HELP - Eating too much crap

[ArtVandelay]

For more than a year now I've been exercising regularly, and loving the body that it gives me. For the longest time, I was very close to having a six-pack.

But recently I've been acting very strangely. I've been eating when I wasn't hungry for the sake of eating, and I've been eating a large amount of crappy food. There are two problems with this:

1.) First, and foremost, this is obviously horrible for my health. I know it's irrational, and yet I keep doing it anyway.
2.) This is CATASTROPHIC for the body I've been so proud of. I now have a clearly visible stomach after doing this for a little over a week. This is a huge problem, because while I'm not a vain person - I'm not good enough looking for that - being in visibly good shape has been a huge confidence booster for me for a long time.

So please, please, someone help me. What should I do? Would starting a food diary help? Chewing gum?

Thanks for any help... I want to deal with this BEFORE it becomes a habit/permanent problem.

[ArtVandelay]

Also - I've never been a fan of the idea of "detox" stuff, but if I need to just not eat or something for a day for some psychological reason in order to reorient myself, then that's cool, and I can try that. But I don't want to do that if it'll just make me give up and eat a ton for dinner that night.

(This is the right time I've really seen any merit in this "detox" stuff, by the way. I can definitely see how it can be psychologically useful if not physically.)

[actualize81]

Now may some time for some self inquiry... You know its irrational to eat just for pleasure but you may be getting close to some sort of change in your life that is causing you some anxiety?

What does it mean for you to be in shape? What would it signify and how would your life change if you were physically fit? How would you have to see yourself and what might you need to admit?

Maybe knowing you have a hot body yet in your mind, A,B, or C is still wrong upsets you and causes fear that you have to change mentally instead of physically. Changing mentally is the first thing you have to change.. and only then will physically changes stay permanent.. Mind over matter always..

Best of luck.. Want you to keep in touch..

[Becca Glouzstein]

Ok, sweetie - know this problem well - Here's the solution as I see it:

You need a plan.

Choose when you're going to eat - it has to fit in with your daily routine - best earlier in the day rather than later. In fact when I lost my post-pregnancy fat I had a cut-off time of about 5pm which worked great. After that I would drink water and wait for breakfast the next day!

Next -think of all the healthy foods that you just love to eat. Work out which foods you'll eat when. For example, I would have toast for breakfast with a healthy spread and then stay off the bread for the rest of the day - salad and soup for lunch (which I ate when I was hungry after breakfast - sometimes even 11am) and then when I was hungry again I had my tea which was usually corn flakes (love them!). At each meal I would eat as much as I wanted because the aim was to fill me up til the next meal. And I tried to stick to just one thing for each meal and not take in too many different tastes or foods in one meal.

So there you go! Don't know if this will be of help but it worked for me - but them I'm a woman. Maybe it's different for you men! I expect you'll need a few more carbs and meat than I had! But I think having a plan is good - otherwise any food is fair game at any time of day.

Let me know what you think!

[RRR]

Stop It!

[Alison Jenkins]

Sounds as though this is becoming an issue for you and not something you are able to stop. I work with lots of people who binge eat and all I can say is it is so much better to deal with it straight away than let it all build up.

You don't say exactly what you are eating but if it is high sugary food you may well be suffering with an unstable blood sugar so the first thing to do is stabilize it. I've written quite a few different articles Articles on binge eating recovery which you may find useful.

Alison

[Eisho]

Originally Posted by ArtVandelay

For more than a year now I've been exercising regularly, and loving the body that it gives me. For the longest time, I was very close to having a six-pack.

But recently I've been acting very strangely. I've been eating when I wasn't hungry for the sake of eating, and I've been eating a large amount of crappy food. There are two problems with this:

1.) First, and foremost, this is obviously horrible for my health. I know it's irrational, and yet I keep doing it anyway.
2.) This is CATASTROPHIC for the body I've been so proud of. I now have a clearly visible stomach after doing this for a little over a week. This is a huge problem, because while I'm not a vain person - I'm not good enough looking for that - being in visibly good shape has been a huge confidence booster for me for a long time.

So please, please, someone help me. What should I do? Would starting a food diary help? Chewing gum?

Thanks for any help... I want to deal with this BEFORE it becomes a habit/permanent problem.

