Don't stop eating until you're sick

I've been losing weight for about a year and a half now. After my second baby is when I started. I've lost 85 pounds and I"m down to 136. I know that I can maintain this weight eating pretty much whatever i want and working out a couple times a week, but my goal was 120. I"ve been at this weight since december. I go up a few pounds then back down. I always knew that I had a bad relationship with food but it wasn't until recently that I realized how bad it really is. I"ve noticed that I am always the first one done at the table. That one cookie is never enough. That I get uncontrolable urges for things and like sometimes don't even realize i had went and got it until it's about to go in my mouth! The biggest thing is that I"ve realized that when I get full i don't stop. It is really hard to stop when I feel full. It's like I only really believe I'm full when I feel sick. And somtimes that doesn't even do it. It's disgusting I know. I have no idea how I've lost this much weight, but I"m not done and I don't want to give up on my goal weight. Even without that I know that this isn't right and I need to figure out how to control it. Does anyone have this problem? I mean I know people say this but it honestly does feel like an addiction. Any ideas on how to get control of this?

I kind of have a similar problem. I tend to stuff myself before I go to work everyday because when I get my breaks are so uncertain I guess I think that I am going to starve to death before I can eat again. Everytime I leave the house I feel disgusting and tell myself to stop doing it but the next day I am doing it again. I am not even hungry, so full and I still find things to nibble on and stuff in my mouth. It just takes time and self control.

I think, if you can't judge when to stop naturally... ie. by feeling full, then you have to engineer matters a little. 

Try to reinforce that when you eat is a mealtime with a definite start and finish.  Do this by always sitting at a table to eat and, when you've finished what's on your plate, clear the plate away, clear the table and move out of the dining area/kitchen.

And then I think you should look at your food choices.  (Make sure you're not undereating or skipping meals the rest of the day because that's a major cause of overeating at mealtimes.)  Cookies are easy to overeat because they're not filling or satisfying.  It's a lot harder to overeat vegetables, for example.  So when you cook a meal, include lots of vegetables... fill half the plate.  Protein (meat, fish, beans... ) is also very filling and takes a long time to digest so include a portion of that.  High-fibre wholegrains are more satisfying than refined starches.  And a little fat helps make a meal satisfying as well.  Only cook and serve the amount you want to eat.

Finally, slow down your eating.  Don't eat and watch TV at the same time, for example.  Deliberately put down your knife and fork between mouthfuls.  Chew each mouthful several times.  Take a sip of water perhaps.  If you eat with other people, chat to them rather than simply eating.  It takes 20 minutes for food hitting your stomach to register in your brain as 'full'... so eating more slowly gives you more chance to do that.

So that's my suggestion.... make dinnertime an occasion with a start and finish, make your food choices filling and nutritious (and mealtimes regular), and slow down the speed at which you eat.

This is a tough one.  I use to eat until I was ill, and it does take a lot of practice to get to the point where you can tell if you are really hungry.  The above suggestions are great.  Hang in there, you will beat this!!!

seriously, oatmeal. if you're like me and kind of like oatmeal but aren't madly in love with it, how slowly you eat something you don't absolutely love is probably how normal people eat food.  plus its VERY filling. I too am ALWAYS done first before everyone at the table. you can lose 60 cals just by eating slower! overthink it, force yourself, be very methodical. take  a bite, put the fork DOWN no matter how hungry you are. if you find yourself snakcing. through out the cookies, etc. all of it. or have your family hide them. fill it with healthy stuff, like peanuts, raisins, 100 cal bars, etc. trail mix is filling, but yu must eat it slowlybecause its high cal. sepearate all your meals out ahead of time to control your portions. have a few emergency snacks. i love those 100 cal bars because they sometimes have chocolate in them but you know you're still ok cause its low cal. fast eaters have a harder time losing the weight, good luck.

Sucks doesn't it? I flip out and eat boxes of cereal or large portions of whatever. 100 calorie packs I'll eat multiple of, so I totally understand you. It was never a problem with me before, just lately with the additional stress from my job. I do great all day at work and then go home and eat the entire kitchen.

