Compulsive Eating

[[old] Afterburner]

I just switched to (well at least trying) to row LW this fall for competitive reasons. My problem is that I tend to eat when I don't neccessarily need to. (When nervous, stressed, etc.)<br />My question is, does anybody have any tips for trying to curb these habits? I know that if I could just at the very least reduce this problem I shouldn't have any problem making weight, but at the moment it's driving me crazy!<br />And before someone says it, I've already made my diet about as healthy as you can get it.<br />Any advice would be greatly appreciated.<br /><br />Heather

[[old] dmhayden]

Here are some ideas. If you're in college, try removing food from your room. If the food isn't there between meals, then you can't eat it. Try finding something else that relieves your stress/anxiety, such as taking a walk, listening to music, visiting with friends, etc. Is there a way to reduce the source of your stress? Bad boyfriend? Dump him. Too much homework? Drop a class or find a tutor. If you can't change the cause of the stress, you might see if you can change your attitude towards whatever is causing it. Most of the things that cause us stress are pretty trivial in the great scheme of things. Tomorrow, if you found that you have a terminal illness, how important would the things that cause you stress seem then? Ive found that I can greatly, HUGELY reduce my stress by remembering the very few things that are truly important, and then recognizing that all the other good stuff in life is just gravy.<br /><br />Of course, the first thing that I would suggest is that you exercise to reduce stress, but obviously you're already doing that <br />

[[old] Ducatista]

I know the "eight glasses a day" line is no longer considered gospel, but I've found that 64+ oz of water a day helps moderate my appetite.

[[old] John Rupp]

<!--QuoteBegin-Afterburner+Dec 5 2005, 11:51 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Afterburner @ Dec 5 2005, 11:51 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I've already made my diet about as healthy as you can get it.[right] </td></tr></table><br /><br />Then why are you asking for advice?<br /><br />Eating many small meals is better than eating just a few times a day.<br /><br />For example, eating 100-200 calories (or so) every 2 hours through the day.<br /><br />Work this out so it comes to the calorie deficit and balance for the weight you are aiming for.<br /><br />Drink plenty of water.<br /><br />Don't avoid any meals and don't avoid snacks.

[[old] Jim Barry]

Don't skip breakfast. <br /><br /><a href='http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Weigh ... ,14934.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Weigh ... asp</a><br /><br /><br />

[[old] John Rupp]

By the way, I've been eating about 25 to 50 times a day over the last couple of weeks, and am becoming leaner in the process.<br /><br />Don't worry about how many times a day that you eat.<br /><br />The thing to avoid is large meals.

[[old] Iliana]

Hi Heather,<br /><br />I suffer from not-sufficient stress management myself, and for the last year or so I've found that focusing on my breathing and doing a sort of mini-muscle-relaxing meditation has helped somewhat. It's very basic --just focusing on my breathing, paying attention, and trying to take a few deep breaths and then slow down my breathing, and trying to figure out where in my body that I feel my stress. In my case, it's almost always my belly, which tenses up at the least bit of stress. So I attempt to let the tension go. This whole process has become a habit, though at first it felt a bit mechanical, and it takes as little as 2 or 3 minutes.<br /><br />I turn less to food to relieve stress than I did before starting these little mini-meditations. Before, I think I'd blindly turn to those specific carbs which dulled my senses, and therefore my stress.<br /><br />My 2 øre! Good luck <br /><br />../Iliana<br />

[[old] Hurley]

I also tend to eat when I'm not hungry, as a way to relieve stress or just as a force of habit. I think the key to avoiding this behavior is to force yourself to do something else when you experience that initial urge to eat.<br /><br />Most mornings after I row my routine goes something like this:<br /><br />1. I row and feel great afterwards<br />2. After the glow wears off and I'm working (I work at home), I start feeling hunger pangs<br />3. After resisting for a while, I go make some toast or pour a bowl of cereal<br />4. That tastes so good that I have seconds<br />5. I get angry at myself for not being able to resist temptation<br />6. I feel like a failure, so I help myself to thirds. <br /><br />Sometimes I'm able to break this pattern, and I usually do it one of the following ways:<br /><br />1. Avoid that first snack by focusing on something else until the hunger passes (which usually takes about 20 minutes in my experience)<br /><br />2. Go ahead and have the first snack but stop there and don't have seconds. If you wait long enough after a small snack you won't feel hungry anymore. Also if you try to eat slowly, you'll feel full after a smaller meal than you would otherwise.<br /><br />Even though we can tell ourselves, "hey it's okay, you're not a failure if you can't always resist temptation," that doesn't actually solve the problem of overeating. The key lies in either avoiding the first bite, or disciplining yourself to eat smaller portions. Both of those are hard work, but I don't think there's any way around it.<br /><br />You can go with three meals a day or 40 very small ones, it doesn't really matter, although it's true that with many small meals a day you probably will never be really hungry and thus will probably eat less overall.

