Eating even though I'm full, can't stop

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Replies

  • nelsonma
    nelsonma Posts: 5 Member
    i make myself eat a little every two hours..something light.. and keep telling myself that i am not hungry and i am not going to eat that..i walk away ad try to do something to keep my mind off food.. trust me you are not by yourself.. i have been trying to loose 10lbs and it has been hard..
  • TMarieB30
    TMarieB30 Posts: 24
    This is wonderful advice!!
  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
    I do eat out of boredom and depression. At home, I'm good. I have my foods and I eat them. My problem is, I'm a part time nanny for a family that has very yummy junk food. I eat stuff I would never ever buy for myself.

    I also agree with the water tips, because if I get myself water, I will sip at it and stay satisfied. I know I should portion out food too.

    I commented on another thread about the comedian Louis C.K., who said, "the meal isn't over when I'm full, the meal is over when I hate myself." I don't want to eat like that anymore
  • tajmel
    tajmel Posts: 401 Member
    I've struggled with binging most of my adult life. It's the reason I'm fat. I can't tell you how to stop, because I don't completely understand how or why I was able to stop. Just know that the longer you go without a binge, the easier it gets. Your stomach shrinks, your mind adjusts, and overeating becomes uncomfortable again (as it should be).

    I do know that when I binge it's a form of self-medicating. I do it in times of stress or depression. This is probably the case for you too if you tend to crave simple carbs (sugar affects serotonin levels). If this is the case, you need to work on your depression and coping mechanisms in order to end the binging cycle. Exercise is a great one, as are reading, meditation, and yoga. If you're not getting much sun, go outside.

    If it's just boredom, get out and do something. For some people just keeping busy fixes it. You can keep your mouth busy with gum or low calorie snacks like carrots. And if you are genuinely hungry - some people lie to themselves about this or don't properly feel hunger - you should eat more. There's no need to feel hungry. In people with poor hunger signals it will sometimes manifest as fatigue and moodiness.

    Feeling full helps too, so eat lots of high-volume foods, get plenty of protein, and hydrate often.
  • sharfisher
    sharfisher Posts: 48 Member
    I seem to have been born without out an "enough" sensor too! I have to remind myself that those chips, those brownies, that jar of peanut butter will NOT make me feel better; they will eventually make me feel worse. I just think about what I'm craving and mentally call it "Liar!". When you scratch the itch it just gets itchier so I try to save myself from that future pain.

    However, I also believe it's important to name exactly what you are craving and fill it with something similar but as healthily as possible -- aka harm reduction. If I try to fill it with something too idealisticly healthy, I end up eating about 10 different things trying to make the craving go away and eat more than if I'd just had the thing I wanted!
    ie.Chips==> have savory rice cakes instead, or pour a portion-controlled bowl of chips (nothing worse than getting up from the couch with an empty family size bag of whatever)
    sweets ==> have something like sugar free jello with fat free coolwhip; or dates; or portioned controlled version of whatever

    This is TMI for some but my cravings have a lot of ties to childhood issues so whatever I do I do it very lovingly and gently with myself. Even if I screw up.
  • Your body gets use to eating like a pig. I was doing that and gained 40lbs. You crave bad foods because that is what you have been eating. You have to make a decision to really get determined. It takes a lot of will power and not giving up no matter what. I have to say that the beginning of losing weight is the hardest part because you have to mentally be ready to change your life style.

    Think about how bad it is to be overweight health wise and how happy you would be if you lose the weight. It took me a good five months to really want to lose the weight before I started. I pretty much gave up on how I look and thought o well Im getting older. I did not get motivated until I saw a picture of my on my daughters bday and family member were pointing it out how much I had gained.

    I got tired of having to buy new jeans that were a bigger size and having a stack all my old jeans in my closet that did not fit anymore. I got tired of getting pains in my back and struggling to get out of a darn seat. I saw how some of my friends kept up with themselves and were still healthy and fit I got tired of my career taking over my life and my health. I want to have a healthy long life.

    Hang in there . Dont give up and log everything you eat so you know how much you are over eating. Start with baby steps like more veggies or fruit or not eating after a certain time. Start walking for 15-20 min around your neighborhood. Get informed with what weight lose plan would work for you. Get support from friends or family. It is either lose weigh and take control of your health or gain it and feel horrible. I think taking control is the better choice.

    Sorry if I seem a little blunt but I'm just having flash backs of how hard it was to start my weight loss journey and it took a lot of encouragement to get me started. Now that i see the difference in my body I feel 100% better. I still have a lot more to go but I am going to win this battle with food.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    When food is used for entertainment, not fuel, it's a problem. You need to reset your brain - read fitness magazines, eat healthfully. Mindfully. It's a process.
  • tajmel
    tajmel Posts: 401 Member
    - to not limit myself on what I can and cannot eat but have things in moderation and stay within the overall caloric and nutrition goal. I was on a really strict low carb diet, and the urge to binge always hits after I eat a little bit of the "forbidden" foods (at that time I binge more than once a week)

    This is a good point too. No food should be off limits. Moderation is key. I eat 90% whole healthy foods, but I also have ice cream nearly daily and if I want an oreo, or a slice of pizza, or whatever, I just fit it into my caloric and nutritional goals. I never feel deprived.
  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
    Brenda, I gave up on jeans. Everything I have has an elastic waist now. I want to get back into real pants. I want to be healthy, and, yeah, thin. I'm sick of where I am now
  • When food is used for entertainment, not fuel, it's a problem. You need to reset your brain - read fitness magazines, eat healthfully. Mindfully. It's a process.

