I will do good all day as far as eating goes and then what do I do in the late evening, I give into eating junk. I did great today eating my smaller mini meals,didnt feel hungry and I gave in tonight and ate a oreo frosty from wendys. I wasnt even craving it,that is the problem. why do I do this. why cant I seem to get my eating under control, I get so mad at myself. my eating is what is keeping me from reaching my goals. I love to exercise ,have no problem doing it, I am a faithful exerciser, Iworkout hard, I am strong but I would like to lose another 6-8lbs and keep it off but my eating is my problem. Ido good for awhile and then I screw up like always and cant maintain an good eating regimen. I have lost the wt but then put it back on. I am not really considered over wt but I personally feel better at the lower end. has anyone else had this problem and have you or what did you do to overcome it , finally!
why do I keep doing this to myself
- Thread starter laura35
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SirenSongWoman
Cathlete
I really think people like you and me are subconsciously into sabotage. You know you don't really need it but you get it and eat it anyway. You know you're putting more than you need (or even want) on your plate but you do it anyway then, halfway through it, you've lost interest but yet you keep eating (because waste is so bad) when you knew you were putting too much on your plate or in your bowl in the first place. You know you wouldn't be eating that junk (from the fast food place, from the crappy cafeteria or vending machines at work...) if you'd simply PLANNED, cooked, and packed your lunch and snacks; but that takes time and effort and your sooooo tired.
How to overcome it? Cold turkey. Leave nothing to chance, listen to your better sense, plan it then do it. And, most of all, remember nobody's perfect and you won't do the right thing all the time. Just don't let doing the wrong thing snowball . For me, it actually took high gas prices and a cruddy economy to make me shop and cook (I live alone and LIVED on pricey, pre-prepared foods). Once I could no longer afford to do anything but buy raw foods and prepare them I did just that. Yea, it takes effort but my lunches are now the envy of everyone in the cafeteria. Who knew. Nothing like being broke to get you off your behind.
How to overcome it? Cold turkey. Leave nothing to chance, listen to your better sense, plan it then do it. And, most of all, remember nobody's perfect and you won't do the right thing all the time. Just don't let doing the wrong thing snowball . For me, it actually took high gas prices and a cruddy economy to make me shop and cook (I live alone and LIVED on pricey, pre-prepared foods). Once I could no longer afford to do anything but buy raw foods and prepare them I did just that. Yea, it takes effort but my lunches are now the envy of everyone in the cafeteria. Who knew. Nothing like being broke to get you off your behind.
squirrelly
Cathlete
Hi Laura,
I used to have the exact same problem at night, especially when I was trying to be perfect with my diet. I realized that I have to have treats every single day. So, I figured out how many calories I consumed each day and budgeted for a small treat after lunch and after dinner. This way I don’t binge and have something to look forward to without feeling guilty. I also began buying sweets in single serving packages. It may be more expensive, but it helps me control my portion size. I really think the key to a successful and mainly healthy diet is strategy. Everyone has unique weaknesses that tempt them. I know that I cannot bake chocolate chip cookies and not eat most of them! So, I make snickerdoodles instead! Eating well is difficult so don’t feel bad. Most people struggle and aren’t nearly as successful as you already have been. Feel proud of that!
I hope this helps a bit.
Kara
I used to have the exact same problem at night, especially when I was trying to be perfect with my diet. I realized that I have to have treats every single day. So, I figured out how many calories I consumed each day and budgeted for a small treat after lunch and after dinner. This way I don’t binge and have something to look forward to without feeling guilty. I also began buying sweets in single serving packages. It may be more expensive, but it helps me control my portion size. I really think the key to a successful and mainly healthy diet is strategy. Everyone has unique weaknesses that tempt them. I know that I cannot bake chocolate chip cookies and not eat most of them! So, I make snickerdoodles instead! Eating well is difficult so don’t feel bad. Most people struggle and aren’t nearly as successful as you already have been. Feel proud of that!
I hope this helps a bit.
