Serious issue, so please bear with me…

I would describe myself as a compulsive eater. In fact, many of the things that can be said of alcoholics can be said of the way I eat. This is not obvious to others, as I am not currently noticeably overweight, but I know how I feel, and what I do when no one is looking.

Frankly, I don’t seem to have any ‘shut-off valve’; when others are able to say ‘I’m full’, I don’t know what they’re talking about. If I am at an event where lots of pizzas have been ordered, the only thing stopping me from eating every leftover piece is not that I am no longer hungry; it is the risk of someone noticing. And I am like that with pretty much everything.

I am sure that this all goes back to my childhood, as I have distinct memories of cleaning off an entire dessert when everyone else had one helping. I can well remember having 4 hamburgers when everyone else had one or two. The only reason I was never fat is that I was so active. The thing is, even with cycling, I can hardly now burn the sorts of calories that I would have when I was young, but I still eat the same way.

So yesterday, I missed breakfast but because I was out, then had a small helping of rice and curried lamb where I was. Then when I came home an hour later, I made myself a peanut butter sandwich, ate the leftover rice and lamb that had been brought home, and sneaked a few digestive biscuits after that. Then, I had two bananas and two apples in the few hours before dinner.

After dinner, it was back to the digestives with two squares of chocolate – and that was me being chaste! Yet by the time I got to bed, I was furious with myself, and lying on my pillow trying to convince myself that tomorrow (now today) would be a new start.

All the advice about drinking water before meals, and, say, having a cup of tea or coffee instead of food doesn’t really work for me because I do those things anyway.

So, any thoughts? Advice? Humour is fine, but some serious responses would also be appreciated, as – without trying to be melodramatic – I actually think this could be a mental health issue, albeit not an obviously debilitating one.

doesn’t sound unreasonable to me…. but i think i’m fatter than you.

It’s HARD not to eat too much for me…. really hard….

Frankly, I don’t seem to have any ‘shut-off valve’; when others are able to say ‘I’m full’, I don’t know what they’re talking about. If I am at an event where lots of pizzas have been ordered, the only thing stopping me from eating every leftover piece is not that I am no longer hungry; it is the risk of someone noticing. And I am like that with pretty much everything.

I have this problem, becoming vegetarian has kind of helped, but it kills me when the kids leave perfectly good food on the table and it has to go into the compost, but at least I no longer clear their plates when they have pizza or sausages etc.

Have you tried mindfulness? (This is partly a serious answer and partly a joke, as mindfulness seems to be the answer to everything at the moment.)

From the bit I’ve looked into it, it might help with allowing the feeling of needing to eat pass?

This rings a lot of bells, so I know where you’re coming from.

2 things that immediately spring to mind:
1. Restrict what food you have in the house. if there are no biscuits, no left over rice and no other “nice” things then it’s more difficult to attack them. Yes, you could also cook something or even go and buy something, but my experience you won’t 95% of the time. In my house, the food is either uncooked or eaten, no snacks, no leftovers, nothing bar apples. It doesn’t help when you’re out but it will help.
2. Plan your meals. For me a lot of the compulsive eating was an odd fear of not knowing where my next meal was coming from or when it was going to be. So now I plan my meals, what they will be, when and where they will be eaten and that has helped a lot.

Hope that helps you.

So yesterday, I missed breakfast but because I was out, had a small helping of rice and curried lamb. Then when I came home an hour later, I made myself a peanut butter sandwichSUGAR!!!, ate the leftover riceSUGAR!!! and lamb that had been brought home, and sneaked a few digestive biscuitsSUGAR!!! after that. Then, I had two bananasSUGAR!!! and two applesSUGAR!!! in the few hours before dinner.

After dinner, it was back to the digestivesSUGAR!!! with two squares of chocolateSUGAR!!! – and that was me being chaste! Yet by the time I got to bed, I was furious with myself, and lying on my pillow trying to convince myself that tomorrow (now today) would be a new start.

Spotting a theme there

For me, high carb/ sugar stuff causes binges.

From my experience, something high fat stops any cravings. A bit of cheese for example.

You may have worms.

