Compulsive Overeating

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I've come to terms with the fact that I am a compulsive over eater. My husband thinks I am just putting up walls and making excuses for myself but I am truly convinced that I have a problem.

Can it be solved? Absolutly. I just don't know how.

I eat when I am bored. I eat when I am stressed. I eat when I am happy. I eat when I am sad. I eat when there is food in front of me. I seek out food when there is not.

I just love the taste of food. And unfortunatly, the food that tastes good and is quick to make/get is bad for me. Half the time it isn't even real food. It's candy or something like that.

I know I CAN stop but there is that voice that makes me go and eat it anyway. The "who really cares" voice. When really, I do care. A lot. And I feel guilty after eating.

I am gaining weight. I am almost as heavy now as I was pregnant, meaning I've actually put on weight since the baby, not lost it. It's very depressing.

I've never had to work for my body and now that I do, I am not sure what to do.

I know I need to exercise but when? I do 75% of the chid care. 85% of the housework. Work a full time job and take care of 2 dogs. That leaves zero time for me to unwind and relax and zero time for me to exercise. I am exhausted at the end of the day.

I know that first I need to break my cycle of eating. But while I am doing that I need to engage in healthy eating.

I don't like carrot sticks, celery and all those traditional diet foods.

Are there any snacks out there that are good for me and are not carrot sticks?

Also, would taking fiber help me in the way that I wouldn't feel as hungry all the time?

I know there are a lot of you out there who struggle with your weight and I know there are a lot of you who've overcome the problems.

So any advice would be great.

I am past the "just do it" phase. I know I need to eat healthy and exercise so the lectures on those won't do me any good.

I guess I am looking for creative ways to incorporate exercise and healthy eating into my life. And easy ways. Convenience is a huge issue.

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Hey, Bella.

There's a tremendous difference is overcoming emotional eating and overcoming other sources of bad eating habits. You can have all the best intentions in the world, but if you're self-medicating with food then good intentions will only lead to something else to feel bad about.

Yes, there are many small changes that can be made to your diet and daily lifestyle that, if followed, will make a long-lasting impact on your weight. However, if what's really driving the eating is emotional then all the small changes you make will be temporary.

At the same time you incorporate small changes (don't make big one's all at once) I'd suggest Laurel Mellin's, The Pathway. It's an excellent guide to identifying and eliminating emotional triggers that cause over-eating.

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Listening, as you describe some of the same barriers I have.

High protein and high fiber foods are supposed to reduce cravings.

Getting the candy out of your immediate environment may help as well. Just make it inconvenient to snack on that crap.

Can you take a walk up and down the stairwell at work?

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I don't know that it is emotional eating. I just eat ALL the time.

I'm in a rut.

I think it's lack of time and motivation that I'd rather sit down in front of the tv with a bag of easy chips than cook for 45 minutes after a long day.

I don't know what I need.

*sigh*

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You don't have time to go to the gym for 1 hour, 4-5 days a week? Or take time to jog? Friend of mine lost around 50lbs within the past year. All cardio, and slight adjustments to his diet. But he went to the gym twice a day: early in the morning before work, then right after work.

Could always buy a treadmill or elliptical, and put it right in your living room.

For food, I'd google healthy eating recipes...there's plenty out there.

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DD, I normally take the elevator but today I made myself take the stairs. 4 flights. I almost died.

I was in better shape when I was pregnant. I used to fly up the 2 flights of stairs in my old building 9 months pregnant. Now I am like heaving up the stairs like an old lady.

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Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:

You don't have time to go to the gym for 1 hour, 4-5 days a week? Or take time to jog? Friend of mine lost around 50lbs within the past year. All cardio, and slight adjustments to his diet. But he went to the gym twice a day: early in the morning before work, then right after work.

Could always buy a treadmill or elliptical, and put it right in your living room.

For food, I'd google healthy eating recipes...there's plenty out there.

No, honestly I don't.

Here is my typical week.

Monday thru Friday
- Get up at 6a with Ade
- Let dogs out, feed dogs, water dogs
- Get her together and me together and leave house by 7:30a for daycare.
- Be to work by 8:30
- Work til lunch; go home to let dogs out
- Back to work til 5:30
- Get home at 6
- Get Ade fed, changed, ready for bed. Take 30 minutes to spend with her.
- Ade to bed by 7:30.
- Make dinner. Eat by 8p
- Clean up dinner, finally sitting down by 8:30-9p
- Watch a little tv, spend time with hubby and dogs.
- Go to bed

Wake up and do it all over again

Saturday and Sunday are my days with Ade (hubby works) so we get up at 6a, I have to watch her, clean the house, do the laundry, feed her, watch the dogs, etc, etc, etc.