[[old] deppe4]

<!--QuoteBegin-Hurley+Dec 7 2005, 10:08 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Hurley @ Dec 7 2005, 10:08 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->You can go with three meals a day or 40 very small ones, it doesn't really matter, although it's true that with many small meals a day you probably will never be really hungry and thus will probably eat less overall. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />You may want to try having a very high fiber breakfast. I find that when I eat a high fiber cereal like Optimal Plus with a banana then I'm not hungry until lunchtime. Another, thing I try to do is have water within reach. So instead of reaching for food I reach for the water.<br /><br />I've not tried eating 40 meals a day, but I imagine you'd have to plan this out well, else how do you know you're eating a balanced diet. Is that good for your metabolism?<br /><br />Anyways,<br />deppe4

[[old] Hurley]

<!--QuoteBegin-deppe4+Dec 7 2005, 01:33 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(deppe4 @ Dec 7 2005, 01:33 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I've not tried eating 40 meals a day, but I imagine you'd have to plan this out well, else how do you know you're eating a balanced diet.  Is that good for your metabolism?<br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />I haven't tried that either, but some of the people posting above evidently have. A lot of small meals should not a problem if you keep balance in mind, but three meals a day has always worked fine for me, with small snacks in between as necessary. I actually don't have much of a weight problem, but now that I'm in my mid-40s I have to start watching it more than I used to.

[[old] rspenger]

I have never had a serious weight problem, although there was a period in my 50s when I let it get too high - about 15 pounds over what had been a more or less constant weight from when I was 18. Now, however, I have been on the GERD diet for a couple of years and my weight is the lowest it has been in about 65 years. Not by choice, but at least it provides some compensation for being plagued with this problem. The net effect is that I should not ingest anything other than plain water from 6 in the evening until about 8 (or later) the next morning. If I do a workout, as has been the case for the last 4 months, it cuts another hour or 2 out of the period available for eating.<br /><br />One good thing about it is that there is no longer any problem making weight for erg competitions. I don't even have to take my shoes off. <br /><br />Bob S.

[[old] efg]

I also have a mostly healthy diet (except when my kids and/or I make chocolate chip cookies - I am hopeless resisting those), but I can eat A LOT of healthy food in a day. I'd read that people tend to eat less of hot foods (with chilis), but that never worked for me either. What DOES seem to work is thinking of how many calories I burn (roughly) rowing, and asking myself if I am really THAT hungry that I'd be willing to row 15 minutes, or 30 minutes, or whatever (depending on how 'bad' the item tempting me is) to make up for eating it. I don't do this with first servings at regular mealtimes (since those times are generally where my eating habits are healthiest anyway), but it is helpful if I am out with friends, or at a party, or looking at another half dozen chocolate chip cookies....<br /><br />Emilia

[[old] anthonys]

<br />Heather,<br /><br />FWIW, within the hour or two preceding "eating when you don't need to," do you have an idea as to the Glycemic load of the foods that you ate at that time? Foods w/ high glycemic loads can produce "down the pike" a significant enough alteration in the insulin/glucagon cycle so that one experiences "nervousness," etc., leading then to eating something, usually another food whose glycemic load is off the wall. Now that will produce temporary satiety, but, as you then probably already know, soon thereafter, you'll get "hunger pangs" and your off to the fridge again.<br /><br />tony<br />

[[old] RowedandRode]

<!--QuoteBegin-Afterburner+Dec 6 2005, 03:51 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Afterburner @ Dec 6 2005, 03:51 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->My problem is that I tend to eat when I don't neccessarily need to. (When nervous, stressed, etc.) <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Here's the trick: first, a mind shift.<br />Start regarding food as <b>fuel for the body</b>, <b>not comfort for the soul</b>.<br /><br />Then, take action:<br />Figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, given your activity level (google: harris-benedict equation).<br />Then subtract 500 calories, to lose 1 lb per week.<br />Divide this number by 6. The result is the number of calories you'll consume at each meal (no more & no less), over 6 meals per day, spaced 3 hours apart. Start with the first meal immediately following your workout, and time the rest of the day's consumption from there. Do not compromise on this. Do <i>not</i> allow yourself to get hungry!<br /><br />Important: <br />Make sure that you get 1 g of lean protein per lb of (target) body weight per day, split across all your meals. <br />Cut <i>way back </i>on starchy carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes) and avoid packaged & fried foods. If these foods tend to set you off on an eating binge, avoid them <i>completely</i> (not as hard as it might sound). Replace these with fruit, vegetables and fat-free milk & yogurt.<br />Take food with you everywhere, even if it's a protein bar and a container of skim milk. You can't count on being able to get decent food just anywhere.<br />Burn <i>at least </i>700 calories per workout. Running goes really, really well with rowing. So does weight training, which helps to build muscle and burn more calories even when you are at rest.<br />Buy some low-carb vanilla or chocolate protein powder, and blend it with a banana and some ice in 1 c. skim or soy milk immediately following your workout.<br /><br />Then:<br /><b>Watch the weight come off!!</b><br />Take it from me - I lost 25 lbs in just over two months this way, and I've been able to click the "lightweight" button since September 05.<br /><br />Best of luck!<br />M.<br />

[[old] seat5]

This is a great book <br /><br />"Inner Eating" I can't remember the author, but it's a great book for helping you get a better relationship with food.