My overeating is WAY out of control!

Lately I've been having a really hard time controlling my eating at night. Some days or some weeks I'll REALLY overeat; I mean I'll eat WHATEVER is in the house. During the day I'm fine, and I eat well balanced meals. I think I'm eating enough during the day because I eat the same amount everyday, and I've been able to lose weight before. After these eating episodes I'll move on and eat right for a little while, but than I start overeating again. Unfortunatley, I've gained back all the weight I had lost, and even more. I really don't know what to do! Can anyone give me some advice on how to stop my overeating and lose the weight I've gained??

Please and thank you!

P.S My overeating has been going on and off for a while now.

i do this too, at night i want to eat everything in sight and i really hate it. i've made myself LITERALLY SICK. and i won't stop. i don't get it. i've recovered from an ED recently and i think it could be due to my rationalization of the calories in the past so now it's habit. i am with you, pretty stunned as how to stop this behavior. hmmm...any ideas anyone?

I totally understand. I used to have an ED as well and it comes back to haunt me every once in a while, especially when I'm stressed or feel out of control.I snack constantly so what I've done recently is tried to rid my house and work space of any food! I don't even keep 'healthy' snacks on hand (even the calories from peanuts can add up!) because i know that once i start, i won't be able to stop. Those 100 calorie packs? yeah, they don't work if you finish about 6 of them at one go for no reason other than because you're bored...

the only thing I can think of is to try and keep myself busy and do other things and stop thinking of food constantly but that is also proving to be incredibly difficult. I have no food at work, just a bottle of water that I refill constantly and I try to have healthy lunch options. At night, I have inspirational posters and pictures around to keep myself and track and sometimes even put the weighing scale right in front of my door so i'll think twice about going outside to get food. I keep a pitcher of water next to my bed so I'll just chug it whenever I feel that mad itch..

I think it may also have something to do with the fact that I'm trying to quit smoking, so lately I've been getting 'itchy fingers' syndrome where I just want to keep putting things in my mouth. UGH!

Some practical tips to avoid overeating

• Don't undereat.... If you need to lose weight, work with a calorie deficit of 500-700 only.  Starving leads to bingeing more often than not
• Don't keep too much ready-made food in the house.  If it's not there or if it's difficult to access, you physically can't eat it regardless of whether you're bored/stressed/happy/upset
• Keep your fruit bowl and salad drawer topped up.  If you need extra snacks and you have healthy things to choose from, you won't do any damage.
• Eat regularly.  Minimum three meals with appropriate snacks to keep your energy levels up.  If blood-sugars drop because you've gone too long between eating then you will feel very hungry and crave extra food
• Choose good quality wholefoods.  These are more satisfying in smaller amounts and will fill you up for longer.
• Make mealtimes a separate event, take your time and savour what you eat.  Rushed meals, meals on the hoof and too many snacks can mean you eat a lot without feeling satisfed.  

It can also help to be accountable to someone. I have the same problem ...although I have BED and it's linked t my stress level. Right now I am under a lot of stress and last night was awful (ate about 2000 calories over my intake). If you would like to keep each other accountable we can.

my Fri Sat Sun were like this. I seriously finished off and entire package of Keebler chocolate chip rainbow delux cookies and milk. Over three days. Finally i forced myself to drink this protein shake even thought i was already stuffed and i felt miserable for like 6 hours afterwords. just thinking about now is making my stomach queesy. i wouldnt reccomend it though. i need REAL answers to how to stop the binging!

i have the same problem! i can do really well during the day but at night....whole differnet story!! i try to allow myself to have a snack around 9...just ONE snack, but usually i will have that and then want something else. my boyfriend is going out of town for a few days and that scares the crao out of me. i am tryin to recover from an ED and just the fact that I CAN eat whatever i want and no one will see (we live together) makes me want to binge/purge even more....last time he was out of town i went crazy and ate like every thing in the house then went out and got more food. i felt miserable.....SO... i will probably be posting on here A LOT from thursday until saturday!! i wish i could be one of those people who just dont think about food all the time but i do!! it's either food or my weight and what i should do and what i shouldnt do, etc....anyone experience the same thing?

