Can't stop eating

It feels like I can't stop eating .

I started off the day eating healthy, but felt like I was hungry all day until I started making stupid choices... Here's how my day went so far

5:15 am - breakfast

3 eggs scrambled with 2 pieces 60% w/w toast with 2 tblspns cream cheese

1 cup coffee with 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp coffeemate

7:00 Coffee, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tblspn canned milk.  Feeling hungry but know I just ate a little while ago.

8:00 Coffee 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tblspn canned milk.  Very hungry, can't stop thinking about eating.

9:30 snack/brunch.  3 cups spinach salad which had green/yellow/red peppers baby tomatoes, and sliced mushrooms, topped with some smoked herring for fats and protien.

10:30 small gala apple  still hungry

11:30  3/4 cup brown rice 1 1/4 cup homemade vegetable chili

2:00 2 little packages of kraft peanut butter about a tablespoon each I think.

4:00 hungry again, have 8 saltine crackers with 2 tablespoons peanut butter again.

All this and it's only 5:30 and time for dinner because I'm hungry again.  I'm constantly feeling like I have to stuff my face, and feeling ashamed because of it.  When I'm not eating I feel like I'm constantly thinking about what I can eat for the next meal.  All this morning my brain was going hmmm... salad and fish, or salad and almonds, or salad and apple, or apple and fish, or apple and almonds... over and over it feels like I'm in a constant spiral.  I've been doing really good so far, dropping 10 pounds in a month, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about eatting. 

I've been making sure to keep up with the water as well, knowing that sometimes you confuse thirst with hunger. 

Has anyone else gone through this, and how did you handle it/distract yourself?

I Definitely have days like that!  For me, the best thing to do seems to be to eat a couple of string-cheese sticks, as these seem to do the best job at stopping the hunger thing.  If that's not available, then I have a bag of nut/fruit mix, measure out 1/4 cup (= 150 cals) and that will usually do it.

Try experimenting w/different foods that you usually have around, to see what works - staying away from sugar, because (as least I) only want more, more, more . . .

Heya, I'm going through the same crap.. . I find that having a cup of tea with a bit of skim milk calms the hunger down, atleast for an hour. It's not a perfect solution, but it helps me. ... I must admit I'm on my 3 cup of tea for this evening though, lol My metabolism has geared up too. Do you find that?

Havn't found that much of a differance so far, but I'm also weighing in at 270 on a 6 foot frame.  I do bike commute to and from work, but that's only a one way workout as I like a mile from work, but 2/3 of it is downhill.  Of course I have to ride back up that 2/3's   and it's basically straight up, but I can't see that burning so many calories as to affect my burn rate overly much.

Original Post by beerslinger:

3 eggs scrambled with 2 pieces 60% w/w toast with 2 tblspns cream cheese

1 cup coffee with 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp coffeemate ~ 450-500

7:00 Coffee, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tblspn canned milk.  Feeling hungry but know I just ate a little while ago. ~ 50

8:00 Coffee 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tblspn canned milk.  Very hungry, can't stop thinking about eating.~50

9:30 snack/brunch.  3 cups spinach salad which had green/yellow/red peppers baby tomatoes, and sliced mushrooms, topped with some smoked herring for fats and protien. ~100 -150 depending on amount of herring

10:30 small gala apple  still hungry ~ 75

11:30  3/4 cup brown rice 1 1/4 cup homemade vegetable chili ~350 or so

2:00 2 little packages of kraft peanut butter about a tablespoon each I think.~200

4:00 hungry again, have 8 saltine crackers with 2 tablespoons peanut butter again. ~300

Calorie wise, i ESTIMATE about 1600 cals by 4:00, which is you being awake for 11 hours, that's not really that bad or shocking. Most people wake up by 7 and have dinner by 7 so you being up by 5 throws things out of perspective. 

Maybe you should try increased your calorie allotment if possible or eating larger meals if smaller snacky foods aren't working for you.

You burn 3200 for less than moderate and 3400 for moderate. so you should be eating about 2400 cals minimum to reach your goals. How many do you aim for?

C.C. has me down for a burn rating of 2650 a day, because I'm basically sedentery if I'm not out running or biking, which I try to do a little of each day, so my calorie target is 1950. 

From what you listed, it sounds like you are eating a lot of low fat/ low fiber foods. Also, it is difficult for your body to keep up with liquid calories, and you did mention some liquid foods that do have calories. When you feel hungry, you should eat, but you should eat something that has a lot of volume but very little calories. For example, cauliflower is very low calorie dense. It might fill you up. I think you need to eat some fiber rich foods. Another thing is that for me, PB really does do the trick and makes me not "hungry" anymore. However, you mentioned that you ate it with saltine crackers. Why don't you try the PB with celery or apple instead. Add some fiber to your diet. Also, another thing I do is that I eat air popped pop corn without any added oils/fats. You can eat a lot of this (or it looks like it) and not allow the calories to add up much. So you can be munching away for a while but not consume too many calories. Hope this helps!! Good luck.