Kara
tneah
Cathlete
I have a "cheat" day, where I can eat whatever I want...for me its usually in the form of white starchy stuff and sugar. This is usually a Sunday.
But lately, I have been struggling too with the food thing, my downfall is sugar and so now at night, if I really am craving something sweet, I first look at my protein intake for the day, if its been too low, than I know that is part of my craving problem.
Also, I have been buying Healthy Choice fudge bars, 100 calories and they look big, so you feel like you are really having a treat, it usually kills the urge.
This is usually a Sunday.But lately, I have been struggling too with the food thing, my downfall is sugar and so now at night, if I really am craving something sweet, I first look at my protein intake for the day, if its been too low, than I know that is part of my craving problem.
Also, I have been buying Healthy Choice fudge bars, 100 calories and they look big, so you feel like you are really having a treat, it usually kills the urge.
Figure out why you ate it, usually people see that kind of stuff as a reward for making it through the day. Need to find another reward. I hate when the books say 'find a non food way to reward yourself'. Um...I really couldn't think of any! LOL! Especial NIGHTLY!
I buy sugar free fat free chocolate pudding snacks, and eat them at night for my reward. They are only 60 calories as I recall. You need a treat, but it can be lower cal (certainly!) than a wendy's oreo frosty.
(YUM!!! it does sound good lol!)
I have same problem. Try the pudding. It does work.
Or give yourself a 15 minute wait period before indulging. That is a WW trick, does work.
I buy sugar free fat free chocolate pudding snacks, and eat them at night for my reward. They are only 60 calories as I recall. You need a treat, but it can be lower cal (certainly!) than a wendy's oreo frosty.
(YUM!!! it does sound good lol!)
I have same problem. Try the pudding. It does work.
Or give yourself a 15 minute wait period before indulging. That is a WW trick, does work.
hokypoky
Cathlete
You're in good company! If you can figure out WHY you're doing it, you've won a good part of the battle.
Personally, I use it for comfort. Sweets are nurturing. I am in the midst of a ton of stress and am completely honest that I am dealing with my daily stress this way. If you're like me, you have more resolve during the day, but at the end of the day I either reward myself for getting through, or it's all just caught up to me. I'm not willing to give it up, honestly. As "wrong" as it is, it's an easy way to deal with tough times. I know I'll turn the corner soon and get back on track.
One of the best things for me to do is to go to bed early. It pretty much cuts out the nighttime eating. There are lots of little tricks like do something with your hands, call a friends, etc. but they only work for me for so long. But if you make going right to bed part of your routine, it makes it a lot easier.
HTH!
Personally, I use it for comfort. Sweets are nurturing. I am in the midst of a ton of stress and am completely honest that I am dealing with my daily stress this way. If you're like me, you have more resolve during the day, but at the end of the day I either reward myself for getting through, or it's all just caught up to me. I'm not willing to give it up, honestly. As "wrong" as it is, it's an easy way to deal with tough times. I know I'll turn the corner soon and get back on track.
One of the best things for me to do is to go to bed early. It pretty much cuts out the nighttime eating. There are lots of little tricks like do something with your hands, call a friends, etc. but they only work for me for so long. But if you make going right to bed part of your routine, it makes it a lot easier.
HTH!
Vee
Cathlete
Laura,
That could be my story.
Here is why I lose control at night:
a. Stress busting: Eating mindlessly is like a buffer after a busy day and calms me down so I can sleep. I really do feel better after I cheat on my diet at night. It like hugging myself and telling myself to forget all about pressures for a while. I cant throw my stresses awat so eating is like an act of defiance that I can control. I sleep like a baby after I do it and only regret it the next morning.
b. Habit: My body is programmed to be good all day. Since my indulgences occur at night, it only demands junk at night.
c. Not having things to do: Late evening are my "me time". Since my mind is not occupied, it becomes a devil's workshop.
