Eating sweets and no actual meals on some days??

[crispytowel]

Really embarrassed but I think I need some help with this one... I have a busy job in the NHS and two DC so I have a lot to juggle in one day. Not much time to eat mindfully and if I'm not organised enough to think ahead about lunch I often end up eating cookies and chocolate bars - and coffee. It's a slippery slope as the more I eat sugar the more I crave it. In the eve if DH is late I might skip dinner and eat more choc or ice cream... am I the only one? Is it complete madness?? How do I stop this? I am a healthy weight so that's not the issue but it makes me feel so ashamed and immature!!

Sorry to say but by taking the time to plan and pre cook- a slow cooker? Batch cooking? Salad prep- got to put the time in somewhere.

Bless you op, it speaks volumes about the amount of stress you must be under. I have days like that yes

Could you maybe buy something like a pack of cup-a-soups, mugshots or microwave rice bags to keep in your drawer at work so you have a very quick option on super busy days when you haven't prepped your lunch?
I'm NHS too so I completely understand how there is no such thing as a lunch break!

I understand completely. I do the same myself, hard rut to get out of. Looking forward to the replies on this one.

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When I'm pushed for time and on my own I have a Complan which is powder you mix with water. I add more water than they suggest.

I'm like this!

I'm also a healthy weight, size 10, so no issues there. Very often I just want chocolate and icecream and I'd rather eat that over a "normal" meal 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'm exactly the same.

I do it ALL THE TIME.
im Ashamed

What do you feed the kids? I assume it's healthy. Eat what they eat

Yes!!! Like earlier I could have chosen a banana, instead I had a bag of choc buttons🙄
i don’t want it to sound as if I’m enjoying it, it actually makes me feel quite miserable

I know a LOT of people who do this. I go through stages like it and it's a hard cycle to break

It's understandable you don't have the psychic energy to plan/prepare food for yourself. You are also reaching for "treat" foods. That too is wholly understandable,particularly at work when it might be the only thing readily available. Exercise willpower for a maximum of 3 minutes when you're doing the weekly shop on getting stuff that is healthier and as little trouble to prepare. I'm a fan of oatcakes for workplace lunch. A box costs £1 - £1.50 and the oatcakes are packaged in handbag friendly packs of 6. Mini Babybel cheeses are handbag friendly too. At night look for healthier microwaveable items that you actually like and will feel are a bit of a treat.

I’m the same! Today I’ve eaten a packet of crisps, a bag of choc and a hot choc.. not one good thing for me!

Any chance you could do some hearty soups with veg, bacon, beans etc in frozen into portions.

It's a shag but it defrosts by the time you need to heat it. (Or so rumor has it). Mine is always still a frozen block.

It is really hard to break this habit, do not blame yourself - treat it as a medical/psychological problem and find a way to treat it.

Can you buy in things that are not as bad - so some good bread to have toast, some tinned fruit, some oats/cereal?

it is easy to do.

get a stock of muesli bars in - they have lots of sugar but at least have some other goodness.

and have a mental list of some 'very easy but healthy teas' for the evenings. scrambled egg & veg (spinach or peas) is one of my favourites.

Even toast + cheese is a better dinner than a packet of chocolate buttons.

Do you actually like other food, if someone else put other food in front of you would you want to eat it?

A couple of suggestions:
Microwave a baking potato for five mins and then shove it in the oven to crisp up while you heat up some baked beans and broccoli, or similar, and/or with cheese. Or (my special) microwave a pouch of rice and stir in jarred veg - pesto sauce and olives, peppers, artichokes. Microwave some butter beans and stir in. This makes two meals. Can add cold tuna straight from the can too.
Lunch: carrot and celery or sliced peppers, dipped in hummus, cottage cheese or guacamole.

it is easy to do clearly not, or the OP would already be doing it

I can relate to this, I’m living on such random crap at the moment, as going through a tough time and living on adrenalin and sugar!
I too have a job that is demanding and OH works away on and off. I feed DD really well (even if it’s rapidly thrown together pasta dishes served with salad), but by the time I’ve got organised of an evening, I often can’t be arsed to feed myself (and don’t fancy what DD is having). Tonight I had some cheese and crackers and a bag of space invaders

I start with the best of intentions, but I get bored quickly/my organisation slips. I ate a few raspberries yesterday and was ashamed that it was the first fruit I’d eaten in days 😢

I could've written this myself. You're not immature at all but I'd say you (as well as I) have got used to the convenience and ease of sweets/chocs/crisps etc

Try to plan ahead, make a food plan and shop for it, batch cook during your time off etc and just try, see how you feel x

I’m so glad you started this thread. I’m like this too. I can easily go a day or so without eating any fruit or veg and I often find I snack on chocolate/sweets or sometimes crisps in lieu of meals. I know it’s unhealthy and I buy fruit etc but find myself always reaching for the sugar.

I've found if it's a day where I've started on the sugar then I continue to want it that day. However, I can break that cycle if just after I've had some sugar I eat a high protein snack or a balanced meal. That resets me to wanting a range of foods.

I also do realistic choices. So ready meals aren't the best option for my health or budget but they are much better for both then biscuits, sweets and ice-cream.

This is literally my life right now. I have young children. I stand and cook nice meals for my family and wont feel like eating it myself. I'll then sit and eat an entire (family sized) chocolate bar to myself and then raid the cupboards for more sweet treats. Im really struggling to get out of this awful rut and bad diet. In my mind i go i'll eat really unhealthy today as a final unhealthy day and then starting from tomorrow i'll eat clean, no chocolate etc and then it happens the next day and so on!