Overeating from stress!

  • So, I am having a stress break down and for the past two weeks I have been binge eating in the evenings. I start the day on my diet fine. Everything goes great and I am not hungry. Weight Watchers has always worked for me because it satifies me.

    The past two weeks though, have been horrible. I come home from school (student teacher), do some laundry or something around the house, leave the house at five to go to the university to work..still, Im sticking to my diet. Eat a granola bar...feel fine. Get home, eat dinner. So I did good, I calculate my points and get ready for bed.....and then about an hour later....BAM!!!! I get out of bed...go to the kitchen...eat whatever I can find.....and then go to sleep. The next morning I feel so guilty after I cry a little I SWEAR to stick to the diet.

    Can anybody help me stop this vicious cycle!!!!!

    Please...before I gain back some of my weight....!!!
  • Hi, I don't have the answers, but I wanted to tell you I do the same exact thing... I do well all day staying OP then...... by 10pm I'm ripping thru the cabinets looking for something/anything to eat... I take sleeping meds at 9pm ish... and i'm eating 'in a fog'... sometimes I don't remember eating... scary..
    But, if there are answers or wisdom on the subject, we will find it here. These forums are great... Good luck
  • I'm so sorry - I so know about the "eating in a fog" thing. My worst times are when I come home from work - home alone, stressful job, limited time window before DH comes home...

    Over the past couple of weeks I've done pretty well -- first, I got rid of all my trigger foods. I can always find something, but I got rid of the "big" ones (crackers, chips, ice cream). I bought some of the Weight Watchers 1-point snack cakes, they are delicious. This past Saturday I got into a big fight with the DH, a sure way to get me to binge...and I went into the kitchen and I grabbed 4 1-point snacks and gobbled them down. I just kept telling myself over & over, "This binge will not relieve my stress. I'll just be stressed out AND full AND guilt-ridden at the end of this." It actually helped.

    And it's the truth. The binges never helped with my stress, or sadness, or anger...even my boredom. So I gave myself some snack cakes, still stayed in my points and just suffered through it.

    It sucked. But I did it. (Barely).

    Anxiety is the absolute worst feeling in the world. Just don't be so hard on yourself or you'll stress even more! Let us know how you do tonight.
  • I wish I had an answer for you! I do the same thing, my binges come from stress or boredom. I gained a lot of weight once I stopped having classes, just because I had more time.

    I am going to try some new strategies, such as writing in a journal or working on a craft project. Maybe that will help my mind move elsewhere?

    Let us know how you are doing on this. I'll offer any support I can!
  • How about writing messages on 3 x 5 cards, or sticky notes. Something like "Please don't binge, I deserve better". How about putting a motivational picture on the fridge? I've purchased some hypnotic weight loss cds from the website soundstrue.com. I haven't used them long enough to know if they are helpful. Worth a try.
  • No answers, but my thoughts are with you. Take care.
  • For me the best thing has been to get rid of all foods I'm tempted to binge on that are calorie-dense. I keep around a lot of low calorie foods that I like, so that even when stress takes over, I can still eat until I'm bloated and not go over my calorie limit that much.
  • I can so relate to your dilemas. I am a stay at home mom. When my baby is napping, I can't leave the house, and sorry, cleaning/housework is not appealing! I get bored and for no reason eat also. It's weird I get these strong binge urges. I almost feel driven by them at times. It's hard to snap out of that to stay on track, or to tell myself something motivational that'll work. I'm trying to get myself back on track and I hope that you are able to too! I didn't offer any advice, but at least you know you're not struggling alone! There's lots of us that are.