Fighting the addiction to eat
 

So this isn't really a post looking for answers. It's just sharing...hoping someone can relate... And I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to eat so I thought I'd come on here and post!

This isn't my first time feeling like this, but lately everytime I have something to eat I want to continue eating, and eating, and just eat till I can't eat anymore.
It's really unhealthy... I went over my calorie limit yesterday but I'm not horribly upset. I don't know... I think lately deep down I'm feeling unfulfilled and sad (it's a long story) so I'm trying to use food to feel better (subconsciously) because I know it won't help me but the old me is telling me it will!

Having a hard time resisting food.... And it's mostly only when I do eat something it triggers me wanting more. But if I haven't eaten in a while I have no desire to binge.

Anyone else wanna share their experiences that are similar?

I used to feel that way a lot, couldn't stop once I started. But then I stopped mindless eating all together. If I was going to eat something it would be mindfully, slowly, deliberately and without distraction. It's surprising how much less I eat when I eat consciously. Mindful eating puts you in the present moment and gives you much more enjoyment out of the food you're eating.

I noticed all the time I was thinking about food food food, and then as soon as I had the food in front of me I'd switch my mind off, stare at the tv and shovel it in without thinking about it at all. After a little practice now I do the opposite. My mind is not focused on finding food and when I do eat it I direct all my attention to the act and pleasure of eating and feel much more full and satisfied and free to go on about thinking about more important things after I've eaten.

df, :hug:. Food won't fill an emotional hole. You have had fabulous success with weight loss already, so I'm not saying anything you don't know. The sad/unfulfilled feeling and food are two separate things.

First, wannabeskinny has some good tips for when you do have to eat. Be mindful (the thinking part, not the emotional part).

Second, "unfulfilled" seems to imply that there is something you want to do or be. I have a button on the wall over my desk that says "Action is the antidote for despair". If you know what it is you want to work toward, taking a tiny step toward it can make a big difference. Sometimes when I'm in that stationary rut and unwilling/unable to move, I picture Dr. Phil bellowing, "So how's that workin' for ya?" :lol: It's not terribly supportive, per se, but it does boil it down to the very simple fact that the only person that can change things is YOU.

I can so relate.

My main issue is precisely this. I eat and eat and eat even when i'm not hungry. The act of eating - the flavour - is so pleasurable that i ignore the fact that i'm not hungry or am already uncomfortably full.

3FC has been really helpful in figuring out how to manage it - but i'm so not there yet.

I can so relate! That bingey feeling of wanting to eat more more more came in after being in maintenance mode. I read a book called Brain over Binge that helped. Dieting can make the urge to overeat really strong. Once we start to eat more, survival instincts, sensing the end of the diet "famine," urge us to store up.

Using food for emotional comfort is something I also do. Without necessarily giving up the food, I will first stop and see if I can notice what feeling is driving the urge to eat. It's really interesting to learn what's going on in my head, and if I merely eat, I miss that opportunity.

No matter what or how much I eat, I don't berate myself about it. Sure it's something I'd rather avoid, but self-recrimination just causes more distress and doesn't actually help me to get back on track. Over time, the urge to overeat has become less compelling. If I do use food for emotional comfort, I aim for something filling that won't leave me feeling sluggish.

have SO been there and am still fighting it some days!! When I got on the scale and saw the largest number I've ever seen was the day I vowed to stop any mindless eating. Sometimes I would eat so much I thought I could puke and the way I felt was just awful not to mention exhausted. I think that's why it hasn't been too difficult for me to stop because I feel completely energized and alive with the way I've altered my eating habits =) I can't say that I will never over eat again but I can say it won't be daily or weekly even and that is good enough for me!!

This is one of the tools i used to lose my 100 lbs. Stop-eat slowly-savor!

That's amazing! I'm so glad to see proof that it works, not that I need proof but some people do. It's always interesting how little food it takes to satisfy if that food is thoroughly enjoyed rather than swallowed whole. Digestion starts in the mouth and overeaters seldom give their food a thorough chew.

That's been a little horrifying actually. Once I start listening to my hunger I realised that I'm easily full if I eat a third of my normal daily intake. A third! The rest is just excess.

Now to convert that realisation into actual behaviour change...... I know i can do it, even if takes me a while to get it right.

It's a skill, and it can be honed. I have gotten much much better at it, I still have times that I over eat or eat for reasons other than hunger. But it's getting less and less and it's becoming much easier to nagivate my hunger and fullness. That's why I like using this method, being on a diet means you're either doing it right or dong it wrong. Instead, this is a skill that you continue to hone until it becomes second nature.

This is all very interesting and I have been working on it, too. There are so many reasons I soothe myself with food.

A big one for me is feeling overwhelmed with a very long list of things to do and I just eat for distraction. I'm a detailed, organized person and I like to get things done and tend to focus on them and ignore things like exercise or healthy eating until I do. It helps a lot to write the list down and decide what is really bothering me and it is usually a couple things. If I figure out how to divide and conquer and get those going the others are far less important and I can do them later. I'm retired now and honestly all this stuff can wait as the expression goes. I meter myself out a couple hours and call it a day. It is important to then get in at least a nice long walk, I am much calmer.

For boredom I need to get out of the house and run an errand. When I feel like that, walking or exercise isn't appealing.

There are other emotional issues that require other strategies like talking to a friend or figuring out which really is just pointless worry and you might as well forget about in a worry sense since you can't impact it. But these are less common for me these days thank goodness.

i know you don't want answers but i can't think why not.

So i'm sorry you are feeling low. I certainly have been a comfort eater or a depression eater too. and when i am depressed my need to eat a lot and continuously is definiltey a symptom of my depression.

I have since found out that there is a clear link to appetite and mood. Its the seratonin link. Low seratonin makes us want to eat and eat and eat. That's one of the things that causes overeating. I think though that of all the possible explanations, when it comes to depression, or low mood, seratonin is the answer. Although it has also been pointed out to me recently (in a book by Dr Amanda Sainsbury- Salis) that significant weight loss can trigger low mood and that trigger is caused by leptin, a hormone.

This article is called Seratonin: the connection between food and mood and i found it very helpful.
http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/...food-and-mood/