Anyone struggling with compulsive ways of eating? Anyone getting any answers?

[Italiangreyhound]

I am busy reading books like mad about my rather compulsive way of eating.

I am going to get to the bottom of this!

One thought is that I was a bit OCD as a teenager (obsessive compulsive disorder) but not overweight at all. In my twenties I stopped the OCD (pretty much but started putting on weight).

So one theory (of mine) is that I have swapped OCD for compulsive eating!

I have noticed I kind of have to finish food, and even if it is opened and in fringe (chocs etc) I can't leave it until it is all gone!

I think exploding this and reading about it is making it worse as I feel I am almost giving myself permission to eat more! But I also hope this is a good sign that I am getting to the bottom of it.

Does anyone have any experiences of this, of counselling or any advice to offer, please?

Many thanks.

Moonranger YES, Geneen Roth sounds fabulous.

www.bemindful.org/mindeating.htm

I think she hits a lot of nails on a lot of heads for me. The whole thing about mindful eating, enjoying every bite is so true.

I have slowed down, I am eating slowly and savouring my food. I am finding it so much eaiser now to eat more slowly and enjoy it. I certainly can relate to the idea of eating something and yet not really tasting it.

I am not sure exactly how it will all pan out but I know that I am not going to diet any more. I am still going to Rosemary Conley classes because I like the exercise but I don't want to talk about recipies etc and food too much, I want to just enjoy the nice bits and try as much as I can to develop a normal relationship to food.

What I think is interesting is that in our society now it is quite hard to see normal eating! There are tons of programms about people with food problems but when do we see modelled for us a normal relationshio with food! I used to watch programms about problem eating and do you know what - they made me hungry!

I want to know what it means to eat, feel full and stop, and I am gradually getting there!

I once stood behind a lady in a dinner queue at work and when she got curry and rice she told the chef to stop half wasy as he was putting the rice on her plate! I guess she knew she would not need it all/want it all/eat it all and would have to waste it so she just did not need it. She is beautifully slim/normal-sized, not skinny/not obese! I watched in awe. It had never occured to me to stop someone who was offering me food! Or to limit it, I mean the price is the same so why not have as much as you can! That was the old me. But even after that moment it has taken me years to fully become aware!

It was just that phrase 'not compulsive eating but impulsive eating' that got me thinking.

Final thpought before I toddle off to bed!

My dietician (I suffer from iritable bowel and bloating) did a mindful eating thing with me a while back where we ate and really tasted a single raison - I mean one EACH! We both ate (really slowly - look at it, smell it, touch it, taste it etc etc). Afterwards for days I ate slwoly and mindfully but eventually the feelings of being mindful about eating wore off!

I can only hope if I do genuinely pursue this and keep eating slowly, mindfully, I will become more aware when I am full and need to stop, which in my heart I do know.

I watched Laura Monica, (founder of WholyFit and Health Fitness, which is a Christian alternative to yoga) interviewed on Full Circle (Christian women's chat show on line) www.wholyfit.org/soul-sister.html and Laura Monica said that we know when we are full! At the time I thought I didn't but now I know if I just slow down enough then I do know!

I feel sure I will be able to continue to make progress. But I will read some more about Geneen Roth because I do think she has some interesting things to say.

Thanks again, so much to everyone who has commented, any more websites to look up or ideas to consider?

Good luck to everyone struggling with food and may it work out well for all of us.

Another book worth a read is 'Eating Less' by Gillian Riley. It explains what is going on inside your head when you overeat and why you keep repeating the same pattern over and over. It made huge sense to me and is also very practical

Thank you Winedog that is a great suggestion.

Moanranger sorry I have been calling you Moonranger!

I am off to Spring Harvest for a few days www.springharvest.org.uk/ back next week. Please do continue to post if you have any good suggestions and all the best.

A really good book for helping to understand what is going on in your head and why you keep overeating is 'Eating Less' by Gillian Riley. It's very plain speaking (written by a brit) but I found it really helped me to understand my behaviour in regards to compulsive eating. It looks at overeating as a type of addiction which I think is a different way of looking at it than the other authors mentioned.

How embarrassing-I just discovered i posted a similar message this morning. I thought it hadn't got through-apologies for repeating myself

winedog thank you, no worries about posting again. Yes, I have heard about overeating as a kind of addiction. I am reading 'Or Overcoming Overeating: It's Not What You Eat, It's What's Eating You!' by Lisa Morrone. Very helpful.

I have started eating very slowly, trying not to talk and eat at the same time, to pay attention to my food intake, to eat mindfully, and to notice when I feel full - and to stop then.

It is slow work!

But I take smaller portions now and eat slowly and don't feel worried to leave food on my plate! Our bodies do naturally tell us when we are full or nearly full but we do need to slow down enough to listen to that feeling/sense we are full.

I am feeling much better. Thank you to the lovely person who suggested putting my knife and fork down when eating - it does really help.

Squirrelsmum thanks for that knife and fork tip.

All the best to anyone still looking in on this. Be nice to hear from anyone who has any wisdom to share.

I am going to a Christian group tomorrow (Sunday) about eating disorders. Not sure I really have an eating disorder, never been diagnosed with one but my eating is quite disordered. I am not sure I would even say I am addicted to food but I do definitely have odd ideas about food and eat in a bad way.

