How can I better control my eating habits?

[SpaghettiSister]

I am a relatively healthy/fit person - I would say that I eat pretty well for the majority of the time in terms of my diet content.

However, I can't seem to control myself around food. Some examples of what I mean...

• I always finish a meal, either at home or in a restaurant. I will eat it all even if full. Happy to finish friends portions as well.

• I cannot batch cook because I simply cannot leave the 'extra' food alone. I will pick at the meals set aside until there is not much left.

• Right now I have some food in the fridge marinating to be cooked later and I have picked at it so much that there is barely anything left worth cooking.

• If I have snacks in the house, I will think about them continuously until they're gone (usually super quickly). If I don't buy them though, I don't miss them.

I can do all of the above regardless of whether or not I am actually hungry.

I should say (so as not to dripfeed) that I have struggled with weightgain/loss in the past, but for the past 5 years I have maintained healthy weight etc without dieting. Just trying to illustrate that I am not a yo-yo dieter or not in the habit of denying myself food or treats in anyway.

I would love some advice as to what I can do to combat this. I hate not being able to have a fridge full of food, or that my friends sometimes make jokes about not wanting to share food with me as I eat too much of theirs!

Anyone had similar and conquered it?

SpaghettiSister i too have some of those traits around food, especially treat foods such as cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. I dont finish of other peoples meals though - thats just greedy! but I do hate waste and its rare that I dont finish a meal - after all, I've paid for it so I will eat it, even if I'm full.!!!!!

With sweet stuff, I conquer that (when I'm bothered to!) my saying "I'm choosing to eat this in the full knowledge that I dont want it and it will make me feel rubbish" 9 times out of 10 I put it back

I think its just about self control - you need to find what works for you (such as not buying the treats in the first place) and stick with it. Maybe just buy two days worth of food and practice restraint, and leading up to a whole weeks worth in there!

Tell me about it! Watching with interest!

I'm exactly like this. It's like food is constantly on my mind. The only times I've managed to make any progress towards not being obsessed about it is when I've gone low carb and given up bread. it seems to turn off a switch in my head that makes me focus on eating all the time. I am constantly struggling to go low carb again after xmas. I know when I do it I feel better - it's just hard putting it into practise.

I struggle with something similar- I read about this book in The Times so have ordered it in the hope it might help...not holding my breath though www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Eat-Intuitive-Eating-Help-ebook/dp/B07FMC1RLL/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=laura+thomas&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1546968311&sr=8-1

@MindBodyChocolate

To get back on low carb have you tried not watching how much you eat for the first few days and just sticking to low carb food?

@Blondie1984 The book looks interesting - would be keen to hear if it helps.

It's like a compulsive thing, feel like I literally cannot stop myself when it kicks in.

The weird thing is, if I'm busy or hard at work, then sometimes I don't think about food at all and can easily skip meals ... so it's not as though the desire to eat this way is there constantly.

Seems to really be if the food is in front of me or nearby and I don't have anything to really distract me or take me away from it.

@MindBodyChocolate interesting point regarding bread... any idea what the link there might be?

The constant eating, snacking (grazing I call it) is a classic symptom of insulin resistance, and furthermore it exacerbates it. There are lots of ways to reset and improve your insulin response, they require some effort - such as intermittent fasting, 16:8 fasting, and reducing the carbs you eat (even if you don't eat much sugar) but they do work.

This book is new and very informative
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780723628/ref=ascdff_178072362857927489/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=1780723628&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310762441626&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=987637730920342599&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045568&hvtargid=aud-543776533562:pla-599139159537&th=1&psc=1

I am pretty sure that insulin resistance as mentioned above has a lot to do with my carb ‘addiction’. I managed it last time by reading and rereading Michael mosleys Blood Sugar Diet and scaring myself shitless about getting diabetes. Time for another scare I think!!