Yesterday I felt the 'find' feeling come over me, and I sat down calmly and started thinking about how many calories I had left, and their worth to me. What would work, and what wouldn't. Even though I did go a few hundred calories over budget, it's nothing compared to the damage I could have done.

It's sort of like asking yourself "is this pair of shoes worth putting on the credit card? i know i'll have to pay for it later, and with interest.." sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Think of your calories like a budget, and just know when you go over, you're going to feel the pinch later.

The above suggestions are good but I have an additional one. What I'm curious about is just how much water you drink throughout the day. The traditionally recommended 8 glasses a day really isn't enough in my opinion, especially if weight loss is your goal. Exactly how much you should drink is hard to say, but if you're drinking water regularly and generously throughout the day you're probably doing alright.

Believe it or not, yours is actually a very common problem and it is one of the reasons people have a hard time controlling their portion sizes. The problem is, the body cannot tell the difference between hunger and thirst, so a lot of times we eat when we're actually not even hungry at all. Here's what I recommend: the next time you start to snack too much/overeat immediately stop yourself and drink a full bottle of water. Chances are, you won't have room to keep eating after doing this. This will not only help you control how much you eat, but will probably help you loose weight as well.

If you have a hard time determining whether or not you're overeating, I'd recommend drinking water plentily while you're eating your meal, perhaps by taking a few gulps of water between every bite or two. It is very unlikely you will overeat if you drink a decent amount of water during the meal, and then you probably won't be the first one to finish.

I go through spurts like that--for a 2, 3, 4-week period I will eat and eat and eat.  Even when I'm not hungry.  I've noticed that it's usually when I'm super stressed over things.  After this period, I quit eating almost altogether.  Food loses its appeal to me.  I do good to make 1200 cals a day.  Then I inch back up to my calorie target level and do well for awhile.  Then the cycle will start again!  Emotional eating, stress eating--call it what you will.  Since it's been warmer outside, when I notice myself heading toward the kitchen, I will grab the dog leash and take my dog for a walk.  And I've been enjoying shaved ice with Crystal Light lemonade mixed in as a treat.  As long and I am "munching" I seem to do OK.  I agree with the advice given above--control portion sizes, drink water with a meal.  After eating I do housework or something to take my mind off of food--after that 15-20 min period when I'm finished eating, I will feel full and satisfied. Prayer also helps me!!

Good luck!

Smiles2come-I know exactly what you are talking about!  I do it all the time.  I too am always the first to leave the table and when it comes to cookies...I tell myself to just get one or don't get any at all, but still I have to have just that one cookie, but then the favor is left behind, and makes me crave more, so I get just one more, and it seems like I can't stop, until I just feel too guilty.  So now I tell myself not to touch them because I know its going to be bad for me in the end, and there is almost always cookies at my house.  Now, since the weather is getting warmer, I'm definitely craving ice-cream and milkshakes, but I know I can't have them.  What I do at the table, or when I eat something and I know I really want more or seconds, and I haven't felt the "I am full" sensation yet, I actually have to MAKE myself not get more.  When I do that, I notice that a little while later, I actually am full.  I for one don't drink while eating, which I hear isn't a good thing for you, but I grew-up not drinking while eating, so after I eat, and I don't feel full, then I drink water afterwards, and then I feel full.  Might not be a very good suggestion, but it takes A LOT of will-power, self control, and discipline.  But I agree with everyone else...they have some pretty good ideas...

But Smiles2come, you've done very well so far.  You've only go 16 more to go...but maybe with your height and all, you might be around your ideal weight?

Nicoleamelia, I do the EXACT same thing!  I go though that period of eating and eating and eating, and I know that they might not be really good things, but that craving in my mind just won't go away until I get it and then after I get it, I feel SO guilty.  Then the next day or next couple of days or even weeks, I feel to guilty about what I did, and then hardly eat anything again.  Then the whole vicious cycle starts all over again.  I go though that period of mopping around and asking people why was have to eat.  I wish their were ways that we didn't have to eat to live, just so I won't feel so guilty when I do the wrong thing. But then when I go though the time of eating well, I'm the happiest person alive, and wonder why I can't do that ALL the time.  But food gets so boring after a while, and I just have to have some good tasty food...  I agree...pray does help...