I cant stop eating!

[jessicarabbit]

I am 21 years old female, 5'8 and about 165 lbs. I am not overweight but I feel like at the rate im going right now I will be in a few years.

 

Please read this and help me...

 

I crave fast food ALL the time, even when I'm not hungry I want to eat. I went to my doctor to check my hormones and see if it was any type of medical condition. Everything checked out normal, and i'm still eating like a maniac.

 

Im not pregnant, and its not a period thing cause I do it all month long. I will literally order $10-15 dollars worth of food off the dollar menu at any fast food place and I will not stop eating untill its gone, if I order a pizza I will eat an entire medium pizza and a box of bread sticks. I eat until the point where I feel like throwing up and then Ill eat more an hour later.

 

I am totally secret about it too which is really weird to me, I am a total binge eater but I ONLY do it by myself because I am so embarassed.

 

This is no joke, I have no idea how I am not overweight I do not workout that often but I literally can not stop eating and I dont know what to do. I am afraid that this may not be catching up to me right now but it is going too and I need to fix it ASAP. Any suggestions, anyone out there like me?

[johan]

I have a theory that if all you eat is junk food, then your body tells you to keep eating until you finally get enough good nutrients out of it. That just means you get too much of the bad stuff. Not to mention lots of extra calories.

 

If you adjusted your diet to only eating good food, at first your cravings would get more intense. After a while you'd find you're eating normal amounts and the craving for fast food would turn into a repulsion.

[carhill]

Try soup

 

I also have good success with sushi.

 

There is a signaling system for hunger and fullness and perhaps yours is messed up. Do some research on the internet about it.

 

I find, if I don't eat complete meals (I rarely eat fast food), I usually am hungry an hour or two later. Give me soup, salad, a protein and a nice low calorie desert and I'm good to go for five or six hours. I tend to eat my large meal in the middle of the day.

 

Do you emotional eat? That's been an issue for me in the past. Keep the chocolate out of the house

[Enema]

I don't know how you expect us to help you.

 

You know what you have to do. Control yourself. Stop eating fast food and moderate your portions.

 

You're not terribly overweight yet because you're only 21. You're at the age now where the metabolism starts slowing down. You'll balloon up to a disgusting blob within a few years if you don't stop it.

[quankanne]

not good, kiddo – tomorrow morning I go in for gastric banding surgery to help me gain control over my diabetes because bad lifestyle and eating decisions/habits developed over the years simply because I was too damned lazy to get on or stick to a healthy regimen. I am exactly twice the weight I was at age 15, nearly 20 years ago. Damned scary, and the only thing that made me decide to do something as drastic as this is knowing that I'm on two types of insulin right now, and there's nothing else the doctors can prescribe to control the high blood sugars. My parents both died from diabetes complications, and I probably will too, at the rate I'm going.

 

but this doesn't have to be YOU. Listen carefully to what johan is saying: eating crap foods like sweets and fast foods and drinking sodas only fools your body into thinking it's "full" when it's really demanding nutritional satisfaction. It's hard learning to control those eating impulses, but I guarantee if you switch out the bad food with fruits and vegetables, your body is going to get what it needs ... and your automatic "shut off" is going to kick in because you're giving your body what it really wants. Believe me – switch to fruits for snacks and artificially sweetened (if you must have something "sugary") drinks, your body is going to say "Blech!" to processed sugars because they don't taste good at all.

 

and start a daily regimen of exercise, be it swimming, aerobics, walking, bicycling, playing tennis or something else you can enjoy – get into the habit now, and by the time you're my age, it'll be so ingrained that it's one less thing you have to worry about.

 

you don't say if your eating habits are emotional in nature, my guess there's something you're punishing yourself for. And because food will never walk away from you, never say 'no' to you and is always there for you, you turn to it for comfort. It's time to figure out what the psychological factor is behind the binge eating and start start working on resolving that. Between this, better food choices and exercise, you'll be putting yourself on the right track.

[jessicarabbit]

I don't know how you expect us to help you.

 

You know what you have to do. Control yourself. Stop eating fast food and moderate your portions.

 

You're not terribly overweight yet because you're only 21. You're at the age now where the metabolism starts slowing down. You'll balloon up to a disgusting blob within a few years if you don't stop it.

