Maybe you guys can help me....

[kamgen]

Okay, I have been going round and round with this one. My doctor can't even answer/help me with this one. After a lot of trial and error, pondering, researching, I still cannot figure it out!
When I talk to everyone about wanting to lose weight, they talk to me about portions and eating to feel satisfied and full. At one point my doctor put me on meridia, people have recommeded supplements and certain foods to make me feel full so i wont eat as much or as often. But that is not the problem. And as much as i tell them that it isn't they still dont seem to understand. i want to know if anyone else out there is like me and has had some success!
Many people eat more because they are hungry and cannot seem to feel full. I don't. I don't eat when I am hungry....I eat because I like the food. I eat more because I like it. I might be full, but I like it so I eat more. Does that make sense?? I cannot find any answers on what to do to eat less when you just like eating. Sounds so simple to me....my brain is not telling me I am hungry. Many times I am full and know I dont need more, but I eat it anyway. I sound like a terrible over-eater, but I really dont eat tons....I just know that the seconds are killing me....and the snacks too.
Any advice????

 

[FireDancer]

The first thing I would recommend is look at food as fuel. It is something you need to live, like oxygen. I don’t breather because I love oxygen and I don’t eat because I love food. I look at the nutritional information on everything I eat and if the food tastes good but is loaded with sugar or hydrogenated fats I just put it down.

Also, if a serving of a particular food is ¼ cup, just eat that quarter cup, even if you still feel hungry.

It sounds from you post that you eat for fun. If that is the case and you continue to eat high calorie food than you can’t lose weight. The only way to lose weight is to consume less calories than you expend. This means eat less, exercise more, or do both. There is also a delay between your stomach being full and your brain recognizing that it is full. Some good advice is located here.

Good luck in your quest and remember that a lifestyle change is more likely to work that a diet.

 

[r3ngels]

I know exactly what you are saying... even when I am not hungry I walk into the kitchen to see what I can snack on...

So surround yourself with healthy alternatives...
walk away, just leave the area...
chew gum/brush your teeth...
you have to train yourself to stop...
find a project, crossword puzzles, suduko, jigsaw puzzles etc...

It is not easy it takes WILL POWER. And sometimes will power doesn't come until you see success... you just have to fake it for awhile

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

I do know EXACTLY how you feel, at least exactly how I think it sounds to me and the way it works for me. I have been brought up on eating for pleasure, not fuel. Everything was shared with some sort of food. It is a miracle that I was born with skinny genes until I had that change in metabolism as I got older.

I have trouble with this, but learning to think food is fuel as suggested is key. It is a most difficult thing, but you can do this. If you fall off, get back to it.

I find when I journal everything I eat I begin to realize what my healthy choices are and that if I have to log it in, then I don't really want to look at the figures. (I'll use sparkpeople or fitday to log)

Never give up. If you really want something, no matter what it is you work for it. Want this. Work for it. You can make it work!

 

[lisah0711]

I know exactly how you feel, too. It is hard to break yourself out of your old bad habits.

You may want to check out the website sparkpeople.com. They have programes tailored to your nutritional requirement. One of the things that I like about them is that their menus seem to give you a lot of bang for you buck. For example, where I might have eaten a bagel with a little whipped cream cheese on it for breakfast and called it good, their recommendation would be two pieces of low cal toast, juice, fruit and something else and it would be the same as my wimpy little bagel. They help you get more bang for your calories.

They also have a team for emotional eaters. There's a Disboards team, too. I think sometimes that I eat because I am stressed out or bored and can't think of anything better to do. There is a lot of good information on the site.

In the last few weeks I have really been working on getting healthy I have tried to get the most bang for my caloric buck and it seems to help.

This problem didn't just develop overnight and it make take some trial and error to determine your best strategy to change it.

Good luck and good health to you!

 

[ohMom]

Kamy

first off - i see you are in FL!! i'm envious!!

i can relate too. i finally had my aha moment where i've realized i tend to snack/overeat when i'm feeling overwhelmed with life. and as you know being a mother, that's often

i would suggest baby steps -- i know it's so hard to not want an miraculous overnight fix -- but you HAVE done this before and you CAN do it again! i have faith in you!

for me actions that help me: journaling (i'm still terrible but i'm always trying); planning our meals on monday and grocery shopping that day, try to stick to the list, if it's not in your house you can't eat it; allowing myself a 'treat' most days, remember those yummy smart one ice creams? there are all kinds of 100 cal goodies nowaday; when i'm thinking about a snack, making a cup of hot tea instead

mind you, i'm no where near perfect take it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Treat your children's mother excellently, they want her around for grandchildren

 

[corinnak]

I've been here as well- recreational eating. And it's a bit of a hard habit to change and easy to slip back to. I have recently come to the conclusion that I need to log my food and I need to be on a food plan, probably forever. When I am in charge of deciding if I want to have more without a guideline indicating that I've had enough food for the meal or the day, I have a track record of making bad decisions.

Right now I am feeling fairly in control, and it's a good feeling, but it is still definitely a struggle from time to time. My best coping tactics for times I just want the texture or flavor are 94% fat free microwave popcorn, hot decaf green tea (there are some great flavors now, my favorites are mandarin orange and mint) and sometimes real bubble gum. Also, just not starting to eat snacky foods helps a lot. If I don't have that taste in my mouth, I don't end up wanting more.

There's a lot more to all this than hunger, for sure.

 

[quasar4legs]

One thing that is working well for me is to photograph everything I eat or drink. The dietician I am seeing suggested that it is even more effective in helping control portion sizes because it is a visual reminder and totally accurate.
If I go wandering into the kitchen looking for something to eat I often just have a water because I don't want to have to take a photo.
It is quite interesting to review what you eat at the end of every week. I just keep a small camera on the benchtop so it is no hardship and has been very helpful for me.

Good Luck, it is not easy.

Trish