You don't have enough vegetables, fruit or high fiber foods such as oatmeal, Fiber One,  beans, high fiber pasta, etc. You have a little bit of protein and some vegetables in the evening, but not enough. And you have some small items that have loads of calories and fat such as canned milk and cream cheese, of course you're hungry.

I think different types of eating work for different people, *at* different times. I've lost about 85 lbs, gone from a size 56 to a size 38 and am now on my way to size 36. This took me about 8 years and I ate differently along the way. I did Atkins type eating and took off a good 50 lbs. It got the junk carbs out of my diet, protein kept me full all day long and it got me off all the sugar and junk they add to *everything.*

Then that stopped working, and after a little bit of time, I started Weight Watchers points and that took of another 20 or so. Here I learned proper portion sizes and also what are good bulk foods that I enjoy, whose calories are low. I learned how to trade out certain things, substitute a less healthy choice, for a healthier choice and be just as satisfied.

Now I am really focusing my attention on vegetables and fruit which I've been neglecting. Vegetables are the main focus of my meal and then I add a carbohydrate and a little bit of protein and right now, it's exactly what my body needs to go to the next level.

This is really a journey and it takes a long time to figure out what is best for your body and then to try something different when it stops working. It really is a slow way to lose weight, but considering that losing the weight isn't the problem, but keeping it off, this method is much better at making changes slow enough that you adopt it for a life time.

I am now repulsed by the way I used to eat to get to 285. I ate fast food, junk candy, packaged food, Thai food. If I even think of stepping into a Thai restaurant my stomach turns because it makes me remember being 285 lbs all over again. I don't feel deprived at all. That food was killing me and I'm embracing even more changes to come.

What kind of coffee are you drinking? Regular? I know caffeine is "supposed" to suppress appetite, but I actually find that the more coffee I drink, the hungrier or more snacky I feel.

Try replacing one of the coffees with tea, or just heat up some plain water and add a flavor packet to it like crystal light or some other sugar free enhancer. This is what I do, because I can't stand the taste of tea. lol The water will not only keep you hydrated, but also because it's hot it should keep you feeling full.

My personal philosophy is that everyone eats different. It sounds simple, but a lot of people try to fit themselves into the 3 or 5 meals a day categories. Maybe you're just one of those people that needs to eat every two hours, smaller meals. Can you try replacing 2 of your eggs with egg whites? That will save you about 100 calories that you can use for a snack around 7:30. And if you could have combined your apple with some peanut butter which would have been more filling, and you could probably have moved the time of your rice and chili back a little farther so you wouldn't have had two snacks after that -- you might only have needed one.

It's a balancing act. You have to play with it, move things around, find a balance that works for you. It took me a couple of months to work out a time schedule to eat one. I have tried eating 5 meals equal meals a day, three large meals a day, and everything in between, and had to tweak it every day until I found my rhythm.  I now have breakfast at 7:45-8:15 (whenever I remember), snack at 10 or so, lunch about 1, and a small snack about 3. Dinner whenever I get off my butt to make it, usually around 6:30 or so.

Just remember that everyone is different. If your body is telling you you're actually hungry, feed it and adjust your remaining calories as needed.

I'm going to try to adjust my same basic foods and see if I can come up with some better carb/fat/protien combo's, see if that makes a differance.

Your calorie target of 1950 is too low in my personal opinion. bottom line is you're not sedentary. if you walk anywhere, take care of kids, do chores...you are at minimum lightly active which puts you at 3000 calories burned a day minimum. so maybe try 2250 and see how that works for you.

Hmmm... I'll try adjusting it up to lightly active, because I've noticed that since I've started trying to hit 1950 a day I've been much more tired and achey than usual. 

I adjusted my food around, had an apple with almonds for my mid morning snack, and then my lunch and salad later on, and I wasn't anywhere near as hungry.  I also cut back on the coffee to 2 cups all day and drank 2.5L of water this morning, plus whatever else I'll drink before the end of today.

Everyone is different but.. for me, if I drank all that coffee with sugar, cream cheese, peanut butter, stuff like that.. I would be hungry all the time, too.  Coffee always makes me feel less hungry immediately but much hungrier throughout the day.  But I've noticed people are very different in how they metabolize coffee.  Refined sugar creates cravings for bad food, in my opinion. You don't say if the sugar you're putting in your coffee is refined or not...  Try stevia (I grow it myself because it can be expensive to buy) in your coffee instead.  

I think other people have said this but.. the biggest thing, I think, is the lack of fiber.  Again, everyone is different but.. carrots are great fillers that keep me from being hungry, as are apples, grapes, bananas.  And I eat a high fiber oatmeal or cereal almost every day.  I end up feeling the opposite of hungry - overwhelmed with all the eating I have to do to reach 1300 cal.  But, then again, maybe it was just a bad day?  Hope it gets easier!  Hang in there.

Original Post by saetum:

My personal philosophy is that everyone eats different. It sounds simple, but a lot of people try to fit themselves into the 3 or 5 meals a day categories. Maybe you're just one of those people that needs to eat every two hours, smaller meals....