What helps me (a lot of this is a rehash of prior suggestions):
a. Develop alternative rituals for the late evening that I enjoy - a hot soak, doing the cross word, playing a board game with someone you love, spending time on internet forums.
b. Get organized and stock up on a lot of healthy/healthier treats. Veggie sticks and low fat dips, fresh fruit - cut and chilled, non-fried, baked crisps made from veggies, shakes made with milk/yoghurt and fruit.
c. Rid the home of junk. If anyone in the family wants junk food, get them to create a private stash and not tell you where it is.
Get someone else to shop for junk food.
d. A weekly cheat meal / treat. It could be at any frequency, even daily if you can get away with it. I find my craving is better behaved when it knows it will get indulged.
e. Weigh yourself everyday. Seeing the scales dip even by a bit by good behaviour is great motivation to stay the course. The mind has a way of being very convincing that that this one time wont matter for a treat. The scale will keep the mind in check if the mind is doing it once too often.
Despite all this, I still have days when I lose control at night. But I have improved.
~* Vrinda *~
That could be my story.
Here is why I lose control at night:
a. Stress busting: Eating mindlessly is like a buffer after a busy day and calms me down so I can sleep. I really do feel better after I cheat on my diet at night. It like hugging myself and telling myself to forget all about pressures for a while. I cant throw my stresses awat so eating is like an act of defiance that I can control. I sleep like a baby after I do it and only regret it the next morning.
b. Habit: My body is programmed to be good all day. Since my indulgences occur at night, it only demands junk at night.
c. Not having things to do: Late evening are my "me time". Since my mind is not occupied, it becomes a devil's workshop.
What helps me (a lot of this is a rehash of prior suggestions):
a. Develop alternative rituals for the late evening that I enjoy - a hot soak, doing the cross word, playing a board game with someone you love, spending time on internet forums.
b. Get organized and stock up on a lot of healthy/healthier treats. Veggie sticks and low fat dips, fresh fruit - cut and chilled, non-fried, baked crisps made from veggies, shakes made with milk/yoghurt and fruit.
c. Rid the home of junk. If anyone in the family wants junk food, get them to create a private stash and not tell you where it is.
Get someone else to shop for junk food.
d. A weekly cheat meal / treat. It could be at any frequency, even daily if you can get away with it. I find my craving is better behaved when it knows it will get indulged.
e. Weigh yourself everyday. Seeing the scales dip even by a bit by good behaviour is great motivation to stay the course. The mind has a way of being very convincing that that this one time wont matter for a treat. The scale will keep the mind in check if the mind is doing it once too often.
Despite all this, I still have days when I lose control at night. But I have improved.
~* Vrinda *~
I have the same issue--great with what I eat all day then at night I will eat anything and everything. Well this winter I gained some weight {everything still fits but..} and I have just made a VOW to stop this. I know I do it because I am bored, tired. So now I just go to bed and read. I tried knitting which also can work. Once I figured out that I was bored or just tired I could handle it better. Also I realized I will reach for the sweet/carbs when I actually should be in bed. Unfortunately for me all that at night eating ended up as belly fat and that is what stopped me cold turkey.
Govtgirl
Cathlete
I agree that you need to plan for it, and not deny yourself. I know everyday that I want something sweet after lunch, so I have a Dove Promises....just one . And I have been doing MUCH better with my diet using an online tracker. I log everything *before* I eat it to figure out "is this helping or hurting my goal?" Then by the time I get home, I know what I can have, and can "budget" in a treat. I use www.thedailyplate.com. It's very simple to use, and has about a zillion foods in there, by brand and everything. Plus you can create "meals" so you don't have to log every ingredient all the time.
. And I have been doing MUCH better with my diet using an online tracker. I log everything *before* I eat it to figure out "is this helping or hurting my goal?" Then by the time I get home, I know what I can have, and can "budget" in a treat. I use www.thedailyplate.com. It's very simple to use, and has about a zillion foods in there, by brand and everything. Plus you can create "meals" so you don't have to log every ingredient all the time.thanks everyone. my entire family has an issue with food. I eat mostly because I am bored or it just looks good. I do good some days and other days the food just takes control. I am bound and determined to keep fighting this though. One day I will be strong enough. I cant stand the fact that food has this power over me. again, thanks for the advice. I looked aat the dailyplate website and registered,hopefully this helps.
nancy324
Cathlete
I agree with Siren regarding the sabotage. I used to sabotage my eating, but now I'm too busy sabotaging myself in other ways. I've thought about it a lot over the years and have a theory. I call it "fear of success". I think I'm afraid that if I start doing well at something, I'll keep expecting more and more from myself.