Yes, I also desperately need help with this!  I am fine during the day at work but it starts the minute I get home while I'm cooking dinner-tasting this and that, feeling ravenous even though I've eaten appropriately during breakfast and lunch.  Before I know it, I've eaten all my dinner calories and can't eat dinner unless I want to overeat.  And even if I manage to get through dinner without bingeing, by 7:00 I am scouring the cabinets.  People have given advice about not having junk in the house and I agree with that 100%, it's very true.  BUT, as you say, you will eat ANYTHING, and it IS possible to binge on HEALTHY foods (nuts, cereal, peanut butter, whatever) to the point where you feel sick and gain weight. 

And then, correct me if I'm wrong, you HATE yourself.  Yet you can't stop.  Even as you are eating the stuff you hate yourself and can't believe you are doing it.  AGAIN.  This continues to be my downfall.  And it's more difficult when, like me, you have a family so you have to keep more food in the house.  And it ends up costing you more money because you're eating food that was supposed to last a long time.  And you eat in one or two nights.

I see we are not the only ones that have this problem and it's great to get it out in the open.  I lost 50 lbs. over the last few years yet this night eating has put 10 lbs. back on me so it has to stop.  Some nights are OK, others you seem to have no defenses, right?  Yet I think we can beat it.  Let's take it one night at a time.

Original Post by meyer67:

People have given advice about not having junk in the house and I agree with that 100%, it's very true.  BUT, as you say, you will eat ANYTHING, and it IS possible to binge on HEALTHY foods (nuts, cereal, peanut butter, whatever) to the point where you feel sick and gain weight. 

 Actually my suggestion was not to have a lot of 'ready-made' food in the house rather than 'junk'.  Things like nuts can be eaten straight out of the packet so they're a bad thing to have around if you're a cupboard rustler.  Pasta or a potato at least takes a few minutes to convert into something edible.  Dry oats aren't quite as tempting as ready-to-go cereals.  Keep bread in the freezer, for example.... that short delay while you microwave it back to life can be enough to make you think again. 

Here's a bit of trivia.... Charles Darwin, in an effort to reduce his snuff habit, kept his snuff locked in the cellar and the key to the cellar locked in the attic.... If he really wanted some he had to climb a lot of stairs!! 

Barriers.... If you struggle with overeating, place barriers between you and the food.

just a thought, but i've started eating dinner later, maybe around 8 or 8:30ish...i know some can't eat that late, but for me, if i'm done eating around 9, i know it's already 9, so i dont really want to eat any more because im going to bed soon. if i get done eating at 7, i have about 2.5 more hours that im up and usually will rumage and snack the entire night!!

Original Post by gi-jane:

Original Post by meyer67:

People have given advice about not having junk in the house and I agree with that 100%, it's very true.  BUT, as you say, you will eat ANYTHING, and it IS possible to binge on HEALTHY foods (nuts, cereal, peanut butter, whatever) to the point where you feel sick and gain weight. 

 Actually my suggestion was not to have a lot of 'ready-made' food in the house rather than 'junk'.  Things like nuts can be eaten straight out of the packet so they're a bad thing to have around if you're a cupboard rustler.  Pasta or a potato at least takes a few minutes to convert into something edible.  Dry oats aren't quite as tempting as ready-to-go cereals.  Keep bread in the freezer, for example.... that short delay while you microwave it back to life can be enough to make you think again. 

Here's a bit of trivia.... Charles Darwin, in an effort to reduce his snuff habit, kept his snuff locked in the cellar and the key to the cellar locked in the attic.... If he really wanted some he had to climb a lot of stairs!! 

Barriers.... If you struggle with overeating, place barriers between you and the food.

 I should DEFINATELY lock all my food in the attic...  That would make me think twice!  lol :)

I should lock all my food at my neighbors! hahah that might work! i tried not buying groceries anymore but then found myself eating more fast food. granted i still fit it in my calorie count but you really come to appreciate broccoli when you can eat like 8 lbs of it for the same calories as those 4 piece chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce!!!!

Original Post by sugarxfiend:

Lately I've been having a really hard time controlling my eating at night. Some days or some weeks I'll REALLY overeat; I mean I'll eat WHATEVER is in the house. During the day I'm fine, and I eat well balanced meals. I think I'm eating enough during the day because I eat the same amount everyday, and I've been able to lose weight before. After these eating episodes I'll move on and eat right for a little while, but than I start overeating again. Unfortunatley, I've gained back all the weight I had lost, and even more. I really don't know what to do! Can anyone give me some advice on how to stop my overeating and lose the weight I've gained??