While training yourself did you ever give yourself a holiday to fully recover and relax? The eating may be just your mind's way of signaling to you that it is time for a break. I train in martial arts to a very high level but I take a break every 2-3 months for a week or two. Top athletes work according to seasons. When the season is over they have a proper holiday...and then start to get back into shape in pre-season. Your body nor your mind were designed to exercise and diet to extremes year after year. Take a break...have a kit kat.

Cheers,

Eisho

[jawillie]

Originally Posted by RRR

Stop It!

grr! You beat me to it!!

[ArtVandelay]

Originally Posted by Becca Glouzstein

Ok, sweetie - know this problem well - Here's the solution as I see it:

You need a plan.

Choose when you're going to eat - it has to fit in with your daily routine - best earlier in the day rather than later. In fact when I lost my post-pregnancy fat I had a cut-off time of about 5pm which worked great. After that I would drink water and wait for breakfast the next day!

Next -think of all the healthy foods that you just love to eat. Work out which foods you'll eat when. For example, I would have toast for breakfast with a healthy spread and then stay off the bread for the rest of the day - salad and soup for lunch (which I ate when I was hungry after breakfast - sometimes even 11am) and then when I was hungry again I had my tea which was usually corn flakes (love them!). At each meal I would eat as much as I wanted because the aim was to fill me up til the next meal. And I tried to stick to just one thing for each meal and not take in too many different tastes or foods in one meal.

So there you go! Don't know if this will be of help but it worked for me - but them I'm a woman. Maybe it's different for you men! I expect you'll need a few more carbs and meat than I had! But I think having a plan is good - otherwise any food is fair game at any time of day.

Let me know what you think!

I decided I would try this. I forced myself not to eat anything between lunch and dinner today - I've had something at that time for years - and consequently ate more than usual at dinner. Now, a few hours later, when I would normally be pretty hungry, I'm feeling completely satisfied. I'm going to continue this strategy, and I'll say how it goes!

PS - I'm not drinking soda and eating pizza, at least not often. I only drink soda when I eat out, and even then only once in a while. The food I'm eating isn't especially awful for me either, per se, it's just very highly-processed... deli meat is a staple of my diet, for example. I do probably eat more sodium than I should, though, which I'm going to try to cut out.

Also, I don't think this is a result of low blood sugar or anything like that. What I bet is happening is that the stress from college applications is coming back to bite me, combined with the depressive atmosphere of being back in school after Thanksgiving break. If I'm not able to get this under control right now, though, I'll look into it being a deeper problem!

[learningtogrow]

Perhaps you need to think about what might satisfy you instead of food? I believe people eat as a distraction from dealing with what you're body and mind really need.

Do you need to deal with an emotion (i.e. stress from your college applications)? Really process it and know that it's not really that big of a deal? Do you need attention/love? Do you need to sleep/give your body a rest?

That being said, it's important to nourish your body so that you can be in tune with what's going on in your reality. When you're body is clear, so is your mind. We are here to experience all that life has to offer and the crap you're eating is distracting from your experience.

Listen to your body and start to understand what it needs at any given moment. Sometimes, that might be something indulgent. Sometimes though, your body needs to eat healthy for a few days in a row. Once you begin to practice this lifestyle, it will get easier and completely natural.

I would recommend letting go of all the crap for at least 5 days so you know what it's like to be clear headed and then start listening and trusting your body to tell you what it needs and follow.

[Alison Jenkins]

It's not uncommon for people to turn to food in times of stress or any other emotional reason. Initially food brings lots of comfort, numbs out pain but I can tell you that when you USE food in this manner for a long time it brings nothing but devastation.

To those of you who have said just "stop it" ...... have you not thought that if it was so easy to do this then Artvandelay would already have done this and wouldn't be reaching out for help. Food can be just as powerful as alcohol or drug to those who become addicted to it.

Try to become aware every time you eat junk food why you did it. Ask yourself how this food will help solve the problems

Alison

[Andrew Brunelle]

Look up Steve's podcast called Using Patterns for Personal Development. That should help you break the habit. I believe he actually uses an example of eating chocolate and suggests ways of breaking the habit.

Just use the three patterns he describes and see which one works best for you. I'll put a link in the bottom:

StevePavlina.com Podcast #004 - Using Patterns for Personal Development