Why is stopping so hard?
 

I find that once I start eating, stopping is harder than not eating in the first place. Why is this??? It seems like being full should make me say "Okay, I've had some, I'm satisfied", but it's really a trigger to eat MORE.

Don't get me wrong, I could never starve myself, but sometimes I push off meals until I must eat because I'm afraid once I start I can't stop. I've also tried not letting myself get too hungry, but the result is the same: start eating, don't want to stop!!!

On a positive note, I unwrapped a candy bar and threw it out instead of scarfing it because I had a big breakfast already.

Same here. Wish I had a solution. Last night we went to the home of some friends for an evening of conversation and board games. The woman is a fabulous cook and served my favourite kinds of nibbles: little Brie cups with hot pepper jelly, homemade spanakopita, goat cheese with marinated olives, homemade lemon squares, etc. I kept telling myself this is the LAST item I'm putting on my plate, but didn't follow through on my intentions. As you say, eating begets eating. Gotta do better next month!

F.

I don't have an answer to this one either. Once I start eating, I continue wanting to eat until I fall asleep (and will happily put off sleep to eat more, lol). Maybe some people are just hard wired that way? Or maybe having food in your stomach gets your digestive system moving, so to speak.

I am triggered most by eating at home in the evening.

Eating at a restaurant, or at a friend's house or even in my car I can always seem to stop myself but at home? Nope. Last night I had a perfectly respectable spaghetti dinner with two pieces of garlic bread. It was filling and maybe a little calorie dense, but I was really full when I finished. Then, about 20 minutes after having eaten, I started to get that familiar urge. I tried to employ some of the things I've been learning in BOB but I just couldn't seem to let the urge pass and I ended up eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup and another plate of spaghetti. Not really a 'binge' but definitely way more food than I needed or really wanted.

I am getting ready to move out though and I've decided to set a goal for a no-binge January and also, no binges in my new apartment. NONE. Even if I have to go out and sit in my car to binge. I want to try hard to set new, healthy habits in my new home.

Because while we're eating it makes us happy!? (That was both a declarative and questioning sentence.) Most of the food I eat when I'm binging is high carb, releases a load of endorphins, and gives me a physiological feeling of being happy. Of course, after I'm done, the psychological impact hits, I feel like a failure for not being able to control myself, wonder why I didn't stop after 4 bites, etc. I read some place that after 4 bites of a food you don't actually gain any more satisfaction from it. Based on that theory, if I wanted potato chips, if I ate 4 of them and then stopped, I'd get the same satisfaction as when eating the entire bag. Unfortunately, I'll probably never know because stopping at 4 potato chips......well, that's a pipe dream.

In terms of stopping when I'm at a party or a restaurant or someplace where I am in control of the amount I eat, but the menu is decided by others......I always have good intentions, but the fact of the matter is that I love food. It tastes good. And no matter what I do to broccoli, it will never taste as good as chocolate cake. Now I just need to learn to deal with the ramifications of too much cake and not enough broccoli and learn how to reverse the pattern.

I add a ton of spices to broccoli and just found a sugar free chocolate bar at Trader Joe's that is actually delicious! (Simply Lite low carb) oddly the almond kind is harder for me to stop munching, but even with 5 squares last night I met my calorie, carb and sugar goals!

Yeah, I can't buy potato chips but I can resist them at parties if I don't start eating them. Sometimes I ask my friends to eat things that look super rich or fatty and then have them tell me it wasn't as good as it looked (it rarely is). If they can't manage the lie because it's truly delicious then I may try a little, but then I deputize someone to keep me away.

I have many strategies, just have to use them! lol

I know right!

Last night, I totally went crazy. I felt that urge and was like, I'll fill it with healthy foods. So I ate string cheeses and cashews. Well way too many cashews later, I was then hungry for some chocolate. 2 chocolates later I was craving a piece of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake that my dad brought home for me. So of course I ate it. Honestly, I don't even regret it to be honest. Which is a huge step for me! Usually when I "start" my diet, ill stay on for a few weeks and then since I have been restricting so much I go crazy and binge for days. I feel like I've kind of changed my mindset to "this is a Lifestyle, I'm going to mess up." But I have to pick myself up and get back on track! That is something I have NEVER been able to do. I am quite proud of myself today because in my head I am like "dang! That cheesecake and stuff was good last night!" But I don't regret it in the least, I loved and enjoyed it. And today I'm right back to no sugar no gluten, and I'm feeling great. I think with this mindset it will be easier for me to actually follow through and lose this weight because realistically, you're going to have to treat yourself once in a while.

I have a solution :)
 

I have a solution that works for me: drinking water.

I joined 3FC in Nov 2012 when I had a major problem with binge eating. My first task was to figure out why I was bingeing and to become aware of the reasons I eat (and binge). I discovered a lot about myself that dictated my eating, like my stress level, my coping mechanisms, and my eating habits at work and in my home.

As I got my eating habits in check, one of the things I did was drank more water throughout the day. I had heard it in one of my health podcasts that people typically drink coffee or soda throughout the day which can lead to overeating because we try to get our hydration through food (paraphrased). So, I started drinking water after my first 2-3 cups of coffee.

Once I put more water into my body, I noticed that I didn't want to eat past my planned meals and snacks. Instead of craving more food, I craved a glass of water. It sounds weird to crave water, doesn't it?

So, my solution is simple. Water Water Water!

Hope this helps :)

Ditto, ditto and ditto.

F.

It could be what you're eating.

I've discovered that I am full and find it difficult to eat a large portion at lunch or dinner if breakfast is high fiber, low fat, and includes protein. If everything you eat is real food (no processed anything) you'll be so full! It works! For years I was eating rice crispies or a smoothie for breakfast and I was starving an hour later and starving all day, switching to natural oatmeal with a hardboiled egg and an apple helped.

Avoid processed foods! They're addictive and make you sick.