Have you had a look through the soylent green recipies https://www.completefoods.co/diy/recipes

Calaraificly and nutritional balanced. Ment to not feel hungary on them. You could try and do every other day on it to reduce the habbit of eating.s

You mention that you don’t feel full, but do you actually feel hungry? While I don’t have quite the same issue you mention, I often find myself snacking out of boredom / habit rather than because I’m hungry.

@riklegge: I don’t know that I actually know what ‘hungry’ feels like. Honestly. I am sure that 95% of my eating is just out of habit/compulsion instead of need.

Funny enough, if a package of something has not been opened yet, or it’s something that has clearly been designated for some other purpose (like the kids’ school lunches), then I don’t have a problem leaving it along. But if, for example, there is a packet of dry roasted peanuts open, or biscuits, or (worst of all) Onken yoghurt, then I can clean all that off in minutes.

Both myself and my brother have these kind of eating habits. I annoy myself by always saying to myself, “just one more biscuit”, but I usually finish the lot. I am also fairly active so I manage to keep weight off but winters are difficult!

To control myself I rarely have any snacks in the house so I avoid the quick and easy binging. This means that I have to be very careful what I buy from the supermarket. I usually have a list with me and try and stick to this to avoid impulse buying bad foods.

My brother however is not active and is now dangerously overweight. He has now acknowledged his problem and is getting CBT but we are yet to see if this will help.

I ended up downloading the My Fitness app, with a view to maintaining weight rather than lose it. I found that when I realized how many calories were in all those little snacks, I would stop eating them in order to “trade” the calories for something else (like a beer in the evening).

does Sir partake in the odd naughty smoke at all? 8)

Thanks for posting this up OP – found it just as I sat down with a packet of McVities Digestives Nibbles, and has actually made me pause and put the packet back.

My issues with anxiety and depression have been on here before. I suspect that part of the reason I binge is linked to that, but have not yet found the right route to deal with it once and for all.

And while the sugar aspect is certainly a factor, I can binge on pretty much anything – sweet, savoury, cheese, potato, hell, even salad if there is nothing else.

Honestly. I am sure that 95% of my eating is just out of habit/compulsion instead of need.

I know what you mean. I am never full unless I majorly pig out.

Two things that may help:

1) High protien high fat lower carb. For me, bacon, eggs and beans with a little granola afterwards stops cravings all day. Most of what you listed is high GI or high sugar. As above, more protein *especialy* at breakfast. A lot of what is now customary to eat at breakfast is really just sweet snacks and is terrible for promoting good eating the rest of the day.

2) A food diary. List everything, every snack. I find myself not having the biscuit or whatever it is because I’ll have to go through the shame of putting it in my diary. Share the diary online if you need even more shame 🙂

3) Follow a rigid diet – whatever it is. Sometimes a strict plan can help whilst you’ve got the guts to do it. I didn’t stick to iDiet permamently but it made me understand what sugar/carbohydrate does and how I respond do it. And how to respond to those cravings.

Although you probably shoudln’t listen to me, I am fatter than you. Actually – come to think of it, you do do a lot of exercise so perhaps you really just need calories? Have less sugary (or no sugary) and less tasty mini meals with low GI carbs instead of yummy biscuits and cakes. So something like peanut butter rolled up in a wholemeal tortilla. Or even buttered wholemeal toast.

Other ways to offset riding related munchies are taking energy drink/gels on rides (carb powder is easier to regulate intake though and imo vastly cheaper) or recovery drink afterwards. The latter is a very powerful too, but it’s more expensive.

And while the sugar aspect is certainly a factor, I can binge on pretty much anything – sweet, savoury, cheese, potato, hell, even salad if there is nothing else.

This. Oh yes, this.

does Sir partake in the odd naughty smoke at all?

If you’re asking what I think you’re asking, then ‘yes’ is the answer. Not very often, but I have tried a cheeky rollie in the back garden on occasion, and it does work – at least for a while.

The thing is, as you can imagine, I am afraid of smoking and wouldn’t want to use it as a distraction. Although, perhaps more appropriate to the ‘best one-liners’ thread, a dear friend who also happens to be a chain smoker, once said ‘Everyone is always going on about the dangers of smoking to health, but no one ever mentions it for its weight loss benefits!’

But I won’t go any further, because I definitely don’t want to get sidetracked onto a discussion around the evils of smoking.