Please and thank you!

P.S My overeating has been going on and off for a while now.

I've been in the same boat lately. I actually gained 8 lbs this past week, then was outstanding on Sunday, Monday I weighed myself, and I was 4.2 down, must work fast. I tend to eat a lot at night, and I'm trying to curb that. It's so hard sometimes.

That is certainly a good idea to be forced to cook your food and not be able to have ready access to packaged goods that you can easily binge on.  I would do it if I was single.  The problem for me is my husband and children-I'd have a riot on my hands if they had to cook everything or wait for it to thaw out every time they wanted a snack.  One thing I've discovered that helps, though, is to find snacks and meals that your family likes but YOU don't necessarily get tempted by. 

I run a healthy calorie deficit pretty much dailly. It's hard to tell how much it really is based on what the basic calculations on the site give you. It asks you what your activity level is...but then I work out. So does that number take that into consideration already? My working out?

Anyway, I get skim milk and very healhty low calorie cereal. I pre-measure it and take it into considation for my late night sleep walking snack.

Also, on Sunday I make 3 boxes of sugar free jello in one tupperware container. I plow through this as I see fit. There are barely any calories in it at all.

I tend to get up at night to snack regardless of the calorie deficit I'm running anyway so I had to figure out a way to beat it and still be happy.

I know it's easier said than done but you have to find out what triggers the binge and cut it out of your diet.  I cut out dairy, grains, and sugars from my "diet" and have never felt better and my sugar cravings have diminished significantly.  I've pretty much eliminated all processed food actually.  In my case, if I eat sugar, it will trigger a binge but only sugars in the form or processed or refined sugar.  My sugar intake only comes from natural sources like fruits. 

Good luck.

Yes. Also, focus on low glycemic foods. A proper mix of protein and good carbs in every meal as well...this will keep your blood sugar stable. This could be a root cause of binging...

Yes! Good point goingblue! Sugarfiend do you keep a food journal?

Watch closely the foods you eat...even healthy foods if eaten in large quantities will make you gain weight. Look for high nutrition and low calories.

I found eating more grains really helped me...they stay with me longer and helped curbed that volume I was eating.  And I could not eat white sugars, fats, flour and of course I had to reduce the salt.  If I was planning to lose the weight I had to make that decision.

However eating some grains like psyllium, flax seed, rolled oats(Quaker Oat meal) and many others...before I ate anything, helped me reduce the volume I was eating too.

I also found checking my Blood Pressure daily also before I ate a large meal and after...this did show me I had to start doing things right in 2009 or have a heart attack.

It of course has to be your choice.

Good luck

Hello, do you know how i was able to stop my binge-eating habits at night? I've noticed that binge-eating episodes are real short-term lived, it's like the cocaine and drug-addicts.  I mean they get high for a very short time, and then they get down, real down.

And the same happens with binge-eating cake, pizzas, and junk foods.  They taste real well, they kill depression and make you real happy, and nice while you are eating it which might be for 30 minutes, or 1 hour of munching of cookies and snacks.  But the payoff is that you will feel like sh|t, real fulll, bloated and real heavy in your stomach.

And that's not the worst part of binge-eating. The worst-part of binge eating is the aesthetic physical-appearance part, it makes you ugly, bloated.  Eating large quantities of calories leads to a bloated face, puffy looks.  So what it happens is that you will wake up next morning real fat, like if you've gained 10 lbs. in 1 day.

So trust me, i think its better to diet and exercising, and snacking a little bit of pizza, cake or chocolates some days when you feel real bad, but not binge-eating.  Because non-stop, compulsive binge-eating means taking in like 10,000 calories, instead of a little extra snack every now and then which might just mean 400 to 800 extra calories over your regular dieting calorie intake

Another thing you can do is to get a hobby, like politics.  Get into a political forum or something u like.  etc.

 

 

I have a serious binge eating problem too.  I actually ate an entire carton of Edy's ice cream last night.  I feel like crap about it.  Add ice cream to the list of foods I can never ever ever touch.

One thing that helps me (when I am bahaving responsibly) is brushing my teeth as soon as I am done with dinner.

Also, I am completely on board with anyone who wants to use this forum as a "Help! I'm about to binge, somebody stop me!"  I would love to have somewhere to turn when I feel the urge to binge.  Plus, maybe talking other people through it will help me work on my own will power.