" throughout the day. I tell myself I must eat 800 by lunchtime, then I must have 1600 before dinner....that way I have 900 left for dinner and my evening snack. Otherwise I somewhow convince myself to save about 1500 for dinner "just in case"....craziness! =) There are sometimes when I do hoard though....like if I'm going out, have a party to attend, date night, etc. Then, I definitely save up so I can indulge without actually going over! =)
  • swingkid1975
    swingkid1975 Posts: 105 Member
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    I pre-track the next day every night. I also find that it helps with unexpected things like cake at work or someone saying "The vending machine gave me this instead of what I wanted. Do you want this bag of xyz?"

    That way if we have unexpected cake at work I know I have a decision to make...do I have the cake and not eat the ice cream I already have logged for after dinner or do I skip cake and stick with the ice cream.

    I find it also helps me put a "value" on unexpected food throughout the day. I'm not willing to give up ice cream for a bag of chips, but if you offer me cake or cookies I might very well take it and skip my after dinner snack.
  • zukkiz
    zukkiz Posts: 362 Member
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    I planned my day today, and did rather well. It was such a relief. I have already started on tomorrow's log.

    Once again thank you, thank you, thank you for the suggestions and the great support!

    :flowerforyou:
  • mrsred79
    mrsred79 Posts: 79
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    Oh man...I had this habit for a long time too. I think my problem stemmed from when I never ever ate breakfast. I would wait til lunch, have a fairly normal sized lunch and dinner, and by then my metabolism would finally wake up and I'd snack my brains out until bedtime.

    Then some stuff happened and I HAD to eat breakfast every morning. For a while, I would eat breakfast and then wouldn't have lunch until 2 or 3 and I'd end up so hungry I'd snack thru dinner. When I started MFP, I found myself hoarding calories because I felt like I had to leave room for the evening binges.

    I've finally gotten myself on a good "schedule" and it really helps. Some days it's still hard. Just keep on keeping on, girl! You'll conquer this just like you've conquered so many other things!