Compulsive Eaters...

[littlemissnobody]

How do you stop? Or keep it under control?

I'm struggling

Hiya,
I've not had experience of this but would really reommened counselling through your GP if it is having a real effect on your life. It really does help with getting to the root cause of compulsions. Sorry I can't write more now, crying baby!
Good luck
x

Thanks Kaballie

I do have counselling but am going through a really bad patch and have found it hard to have any control. Am sure it'll pass, I was just wondering how other people deal with it on a daily basis.

i struggle atm. I find it helps to have enough to drink and regular healthy meals and snacks.

TotalChaos, I have been trying really hard this week with drinking 2L of water. And it does help. But I really have to force myself to. The problem is, I have no idea how to eat normally. So I swing from bingeing to eating nothing. It is driving me crazy.

Hi littlemissnobody

I am guessing by your MN name that you have self esteem ishooo's? (forgive me if i'm wrong) low self esteem and compulsive eating are often related. When you feel like eating why don't you create a diversion for yourself, go out for a walk, at the same time getting some exercise paint your nails, put on some good music and have a dance, anything! As long it's a diversion.

Another tip is, for one week write down everything you want to eat but don't eat it. At the end of each day look at your list and look at all the foods you would have eaten but didn't, look at all the calories. At the end of each day give yourself a huge pat on the back for not giving into your compulsion to eat. At the end of the week, treat yoursefl to something nice, a new outfit, a nice haircut, whatever floats your boat.

Why don't you try menu planning. Every night make a plan of what you will eat the next day, a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks of fruit in between. Maybe having some order and control would help you? xx

I have to keep myself occupied if I'm having a tricky patch and avoid all the places/activities that I might ordinarily be able to resist. e.g. being in the car on my own for a longish spell was always one of my "secret eating" spots, on good days now I'll be able to handle that and not succumb but if I'm having a hard time of it and don't think I'll be that controlled then I just don't go out in the car on my own.

Plus i'll fill my free time up with activities involving other people so that I take my mind off eating.

I joined slimming world on the advice of my counsellor- not to lose weight but to re-learn what a healthy balanced diet actually is. (Stuck to the diet where you are trying to maintain weight rather than lose it) This worked pretty well.

Good luck, don't think it ever fully goes away and still certainly have my bad patches (normally if I'm feeling out of control about something else in my life) but you will be able to control it rather than it controlling you, iykwim xx

If you want to eat healthily, I think you just have to jump in the deep end. I did. It worked.

I got a book about the Low GI diet - it is the diet that sorts your insulin levels out and means that you eat the right amount of the right kinds of food at the right time of day. You get NO cravings (after about 4 days detox whilst your body gets used to it).

Seriously - I was a size 24/26. In 6 weeks I'd got down to a size 20/22. Now I'm a 18/20 (16 weeks from the start).

Counselling will help get to the root but if you want to change - shock yourself in to it.

ps - I never used to stop eating... now, I have 3 meals a day and a snack in the evening sometimes... sorting your insulin will help because the cravings are mostly the insulin crashes that make you feel like poo - so then you need more food (usually sugary) to feel good again; usually brought on by something emotional.

I still struggle, but it is easier to control now I know what to eat and when.

You have to give up all thoughts of dieting and try really hard to accept the shape you are right now. In the future it will change, but for now, you need to focus on eating regular meals. Sit at a table, use cutlery, do not eat on the run. Be aware of what you are eating and listen to the signals your body is sending you. If you are genuinely hungry (as opposed to mouth hunger) eat some more. If you've had enough you do not need to finish everything on your plate. Keep a diary where you write down how you feel before and after you eat so you can see your pattern. Work out the other things that give you pleasure or comfort and when you think of eating at times when you know you are not hungry, try to do one of those.

Counselling would really help you understand why you are using food to deal with your difficult feelings.

I had a binge/diet eating disorder for 17 years. I am completely over it, I am slim now. I never diet. You can beat it but it is hard and you need to be ready to face your feelings about life rather than eat them away.

I'm out of touch now with the books available on the subject. Just make sure you don't read diet books - read things about binge eating or compulsive eating to see that you are not alone.

Good luck - life is infinitely better when you are not battling with food, I promis you.

Agree with every thing said by Janni, what an excellant post. This was me too 20 years ago and I was fed up with it controlling my life so I knew I had to accept my shape and concentrate not on dieting but on eating regular meals..which i had no idea what that was at that time. This was not easy either but I too am over it, but I do remember how much happier I felt by "Getting back to what normal people eat like"...that kept me on the right path. You have my sympathies cause it is not a nice place to be in, but be strong and stay focused on your goal and keep posting. WIll be thinking of you

Thank you all for your help and advice.

I am a regular but I use this name when I am discussing my 'issues' so yes, self-esteem, depression and various other things make my eating more problematic.

I do menu plan our main meal of the day but I think planning absolutely everything I will eat is a great idea too. I am good with lists and organization so I know I can do that. I have tried hard recently to keep occupied - go out, do stuff, be with people (but not where food is involved)

I like the idea of writing down what I didn't eat - I think that is something I can do now - keeping a log of emotions & eating behaviour is bit involved for me at the moment but I will definitely try to do that over the coming weeks.

I have borrowed a Low GI book from the library and I think I do a lot of it already but will read it and make sure I do it properly. It looks quite good so I am looking forward to making good meals again. And eating them properly.

It is so nice to hear from people who understand and have been through this and that it is something that can be controlled. I know I'll always struggle with this but I am so glad to hear other people get to grips with it and can lead a relativley normal life. Thank you SO much.

Littlemiss - do think about changing your name to something less derogatory, even if it is the name you only use occasionally!

Also, I thought for many years that I would never beat my problems with food, but I did. It's important to point out though that life is still full of struggles and issues even when you're not obsessing about food and weight and the sooner you accept that the better. Otherwise you can hang on to food and weight as a 'cover', convincing yourself that IF ONLY you sorted that out, life would be perfect

I'm not sure if that makes sense.

What you said does make sense, Janni. Also, for me, having problems with food is easier to deal with than the other problems I have iyswim. It's easier to focus on worrying about what I am eating than to sort out the other stuff that seems so impossible. That probably makes no sense.

I know the name isn't good. It's my hiding away, not being me name

It makes perfect sense, littlemiss. I know exactly where you are coming from. What, other than food etc, are the problems which seem unsurmountable?