 

 

Its really easy for you to say stop eating fast food, but its the weirdest craziest craving I have ever gotten, and if I dont eat it I feel sick. I wish I could stop, its like an addiction I swear and that is why I am reaching out for help to see if anyone else is like this

[jessicarabbit]

you don't say if your eating habits are emotional in nature, my guess there's something you're punishing yourself for. And because food will never walk away from you, never say 'no' to you and is always there for you, you turn to it for comfort. It's time to figure out what the psychological factor is behind the binge eating and start start working on resolving that. Between this, better food choices and exercise, you'll be putting yourself on the right track.

 

 

I do emotional eat, especially when I am bored and if I had a bad day which is pretty much everyday. I just turn to it because it makes me feel better, but then I feel so gross for the amount of food I ate and I get so mad at myself so its like this on going battle its terrible

[Enema]

You're probably addicted to the caffeine and sugar that makes up a lot of fast food.

 

People do get withdrawals when they cut that stuff out of their diet. After a little while of not eating it, you will not feel sick. You just have to control yourself for a little while - it gets easier.

[jessicarabbit]

You're probably addicted to the caffeine and sugar that makes up a lot of fast food.

 

People do get withdrawals when they cut that stuff out of their diet. After a little while of not eating it, you will not feel sick. You just have to control yourself for a little while - it gets easier.

 

That has to be it, im a caffeine freak I drink coffee and tea all day long. Is too much caffeine bad for you? I mean if I am drinking it?

[Sibyl Vane]

Its really easy for you to say stop eating fast food, but its the weirdest craziest craving I have ever gotten, and if I dont eat it I feel sick. I wish I could stop, its like an addiction I swear and that is why I am reaching out for help to see if anyone else is like this

 

Once you stop eating these foods, once you make a conscious 100% decision to not continue down that path, it makes it easier to stick to it. Your body will crave these things but you will need to control yourself. You are making yourself ill with every mouthful.

 

This is literally all about, you got it, you. You will feel and look so much better if you do this. But there is nothing anyone else can say to make you do it, you need to find your own reasons to drive yourself or you'll just end up maybe losing a little, giving up and putting back on twice as much as you lost.

[jessicarabbit]

Once you stop eating these foods, once you make a conscious 100% decision to not continue down that path, it makes it easier to stick to it. Your body will crave these things but you will need to control yourself. You are making yourself ill with every mouthful.

 

This is literally all about, you got it, you. You will feel and look so much better if you do this. But there is nothing anyone else can say to make you do it, you need to find your own reasons to drive yourself or you'll just end up maybe losing a little, giving up and putting back on twice as much as you lost.

 

I know all of this is really helping I appriciate everything you all have to say

[bean1]

You are addicted to fast food because you have lost all sense of what real food tastes like. If you ate healthy (oatmeal, steamed veggies, broiled chicken with no sauces, no added salt, fruits), you would be SICK from eating fast food. People who are very overweight tend to eat the worst junk possible and can't even stand a green bean without plopping butter and salt all over it - because their tastebuds are shot.

 

If you actually feel addicted to it, you should consult overeaters anonymous (Google). You can quit drinking or doing drugs, but you can't stop eating, so you need to keep that in check. At 5'8 and 165lbs, you are overweight (25.1 BMI) and if you are only 21 years old, it is going to get sooo much worse when your metabolism starts slowing down.

 

You need to make the choice to change or else you will continue and it will get worse and worse.

[skywriter]

The next thing you know, you'll be having some serious digestive problems,

if you haven't already.

 

Eventually it could cause you to need to have your gall bladder removed.

 

Since you mentioned , you do this in secrecy, obvously you are disgusted by your behavior. If you could find a confidant, a close friend that would team up with you for a while on your eating and excercise together, this might get you back on a good track.

 

Walking with a friend in the evening maybe. Then you could destress together. Then if you live alone, you could try and just bathe and call it a night early after you've walked. Just until you can get a grip on your bad habits. You can figure out what will work for you along these lines.

[jazzlovr1990]

i would really think about going to a nutrition counselor/or maybe even talk to a trainer at a gym. make sure you dont keep it to yourself

[squall]

I am 21 years old female, 5'8 and about 165 lbs. I am not overweight but I feel like at the rate im going right now I will be in a few years.