I could probably make some time on Saturday and Sunday to exercise. But by the weekend I am so dead tired, the minute she's down for a nap, I am crashed out like a log.

Hubby is working some insane hours right now and is just unable to help with the housework. He does what little he can and makes dinner some times but I take the major brunt of it.

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been there, bella. It's hard but it does get easier eventually.

Can you list Mr Bella's day out the way you did your own?

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your dinner is way too late (i know, i know)

Try popping a lean cuisine into the microwave when you first get home. It's 250 cals (about the same as a Milky Way bar) and will hold you over until dinner. Then, once you're eating dinner, one regular size serving will be plenty -- I'm guessing you're either snacking between 6:00 and 8:00 or over-eating at 8:00 with no time left to work it off/digest before bedtime.

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JPB wrote:

been there, bella. It's hard but it does get easier eventually.

Can you list Mr Bella's day out the way you did your own?

His is a little more complicated because his work day doesn't end when he walks out. So even if he works 5a-6p (which is normal), his phone doesn't stop ringing and people don't stop bugging him. He got a call last night at 11p from one of his managers.
Annoying.

Could he do more at home? Probably.

But his out of the home job is physical, where as mine is sit down. I don't work nearly as many house out side the home as he does. So naturally, I take more of the in home responsibilities.

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JPB wrote:

your dinner is way too late (i know, i know)

Try popping a lean cuisine into the microwave when you first get home. It's 250 cals (about the same as a Milky Way bar) and will hold you over until dinner. Then, once you're eating dinner, one regular size serving will be plenty -- I'm guessing you're either snacking between 6:00 and 8:00 or over-eating at 8:00 with no time left to work it off/digest before bedtime.

Over eating at 8 would be the answer there.

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ok, simple change number one. Eat a healthy snack (or a full quick 'meal') when you get home from work.

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You go home for lunch to take the dogs out -- what do you typically eat for lunch?

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JPB wrote:

You go home for lunch to take the dogs out -- what do you typically eat for lunch?

Lunch is probably my healthiest meal.

I will have a sandwich and some chips. Or soup. Or a chicken wrap.

I only have an hour and I spend about 20 minutes of that driving.

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That's good. Breakfast?

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That's one of my down falls.

I LOVE muffins and bagels. I tend to over eat at breakfast.

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I think the most important thing you can do is develop a structure.

Write down how many calories you think you're eating every day...list out everything you typically eat, including candy and even sodas. It's too many, so you have to cut out 500 or so, and go from there. Structure a diet, so you're eating certain things at certain times, and avoid grazing on candy, ect. in between.

There's a ton of sample diets online so you can get ideas on different foods.

As far as excercise, you could wake up at 5:30 and go jogging. When you start, it's only going to be for 10 minutes or so, then you can work up from there.

It's a lot easier to be motivated when you know in advance what you're going to eat and when you're going to excercise vs. just grabbing a bag of chips randomly.

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Ok, I'll be honest here and I'll say something that I've never said out loud. Maybe by saying it and getting it out there I can get over this hurdle.

Here goes.

I don't want to change my eating habits but I don't want to be fat.

I want it to magically happen. I want to be 115 lbs again without working for it.

There. I said it.

How do I get past this? I think my desire for a healthier body can easily over come my desire to pig out but I don't know how to start it.

Slappy, can you come kick my ass every morning?

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I agree with slappy -- spending a couple days writing out a food diary (if you eat it, write it down) will give you a better idea on where your calories are coming from. There are also at-home exercise plans that only take a few minutes a day. 8 Minutes in the Morning, by Jorge Cruise is very effective, done at home, uses no equipment other than hand weights, and can be combined with any diet plan.

Your breakfast is heavy on flour. ALWAYS make sure you're including some protein in your breakfast -- even if it's peanut butter.

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Bella Dea wrote:

I don't want to change my eating habits but I don't want to be fat.

I want it to magically happen. I want to be 115 lbs again without working for it.

There. I said it.

How do I get past this? I think my desire for a healthier body can easily over come my desire to pig out but I don't know how to start it.

Slappy, can you come kick my ass every morning?

Life sucks sometimes, bella. Realizing that your metabolism ain't what it used to be is one of those times. You can make changes or you can get fat. What's it gonna be?

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Compulsive Overeating

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