One more thing to ask: In the same way that there are resources for alcoholics and smokers that exist to encourage sufferers not to give in when they are tempted, are there any such programmes/websites for overeaters?

I was similarly compulsive with eating. post fatherhood I wasn’t cycling enough to get away with it. below are a few things that have helped me.

– not have junk in the house (I often curse this when hunting the house for chocolate/biscuits of an evening). if it’s in the house I will eat it. online shopping means I’m not compulsive in the supermarket.

– I’ve been cutting carbs lately particularly for breakfast and lunch. seriously cutting down bread consumption (previously my default breakfast/lunch when at home was all bread based) and instead having eggs & nuts and eggs.

– I don’t worry too much about the carbs when out and about (mainly weekends) but try to make healthy choices if I’m in the mood

– drink tea when the cravings are bad

– I’ve learnt to try and enjoy a little bit of that hungry feeling and trained myself to recognize the sugar/carb cravings as grotesque. I’ve effectively become a bit smug about my new found eating habits!

cutting the carbs seems to have reduced my cravings. even on weekends I now find myself making better choices. shifted a little weight and feel better about what I am eating.

Your food consumption yesterday doesn’t seem that bad. But a couple of things stand out. Missing breakfast and then all the snacking.

I feel much better and snack less if I have a big breakfast. Ham and a couple of eggs on toast, followed by some yogurt, honey and fruit is a good one for me.

And then if you do need snacks, some decent ones are needed instead of junk ones where one leads to another. I’ve started making a big batch of flapjacks every Saturday in a turnabout ‘who makes the best’ competition with my wife. This week I’ve excelled myself (imo!) with a dark chocolate monster flapjack with loads of cocoa in it. One piece and you are done, properly sunk. It’s awesome because you hit that point after only 1 piece.

You’re not overweight, stop overthinking it would be my advice. Switch to healthier snacks is all the advice I’d offer. Not that you’re dong too badly on that score anyway, but fewer biscuits etc.

I eat a lot of (mainly vegetable) soup, which I make in big batches every so often and portion up for the freezer. Soup and a sandwich is a healthy filling lunch with not too many calories.

You mention that you don’t feel full, but do you actually feel hungry?

When I was younger and didn’t know what gluten intolerance was, I’d often get that feeling with weetabix. 3 in a bowl, still feel hungry.
I was mistaking the feeling of hunger pangs with the feeling of my body reacting to gluten…

Funny enough, if a package of something has not been opened yet, or it’s something that has clearly been designated for some other purpose (like the kids’ school lunches), then I don’t have a problem leaving it along. But if, for example, there is a packet of dry roasted peanuts open, or biscuits, or (worst of all) Onken yoghurt, then I can clean all that off in minutes.

I do this. If there’s an open packet of biscuits, I’ll eat all of them. One while the kettle boils, one as I get the five out to have with my cup of tea, and another one while I walk through to wherever I’m sitting. And then one every time I pass the biscuits.

For my part changing what i ate to control cravings didn’t/doesn’t really help, I’m more a savory binge than sugar though so high fat protein largely is what I’d eat out of choice.

Silly as it sounds i found the best solution for me was bags of salad/spinach, which I’ll happily munch on like crisps until such point as i get bored. Once I’m bored it’s problem solved for a while at least (and generally the only thing that stops me eating regardless of what’s on offer any how). As i got more bored more quickly the craving reduced and i find it easier not to eat those 4 scotch eggs between the super market door and the car. (It does still happen mind)

Can not help but know where you are coming from. No full switch here also, got it off my dad, can not say my two daughters are too chuffed to have inherited it off me!! None of us are too big as we all exercise to keep it off but just wish I could be like the wife and say I`m too full to finish that instead of sat waiting for her to say that before polishing off her half full plate.

Try doing the 5:2. It seems to work like a reset for me. I now use regular intermittent fasting and actually feel full with a normal portion. Used to have hormonal fuelled days when nothing was going to be enough. All sorted now.

This sounds pretty normal to me, I reckon quite a few people are like this. Go to an all you can eat buffet with a mixed group and they’ll be a few without a ‘full switch’.

Don’t have it in the house is the only way I’ve found to control it. If it’s there, I’m eating it. All of it.