 

Please read this and help me...

 

I crave fast food ALL the time, even when I'm not hungry I want to eat. I went to my doctor to check my hormones and see if it was any type of medical condition. Everything checked out normal, and i'm still eating like a maniac.

 

Im not pregnant, and its not a period thing cause I do it all month long. I will literally order $10-15 dollars worth of food off the dollar menu at any fast food place and I will not stop eating untill its gone, if I order a pizza I will eat an entire medium pizza and a box of bread sticks. I eat until the point where I feel like throwing up and then Ill eat more an hour later.

 

I am totally secret about it too which is really weird to me, I am a total binge eater but I ONLY do it by myself because I am so embarassed.

 

This is no joke, I have no idea how I am not overweight I do not workout that often but I literally can not stop eating and I dont know what to do. I am afraid that this may not be catching up to me right now but it is going too and I need to fix it ASAP. Any suggestions, anyone out there like me?

 

Its okay to eat a lot as long as you have plenty of exercise. Go out there and hit the gym or play some sports and have some fun, that way you'll lose some wait. If you want to lose wait faster, then have a balance diet that will go along with the exercise your doing.

[D-Lish]

What Johan has said is correct. If you switch your diet to more healthy foods, your body will adjust and you'll no longer crave the crap.

 

Try eating 5-6 smaller meals a day and start exercising. I'd see a nutritionist to help you get on track.

 

I'm the same height as you and weigh almost 50 lbs less- I've been at 155lbs before and I WAS overweight at that time.

 

It will take your body about a month to become accustomed to a new diet and get rid of the cravings.

[sunshinegirl]

I have to say that even though most of the advice above is good and sound, I suspect it's not "actionable" for the OP.

 

Binge eating is in the family of eating disorders - it's not anorexia and it's not bulimia, BUT as far as I've experienced it (and I have) and have read about it, its roots are emotional as much as, or more than, physical. So all of the advice to "buck up! have some self-control!" are well intentioned but misguided and will likely only feed the OP's guilt if she can't do so indefinitely.

 

To the OP: I was a binge eater in college and for a few years afterwards. I started college at 5'9" and 130 lbs and when I graduated I was over 165. More importantly though my binge eating was absolutely connected to my emotional life, and a lot of loneliness, uncertainty, and worry about my future. My binge eating episodes would only get worse if I had been really self-controlled for a few days and then "fell off the wagon". I would eat even more in an effort to assuage the guilt feelings that I had screwed up.

 

The roots of healing from binge eating, for me, came from attacking its real source which was my chaotic emotional life.

 

To the OP: I would recommend that you do some online research on binge eating disorder and look for support & resources in your local area. Good luck!

[jessicarabbit]

I have to say that even though most of the advice above is good and sound, I suspect it's not "actionable" for the OP.

 

Binge eating is in the family of eating disorders - it's not anorexia and it's not bulimia, BUT as far as I've experienced it (and I have) and have read about it, its roots are emotional as much as, or more than, physical. So all of the advice to "buck up! have some self-control!" are well intentioned but misguided and will likely only feed the OP's guilt if she can't do so indefinitely.

 

To the OP: I was a binge eater in college and for a few years afterwards. I started college at 5'9" and 130 lbs and when I graduated I was over 165. More importantly though my binge eating was absolutely connected to my emotional life, and a lot of loneliness, uncertainty, and worry about my future. My binge eating episodes would only get worse if I had been really self-controlled for a few days and then "fell off the wagon". I would eat even more in an effort to assuage the guilt feelings that I had screwed up.

 

The roots of healing from binge eating, for me, came from attacking its real source which was my chaotic emotional life.

 

To the OP: I would recommend that you do some online research on binge eating disorder and look for support & resources in your local area. Good luck!

 

All threw high school I was about 5'7 140lbs, coming around 12th grade I was about 150lbs 5'8 and then when I got into college I have been bouncing between 175 - 165 for a year. I have played sports all my life i am very muscular so I know alot of my weight is muscle, but just recently I have been binge eating like crazy and I completly think it is emotional eating. I think you are right though, I need to find the root of the emotions before I can control the eating...

[stace79]

I know all of this is really helping I appriciate everything you all have to say

 

Have you considered the option of seeing a counselor? If you are eating to make yourself feel better emotionally, that has been considered similar to alcoholism or drug use. It is an addiction; you do it to solve mental or emotional problems, but it's really just compounding them.

