Guys, how the F do I stop eating so much?!

[lostandtired]

Hi guys. Ok. I am 5'8" and ~140 lbs. For the last 2 years I have been struggling a lot with my seemingly insatiable appetite, and my weight has been creeping up. I'm not unhappy with the way I look, but I don't want to gain any more and I am really disturbed by how often I think about food. I seem to have a need to compulsively eat.

Before 2016: Intuitive eater, ate everything I wanted in naturally smaller portions, and I sat at around 128 pounds. I didn't ever think about food until I was actually hungry. I ate somewhat paleo but allowed treats multiple times a week. Never felt deprived.

After 2016: I've always had digestive issues but they got a lot worse. I was drinking more alcohol and eating somewhat unhealthy (nothing too terrible but more carb heavy foods - sandwiches, burritos, etc.). I had terrible heartburn and diarrhea all the time. I ALWAYS felt hungry, ALWAYS thought about food, even right after a big meal. It was such a stark contrast from my former habits that i thought something was medically wrong with me. I went to the doctor and blood tests were normal.

2018: I don't drink alcohol and I'm gluten free. Digestion is a lot better. Exercise is consistent (yoga, lifting, cardio). But crazy hunger is persistent. Sometimes I can identify it as "mouth" hunger (cravings). These cravings are usually for sugar. I'll try to drink tea or eat fruit to satisfy the craving, and that sometimes works. But mostly I have this feeling like I am never satisfied, and I have to be constantly snacking in order to be productive in other areas. My job is stressful and eating definitely seems to soothe my stress, temporarily.

I have experimented with counting macros and making sure I get enough protein and fat, as well as increasing the volume of my food with veggies. I drink about a gallon of water a day. I've tried counting calories, but I always go over because I'm never satisfied! I'm still constantly thinking about food, and also worrying about the fact that I'm always thinking about food.

GUYS, IT IS EXHAUSTING! SOMEONE HELP ME. I've had to buy all new pants/jeans/sports bras because of the weight gain. I don't want to have to do that again a year from now. I know a lot of you might be thinking "suck it up"... and I agree....but it feels like I can't. I have lots of discipline in other areas of my life, but I feel so out of control with food.

Does anyone else understand this affliction?? Any suggestions? I would SO appreciate some advice.

 

[joeestacy]

@lostandtired Maybe try having a conversation at the table while eating. also try anabolic protein ice cream. Im currently also struggling w eating lesser but these kinda helped me.

 

[iamgr8tful]

@lostandtired I have kind of learned to live with the hunger. If it gets really annoying I keep reminding myself that I’m not dying and hunger is not an emergency. I stopped eating during the day because, for me, once I start eating then I get hungry just a few hours later and if I don’t eat then I get cranky. So It took awhile to adjust but now I do just fine.

 

[dawn16]

@lostandtired I wonder if you'd be interested in the Whole30? The goal of the program is to help re-set how we view food in a healthy way. You don't count calories or track what you eat or anything, so it's about developing positive habits and relationship with food while temporarily eliminating potentially inflammatory foods (then you re-introduce them at the end of the 30 days and see how they make you feel). I know a few people who have done it mainly because of their persistent and tough sugar cravings and felt like they had so much more control over them by the end.

Disclaimer: I haven't done it yet, just read a lot about it and plan to start it on March 26. You can pop over to r/whole30 if you have any interest in learning a little more. I like the idea because it's kind of a "reset" without being on a diet. The food you are temporarily eliminating is just to test how it affects you, not to keep you from having them in an attempt to lose weight.

