Why can’t I stop eating so much even though it makes me feel like (literal) shite!

[fourelementary]

Urghhhh

a few months ago I was doing well getting down towards a healthy BMI by eating healthily and roughly in a calorie deficit but not too strict as I know i have a bad relationship with food and restricting etc and tend to then overeat and binge.

Its like although I was happier and more confident in my body, I have then self sabotaged and now just eat more and more each day… despite promising myself that tomorrow will be the day I make a fresh start.

Another night after sitting on the loo feeling uncomfortable and bloated, upset stomach due to the bad choices… feeling shit about myself and my willpower and my body…

I know no one can fix this… but I just feel like I’m in my flutes now and that means for more than half of my life I have not been in control nor happy with my body and my eating. Surely I should be able to grow the fuck up and just make better choices and feel better and healthier? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I am the same!
Let's starr dieting together!
Well, or at least not eating far too much!
I want to stick to breakfast like porridge, scrambled eggs, avocado on toast...
Lunch, nice and healthy with salad
No dinner, or just a fruit smoothie or fruit and yougurt. For my age, 46, I should try fasting, without dinner.
I am starting this weekend.
Also, I need to get back to do weights and long walks.

Shall we be pals on this?
It helps a lot!

I don't know, I'm hungry a lot now whereas I used to not be hungry or eat for days at a time. I went from a size 8- 14/16 in approx 1 year. I had hypothyroidism which corrected itself and now I think I have it again

My point is though I think that's what needs to be looked at- why you would be so hungry, rather than being like that and having to deny yourself forever

Have you read ultra processed people?

The binge/restrict cycle is a well established, common experience and a totally normal response to an exhausting lifetime of dieting. I've been listening to Christy Harrison on the Food Psych podcast and it's made me think a lot about the pressure we're under and why this happens to us. I don't know what the answer is, but I am also in my forties and I'm just sick of it, and I'm starting to wonder if the problem is with the culture we live in rather than it being us as individuals who are broken and wrong.

I’m in a good place at the moment and can share some wisdom? As I often feel like you!

I’ve written some affirmations about being healthy and fit and productive and focused. Not my usual thing but I realised the negative chatter was overwhelming.

I’ve written an activity schedule- really manageable- what I already do with a couple of extra bits added in.

I’m keeping a snack log with mood and situation. I don’t need to log my meals, it’s all good. It’s the other stuff I do wrong- snacks and comfort food.

I feel like I have a plan and an achievable set of actions that will lead to better health.

Why don't we all try together starting Monday so we can support each other

It sounds like binge / compulsive eating disorder to me. It’s an eating disorder - have a look at the BEAT website.

Overcoming overeating and the compassionate mind approach to overeating are both worth reading.

You will be able to eat better and loose weight as you work on your mind, but until you sort out the emotions behind it, you will find it hard to move forward.

Another person to ask, have you read Ultra Processed People?

I will have to read that one. I had never heard of it!
More than dieting as such, controlling portion size is the best, isn't it?
I am having my bloods re-done soon, investigating for diabetes, hypothyroidism, or vitamin/ mineral defficiencies.
I am going to give a go to a good breakie and lunch, but not dinner. Mainly because I do have acid reflex and it is better for me not to eat close to bed time.

@MushMonster A buddy would be great- I don’t want to say diet but deffo I’d like to have some healthy options in mind and I do think failure to plan is a bit issue for me as then it’s easier to snack and eat the carbs and leave it too late to make nice and healthy stuff.

@@olivecapes and @DelilahBucket no and you know why not? Guilt. I think I will feel guilty about the processed shit but I already struggle to fit meal planning and food shopping and cooking into my stupidly busy life and so I am scared that knowing how awful all the UPF stuff is and still feeling like it’s the only viable options for us will make me feel guilt. And guilt equals food. All emotions equal food.

whixh brings me to @SensibleSigma and @theduchessofspork poits about emotions and yes I definitely do need to explore my own shit around my emotions and moods and food. Thank you for the ideas about journaling and book recommendation.

@SippedAway I will also try to listen to that podcast. Sounds good.

and @caterpiller1 im sure you could buddy up with me and @MushMonster and anyone else to try to help me have some accountability and reflection.

So tonight I’m sore and yucky, tomorrow is a fresh start. I will avoid heavy carbs as they will
make me poop probably after today… so I have some berries and Greek yoghurt which I will have for breakfast…

If anyone has healthy feel good meal ideas that would also be good. I’m thinking batch cooking some soups…

So Hungry right now but going to resist . I have put on 2 stone and nothing fits . We can do this and at Christmas I will feel great

Eating ultra processed foods make you hungry. I've cut out all artificial sweeteners and it's made a huge difference to my appetite. It's under control now. I'm no longer starving all the time.

Companies have spent millions to research how to make doritos and other frankenfoods as irresistible to the human body as possible. Over time, these ultra processed foods have warped our natural ability to regulate.

No one should feel ashamed or guilty - UPFs are literally doing what they are designed to do.

As per other users, I would also recommend reading Ultra Processed People. It's not a diet book. The author doesn't demand you stop eating UPFs or assign moral value to healthy eating. He just gives us the information to empower our choices.