 

I would suggest trying to see a therapist, and starting a food diary. Write down everything you eat in the day, when you eat it, and how you are feeling at the time. You may start to notice a pattern as far as talking to certain people or dealing with certain aspects of your life make you want to eat.

 

I agree with others that part of it has to be will power, but there may be other things going on with you that we are unaware of, and I would really suggest continuing to harass your doctor and asking about counseling.

 

I do the same thing as you, but not to your degree; I'll have a craving for fast food, so I'll get some big-ass sandwich from Wendy's and large fries and a Coke, and eat ALL of it til I feel sick. And I hide it -- I used to hide fast food in my bag going into my house because I didn't want people to see me eating junk.

 

Usually though making myself feel that way once every few months or so is enough, and I won't do it again for awhile. I try to exercise rather regularly as well so it doesn't totally screw up my whole body when I do have a binge. It is definitely related to emotional stuff though!

[Taramere]

Im not pregnant, and its not a period thing cause I do it all month long. I will literally order $10-15 dollars worth of food off the dollar menu at any fast food place and I will not stop eating untill its gone, if I order a pizza I will eat an entire medium pizza and a box of bread sticks. I eat until the point where I feel like throwing up and then Ill eat more an hour later.

 

I am totally secret about it too which is really weird to me, I am a total binge eater but I ONLY do it by myself because I am so embarassed.

 

I read something lately about Victoria Beckham (who used to always deny vehemently that she had any sort of eating disorder) admitting in an autobiography that at one point she sat down to eat 10 bowls of Frosties (sugar coated cornflakes) in one sitting.

 

Here's an article about helping people with eating disorders. I think that sometimes when you find yourself engaging in self-destructive behaviour it's helpful to put yourself into the shoes of someone who cares about you and who wants to help you. To start treating yourself with the kindness and respect you'd employ with someone else whose welfare you were concerned about.

 

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eating_disorder_treatment.htm

 

Note this part especially:

 

Avoid placing shame, blame, or guilt on the person regarding their actions or attitudes. Do not use accusatory “you” statements......Avoid giving simple solutions. For example, "If you'd just stop, then everything would be fine!"

 

Condemning yourself for this isn't helping. What you need is some kind of strategic plan to help you counter the problem. I'd go with everyone else who says that counselling (preferably from someone who specialises in eating disorders) would better equip you to tackle this problem. Rather than continually berating yourself for doing it (and perpetuating the kind of negative self image that will ultimately result in you continuing to do it), how about keeping a diary of circumstances that seem to trigger the bouts of over-eating?

 

Focusing on the times of day it's most likely to happen, thoughts that are going round your head when it happens, the people you've been spending time with or conversations you've had before these bouts...etc etc. Getting a sense of the patterns in which this occurs might help you to understand why it happens.

 

A counsellor could help you to stay motivated in keeping these diaries, discussing what you're learning from them - and hopefully finding other, healthier ways to manage the events that trigger the over-eating bouts.

[Ariadne]

I crave fast food ALL the time, even when I'm not hungry I want to eat... i'm still eating like a maniac.

Any suggestions, anyone out there like me?

 

Hi Jessica,

 

Well, I can totally relate and it's a big curse to have.

 

I've been there at different points, and when you are at it, it feels like when you are thirsty and you need water. You are possessed.

 

It usually happened to me after I tried to diet for a while and then gave up and started eating icecream, chocolate, you name it. A rebellion. Or when had a big disappointment in my life.

 

The good news is that somehow I got over it. Without trying.

 

I can tell you that my thoughts changed too in respect to food.

 

Now I see overeating as wrong. Not because it will make you gain weight or become unhealthy (that too), just wrong as in a sin.

 

The same way that stealing from an old lady is wrong, a matter of principle. You are not supposed to take more than you need.

 

And you can also tell when you walk in the supermarkets, if they have long isles of candy, long isles of alcohol tempting you, and fast food places in every corner...

 

You can bet there is something evil about it. Someone doesn't have your best interest at heart, and is trying to lure you.

 

Monetary interests, or any other form of deception.

 

I wish you the best of luck and hope you can get over this.

 

Love