 

[cr0011]

@lostandtired I don't have any advice, but I can completely relate. It felt like I was writing this. I'm a little shorter than you and a little heavier too, but not too far off. And I used to maintain around 130 naturally, but lately I've been really struggling with hunger too. I successfully lost 10 pounds as a new years resolution last year, but it was so hard. And now I've gained it all back and an extra couple. I've been counting calories lately, but I've been letting myself go a little over my goal since I'm starving a couple hours before bed, and it's been frustrating because then I don't lose any weight. I tried sticking strictly to my 1700 calorie goal once a few days ago, and it was awful. I actually had an emotional breakdown because the hunger pangs in my stomach were so intense that I couldn't bear it. I started crying out of desperation and I finally gave up and ate like 500 calories until my stomach didn't hurt anymore. I have tried high protein, low sugar, lots of low calorie, high volume foods like vegetables, but it doesn't seem to have helped much. So I can definitely relate. I'll be checking out all the comments to see if there's anything that can help.

 

[racam]

@lostandtired I have a hard time keeping my weight down - I'm 5'7" and about 165 (which is on the low side for me, but would be high for you). I lost 20 lbs over the last year by: weighing my food & counting my calories. I also really changed my diet so that most of my food is un-processed. Sometimes else that really helped me was eating a lot of protein & making sure I consume protein at every meal.

For example, a typical breakfast for me is 2 scrambled eggs, then a couple hours later I have some steel cut oats mixed with unsweetened almond milk, and I add about 1/3 of an apple to that.

Lunch is either a protein/veggie/rice thing (i.e. chicken broccoli rice, weighed and measured) and if I'm running short on time I always have something i can grab from the freezer (i.e. lean cuisine or Trader Joe's Chicken Tikka Masala). Dinner for me would be 4oz grilled chicken, a small gold potato (microwaved) and about a half a head of romaine lettuce. My morning snack is a low-fat string cheese, and I usuallly have a protein bar (like ThinkThin or something) in the afternoon. For a late night snack I have non-fat greek yogurt topped with frozen berries. I feel like I'm constantly eating but that's how I lost weight so far.

I definitely limit foods like oils, avocados and nuts. For salad, I just use vinegar (no oil). I limit nuts/trail mix/dried fruit & use PB2 a lot as a dip for apples, celery etc.

I'm hypoglycemic, so I can't do the intermittent fasting thing that others have suggested for you. I try to avoid ANY processed carbs (though I occasionally splurge for sure) because they really trigger my hunger as well.

Good luck! The hypoglycemia thing sucks for me, I feel like I'm constantly trying to stay one step ahead of blood sugar crashes, but on the plus side it makes it easier to avoid 'treat' foods because they just make me feel like shit, physically.

 

[dawn16]

@lostandtired Read the Whole30 book, then do a Whole30.

 

[a3yan]

@lostandtired I believe you may find this article from Precision Nutrition helpful -

Here's why you're always hungry

 

[craftsman]

@lostandtired If you eat sugar, stop eating sugar. Just go cold turkey; no sweets or added sugars (check labels for bread, prepared sauces, anything.) I think about food far less when I'm not eating sugar and have a much easier time controlling portions.

 

[dawn16]

@lostandtired Ok I really don't want to be "that person" getting preachy about the whole 30... but I seriously battled my "sugar dragon" the majority of my life, until doing the whole 30. Doing that very strict reset has been the only way I have been able to kick that. Very seldom do I have sugar cravings now, and I'm able to ask myself "Is it worth it?"
If it is, I eat it, and if it isn't I dont. But it seriously has helped so much. I seldom eat fruit now because it is almost to sweet for me, and I crave vegetables now.
I have turned in to an insane person, basically.

 

[jazzmancf]

@lostandtired This may not be what you want to hear, but honestly? The best thing you can do is just get used to being kinda hungry. Obviously if you’re absolutely starving and lightheaded and need to eat that’s one thing, but if you’re tolerably hungry, try to just deal with it and maybe have a cup of coffee/tea. At first you’ll probably think about food constantly, but if you keep it up for a little while, your appetite should naturally suppress.

 

[dshope]

@lostandtired Replace stress eating with mindfulness breathing/meditation.

Consider intermittent fasting (gets you out of the habit of grazing).