One way to deal with this is to get to the bottom of it. Imagine yourself successful and as lean as you want to be. What worries you about that? Are you afraid that you'll never be able to have your favorite foods again, and that you'll always be struggling to maintain that leanness? Sabotage may be your subconscious letting you know something, for example, that you do not want to be resigned to a life of never eating the things you like, or that your expectations are too high. Whatever it is, you need to slow down and listen, yes, to your own concerns. And you need to think about a good solution to those concerns.
In your case, you're so close to your goal, maybe you just need to unfocus your mind from eating altogether and just decide that you're going to try to eat as healthy as you can as often as you can and just leave it at that. Forget your guilt and all the negative emotion that goes into it. Decide that you're already fine the way you are, which is no doubt true, and you don't need to be too strict with yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror and confirm this. Remind yourself that if you can eat an average of 50 fewer calories each day, you'll lose a pound every two months. What's wrong with that? Occasional desserts and sweets don't interfere with that. You don't have to be perfect. Since you're already fine the way you are, you can lose slowly. What's wrong with losing 2 lbs. per year even? You can probably do that by just adding more fruits and veggies to your diet. No big deal.
Sorry for the novel. Hope this makes some sense!
One way to deal with this is to get to the bottom of it. Imagine yourself successful and as lean as you want to be. What worries you about that? Are you afraid that you'll never be able to have your favorite foods again, and that you'll always be struggling to maintain that leanness? Sabotage may be your subconscious letting you know something, for example, that you do not want to be resigned to a life of never eating the things you like, or that your expectations are too high. Whatever it is, you need to slow down and listen, yes, to your own concerns. And you need to think about a good solution to those concerns.
In your case, you're so close to your goal, maybe you just need to unfocus your mind from eating altogether and just decide that you're going to try to eat as healthy as you can as often as you can and just leave it at that. Forget your guilt and all the negative emotion that goes into it. Decide that you're already fine the way you are, which is no doubt true, and you don't need to be too strict with yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror and confirm this. Remind yourself that if you can eat an average of 50 fewer calories each day, you'll lose a pound every two months. What's wrong with that? Occasional desserts and sweets don't interfere with that. You don't have to be perfect. Since you're already fine the way you are, you can lose slowly. What's wrong with losing 2 lbs. per year even? You can probably do that by just adding more fruits and veggies to your diet. No big deal.
Sorry for the novel. Hope this makes some sense!
lioness
Cathlete
After you eat something bad write down how it made you feel (as you stated above). Before you drive to Wendys next time or want to eat something bad, read what you wrote and you won't do it again. Bad eating is mindless and habitual. You need to break the cycle. You can also use this as a positive so when you have a good day and eat healthy, also write down how you felt. This will start a habit where you will stop and think first before eating something bad.
Hang in there! It takes a long time to break bad habits.
Hang in there! It takes a long time to break bad habits.
kathryn
Cathlete
Since you didn't really crave the food, I'm thinking it's a habit.
It might help to find another habit to fill that time: one that is incompatible with eating, like knitting (make it a goal to make a few scarves for the winter, and work on them for an hour a night), doing crossword puzzles (good exercise for your brain), scrapbooking (most of us probably have some photos around that need sorting and organizing, if you do, that might be a good project), going for a walk, doing a puzzle, whatever sounds appealing to you.
Before you sit down to your 'distraction activity,' drink a big glass of water (the liquid will take up space in the stomach, and help calm one source of false hunger).
