Can't stop eating - never been like this before!

[thisgirlrides]

I usually sit around the 10/10.5 stone mark 5ft 6 roughly size 12. My weight slowly crept up in the past year and I put on a stone - partly blame peri-menopause (mood, lack of motivation to exercise etc) and partly more sedentary job/wfh in the kitchen. I did SW for 9 months and lost most of it but then stalled and decided I needed a break and should just try normal eating again.

Well that lasted about week and since then it's like I've opened the floodgates and can't stop bloody eating! I've put on over half a stone in the past 3 weeks alone and am now more than when I joined SW🙄. My clothes are tight, I look puffy and feel shit. I'm not hungry (if anything I'm constantly feel full but that still doesn't stop me) I'm not obese, I don't want injections but I do need to stop this downward spiral.

I tell myself in the morning this will be the start of a new day & start to eat properly but by mid afternoon I'm reaching for the snacks and then just can't stop. Yesterday for example:
B: 2 poached eggs & spinach on wholemeal toast plus mug of coffee (skimmed milk no butter) apple mid morning
L: Sardines on toast, pear & banana + coffee

And then I had a packet of crisps and it all goes wrong....2nd packet of crisps, 2 pieces of PB&J toast, satsuma, cup of tea and 2 digestives, some gherkins and a lump of cheese.

And then back to normal for dinner (chicken & veg curry and rice normal size portion + yogurt)

This is totally fucked up eating and I'm at a loss as to why/how it's suddenly like I'm possessed and can't stop and get motivate myself to exercise at all. Anyone been there and found the answer as I'll be double the size by christmas at this rate 😞

Can you not sub the unhealthy snack for something like a bag of mixed nuts and a banana? I have those mini twister ice lollies at 39 calories each.

Yes you're right I know I shouldn't eat this shit and what a healthy diet looks like and do try and start off this way but then add the rubbish after even when I'm no longer hungry. My problem is this recent insatiable greed where I can hear myself saying stop but just keep going.

Could it be hormone related? I'm on HRT so maybe that needs a review? This month I also found myself back like the angry bear for the first time since I sorted my HRT and am feeling a bit meh (although put that down to sluggishness due to poor diet and lack of exercise 🙄)

Could be hormone related. I'm going through peri and do find I get hungry quickly after each meal. I just developed my own strategy for losing and keeping weight off. So I for two days I do calorie control and walking with workouts in the house. Then day after I will have my much loved prosecco but won't eat a big meal. 4th day, I go back to cal counting and set myself a limit of 850 caloriesfor next 2/3 days and so on. Doesn't sound much but you can have a bag of quavers with a brown sandwich for one meal. Certain biscuits are less calorific as well. I've lost about 19 pounds since last August. Can't recommend enough Aussie woman who has Fabulous 50s you tube channel. I do her 15 minute fat burning work out most days. My stomach has started to show slight muscle. Good luck. You can do it. Your actual meal plan sounds good x x

It doesn’t sound hormonal if you’re not hungry. If you’re having PMT type symptoms then it could be that you are binge eating to manage emotions. Look into alternative ways to manage them. A chat with a friend, a good film, a bath, a yoga class. Maybe you’re going back to what you lent on before but if you want to keep the weight off you need to find something new.

Progesterone increase appetite. I have come off HRT and am doing the carnivore WOE to get back to where I was before peri etc.

I have lost 18lbs since April and do not feel hungry. When I reach my target weight of 9st 7lbs I will introduce other foods. On HRT my weight just kept on increasing. I have 10lbs to go so it is possible. I couldn't lose a pound on HRT however hard I tried.

Actually @vincettenoir you could be on to something here - I came off my bike and haven't been able to exercise since around the time I stopped SW. Perhaps I just hadn't realised how important exercise was to my mental health and this self sabotage is all related to that. I was doing a weekly yoga class I haven't been back to (but could now do so really need to get back on it) and whilst I can't yet cycle or run as I used to, I could go to the gym or swim. I just need to find my mojo.

@sparrowflewdown this could also be a possibility but there's no way I'm coming off HRT I was a complete mess before I started with such low mood, hot flushes and frankly felt I was going a bit mad and it's been a life saver for me but yes, agree it is bloody hard to lose weight ever since.

HRT helped me lose my weight. I went from nearly 13 stone down to 9 stone, and kept it off for 5 years.
I’ve now put on a stone in 8 months.
Post meno for a number of years & size 10, and now I’m struggling to find clothes in my wardrobe that will actually fit me.
I eat really healthily until my afternoon energy slump, and then I can’t seem to cram it in fast enough.
I’ve just eaten a whole multipack of Rolos and a magnum . Until then I was on track for my daily calorie target allowance.
No clue how to get back to my lifestyle of thrice weekly yoga and HIIT, along with eating healthy without cramming chocolate into my cake-hole.😭

Don't buy biscuits and crisps. If they aren't there you can't eat them.

As you work during the day even from home, do a packed lunch and only eat this during your working hours

Yeah I’m not surprised that’s getting you down a bit. I think this is just a time-limited blip. I hope you feel more yourself soon.

I'm like this sometimes. Been through a breakdown of a relationship last year plus stressful job. I was stress eating and put on 1.5 stone within a year. I did see the weight pilling up but I was ingnoring it. Fast forward 2 years and I can't shift any of it.
Have started on Monday again. 5 years ago I have lost 2 st and managed to keep it off for two years. The only thing that helped me to do it was to have a proper meal plan and to prepare all food a day/two in advance. I ended up eating the same meals two days in a row to minimise cooking. I was on 1500kcal daily and it worked perfectly. It was 5 meals a day. What I did notice was as soon as I missed a meal or two (thinking if I skip lunch then extra weight should come off), I was straight onto snacking and going down the hill.

