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!!

I do this. I could make a sandwich or open a tin of soup. Or I could have a bowl of peanuts and a glass of wine. I don't have a sweet tooth but crisps or nuts every time. I literally could not be arsed some nights to cut a piece off a block of cheese, I would rather eat nothing than make any effort at all.
Having said that I ate a cauliflower for dinner tonight, so not all nights are dreadful, even if it was a bit random.

Yup. When I was a teacher I found it impossible to find the time to a) cook in the evenings and b) even get to the supermarket for a.salad. I lived out of vending machines because that was seriously all I had time for. Madness. I'm so glad I got out of teaching!

Maybe I should have expanded further. Setting a 2000 calorie version works for me as I don’t beat myself up and head for the chocolate aisle as soon as I go over my target.

Also you don’t know how active I am, and how happy I am for this half a stone to take a year if it means I quit my binge and bust cycle.

Just sharing something that is working for me, as many other have on this thread.

I’m just the same! So was my best friend’s grandad who lived until he was 102. He said the preservatives in his bad food choices kept him young and preserved! I have to say though, when I do make an effort and eat well, I do feel better for it.

find a hard cheese you like.
Then cheese and apple, cheese and crackers, cheese and celery, cheese on it's own, you can wrap it in clingflim and stick it in your pocket.
Cheese is filling and not messy doesn't get stuck in teeth.

I often just eat a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar for lunch. My go to food is Always chocolate.

I have always been slim however as I approach 40 I find the weight is going on now so I really need to do something about it.

Oh, vitamins - I forgot them. I really notice that when I take my vitamin D (most people could benefit from taking vitD in this dark and dismal country, apparently) The sugar cravings are better. If I’m not stressed as well, they more or less go.

Poor sleep makes you crave sugar, too. Ugh. No wonder Mums are prone to putting weight!

You must physically feel so shit on this diet OP?

what is your mood like? Your energy levels?

your skin and hair?

presumably rather constipated?!

I get really sugar addicted if I’m not careful- especially when I’m stressed or overloaded with work/family.

I have to cut certain habitual things (biscuits) completely for a couple of weeks and the cravings subside.

I also have to be strict with myself about eating healthily when I’m tired and stressed- routine and some guidelines i make myself stick to help a lot as I don’t have to think about it so much when I’m overwhelmed- I have the boundaries.

I was much the same when I worked long days in the NHS. I'd leave home at 7am to have time for a 30 minute walk before starting work (because then at least nobody could take my exercise away from me), get home too exhausted to cook and eat a dinner after 8pm, and had so much work to do that my only option for food was to eat things I could hold in one hand while the other hand was on a keyboard. The only cooking equipment was a kettle. I managed the situation somewhat by deciding in advance what I was going to eat at approximately what time and making some of my "treat" snacks count nutritionally by bulk-buying a variety of the more palatable protein/sports nutrition bars. They're still confectionery, but at least I could get my RDA of protein, fibre and micronutrients. I described it as "eating like an astronaut". Occasionally I'd have a reason to go out during the day and might manage to pop into a supermarket and get a meal deal.

It sounds as if not getting proper meal breaks is an issue for quite a few of us despite legislation, and quite a few more are so stressed and tired that we're self-medicating with sugary or fatty snacks. I don't think anyone who has posted should be hard on herself for this.

Well done for recognising it, OP. Yours obviously rushed off your feet.

You really do need to eat proper meals though, and fit in lots of fruit and veg - else you could end up with all sorts of health issues, and you’ll feel exhausted from lack of proper nutrition.

Try whole meal toast for breakfast- if you’re in a rush grab it as you leave and eat it en route, take a banana in your handbag. Or a pot of porridge from a cafe. Easy to make porridge at home, but needs five minutes to cool.

For lunch buy a pot of soup from the canteen or another whole meal sandwich, or make yourself a sandwich and pack an apple and a yoghurt in a lunch box while you make your morning toast - or make it the night before and keep it in the fridge.

Dinner (easy, minimal cooking)- baked potato, salad and ham and new potatoes, poached fish (literally just drop a salmon fillet in to a pan of cold water, bring up slowly to a simmer then remove after five minutes simmering, serve with salad or broccoli and boiled potatoes), pasta and a jar of sauce with cheese on top, or make a tray bake by shoving a pack of chicken thighs in the oven with some new potatoes- let it bake while you have a shower etc.

I don't think it's helpful to normalise it. It sounds like an eating disorder. I don't want to be upsetting but you are setting your children up for a lifetime of eating disorders if this is what they see their responsible adult eating. What do you feed them? Why don't you eat the food you serve them? You must be cooking to provide them with food.

Yanbu at all. I totally get it. I'm very underweight at the moment because I barely eat but I just can't face it. Me and my partner work opposite each other both doing minimum 12hr shifts, mine in care homes. I never get a break to eat at work (even though they take the hour off our pay) so by the time I finish I either don't feel hungry or feel sick. It's horrible.

I tried to take a break (for the first time in weeks) and have an apple but a relative who barely visits demanded a tray of tea and biscuits and threatened complaints if I didn't do it now.

Wow. I'm actually really shocked by this thread. I'm sorry the people eating like this seem to be so overworked but it sounds like a ticking time bomb to me.

There are so many things you could eat that are quick and simple to make but also nutritious, like a sandwich on decent bread - even peanut butter on toast is better than what's been described.

Me and DH both worked in demanding jobs until our DCs were mid-teens and nutritious
food was like a drug to me then (still is). I would have just crashed without it.

Thank you for all your responses.
I am a consultant in paediatric oncology so it is an extremely demanding job emotionally. I love it though. I think it makes it harder to feel like you can take a minute for yourself as the family you care for are in so much need.
also to clarify, my general health is ok.. could do with more proper expertise and I may need to start multivitamins again but when I actually can sit at home with family I eat what everyone else does.. so it’s not like it’s an everyday thing, it’s more like a few days a week when I’m not held ‘accountable’ by husband/children that I’ll just go to town with sugar. Today could be one of those days so I’ve listen to your responses and had a coffee, whole meal toast and butter and a banana for breakfast. Not craving any pastry/snack yet which is amazing!!

Not much time to eat mindfully

You don't need to 'eat mindfully', you just need to take healthier snacks/lunch to work. It takes a little bit of thinking ahead, but it's not as if you need to make anything fancy.

I do get where you're coming from with the sugar rollercoaster feeling though. You need to break that cycle. Once you cut down on sugar you will feel better and it will get easier to resist. Even if you are a healthy weight, these habits will have other health implications.

It’s not an eating disorder.

Its just an outworking of stress and an overly busy schedule

let’s not pathologise anything and everything

No, never done this. I don't like chocolate and don't have a sweet tooth so that helps.

If you don't have it in the house, you can't eat it. Can't you prepare a meal in the slow cooker the night before? Or have a huge bowl of salad in the fridge made up and then just grill some chicken or something to go with it. Keep healthy snacks at work like nuts/fruit.

You don't have to have such an unhealthy diet. Just a bit of organisation and prepping will make a world of difference

Prepare your lunch the day before

This was lockdown 2 me. Very unhappy.

I used to do this alot, in my twenties. Honestly I think it was pure laziness. I think I didn't put weight on, because I didn't eat any real food. I was slim but felt miserable and spotty. I realised I had to change my eating habits when the first child arrived. We eat healthy meals (most of the time).

Op
Really sensitive question and feel free to ignore

the link between diet and cancer is pretty compelling from what I have read. Given you are at the front line of cancer care, is this not a motivating factor for yourself?

What are is tiredness level like?

Not great….

Really not surprising and hopefully big motivating factor to making some changes