Another question: in order to get that oreo frosty, you had to get yourself to Wendy's, right? What were you doing there in the first place? Did you drive there specifically to get the frosty? Avoiding temptation means avoiding places that have tempting food.
It might help to find another habit to fill that time: one that is incompatible with eating, like knitting (make it a goal to make a few scarves for the winter, and work on them for an hour a night), doing crossword puzzles (good exercise for your brain), scrapbooking (most of us probably have some photos around that need sorting and organizing, if you do, that might be a good project), going for a walk, doing a puzzle, whatever sounds appealing to you.
Before you sit down to your 'distraction activity,' drink a big glass of water (the liquid will take up space in the stomach, and help calm one source of false hunger).
Another question: in order to get that oreo frosty, you had to get yourself to Wendy's, right? What were you doing there in the first place? Did you drive there specifically to get the frosty? Avoiding temptation means avoiding places that have tempting food.
Fitnessfreak366
Cathlete
I agree with Siren as well. Cold turkey is the way to go. Get through two weeks and it will be second nature.
Also, find something healthy you can eat before you go to bed. My last meal is at 8 p.m. and I choose something with high protein/low fat. I like cottage cheese mixed with yogurt, a protein shake, stuff like that. It curbs the sweet tooth and the hunger.
Also, find something healthy you can eat before you go to bed. My last meal is at 8 p.m. and I choose something with high protein/low fat. I like cottage cheese mixed with yogurt, a protein shake, stuff like that. It curbs the sweet tooth and the hunger.
I also wanted to add that I work out first thing in the morning. After dinner I just can't do a workout like Cathe or my other favorite yoga. There is that waiting period after eating. But I got some Leslie Sansone walking workouts and I find I can do those. I will eat dinner, a treat and then walk for however many miles I feel like. Just taking an after dinner walk in my own bedroom. If I am hungry later I will have yogurt or a handful of Kashi cereal.
Nadja Z
Cathlete
Gosh, we must have been separated at birth. Everything- the non-cravings, the (measly!) 6-8 lbs, the working out like crazy and then at night dumping a big pile of doo on all your accomplishments that day. For me it's big bowls of raisin bran. It's healthy at least, but calories is calories, you know- especially when you've got "the last" 6 lbs to go. Another thing that trips me up is when I have some slight but unplanned increase in calories midday. Even if I'm still way below my intake goal for the day, something in my neurotic brain triggers me to think I'm a total failure and might as well eat waaaay more since I already ruined it.
It's silly, I tell myself that with the amount I work out and the way I eat 95% of the time, I'd have to put effort into not losing weight. Somehow I manage to be "successful" during those weak moments with the cereal box. I dunno, you want to start a check-in thing? I don't really understand how that forum works, but we could try checking in every day (early evening maybe, before the sabotage) for a month or so until we break the habit and give our bodies a chance to lose those couple lbs.
It's silly, I tell myself that with the amount I work out and the way I eat 95% of the time, I'd have to put effort into not losing weight. Somehow I manage to be "successful" during those weak moments with the cereal box. I dunno, you want to start a check-in thing? I don't really understand how that forum works, but we could try checking in every day (early evening maybe, before the sabotage) for a month or so until we break the habit and give our bodies a chance to lose those couple lbs.
Matiana
Cathlete
Laura,
I smell what your bakin'. I don't even want to detail what I just had for lunch (leftover's from yesterday's party). BUT, I'm not kicking myself. I will go home and do a little extra Cathe today and call it a day. No dinner no nothing - I doubt I'll be hungry anyway.
However, tomorrow is a new day and I will start from scratch and do my best not to cheat. Fingers crossed. It's all I can do from driving myself nuts.
I smell what your bakin'. I don't even want to detail what I just had for lunch (leftover's from yesterday's party). BUT, I'm not kicking myself. I will go home and do a little extra Cathe today and call it a day. No dinner no nothing - I doubt I'll be hungry anyway.
However, tomorrow is a new day and I will start from scratch and do my best not to cheat. Fingers crossed. It's all I can do from driving myself nuts.