Good morning.
Definitively would love to work together on this.
I also have a pack of blueberries! Going to start the day with coffee, toast with honey and berries.
We have to bake a cake for a friend and some scones for us, so there is the temptation! Must resist scoffing them all.
Food will involve some salad, baked potatoe and we will be making a large batch of roasted veggies.
Batch cooking soups is the best you can do. Nice, healthy meal, ready when you get back home, packed with nutrients.
Also, if you cannot resist eating, having a big bowl of soup or fruit does not break the calorie balance and it makes you crave less rubbish, just because it does have the nutrients your body needs.
I take daily multivitamins when watching what I eat, just in case I am missing any.
Yesterday did 24000 steps. Feeling it this morning. Must resist over eating this weekend. Then it will all be easier.

@SippedAway your words "if the problem is with the culture we live in rather than it being us as individuals who are broken and wrong"
Are BRILLIANT!

OP it's NOT you, it's two massive money making industries- the food industry which creates the addiction and the diet industry which offers the cure to the addiction are both working hand in hand to make billions of profit from people like you and me.

Both of these industries literally don't give a shit about our health. And the more guilt we feel the more money they make promoting their "diet" foods.

OP that's what the book "Ultra Processed People" taught me. Yes I still eat UPFs occasionally and I'm still overweight but at least now I know I'm indulging in addictive behaviours that have been skilfully engineered to make me do more.

So I feel LESS personal guilt and more cynical and angry. Which is healthier I think.

Okay so the UPF book is now in my Amazon basket. Thank you.

I am also starting a mood/food journal to help identify what I eat and when and how I can avoid the spiral.

In do know that for me carbs and caffeine are not my friend. So I am going to have a two week break from bread/toast and coffee too.

This morning I have had a small amount of muesli with fresh berries and a protein yoghurt (which is no doubt UPF but all I had) with a red-bush tea. I have my son’s football today but will take a notebook and write a meal plan and shopping list so that it’s easier to make good choices. No weighing myself as that is a definite trigger for me to spiral. Maybe I will aim to weigh in at like Halloween or something once I can have a go at making some positive changes (and weigh a bit less!)

We can do this!!

If you have the time read The Diet Delusion by Gary Taubes. It is a pretty hefty book, but an absolutely fascinating history of how our current ideas about what is healthy eating, and how and why people get fat and all the associated research. One of his key thoughts is it is not about willpower!
As I said it is a huge book, but well worth a read.

It's actually recommended you eat UPF as you normally do whilst reading the book. Good luck op, that book changed my life (but don't worry if it doesn't hit you the same, as a pp says, displacing the guilt is a good objective too if that's all it does!)

Room for a not so wee one ?
I am the fattest I have ever been , and I include pregnancies in that.
I am not going to weigh myself as that will send me into a spiral but I am at the 'hiding from a camera at every opportunity stage' of weight gain.
I need to cut down on the booze (or at least swap beer for gin)
Cut down on snacks (this is my downfall)
Stick to a meal plan (I love cooking and will happily batch cook healthy meals and then not fancy eating what I have cooked an want sausage and chips! )
Any support appreciated.

No biscuits, cakes and crisps for me.
Rest I can eat, but must watch those portions! And not give in to the snacking problem...

I think half the battle I'm seeing here is an all or nothing approach. Saying you're not allowed to eat biscuits, crisps and cake is wrong. Of course you are allowed. In moderation. I've got a bottle of prosecco in the fridge as a treat this evening. I've done a 7.5km walk this morning though and all calories are still counted today. I've had crisps, but picked better ones like the M&S tortilla chips where I can have 8 for 100 kcals but they aren't UPF, and I have them with some M&S salsa, also none UPF and low fat/calories. I've had chocolate, I've had cake, I've had pizza, but it's all been counted and I've lost every week.
I like calorie counting as it's almost a challenge to get the most filling and nutrient foods that keep me fuller for longer. Cutting out sweeteners has stopped me reaching for snacks all the time.

I do not want to eat biscuits, crisps and cake because there is no real nutrition in them for the amount of calories they add.

I still enjoy the "treat" aspect of sweet food, plus kids want sweet food, so I make my own cakes and biscuits now which means w don't go without. Much more filling than UPF versions, I make rye biscuits that are high in fibre so not completely without nutrition (and you couldn't eat more than 2 unlike Maryland cookies by comparison! Although admittedly perhaps not quite as tasty ha) once I moved away from UPF I found I was able to have a much healthier relationship with sugar, I don't crave it or feel addicted to it. I can enjoy it much more sparingly.

Hi, how have you all done over the bank holiday?
I had an extra day off, which was great!
Done quite a bit of walking. Cleaned a bit of the house.
Baked some goodies. A cake for a friend and cinnamon rolls for us, by family request. Not a good start, but they are not ultra processed, so I am not worried. They are actually so much better than anything bought!
Otherwise, I had chicken, roasted veggies, rice and scrambled eggs these last two days. Only light things for supper, well before bed time. For snacks, I got some roasted peas, which are yummy!
Aiming for avocado on toast tomorrow, for breakfast.
I got roasted veggies left over, so I will take those for lunch, at work. I am thinking of having them with chickpeas, lettuce and tomatoes and a bit of lemon juice maybe.
Aim for the remainder of this week is to walk to work, instead of taking the bus.
What are you all up to?