Compulsive Overeating

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I think i eat alot of food to solve my problems and it is only temporary that it makes me feel better, and then i feel bad afterwards. I go back and forth between eating healthy then going backwards when i am really stressed out and eat alot. Whatever is bothering me i resort to food and alot of it. Does anyone else do this?

Unfortunately it does. The truth of the matter is that overeating can be very relaxing, and some times when you are in a very stressed out state, it might be the only thing that you can practically do to calm down.

I am going to tell you: do as I say, not as I do, but...

Helpful ways around this are: exercising, turning on the TV, separating yourself from whatever problem you have at the moment, and taking five (i.e. take a break to clear your mind). You could even try to see a psychiatrist (I am on antidepressants myself), if your problems are that bad, you might benefit from medication, or at least being able to talk with a councilor.

Unfortunately with all these interventions that I have listed, I still find myself sometimes filling my stomach to calm myself down. This is really not good for my health...

Best of luck!

I've had that problem in the past. I now practice portion control and I have soup for lunch, because I know that I like big suppers. I also spend a lot of time listening to music from different sources and going on the Internet. I do things that I know will distract me from food.

The problem with turning to food for comfort, is, as you have found, it doesn't work. At least not to the degree you would like it to.

What actually tends to work better is walking. You should try walking briskly for 30 minutes to an hour every day. If you aren't in very good shape, it may take your body two or three weeks to acclimate but unlike with food, in the end you'll probably feel better.

Overeating for me is like stimming. I don't eat for comfort but I decide to have a little snack and I'm so used to the repetition that, oh no, a whole box of BBQ Shapes is eaten.

I had this problem really bad. I would overeat until I felt sick. I was sent to an eating disorders clinic. They put me on a strict regime. Nothing to do with what I ate or how much but WHEN. I have to have 3 meals a day at fixed times and 3 snacks in between. Never more than 3 hours without eating. I haven't felt hungry since and I haven't overeaten. I also found I don't fall asleep in the afternoons anymore either.

I made myself a rule that I can eat whatever I want if I eat a can of soup first. It works fairly well. Also, since I noticed that my snacking has more to do with the repetitive hand movement to the mouth (with food) - I think it *is* stimming - sometimes I have popcorn or even Cheerios. I've lost 50 lbs over the last year, mostly by making these kinds of changes. But I really avoid any hint of "can't have" - it backfires.

Holy crap!
You just explained why I over eat! I never really thought of it in those terms, but it certainly makes sense to me. Back when I used to drink much too much, I pounded beer for much the same reason, as I recall. I've noticed I do much the same thing with coffee, these days.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

The problem for me is that I eat more than I should, yes, but it has almost become a part of a routine. I eat at a set time, almost like a sort of extra meal in the day. At first it was just to calm me down and make me feel less stressed after a day of work, but now I feel like if I don't do it, I'll become anxious.

It's very difficult to break out of, especially because it now feels so natural and integrated into my day.

I had this problem too, but I have read marisa peers audio book and paper book and since then Ive not had one binge and have dropped 3 dress sizes. It hypnotises you to not need to over eat, stops the soothing association with junk foods and raises self esteem. Ive struggled with binging since i was a small child and this is the only thing which has helped me. I listened to the audio book several times and the hypnotism everyday for a month.

book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Can-Thin-Pr ... 486&sr=8-1
audio cd
http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Can-Thin-Pr ... 486&sr=8-5

http://www.marisapeer.com/

I'm always eating food that I hadn't intended to eat, and it's getting worse. Used to be just drinking tea constantly, but now it's also buttered crumpets, chocolate, biscuits, nuts, fruit pies, anything palatable, and it's quite alarming how much I can pack away in a few minutes. It doesn't do me a lot of harm AFAIK, probably because I eat nothing till lunchtime (and even then it's only a small meal), and I cycle quite a lot (exercise), and I haven't put on any excessive weight.

It's more the fact that it's out of my control that bothers me - I only shop for food once a week, and my supply of "luxury" food is supposed to last the whole week, but it's all gone in 4 or 5 days. The eating habit isn't usually strong enough to get me off my butt and into a local shop to buy more food (I'm lazy, and local shops usually charge more so I boycott them), so it's self-limiting, but I might feel better about myself if I could stick to eating what I intended to eat, instead of letting myself down all the time.

There's some evidence that I can substitute recreational drugs for nibbles, but that might be even worse, though it's hard to know. I often wonder if I've got an addictive personality, as I always seem to be using something or other that's not quite wholesome and healthy. Or maybe it's just perfectionism, and my recreational consumption is lower than average?

I guess one explanation is that I've developed an aversion to immersing myself in my special interests......back in the day, I'd get so engrossed in my projects that I'd forget to eat till it was nearly bedtime, but I don't want my life taken over like that, so I temper my obsessions, and then I want something to make me happy.

As a child, I had virtually no friends...most kids were cruel to me. I became very isolated and for an inability to connect with others effectively, I did desire connection. I felt empty inside and turned to food to comfort me.

I eventually recognized my overeating for what it was, but to this day, when stressed or bored, I am inclined to shove food in my mouth as an attempt to compensate. It takes a lot of discipline to not fall back on old habits.

I am seeing a psycologist and psychiatrist and they put me on meds for OCD but it isn't helping yet and i don't know if this will help but i will give it time. I think for me i need input i like chewing on certain textures and i tried chewing gum but it isn't enough for me. It might be my OCD that i keep sticking to a strict diet and i feel so hungry that i go back to my old ways too on top of trying to fill a void. I do mention my obsession with food to my psycologist everytime i go and so far they are guessing it's OCD. I like exercising and i am not in bad shape but i just keep letting myself go even 20lbs heavier then i would like to be. I feel really depressed and anxious when i don't have food to depend on to help me. I am on meds and have been trying a few that they ask me to take but so far nothing is working.

I'm the complete opposite. I eat like a bird. I actually find that I eat less when stressed, nervous or excited.

Same here.

But I tend to go through a whole different process.

What happens is, I get obsessed with my obsession and a new project. I hate leaving projects open ended. So for weeks, even months I'll be in my world of obsessions and projects. Which means, oh no I have forgotten to eat and spend most of these weeks or months eating only one meal a day.

But then what happens is when my obsession and my project ends, I eat more than I normally would to the point where I'm always full, but I still eat even though I am full.

Then the cycle repeats. Get obsessed, not eat maybe one meal a day, finish project, no obsession, eat a whole bunch, find an obsession, new project, don't eat a lot.

Over and over and over again. And I don't even know how to fix this problem.