General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Hi. I'm James and I am an Emotional Eater Rss Feed  
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2014-11-04 7:59 AM


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Subject: Hi. I'm James and I am an Emotional Eater
I've been overweight my entire life.

I did IMFL 2013 and never felt better. But I think that was due to the fact that I was training so much that I ate whatever I wanted and still lost weight and got in shape. It was a great way to lose 30lbs without fixing bad habits.

Now I'm back to just running and can't seem to quit overeating. Just making bad decisions when I know that my life would be better if I ate better.

My achilles heel are all the kids snack food around the house. I notice I'm good for most of the day but in the later parts of the day I get derailed (or derail myself?). Sweets are out of control. At work yestreday I saw some chocolate laying around in the kitchen and walked over there saying "no" and ate them anyway.

I tend to eat when I get stressed. I start thinking about something and can literally end up in the pantry eating some crackers before I realize what's happening. It's like I wake up in the pantry with crumbs all over the floor.

I tie this to some feeling I'm having. I need to work on some self-improvement and this is one item that needs addressing.

I guess the reason for this post, is to get some folks talking about what has worked for them. Any good books? Any tips?


2015-01-04 12:55 AM
in reply to: #5065158


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Subject: RE: Hi. I'm James and I am an Emotional Eater
Hi James. I can relate to emotional eating, though a bigger issue for me long ago was emotional starving (which became anorexia). I am trying to find a good balance between my food related impulses (binge or starve) and working out/ living life without obsessing too much over what goes into my mouth. I wanted to suggest you try to set meal and snack times, to better avoid eating outside of the times you allow yourself. And kid snacks tempt me too, but we limit how much "junk" gets purchased for the pantry. Any chance your kiddos would be willing to give up some of your most triggering snacks? Keep up the workouts and try not to get too down on yourself! There are some great in-person eating related groups that may be able to help you understand why you eat what you do and offer kind support for change. I understand Overeaters Anonymous does a great job for people with all kinds of eating habits (not just overeating). How are you doing these days? I am sorry no one responded sooner! Would love to know how things are going right now.
2015-01-05 4:02 PM
in reply to: JamesA

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Subject: RE: Hi. I'm James and I am an Emotional Eater

Man, I 100% relate, but I've got no kids in the house to blame it on.  Recently went through a very stressful work period, and found myself at the office candy jar more often than I'd like and, as you say, before I even "know" what I am doing.

I am trying to get back to dedicated food logging via myfitnesspal,.   I lost about 40 pounds in 2012 or so, using MFP and being very conscientious.  Then it got looser and looser and, well.....  I found that this forced me to actually think about my food choices rather than impulsively acting on them.  So I need to get back to that.

I topped out about 275, am currently 203.  Went as low as 179... once... training for IM Canada in 2013 but raced last year around 193-195, which was not too bad. In my head I have 185 as a "race weight," but that's just one of the many numbers my life seems to get controlled by.   My fear is that the holiday pounds that come on won't go away....

 

2015-01-10 10:57 PM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: Hi. I'm James and I am an Emotional Eater
LOL about waking up with the crumbs in the pantry!
I can really relate. It's not about will power - I am really out of control with chips and sweets, searching for kids Halloween candy, hubby having to hide chocolates from me in the house. Embarrassing.

Went 6 months very low carb. It was wonderful in that the cravings went away as did my hunger. Went from a women's xl to a medium (167-135). Two issues now, how to add in good carbs - an apple, beans etc without losing control. Even being under 100 grams of carbs/day I'm waking up hungry and thinking about sweets a lot.
Also find myself getting hungry with workouts, even though they are not strenuous.

So I've found low carb helpful and I carry a cooler of my food with me where ever I go. It helps. Check out Quest bars - very low carb and the Double Chocolate chunk ones are like a candy bar but with 20 gms prot, 16 gms fiber and just 3g carbs.

Sometimes I focus on each moment - in this moment I make the choice to eat healthy...

Thanks for the post.

Mitzi

Edited by MuscleMomma 2015-01-10 11:00 PM
2015-03-30 12:39 AM
in reply to: MuscleMomma

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Subject: RE: Hi. I'm James and I am an Emotional Eater
Hi James.....


I totally relate and am looking for the same thing you are, some books about food I really liked were Michale Pollan's. Not so much about overeating or emotional eating, more about quality of food. Still something to check out.

I think I like the advice about MFP, although I can never keep it up, I can never be truly honest to myself, always looking for the lowest calorie version of the food I am eating.

constant battle...
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