How can I stop comfort eating and using food as a treat/reward?

[Namechange3007]

This is my problem.
I enjoy food, I like everything unhealthy and am putting on so much weight. I think for me I need to look at the psychology behind my eating and change it. If that makes sense? Anyone managed to do this? What would help? Every day I have good intentions then my resolve weakens and I think oh I deserve a treat.

I'm going to try the Paul McKenna thing again when I find it because quite frankly I'm fat now

I’m the same, the only thing that worked for me was having a very low calorie lunch at work because I’m so busy at work I don’t think about food. Then I tried a few new evening recipes that were lower in fat or SW recipes eg chili con carne. Come the weekend I had a takeaway and ate some treats, had wine etc. I managed to lose 3 stone like this. For me it was about having a treat to look forward to still whilst stopping the eating that I wasn’t fussed about. I was almost accidentally fasting really hungry having v low calorie lunches in the week. I think everyone is different though so it’s about working out your own balance. I recommend still having some kind of treat though.

Think of other things that would be a treat - a new book, painting your nails, having a bubble bath or using some scented lotion, or a bunch of flowers. And are there healthy foods that you consider a treat? Nice fruit like strawberries, cherries or grapes, for example. Or a nice ice lolly - Sainsbury’s do a lime, pineapple and coconut one that is absolutely gorgeous to eat, and under 100 calories. And it takes longer to eat an ice lolly than a biscuit, so the pleasure lasts longer.

That should say “accidentally fasting really having v low calorie lunches” Not with a random hungry thrown in 😂

Hehe I knew what you meant!
I'm meant to be low carb and sugar free but I just chocolate and sweet stuff. Nothing else feels like a treat!

Slippery is that hypnosis?

For me, eating low carb helps so much. It is the only thing that stops me focusing on food all day. I used to always be thinking about the fridge and what sweet thing could I eat. If I "allowed" myself one biscuit or one ice cream, I would end up keep going back for more. Impossible. Low carb however I just don't crave sweet things or anything really. I use food as fuel rather than comfort.

I keep trying low carb but then end up falling off the wagon. One piece of toast or one potato and I'm back on it all again.

Yes its hypnosis I suspect I need more than hypnosis I think lip surgery where they sew my fucking mouth together would help

I've developed an unhealthy relationship with food during lockdown instead of sharing cake with the kids in hiding it and eating it myself

Fat cow that I am

Agree with PP - low carb really helps with food cravings . I’ve had success with intermittent fasting in the past but found it hard to keep up long term.
Having said that, Lockdown is getting to me - I hid 2 packets of Minstrels in my wardrobe and ate them in secret 😳

5:2? It's good for this - you can have whatever you like... tomorrow. Delayed gratification is pretty great.

I get why low carb is a very good idea, but personally I've never found it sustainable in the long term.

No way can I do 5 2. I've tried it before and nearly passed out with hunger!!

I now see being healthy as treating myself, especially during a pandemic, I feel ridiculous doing anything unhealthy. I do still inhale the odd jaffa cake though!

I changed the way I saw food. I think of food as fuel, I exercise first so I know how much food I NEED, I eat until I stop feeling hungry but stop way short of feeling full. I cut up my favourite snack bars in to 4 pieces so I still have the same snacks each day but the portions are much smaller. I eat fruit, seeds, oats and yoghurt for breakfast but I measure it all out with a smaller spoon. It takes a while to start wanting healthier sugar (like fruit) after cutting out more refined sugar but stick with it.

I've lost 6kg in lockdown so far, 3 more to be back within my 'healthy' weight range.

You’ll have to retrain yourself about what a “treat” is

To suggest some:

• an hour in the bath with the door locked (kids can’t come in, another adult is looking after them
• a cup of freshly brewed coffee and 30 mins on MN
• a fresh fruit salad/bowl of pineapple/straw s
• an ice cold can of Diet Coke with lime and ice
• some crackers and cheese (you still need calories)
• some nuts/dried fruit (high in cals but also nutritionally dense and fills you up and stops cravings for worse stuff)

It all starts in the supermarket really 😇

Thank you. Cant exercise at the moment due to energy which is a shame but those are great tips thank you.

I’m the same. I like the hit of serotonin when I’ve eaten and the feel of food in my mouth. Food is my friend. It comforts me through good times and bad. It’s a very hard habit to break.

I'm traditionally a terrible overeater ie 3 wispas or flakes in a row followed by half a packet of biscuits and lots more. However like a PP above I've found low carb amazing for making me eat like a 'normal' person. I've been doing a LCHF 'diet' for 8 days and I feel like me again! I have quite a bit to lose ie not just a stone so I'm really focusing on having lots and lots of low carb vegetables and salads for health reasons and I'm not restricting cheese and nuts etc purposefully BUT my appetite has changed so much that I've naturally stopped snacking. Genuinely can't believe it.

