for eating 5 bags of crisps and a big bag of haribos every day?

[NCJunkBinge]

I'm worried what this is doing to my health

I'm eating at least 150g (1 large bag/5 small packets) of crisps every day.
Then a big bag of haribos (200g) (not quite every day but) 4 or 5 times a week.
Then there's the chocolate biscuits, other sweets etc.

Apart from all this, my diet is very healthy - I eat loads of veg and wholesome food, small amount of alcohol. I'm on the lower end of a healthy bmi so my weight isn't an issue. But I'm worried about the long term implications of eating like this. I know it's not normal! But it's got to the point where I can't help myself anymore .

AIBU eating like this? Does it matter as long as you're not overweight?

Fakebook that really scares me.

Of course you can stop.

Ask yourself why you feel you need to treat yourself so much.

Would you treat your kids that often? If not, why not?

Would you treat yourself to 5 pairs of new shoes every single day even if you could afford to, or would you see that as self indulgent?

150g crisps = 750 kCal
200g Haribos = 700 kCal

750+700 = 1450 kCal from "treats" per day

You must be putting on weight. If you are not, I would check for intestinal parasites.

Lordy! Why can some people not accept that not everyone who binges on crisps and sweets are fat?

There doesn't have to be a medical reason for it.

However, I'll bet that once the OP does give them up she'll lose some weight.

Ok, so it's pure emotional eating. That's useful in that you can identify your triggers, but harder in that it's difficult to just stop because you can't just remove food altogether from your life.

What happens if you just don't buy this food so that it's not available in the evening? Do you eat something else or actually get up and leave the house to ensure that you have these particular 'treats' available?

Find alternative foods. Can you look at using low GI Xylitol and making your own healthy low blood sugar levels cakes?

Keep a food diary - what you eat and what you are feeling just before.

If you can go without for 3 weeks, you will break the back of your cravings.

I sympathise, I eat crap at times too and it makes little difference to my weight, although it doesn't make me feel all that great. I am never sick and lead a fairly demanding life. My mother, who was an extremely healthy eater, died of a heart attack while my grandmother, who lived on custard creams and soup, was as physically healthy as you could hope to be - I know it's illogical but this does colour my outlook! now our ofsted visit is over i WILL start eating meals again instead of grabbing the biscuit tin. It helps me to substitute other stuff, like fruit or gin salad, to graze on if i need to.

It's emotional eating OP but you are already painfully aware of that.

The problem is if you don't emotionally eat you have zero understanding of someone who does, so unfortunately you will get a lot of very unhelpful comments.

Emotional eating is a very difficult thing to stop, very difficult, but you CAN do it. One day at a time.

Have you tried using My Fitness Pal? I don't mean use it as a diet tool but use it to record everything you eat. I think the shock factor of seeing the calories and nutritional value of your diet could really help spur you on to change it.

Please don't be embarrassed to speak to your doctor if you are worried about your immediate health though.

Most importantly though, don't beat yourself up. That way binges lie! Be really proud of yourself for facing up to it and having the strength to do something about it.

Can you swap?

Go for sugar free sweets. Eat reduced salt crisps?

Then at least you are doing less damage.

I mean, does it HAVE to be haribo and normal crisps? Have you tried substituting?

Then you can work on reducing those things or replacing some of them with other snacks.

A handful of nuts
sugar free mints
sugar snap peas (lovely things!)
etc etc

Poor OP, I can relate as I was a bit like this when I was on maternity leave (I gained all my baby weight after giving birth )

I think you need to address the underlying drivers of the emotional eating. How many kids do you have, how old are they? Do you see things getting easier soon (i.e. one of them starting nursery?) Do they sleep badly? Is there any way to rejigger things so you have some spare money for outside help? Is your DH supportive enough?

If you are really struggling and need something to feel better, then junk food is not great but not the worst thing in the world either (better than wine or cigs for example). Can you substitute something slightly healthier that would still make you happy? Or a different activity, like a long bath listening to your favourite music? Or a new hobby?

I also recommend Paul McKenna's book for losing weight, as even though you are not overweight, it has a lot of great stuff for emotional eating. It's basically a bad mental habit you have and there are lots of tricks for getting rid of it.

I have a similar problem. What has helped me in the past is saying "only sweet treats I've baked myself" (and only baking with one egg at a time). Doesn't work if I buy cooking chocolate but generally means I only have 2-3 batches a week instead of packets upon packets of biscuits.

And second the healthy snack suggestion. Nuts are less "empty" than crisps, and I pour out a portion so I don't feel cheated and keep scoffing more.

Do you eat enough during the day?
If you dont gain wt from this maybe not? It might be a way to break the cycle.

I have been there with this kind of eating. And struggle now to avoid it.

I used to eat several mars bars, biscuits etc as much as I could cram in.

It was emotional eating no sure but it was better when I ate more carbs during the day. Those days I'd barely eaten the drive to eat crap was massive despite a decent meal at 7ish.

Can't really judge your diet because I am addicted to crisps myself and also wouldn't turn down a few Haribo if offered.

One thing I would like to say is that eating too much sugar does not cause diabetes. If you already have diabetes it's obviously good to cut out the sugar, but your Haribo habit will not make it happen.

You're not thirsty are you? It's quite normal to be thirsty but crave food instead. How about try drinking some fluids if you get a crisp craving? If that doesn't help, could you try "baking" your own crisps? Try cutting thin slices of potato, a

Apple or beetroot, lightly spray/paint on with some oil and a sauce like maple syrup on the apples or sweet chilli sauce on the potatoes and bake until crispy. They are really nice and I'd assume healthier.