My irritable bowel makes it hard for me to know when my tummy feels normal, as it is sometime bloated and feels full. I think I sometimes used to eat to make it feel more normal.

Does anyone have any experience of bloating being caused by sugar?

Anyway, still analysing why I overeat! I always fear missing out on food, almost fear being hungry or left out of eating. It is quite funny now I am aware of it to see how normal people do not rush the buffet table as soon as they get the nod it is time to eat! I might ask colleagues, family if they are eating, want anything got for them from the food table and just funny to see them nonchalantly looking over to the food and not fussed if they miss out on stuff! I, on the other hand, am frantic if I don't get there first, I hate waiting and they might run out of my favourite thing! It is amazing. So must pursue the mindful eating and keep with it. Today a dear lady said she thought I have lost weight. I have and so it was so nice of her to notice.

Popping in to say hi from the other thread - I see I already commented above... I could add that its really important to work out your body's hunger signals - eg see Susie Orbach "On Eating" and Paul Mckenna. Also for my vital to log everything on a food diary, initially I did tesco diets, now do MFP (its free, but tesco does have other advantages eg real person support).

Now I have lost the weight doing low fat & low carb need to start to eating normally again - after 6 months.

italian I also have IBS. Generally triggered by overeating (ie big meals). Lots of triggers, but big carb heavy meals esp when combined with aspartame / pulses / cabbage / spinach / exotic fruit main trigger. Have been much better since dieting. I don't think I've had any bloating now since I started my diet (6 months ago) - I used to take combined pill and didn't realise that it made things so much worse until I was TTC and suddenly realised I was much better!

foreverondiet thanks so much for getting in touch.

I'm intrigued to know how much you have lost, feel free to PM me or not to answer, as you prefer.

I've worked out I have an eating disorder. I went to a Christian group tonight about eating disorders and found it amazingly helpful. It is called New ID.

www.newid.info/
here

I've only been to the first one but it was really helpful.

I feel so relieved that I have actually identified some of the problems and can see the patterns of behaviour. I know not everyone who eats too much has an eating disorder but I know for me that this holds the answer; still I am at the start of the process. A long way to go but now I know I can get there! I feel very excited and energised.

All the best.

I would absolutely recommend this book. Will help with both ocd and compulsive eating. IT is life transforming and I don't say that about many things.there is loads of info at www.radiantrecovery.com

Whoops I linked that badly. The book I meant was potatoes not prozac

Thanks bakedacake for your support. Hope you are getting some answers on your journey too.

Italiangreyhound glad you found the group helpful.

The short answer is I lost the weight through having a lot of willpower. I started off with tesco diets, totals plan, logged everything I ate which helped me get to grips with normal portion size, also signed up for triathlon and started training. For motivation I bought and read and reread every diet book, and when weight loss slowed down after a couple of stone (was 12 5 in October) I started tweaking what I ate.

I still log everything (am OCD myself about that) - although now on MFP as tesco subscription ran out and MFP is free and I weigh myself daily. Listen to Paul McKenna maybe once a week and really have been able to embrace only eating if hungry. Go to gym 3x a week and triathlon approaching!

My diet now is dukan maintance/south beach - ie low fat (although ok to have small amounts of healthy fats), and low carb (although ok to have small amounts of healthy carbs). Don't really lapse. Don't eat exercise calories so always have a bit of leeway if go out socially or fancy something like ice cream or chocolate (NB I weigh out icecream, only ever allowed 50g!), important not to deny yourself.

Now its less about willpower and more about eating only when hungry, and knowing when full. But willpower important at start. Before I was eating as I was bored not because I was hungry. I have reached my goal weight (9 stone I am 5 foot 4 inches) but will be dieting until triathlon in a month as really want to get body fat to 22% so am lifting weights so need to loose fat to compensate for additional muscle.

Come to conclusion that in 30s/40s 2 types of skinny woman:
a) ones who work at being skinny
b) ones who don't really eat much as they don't feel like it etc.

So I have lost 47 pounds, and have gone from 12 5 (40% fat) to now 9 0 and 23% fat. Hope that helps!

Thanks, well done foreverondiet.

Good luck with your triathlon, when is it?

Thanks it is a race for life and it is about 8 weeks away! nappyaddict How are you doing.

I am doing really well now that I am on the new ID course www.newid.info/

here

I have found I am not thinking about food in the same way, I am not feeling deprived by not having lots of treats etc and I am feeling so positive about what I do eat. It is great. It is early days. Only been to one session and the next one is coming up (there are 6 in total). Due to a sort holiday I will miss one session and I feel quite sad to be missing it! So, onwards and upwards (or rather downwards as I have already lost some weight, but the main thing is to get my eating in normal boundaries).

There is no no weigh in or talk of diets etc, or exercise, there is just a look at helping us with problems with eating.

I know it might not be right for everyone, and not everyone who overeats has an eating disorder.

I felt kind of weird 'labelling' myself as having an eating disorder as I have not been medically diagnosed but I know how I am around food, I impulse eat and at times compulsively eat too. So for me the course is just what I need!

Best wishes to all.

I've just started a thread because I'm doing a course once a week called New Id

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/big_slim_whatever_weight_loss_club/1219502-I-have-just-started-doing-the-New-ID-course-anyone-interested

I'm doing well greyhound. I have decided to do the race for life too. My nearest one is only a 5k. Is yours a 5k or 10k?