I hear what you're saying above about having tried low carb to no avail. I've been there loads of times so I really understand. A while ago I lost a lot of weight on LCHF and I felt great but once I started back on eating carbs I was lost again. But the fleeting pleasure of eating what I want for the last couple of years is not as high as feeling in control, which I do this week.

So my tips to get into it are:

• look up LCHF or keto to get some tips on what to have (if you haven't already)
• don't weigh yourself
• ease yourself into it by eating, say, a LCHF/keto breakfast only for a couple of days, then do a LCHF breakfast and lunch for a couple of days (on the first four days really try not to snack until you reach the non keto meals). By the fifth day try to do a full LCHF day, your body will have been adjusting so it will be much easier than you think
• don't try to restrict kcals and remember that you can eat cream (and a small amount of berries), 85%/90% dark chocolate (takes some getting used to but it really helps curb the choc craving in those first days), salted almonds etc etc
• order some sugar free caramel syrup online, it's great when you need a sweet hit, either with some ricotta or mascapone or even cream.

I started off Sunday before last feeling like I needed to eat ALL the time and even trying not to snack on carbs till lunch seemed impossible. I was mainlining cheese, smoked almonds and extra thick cream to get me through. But by day 4 I suddenly wasn't thinking about food that much at all and by day 6 and I felt so free of food obsessing that I started 16:8 intermittent fasting. I can honestly say not only that I found this OK but I haven't eaten anything between (my two daily) meals for the last couple of days. And I've been eating modest meals too.

I'm not going to pretend it's all a breeze because right now I'm thinking that I would love strawberries and cream but it would push me out of my 8 hour eating window and the difference is that I feel like I can do without it, which I wouldnt have thought I could do even just this time next week.

After a few days of eating truly low carb it seems to simply switch my food obsession off in the way that perhaps a drug would.

But the low carb thing does require some key rules, including keep those carbs really really low and if you're hungry fill up with protein and fats and leafy greens until your brain has switched over to that different way of thinking.

Sorry for long post, I just feel so much better that I wanted to share! I will weigh myself soon but the first thing I needed to do before weighing was to get my food cravings under control.

Due to injury not energy!

Thank you both. Lime avocado that sounds great and really inspiring. I just love pasta and potatoes, and bread and puddings and chocolate!! All the nice stuff!

Sorry that should say 'I wouldn't have thought I could do just this time last week, not next week'

Was just trying to emphasise that it was really quick in terms of feeling in control

OP me too! I totally get it and even though I've lost weight doing this a while ago, I'd forgotten how powerful it is when your body/brain switches over. I'm definitely not thinking about pasta and chocolate which I know sounds unbelievable to have that changed so quickly but it did for me and I don't think I'm alone!

Thank you thank you thank you. Xxx
I will really do my best to give it another shot.

Low carb - high fat has completely killed off my sugar and junk food cravings, something that I'd battled for years. If I really want something sweet now, a couple of pieces of super dark chocolate (90%) are enough. (Whereas in the past I'd have eaten the whole bad and then gone hunting fur biscuits! )

I’ve just given my neighbour a bag full of pasta, ready to bake loaves and biscuits today after clearing out my cupboards so I can start low carb. It’s the only way I can lose weight too. I was doing really well on it a couple of years ago, but my brother got cancer and was in a hospice pretty quickly after diagnosis and I didn’t really care about my diet then so fell off the Lchf diet plan. I need to lose 4 stone, none of my clothes fit, and a couple of size 16 dresses I bought cling to me (they are meant to be loose summer dresses 😢)

I’ve joined Diet Doctor plus www.dietdoctor.com/

You can get loads of info for free, and you can have a month of the premium content free too and cancel if you don’t want to continue the premium site. I’ve also downloaded lots of Low carb and Keto podcasts. I’ve also started following Davinia Taylor on Instagram (although her diet and fitness program is a bit hardcore) but she has some good advice, and has done an amazing transformation with Keto diet.

The beauty of low carb is that you don’t have to exercise to lose the weight, but I’ll hopefully regain some of my lost energy and want to exercise a bit more to shape up as I go along.

This is going to sound vain, but I can be really pretty when I'm properly slim. I'm not Hollywood actress beautiful or anything, but I have a bit of an unusual look which works best when I'm slim. However when I put weight on, this works against me and I look like a bloke, both facially and my figure. I'm getting to the stage where wrinkles and grey hairs won't be much longer in making their appearance. I'm done having children and now thinking of retraining, and I want to look my best.

Low carb works for me too, but it's expensive and quire difficult when you're feeding a family on a limited budget. Little jars of cashew butter and all that. So that's my treat to myself - the posh nut mixes and low carb stuff that's easy to reach for.