I am like this too, but I don't have any reason apart from habit!! My problem is say if I think my crunchy nut cornflakes breakfast is 160 calories, but club biscuit + 2 custard creams is 160ish I'll have them instead! I also don't put on weight but this is down to me being very active (horses) and also going to the gym a lot.

Actual meals I eat are fine, but I just can't stop on sweet things! Had malteaster and cream egg already today. Can't be trusted in shops at all. I could do with a tummy bug to break me out of the habit. In the past I've cut sugar out, but for the past 18 months am just rubbish.

Stupid as this may sound, it's never occurred to me that it's emotional eating. It's just something I do - as a coping mechanism? It's a comfort. It's helpful to now have a label for it.

Substituting these foods for healthier alternatives isn't going to work as I actively seek out this kind of comfort. If its not this - if for eg I decide to be good that day - then I drink too much alcohol instead. If nothing is in the house then I will go out and get it. If I don't do that then I feel deprived

I'm beginning to realise that I actually need to get to the route of why I do this, before I can learn to stop. It's no good addressing everything that's stressing me right now, as there's always something that's going to crop up at some point that will lead me to seek out thus form of comfort.

What does everyone else do after a tiring, stressful, hard day? Do normal people feel the need to reward themselves like this? Or do you all just have your dinner then go to bed?

I can't get my head round why I feel the need to do this. I don't know where to go from here.

MrsHoarder that's a really good suggestion and actually something I've been considering doing for a while but obviously prefers to take the path of least resistance

It would be worth seeing your GP, at least to get your physical health checked out if you can face it. I don't know if you could get counselling for this on the nhs but it's worth looking into? Another alternative is self help books for binge eating. Some may be focused on bulimia, but may still be quite useful. This one gets some good reviews.

It sounds like emotional eating. But I also wonder whether your regular food is tasty enough. What I mean is, can you cook portions of curry or spicy food, use soy sauce, herbs etc to make the food yummy and therefore stop or at least reduce the crisps and sweets?

As for hiding in the room and stuffing your face, could you tell your dh so he knows and can help you? So for example he could plan something every night or so. Or you could go to book club one evening, Zumba another evening etc. just so that even if you do eat this crap you are doing it after an activity where you feel good about yourself?

You're already right track because you're recognising what you do and you realise it's harmful. You've stopped justifying it to yourself. That's a huge step.

If it really does seem like too much to try and tackle it yourself then ask for some help. There's absolutely no shame in that whatsoever. If you had a broken arm you'd go, this is no different.

This seems quite a good site here but also do make that doctor's appointment, there really is more help and understanding out there than you realise.

I sometimes get into voracious eating out of habit and needing a 'reward'. Then suddenly I sort of flick a switch and start rewarding myself with feelings of virtue. Feeling good that I am looking after myself, being healthy. And it works: the calories drop (I am never fat) and my energy and mood rise. It's a virtuous circle rather than a vicious circle. It takes about a day for it to feel natural. Flick that switch.

And no need at all to be too embarrassed to talk to your G P if it would reassure you.

But please ditch all those crisps. The real danger is some carcinogenic effect of frying at high temps. For the salt just make sure you drink loads of plain water.

For those who think sugar does you no harm try watching these:

Horrifying film here on the dangers of fructose. Called 'Sugar: The bitter truth', it's full of absolutely shocking facts:

This led me to another series of short films 'The Skinny on Obesity' by the same team from UCLA:

Your body is craving something, and it isn't getting it which is why the cravings continue. Try improving the rest of your diet, or saying that every time you eat a bag of crisps you need to eat a kiwi fruit (or something healthy). On one of the diet programs (my big fat diet show I think) they had a girl who was addicted to crisps. She definitely wasn't fat. Try finding it on youtube, there was some advice given by a specialist as to how to get over it.

Found it

Crisp adict and suggested cure.

Hmmm I can relate to this. I eat like this and usually would think nothing of eating three choc bars a day, a family sized bag of crisps and meals and snacks.... Take outs are common and up to two litres a day of diet coke! I have done this for about twenty years and have oddly good teeth!

Anyway have stopped, all of it. Tactics were to go cold turkey on the coke, to meal plan and cook great meals. Curry and chapati last night, huge fish pie tonight, lasagne tomorrow, all served with lots of veg. Have porridge for breakfast with sugar, still drink hot chocolate and eat puddings and biscuits I make...oat cookies, flap jacks, fruit crumbles, wholemeal banana pancakes with a smear of nutella. Home made stuff is nicer and you can keep upping the wholemeal flour and easing off on the sugar. This food is for all of us too so it's less likely to be scoffed in one go in secret. We buy no crisps or biscuits etc ( or would still eat it in one go).

I still eat the sugar off a spoon sometimes and do the same with nutella so only buy small jars and hope for the best! I don't think I am an emotional eater, being upset is one of the few things that takes my appetite away. I am just greedy, I have no self control and I love crisps and stuff.

Anyway hot choc is now a treat, oat cookies are a treat and am less in need as so well filled from dinner. I am always within my bmi though top end, am now losing a few pounds a week which is the plan:) am inspired by rearing diets, omg I never knew people never ate butter, bread, had no carbs. Am happy with what I model the children and don't feel worried when I think about arteries.