I second the "cut out all sweets." Also look at any prepared foods' labels carefully and avoid added sugars.

Consider sipping water instead of gulping. I lie to drink a gallon a day, too, but sometimes I wonder whether it contributes to hunger by stretching out my stomach on days I drink glasses of it quickly.

I'm sorry I can't find the article I read recently, but it suggested that what we are feeling is not hunger if it's only been a short time since our last meal. It may be our bodies misinterpreting signals from our stomachs. I take an antacid if it's not time yet for my next meal. I am low FODMAP right now, so I can't have chewable antacids (that contain sorbitol), so I've used generic Zantac (ranitidine). Check with your doc.

 

[jink926]

@lostandtired Here's a complete opposite suggestion to what you have been recieving.

Add fat to your diet. It covers many of the mouth feel cravings. Sometimes when I'm feeling snacky and done all of the things I normally do to STFU my "hunger" (water, cashews and dried fruit, cheese stick, etc.) I take a Wasa caraker or two, slap a huge schmear of mayonnaise on it and chow down. That usually works to quell the 'OMG I can't stop eating' hungries.

 

[akashraletta]

@lostandtired I feel like a broken record because I suggest this so much, but have your insulin levels checked. They wouldn't be on a standard blood test, you have to request it. Usually done alongside thyroid level testing. The feeling of never being satisfied and constantly thinking about food were my #1 symptoms of insulin resistance!

 

[prelude4ws]

@lostandtired This sounds like a psychological issue. You're 5ft 8, 140lb, female, that puts your BMI at about 21.2. That's basically smack in the middle of the healthy BMI range. At 128lb you would be about 19.5 BMI (underweight is 18.5).

Sure, try and more balanced meals, stay fit, etc. And yeah, if you wanted to lose weight you could, but there's no need to be making yourself super stressed and unhappy about it. You're a healthy weight (especially if you're excersising and have muscle). It's fine.

 

[dshope]

@prelude4ws There's nothing wrong with spotting a potential problem and trying to curb it before it's an actual problem. She said she suddenly can't seem to stop eating. If this continues it could escalate to obesity.

 

[prelude4ws]

@dshope Yeah, and it could also escalate to an eating disorder. The more pressure you put on yourself around food the more difficult it often becomes.

Edit: and as I said in my post, there's nothing wrong with moving towards healthy eating and getting fitter. Always working on yourself etc. But if you're in the middle of a healthy BMI, there's no need to be overly stressing about losing weight.

 

[lostandtired]

@prelude4ws I'm not actually stressing about losing weight right now. I have a healthy body image. I'm stressing about feeling physically hungry all the time, and potentially becoming overweight because of it, after sitting at a low weight/normal appetite my entire life. Hope I'm making sense.

 

[prelude4ws]

@lostandtired

Guys, how the F do I stop eating so much?!

Literally the title of your post. Maybe you're not stressing about losing weight specifically, but you're stressing about food and eating. The way I see it there are two main options.

Your problem could be physical, in which case, we aren't doctors and can't help you. Go to a medical professional again, see if they have suggestions rather than asking random people on reddit.

Or it's psychological (more likely, given that you've been to the doctors. Though it could be something they've missed.). In which case it's worth asking yourself, what else has changed in your life, other than the food thing? I'm guessing the stressful job (long hours?), maybe other things, and you're using food to cope. In which case, eating cauliflower rice, fasting, doing keto, whole 3, whatever etc. aren't going to fix it. You have to fix whatever you're using food to deal with, the root cause of the problem, not the surface topping. The other things might help you for a month or 3, but they won't last.

 

[schrades]

@lostandtired As I've gotten older my diet needs had to change. I realize I need more fat. I watch my breads since I'm working to lose fat again. Something I've read is sugar cravings like this are usually aided by starchy carbs at night.
I have had to also eat for my digestion, which suddenly got worse. Its much better now with what I've tested and seen results with. don't forget, food is one big experiment. We all need something slightly different.