    This is good advice. Sometimes we think of food as entertainment and not it is meant to be which is keep us healthy and alive. Start retraining you brain. After a while you will be so conscience about eating bad food you will not even want it. Not only that but you can those fatty food ever once in a while just in small quantities so you do not have to say good bye forever.
  • mlouise143
    mlouise143 Posts: 30 Member
    When I really want to over do it with something (ice cream, pizza, it could be ANYTHING), I put it in to MFP and see how many calories I will be taking in. Like, realistically, do I want to use 700 calories on pizza? Sometimes I do. And I plan for it and don't feel guilty because I made it work. I won't ever eat something and say "I'll work it off after". The workout needs to come prior to the food. I find that when I'm logging completely honestly I decide that the candy isn't worth giving up a satisfying dinner later.
  • You are still very young you can take control of your health right now. As you get older it gets a little harder. You can do it!

    Stay on this website. There is a lot of information on different health plans for everyone. I tried weight watchers a while back but I could not stick to it. There are people who have lost a lot of weight on that plan.

    The only weight lose plan that works for me is low carb. I started off eating 100g of carbs and 100g of protein a day. Everyone is different though so find out what works for you.
  • tocara
    tocara Posts: 84 Member
    1: Get rid of the bingy foods. Simply don't buy chips - or anything that if eaten in large quantities will give you a huge calorie dump. If you simply must put things in your mouth, try keeping a bag of baby carrots around - they are nice and crunchy but are very low calorie.

    2: Give yourself a constant reminder to stop and think - break the compulsion cycle by shorting out that mental pathway. One way might be to wear something significant as a bracelet that will make you stop and think when you see it. Or perhaps clipping negative images to anything in your house that you are trying to avoid, provided that you haven't followed 1).

    3: Substitute something else for food to satisfy your "addictive personality". Like pushups! Every time you find your self reaching for the back of chips (again, see #1), stop and do 10 pushups first. This will either get you in shape faster by burning more calories (provided that you don't just keep overeating to compensate), or it will create a negative association about chips in your mind, making you less likely to reach for them.

    4: Stop and think. Be deliberate about everything you do.

    I like #2. I like #3 too, but for me I do not want to think of exercise as a "punishment"... it should be enjoyable
  • tocara
    tocara Posts: 84 Member
    When I really want to over do it with something (ice cream, pizza, it could be ANYTHING), I put it in to MFP and see how many calories I will be taking in. Like, realistically, do I want to use 700 calories on pizza? Sometimes I do. And I plan for it and don't feel guilty because I made it work. I won't ever eat something and say "I'll work it off after". The workout needs to come prior to the food. I find that when I'm logging completely honestly I decide that the candy isn't worth giving up a satisfying dinner later.

    i like the mentality you have !
  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
    When I really want to over do it with something (ice cream, pizza, it could be ANYTHING), I put it in to MFP and see how many calories I will be taking in. Like, realistically, do I want to use 700 calories on pizza? Sometimes I do. And I plan for it and don't feel guilty because I made it work. I won't ever eat something and say "I'll work it off after". The workout needs to come prior to the food. I find that when I'm logging completely honestly I decide that the candy isn't worth giving up a satisfying dinner later.

    i like the mentality you have !

    I like that too. I like to think of my claories as mine to spend. I can spend how I want, but I only get a certain number, so some things aren't worth it.
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    Try not to be hard on yourself because there isn't anyone that doesn't pig-out once in awhile. Instead of focusing on what you feel you do wrong in a day, look at what you do right honey. If I over-eat I just eat better next meal. One thing that REALLY helps me is not to buy certain foods. Like potato chips, I would eat the whole bag, seriously. But if I don't have it in my home then I am way more likely to eat the good stuff I've bought then go all the way to the store for chips or chocolate:wink:

    When I get hungry or a craving?? I try to drink some water first thing. This has helped me immensely!

    denise:flowerforyou:
    The title says it all. I just ate chips and fruit snacks, even though I was feeling full before I started and I know that food did nothing good for my body. Other bingers/overeaters, how did you get to the point where you could stop?
  • nikkiprickett
    nikkiprickett Posts: 412 Member
    this is all mental, if you really didn't want to eat, you wouldn't. Exercise instead of eating, drink water or SNACK HEALTHY if you do snack a lot....throw away all the junk in your house (this does not mean eat) so you don't have the option, that way if you are eating without being hungry, you're eating something other than junk. And actually think about it before you do it, don't just eat without thinking about it first!
  • Healthydiner65
    Healthydiner65 Posts: 1,579 Member
    I am the biggest night time snacker ever. I gave up trying to avoid it and began exercising more and now I use my exercise calories at night. Works for me!
  • VogtAndrea
    VogtAndrea Posts: 236
    There are psychological tricks that help sometimes. Sometimes there's very little that works. I know that I've tried drinking water every time I get a craving; sometimes that helps.
    One rather interesting trick that was used by a friend was to sprinkle their craving with something that tasted TERRIBLE but wasn't poisonous and now every time they go to put what they crave in their mouth, the memory of that taste made them pause long enough to keep from it. It worked for a while then stopped.
  • maikastar
    maikastar Posts: 78
    It all depends on the craving.

    For me, crunchy/savoury cravings can be appeased by lite tzatziki with celery.
    Sweet/icecreamy cravings can be taken care of with frozen grapes and/or frozen strawberry pieces.

    If I don't have calories left, iced water with fresh mint and lemon slices taste good, or boiling water in winter help.

    If all else fails, I brush my teeth, because nothing tastes good with just brushed teeth.