@Ginger: regarding the 5:2… On the ‘5’ days, how many calories are you restricted to?

Perhaps try a couple of sessions with a counsellor? See if there is something in your past that triggers/causes this. Make sure it’s with an accredited BACP counsellor. They’ll have a list of local therapists for you.

saxonrider, I am like you, but far worse.
on a good day, I can eat a full loaf of sliced bread over 2 meals, 10 with a breakfast and 10 with fish n chips.
then a full cooked dinner when I get home from work.
I have to admit, it is savoury stuff for me. I can just keep eating it, and never feel full.

I an just a greedy ****. 😆

Saxonrider – you’ve just described me too. The “no off-switch” in particular. When people say they could only eat a little of something as it was too rich, it made no sense to me. Dr Michael Moseley describes this as “Carb addicted” and “insulin resistant “. It is also a common issue in pre-diabetic patients. If unchecked it can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes.

I’ve been on the STW chub club thread this year, and have lost 2.5 stone by cutting out carbs. I did 8 weeks of 800Kcal per day, following Dr Moseley Blood Sugar Diet, and can honestly say I was never hungry on that regime. Bored, yes, but I would wake up the next day expecting to be ravenous, but actually still felt full.

I even managed some 100km bike rides with no carbs – basically relying on my own body fat for fuel. I surprised myself by hitting some pretty punchy hills with gusto at the end of one ride.

As pointed out SUGAR, SUGAR, SUGAR ….
Most of us have a cut-off on sucrose…. not everyone does…. (or to lesser extents) .. recent studies have shown fructose doesn’t have the same trigger to make us stop eating…

The best thing I can say is just don’t buy it!!!
Especially round the house I’ll eat complete rubbish if its easily available … when it isn’t I’ll eat a few carrots or similar… just washed and then bite off the tops and munch…. at least it’s all healthy and better than picking up a biscuit…

Hunger is a double or even triple thing….
1) we have 20 minute feelings which you can ignore and then go away
2) we have long term hunger which you can’t ignore and it goes away
3) we have micro-nutrient hunger … the best I can describe is like when you feel something is missing and you have a tea or coffee and nope.. then a snack etc. etc. and you feel like you are hungry even though you can’t quite put a finger on it

When I was 11-18 I had a special plate…. because normal adult plates I filled twice… I could eat for England… (I was doing lots of exercise but it was a huge serving plate… and I was skinny as anything)

Someone else mentioned gluten intolerance… this is my bugbear…. if I get gluten my villi are destroyed and I lack adsorption of minerals and vitamins… (I spent a month on daily intramuscular B12 just getting back in a safe range) This is the #3 type hunger…. I can eat a whole chicken then a 1kg steak and STILL be “hungry” an hour later…. in fact I did last night…

Last week I was away and had to eat gluten (or not eat)….

Yesterday, I got back from riding and had a roast chicken dinner (Jr and his mum had 1/2 of the other chicken between them…about 6ish) then about 8:30 I cooked a 1kg rib-eye…. and ate it… with what was left of some salad and veg .. I just finished the other half chicken (and some cheese and ham in some GF rolls)…. I’m still “starving”…

I’d say cut the sugar… completely … just stop buying products with it…
Look into intolerances such as gluten and casein (milk)

There’s a growing body of evidence that our gut bacteria have a lot to do with food cravings and appetite.
I’ve just bought Dr Michael Moseley’s book, the Clever Guts Diet- I posted about it on FB so you might have seen it is you’ve been on FB in the past 24 hours.
I would strongly recommend having a look at that book. 🙂

my 2pence worth.

slow down your eating
smaller plates (with fixed portions ie no second helpings or serving bowls with extras)
5 2 diet (not because you need diet but teaches discipline and self control)
drink more water

Interesting, I binge eat far too much myself (and am a couple of stone overweight thanks to it), I definitely feel full after a point (although that’s sometimes after I’ve reached the point of being too bloated to move or feeling sick :p ). I try not to buy packets of biscuits now, I usually either eat them in one sitting or within a couple of hours.