Are you having regular healthy meals?

YES that is so relatable!!!! OF COURSE I have been there!!!!

Especially the part about having packet of crisps or something and it all sends me off rails. It is always having one really tasty or processed snack that will cause like a rage in the head to eat 47 tons of it like no imaginable tomorrow!!!

I will eat 3-4 packs chips or peanut flips, 4 jars green olives, cottage cheese and baked potatoes a whole 2kg sack if it is there I mean it!!! or worse when I have urges for sweet stuff!!! I will go for 10-12 cups or so yoghurt, with fruit so like 2kg pears apples you name it, bags and bags of mixed nuts etc and that is if I pick the safe food that I have at home!!!!!

IMAGINE ordering takeout when there is a binge attack it is not even on a human level anymore the only limit is money really or maybe shame at some point like you will not even believe it I am sure I once ate like 15k calories (FIFTEEN. THOUSAND.) worth of like 4 kebabs, whole turkish pide, ridiculously large white bag of fries, 6 cups ayran etc etc and that is just what I recall the binge being that is literally just in a few hours outt in the day where I eat a lot already again as I said I am shocked senseless and in absolute disbelief that I can eat this much like that is not possible where does that amount even go in my torso I am literally not understanding how my body is even doing this or why my brain would do this to me etc it is so frustrating and scary to have binges like that!!!! I told the horror story of christmas 2024 in another post, it punished me with a 6kg weight gain for me to "ENJOY" myself over the holidays because I prob ate that kilo amount just in choclate and baked goods in like two evenings I am very serious this is terrifying.

So HERE is what I try is this:

Firstly, whenever I have clear moments where I do nothing but WORRY I use my clear-me as I call it to throw the food around me away!!! I am talking gifted sweets, leftovers, packaged stuff etc anything that can trigger binges or that I get a scary amount of. Yes it is a waste and I do feel bad but I would "WASTE" more and feel worse if I binge!!!

Quickly using the time where I have my brain in full control, stomping on it, instantly pour some cleaner on it and like mush everything together wih the rubbish so that I can’t go back for it!!! All to save myself from binging on it. Like I knew exactly that I can’t trust myself with that in the house and that it can end in desaster if I am around this much food especially at night. Everything I destroy does not end up in me!!!!

Another trick is whenever you receive food unexpectedly IMMEDIATELY make hard plans to get rid of it that rely on external factors!!!!

So imagine I come out of nowhere and gift you a cake and you accept because you don't want to seem rude in the family or smth well then immediately text or call another friend and promise it to them or say I got this cake for you!!!! Now you cannot eat it because you put it under an obligation that someone else can follow up on.

ANOTHER trick would be to claim you got IBS and/or leaky gut and cannot handle sugar, that can be real some people have messed up gut biome and will get sick etc if you eat too much of it!! So tell everyone about that real bad "intolerance you developed in adulthood" use medical terms and blend in random things to make it believable like how annoying the doctor appointment was because etc people will believe that and then you cannot eat sugary stuff around them or they will say hey don't you have this medical condition and/or they will stop offering it to you in the first place!!!

Good luck to you I know how it is 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

It's a real bitch trying to shift weight when you're middle aged.

I can relate. I’ve been in the middle of healthy bmi all my adult life. A couple of years ago I hit peri and turned into Pac-Man. It’s the afternoons that are my downfall too. I can control what I eat in the mornings and evenings without a struggle. I’m not sure what the answer is. My clothes are tight and I really don’t like the size I am now. I don’t wear it well.

and turned into Pac-Man
😂

It’s no exaggeration to say that Gillian Riley’s approach to eating less has transformed my life. Took me a couple of goes to really understand but once that lightbulb went on, it was done.

https://www.eatinglessonline.com/

Gillian originally supported people giving up smoking then noticed how often they turned to food instead. There is a course running now, you can absolutely join in right away. All the best.

I do stupid stuff like this and have weeks go by where I'm ravenous and binge eating. Im already overweight and trying to lose and I can undo a good week in an hour then hate myself. When I'm in the binge zone there is no talking me out of it, j will drive to the shop or pretend to run an errand.

I've found the only way for me is an absolute sugar and upf ban. For now at least. I've just started a high protein low carb diet and so far its going well. However a few days ago someone gave me box of very sugary pastries, I budgeted my diet to have one and share the rest. So I had one, then another, then a bowl of cereal dripping in honey and eventually after pacing the floor almost pulling my hair out i caved and went to the shop and had 2 bars of chocolate and a bag of jellies. I've realised I can never have 'a little of what you fancy' as it just triggers something whether physical or psychological. I felt like a drug addict. My first day off the carbs and sugar i had shakes and nausea and was very emotional. I think its genuine addiction for me. I now need to accept that I can't balance it and I will have to adapt my lifestyle to avoid sugar, I guess same as a newly diagnosed person on a medical restricted diet.

Thanks for sharing that. Had a brief listen and will look into it in more detail.

@Dontlletmedownbruce how's it going? I think I'm the same as you and would benefit from your plan of no sugar no upf. Its like an addiction. The problem is I have kids who need quick snacks every day between school and racing off to swimming lessons, football etc so I have to have the rubbish in the house.

Are you still following your advice?

I can relate.