To say I can't stop eating? Or am I not trying hard enough?

[Namechanged36]

I am overweight, probably at least 3 stone. I'm not hugely active (I currently have a prolapsed disc but I have never been an athlete!).

I've never been slim but at 48 it is definitely starting to affect my health.

Over Christmas (oddly - for various reasons) I had a smaller appetite and cut my food intake drastically. I could feel and see the difference and people commented that I had lost weight. It felt good and I wanted to carry on.

But I've fallen off the wagon. That's what it feels like. If I start eating I feel as if I can't stop.
At the weekend I think I ate more carbs (mainly bread) than I had in the entire time since Christmas.
Today I've eaten some healthy food & some rubbish.
In the last 10 minutes I've sat here and eaten 2 Belvita bars they were giving away at the station. I didn't enjoy them but couldn't stop at 1.

What's wrong with me? Are other people like this?
I try not to have stuff in the house but sometimes when I'm walking home in the evening I don't have the energy to stop myself going to the shop and buying a packet of biscuits and once I've done that I know I will eat the lot.

I feel the low carb / high fat regime would really work for me - if only I could stick to it.
I feel depressed and hopeless (& fat & bloated).

Exercise....start gently, work towards 25 mins, 5 days a week. You don't need a gym, if you have stairs, shops to walk to, room to swing a kettle bell, do some press ups and crunches. All life is habit, good or bad, make room for the exercise habit!
Diet....start slowly, by cutting your portions just a little. Exchange white bread for smaller sliced wholemeal. Swap sugary drinks for flavoured water. Eat one less potato with your Sunday lunch, make the gravy thinner. Eat half the amount of chips with your meal. Have butter only on the weekends. Lots of other things you can think of.
I guarantee you, if you follow this (honestly) for a month you will lose weight....try it!

I agree with Wdigin. Do it slowly, tiny steps will add up and you will be successful.

If you do the “I’m on a diet tomorrow, not eat X, Y, Z and I’ve got to walk for an hour” its not sustainable.

Choose a few little things to change and stick to them. You will see such a difference and that will encourage you to keep going.

@PerfectlyDone and @onemoremummy - the beauty of NoS is in its simplicity. Also you only have to survive until the weekend. Then you can have whatever you like. It works gradually over time, at first it is quite common to go crazy on S days but eventually you do start to plan in treats which you really enjoy and look forward to. I always thought I had some massive issue with food where I was addicted and had absolutely no willpower, but NoS has taught me that is not true.
I do still have my demons and some days where I still just want to eat and eat, but the mantra is 'mark it and move on'. It doesn't matter if you mess up, you just try again!
There's a great supportive discussion forum too.

Carbs are notoriously addictive - think of it as kicking a habit!!

It's really hard to begin with but once you've nailed it your body usually stops craving them.

I think most dieting is actually quite disordered eating, not sustainable, often not healthy and usually even if there is an initial impact leads to greater weight gain in the long run. Many people swing between diets and binges throughout their lives. If you eat for comfort and emotional reasons then you need to address the underlying causes, any diet will just be a sticking plaster.

Something that might help is a version of prepping. In the morning make your breakfast, a couple of snacks and your lunch. When you are hungry eat only the food you prepared earlier. Use something like a bento box so that you have a selection of small healthy and nice food so that you feel like you are having a treat without needing to reach for sweet snacks. Poor portion control is at the heart of lots of overeating (this is why dietitians recommend changing to a smaller plate)

I only seem able to lose weight, whatever strategy I’m going with, if I’m recording what I’m eating. I use an app called Cronometer which is good for tracking calories, macros and micronutrients, and syncs nicely with my Fitbit app so everything is in one place (steps, exercise, heart rate, sleep, weight/BMI/body fat%, water intake - all synced automatically from Fitbit tracker and smart scales). It makes me accountable to myself. I can eat a whole packet of oreos if I like. I just have to log it, and generally, I don’t want to!

So, I don’t think it’s the particular diet you choose that makes the most difference, it’s finding whatever way works for you to keep yourself accountable

Come and join us on our lovely blood sugar diet thread. In my dieting experience, nothing cuts through carb craving, emotional eating and bingeing than cutting out carbs. It seems to calm that urgency to eat (and then regret it). I have always been a big eater and had a very sweet tooth, but low carb/high fat dieting has literally changed my life.

Blood sugar diet thread 9 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/3143559-blood-sugar-diet-thread-9

God I had the same Belvita experience last week. Only one packet thankfully but I got it on the station and ate it on the train. Wasn't hungry, didn't like it, persevered and scoffed the lot. Rotten.

I binge eat when I am sad or stressed. When my life is going well I don't do it. If you can find ways to fulfil yourself and become more content that aren't related to food then this will help. I have a time consuming hobby that I enjoy for example which helps. In the meanwhile, on days when I am not binging I have a protein shake for breakfast and eat low carb. Having cereal or toast makes me binge later on, a protein shake starts the day as I mean to go on and takes my binging cravings away. It is an ongoing battle but you can conquer it. I am not very overweight (anymore, I have been) and no one really knows my struggles with this, so it can be done. Good luck.

It’s very common and is partly genetic programming designed when food was much scarcer but also in large part psychological. A diet which includes CBT classes will help you understand your behaviour, triggers and how to intervene to control your eating. I did lighterlife about 5 years ago, lost 5.5 stone and went to a size 10 (admittedly I had always been very sporty which helped keep it off).

Worth investigating but it does involve being fairly emotionally mature about you own personal triggers and thought processes around food. I found it very refreshing and reassuring to understand what was going on.

You may be better to try to work out WHY you ate 2 packs of biscuits you didn’t enjoy.

You can do all the diets you want but you will stand a far better chance of maintaining a healthy weight if you can establish a positive relationship with food.

Well done for recognising what the issue is.

It'a all in the mind, stock your cupboards up with food you don't really fancy, suddenly you will stop snacking. Let yourself have one treat day though

I have this problem. I find writing down what I eat is essential to my own accountability. I have to write it down BEFORE I eat it. I use SparkPeople on-line but myfitnesspal would work just as well.
I find that just seeing on paper that 6 biscuits are 1000kcal often puts me off - not always! I also recognise the times I NEED to snack (evening) and save some calories for then. I drink a hot chocolate and eat something like an individually wrapped penguin bar. The penguins live in the kitchen cupboard so to get a second I actually have to get off the sofa to get it...
Finally if I feel hungry I normally make myself drink a glass of cold water and wait 10 mins or go do something else. It means the house is suddenly a lot tidier, I can't sit still (or I eat) and the extra fluid means I am well hydrated!