My worst habit is I’ll get home from work, will be too early for dinner so I’ll find something to snack on but overdo it and then won’t feel hungry at dinner time but then end up snacking a load before bed 🙁

The only thing that works for me (to an extent) is being fit and having a goal (sportive/race etc.), much easier then to put the packet down. But if I’ve not being doing much riding I think what’s the point, I’d rather die fat and happy than thin and miserable so allow myself to eat all sorts of junk. Unfortunately at the moment I’m going through a “not into cycling” phase and piling on the pounds.

Download My Fitness Pal. Record everything you eat in it. Don’t cheat.

Don’t miss breakfast. Eat less in the afternoon and evening. Common problem, people eat big meals in the evening when the energy is not needed.

Start to train your body to need less, smaller portions. I snack a lot, nuts, fruit, yog but avoid big evening meal. Breakfast tends to be the larger meal. I also drink one active bio for gut bacteria.

Stop eating biscuits and other crap food items – simply don’t buy them and their not there. Plus you save money.

Weight is simply what you shove in your mouth. You don’t have to do much to get a healthy (healthhier) diet.

@SaxonRider

I’m in the same boat, I’ve knocked off 3 stone in the last couple of years but I’ve still a way to go.

As you said with Alcoholism, it’s an addiction like drugs for me, I am an over-eater, I will always be an over-eater, I don’t know if it’s mental or in my DNA – I can eat to the point it’s painful, and still try to cram more in – it’s **** weird frankly.

You’ve got a couple of options:

Pay for a stomach staple, it’s shit, and it doesn’t fix the metal problem, it just stops you eating as much – it’s also pretty dramatic – it’s not an easy cure either, lots of them fail – either the person eats so much it’s breaks the band or they learn to eat lots of liquids – there was this poor women who paid £3k for the band and then put ON weight because she just gulped down milkshakes from McDonalds all day.

Speak to your doctor and get some medication, there’s this stuff called Orlistat – the half dose over the counter version is called Alli – it’s fairly grim, if you eat fatty food it will pass through you, you’ll shart, you’ll feel like crap, you’ll crap A LOT, with very little notice – if you eat well, there are no side effects, but if you eat well there’s not effect either.

I expect to get flamed for this one – but…

the most effective thing I’ve done – joined Slimming World, it’s **** tragic, it’s an hour of listening to whiners, whining, but the ‘plan’ works, if you follow it – my Boss dropped 3 stone in 2 months, including jogging every other day, I lost a stone in 5 weeks. It’s notorious for yo-yoing so you have to be careful but it’s simple really “fill up on low calorie, healthy food” that’s it – if you’re hungry, eat loads of veg and lean meat, don’t eat in between, if you do need to eat in between eat fruit or some low fat cupasoup stuff, okay some of the low-calorie stuff isn’t the most heathy, but on balance the negative effects of some of it is in no way worse than losing lots of body fat. Every week you have to go and weigh yourself, they tell you in no BS language if you’ve lost weight or put in on – you can’t fall into a habit of denial, and whilst there’s a lot of yo-yoers, there’s a lot more marathon runners too (I don’t know why, but lots of Slimming World people get into distance running).

If you can keep it up for 3-6 months, they say you can change your relationship with food, you associate good food with happy and bad food with unhappy.

I honestly think I’d eat myself to death if left unchecked. I’m sure I’ve came close a couple of times to rupturing my stomach. Two rules – if you don’t buy it you can’t eat it and never food shop on an empty stomach.

I shop 4-5 times a week to avoid keeping more than a day or twos worth of food at home so I don’t go on a binge.

You are me and I’m following this with interest

Rather than suggest a ‘solution’ as many have already been offered, I will suggest you please consider this book / Audio book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chimp-Paradox-Management-Programme-Confidence/dp/009193558X (note the 2,250 review score)
The benefit this book offers you IMO is:
1. Guilt relief on ‘Why am I so greedy’ type thoughts.
2. Understanding / perspective on why anyone would struggle with any food addiction / disorder. Or more precisely it will explain why people are sometimes ‘good’ and sometimes ‘really bad’ with their behaviour and what explains the inconsistency.
Best of luck in any endeavor.

A similar thought to digger95, but a different book: The Marshmallow Test ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KMZO0JU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 )

It’s about self control, initially explored with kids and their favourite snacks. Then the research evolved into what led certain people to have self control and not others, and then teaching techniques for dealing with impulses. Quite readable, some fascinating insight.