 It's a balancing act. You have to play with it, move things around, find a balance that works for you. It took me a couple of months to work out a time schedule to eat one. I have tried eating 5 meals equal meals a day, three large meals a day, and everything in between, and had to tweak it every day until I found my rhythm.  I now have breakfast at 7:45-8:15 (whenever I remember), snack at 10 or so, lunch about 1, and a small snack about 3. Dinner whenever I get off my butt to make it, usually around 6:30 or so.

Just remember that everyone is different. If your body is telling you you're actually hungry, feed it and adjust your remaining calories as needed.

I totally agree!

I also get up at ~5ish and find I have to eat lots in the morning or I'm starving all day. I'll typically have about 1/2 of my daily cals before lunch: Big breakfast (~400-450 cals) and 2-3 snacks (150-200 cal each) before lunch. Then I have a reasonable sized lunch ('cause i"m not starving), may or may not have an afternoon snack, and a reasonable sized dinner. 

If I have a light breakfast and morning snacks I'll still feel hungry by bedtime even if I've had the same total number of calories at the end of the day.

I also find a 150-200 cal snack before bed (oatmeal and skim milk) REALLY helps me not feel starving the next day.

I noticed this as well.  I upped my calories in the early morning, switched two of the coffee's for tea or water, and I've noticed a big differance.

Original Post by beerslinger:

It feels like I can't stop eating .

I started off the day eating healthy, but felt like I was hungry all day until I started making stupid choices... Here's how my day went so far

5:15 am - breakfast

3 eggs scrambled with 2 pieces 60% w/w toast with 2 tblspns cream cheese

1 cup coffee with 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp coffeemate

7:00 Coffee, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tblspn canned milk.  Feeling hungry but know I just ate a little while ago.

8:00 Coffee 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tblspn canned milk.  Very hungry, can't stop thinking about eating.

9:30 snack/brunch.  3 cups spinach salad which had green/yellow/red peppers baby tomatoes, and sliced mushrooms, topped with some smoked herring for fats and protien.

10:30 small gala apple  still hungry

11:30  3/4 cup brown rice 1 1/4 cup homemade vegetable chili

2:00 2 little packages of kraft peanut butter about a tablespoon each I think.

4:00 hungry again, have 8 saltine crackers with 2 tablespoons peanut butter again.

 

All this and it's only 5:30 and time for dinner because I'm hungry again.  I'm constantly feeling like I have to stuff my face, and feeling ashamed because of it.  When I'm not eating I feel like I'm constantly thinking about what I can eat for the next meal.  All this morning my brain was going hmmm... salad and fish, or salad and almonds, or salad and apple, or apple and fish, or apple and almonds... over and over it feels like I'm in a constant spiral.  I've been doing really good so far, dropping 10 pounds in a month, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about eatting. 

I've been making sure to keep up with the water as well, knowing that sometimes you confuse thirst with hunger. 

Has anyone else gone through this, and how did you handle it/distract yourself?

 Hello my friend: how are you? It seems like you have a diet high in carbohydrates and too low in proteins.  I think that the best diet to lose weight, to control hunger and to feel full all day is the high-protein, low-carb diet.

This is what i eat and i feel full all day:

BREAKFAST:

A protein-pancake made with: 1/2 cup of egg-beaters, 4 egg-whites, 1 scoop of whey protein powder.

LUNCH: 10 oz of baked-chicken, or baked-turkey. cooked green vegetables (green-cabbage, brocoli)

DINNER: A protein-pancake made with: 1/2 cup of egg-beaters, 4 egg-whites, 2 to 3 scoops of whey protein powder.

SNACK IF HUNGRY BEFORE DINNER: some cold chicken, a couple of teaspoons of parmessan kraft cheese.

HOPE YOU CAN DO THIS DIET, ITS PRETTY GOOD, YOU GOTTA BUY WHEY PROTEIN POWDER. BUY THE BODY FORTRESS WHEY PROTEIN POWDER AT WAL-MART WHICH IS PRETTY LOW IN PRICE. BUY EGG-BEATERS AND A LOT OF EGGS AND AN EGG-SEPARATOR.

Sounds pretty nutrient deficient, but I will try to up my protien:carb:fat ratio to even it out more.

binge_eater's response to every post is to do a very high protein, low carb diet totally devoid of fruit, complex carbohydrates, and any vegetables that aren't green -- essentially a version of Atkins.  You should do what works for you. 

My advice is to try to get the most nutrition out of your food that you can.  For example: look for whole grain bread that has a lot of fiber.  Saltines and cream cheese are basically just empty calories.  There are much more nutritious and filling crackers out there (I know I could easily go through a sleeve of saltines without batting an eyelash), and try a flavorful low fat spreadable cheese like laughing cow instead of the cream cheese.

I do agree that you could easily eat a few hundred more calories while still losing weight.  You're a big, tall guy who isn't sedentary.  Make sure your body understands that it has enough fuel or it will demand food.

ive been there. actually for the last two weeks. im almost out of my mind! so all of this is helpful ladies/gents thanks also! =)

Original Post by dolphinclick:

 and try a flavorful low fat spreadable cheese like laughing cow instead of the cream cheese.

 I second this.  The low fat Laughing Cow wedges only have 35 calories per wedge and are delicious!  I use this instead of spreads.