# Nervous Eating.



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

Does anyone here know how to stop? I am overweight because of nervous eating. When I get anxious, I like to eat. I have been working on it but it's hard. Now when I get anxious, I try to do something else like read instead of eat, but it's a hard habit to kick. I am trying to replace a bad habit with a good habit, something that will help me when I'm anxious but that is not as detrimental as overeating. 

I know I should eat fruits and veggies, and not processed and sugary things, but that doesn't stop me from eating those things because I crave them. I don't know how to force myself to crave lettuce and oranges instead of chocolate chip cookies or pizza.


----------



## Melodies0fLife (Sep 17, 2012)

Emotional eating is pretty hard to overcome. My advice is whenever you have a craving, start moving your body. Meaning, go for a walk or jog, do jumping jacks, sit ups or push ups. As long as you are moving at least 15-20 minutes, the craving will eventually subside. To prevent cravings, basically either don't buy the food at all or at least keep it out of sight. However, do keep a bowl of easy to reach/prepare fruits on the counter like apples, oranges, pears and bananas, etc. Or you could pre-chop them, put them in containers in the fridge so that if you do find yourself with a huge craving, you could immediately reach for those first. You can also do this for carrots/celery and eat it with hummus or something. That's what I do...

I think the reason why most people dont crave lettuce/oranges because that stuff actually fills you up since it has fiber. But pizza and cookies will never satisfy your body because it is essentially processed and all the fiber is taken out. So, you will continue to go back to them. I suggest to start eating better at meal times. Eat lots of lean protein like chicken and fish and always pair with vegetables. Make sure to add lots of variety and cook them in different ways. And never ever skimp on the meals/eat too little during the day or skip meals because that tends to make you hungrier resulting in your body to crave things that are high in sugar/fat/salt. It took me maybe a a few months to completely alter my diet and now I don't crave the processed stuff so much anymore.


----------



## Broshious2 (Jan 21, 2009)

Grapefruits said:


> Does anyone here know how to stop? I am overweight because of nervous eating. When I get anxious, I like to eat. I have been working on it but it's hard. Now when I get anxious, I try to do something else like read instead of eat, but it's a hard habit to kick. I am trying to replace a bad habit with a good habit, something that will help me when I'm anxious but that is not as detrimental as overeating.
> 
> I know I should eat fruits and veggies, and not processed and sugary things, but that doesn't stop me from eating those things because I crave them. I don't know how to force myself to crave lettuce and oranges instead of chocolate chip cookies or pizza.


The best results I had was when I had nothing around the house that wasn't healthy. I'd get all nervous and crave food like crazy, but go look in the cupboard and be like, "Oh...saltines with nothing to put on them. I think I may just pass."


----------



## tsundere (Oct 9, 2012)

Yeah it's like that saying goes "out of sight, out of mind." I've even heard of taping pictures on the refrigerator: one a "before" pic of you; the other a picture of someone who has the body image you want...I haven't tried that yet, but I think seeing a picture of myself will disgust me so much I don't want to eat...


----------



## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

Try to limit bringing junk food into the house that will tempt you. Find something healthy and filling that you love to eat. I discovered I loved eating salads at around 18 (with lots of olive oil, avocados, olives etc) and will eat a bowl of it the size of my head. It might be stir fries, roast veggies or a plate of fruit for you. Eat it enough times and you will start to crave it.


----------



## michaeljoe (Oct 6, 2012)

Hoping you find a solution.

I feel that sugary foods and caffienated foods actually fuel my anxiety to higher levels.

MJ


----------



## Zil (Feb 5, 2011)

This might not stop you, but eating a ton of cucumbers instead of anything else will help you, all it has is vitamins and water and they taste pretty good. It's also easy to digest if you're stressed.


----------



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

Melodies0fLife said:


> Emotional eating is pretty hard to overcome. My advice is whenever you have a craving, start moving your body. Meaning, go for a walk or jog, do jumping jacks, sit ups or push ups. As long as you are moving at least 15-20 minutes, the craving will eventually subside. To prevent cravings, basically either don't buy the food at all or at least keep it out of sight. However, do keep a bowl of easy to reach/prepare fruits on the counter like apples, oranges, pears and bananas, etc. Or you could pre-chop them, put them in containers in the fridge so that if you do find yourself with a huge craving, you could immediately reach for those first. You can also do this for carrots/celery and eat it with hummus or something. That's what I do...
> 
> I think the reason why most people dont crave lettuce/oranges because that stuff actually fills you up since it has fiber. But pizza and cookies will never satisfy your body because it is essentially processed and all the fiber is taken out. So, you will continue to go back to them. I suggest to start eating better at meal times. Eat lots of lean protein like chicken and fish and always pair with vegetables. Make sure to add lots of variety and cook them in different ways. And never ever skimp on the meals/eat too little during the day or skip meals because that tends to make you hungrier resulting in your body to crave things that are high in sugar/fat/salt. It took me maybe a a few months to completely alter my diet and now I don't crave the processed stuff so much anymore.


Thanks for the reply. I will keep this in mind. I plan on trying to alter my diet for good starting next month, and practicing November and December and seeing where it gets me.

I never would have thought that about the fiber thing. I have also read on health websites and seen documentaries that claim that processed foods, especially junk food and fast food, are pumped full of chemicals like drugs that make you crave the food after you eat it. I have finally kicked my fast food habit and it took a long time for me to do. Years, maybe. I have been eating fast food since I was a child (I was NOT raised on good nutrition) and I started trying to kick the habit when I was sixteen. Very, very hard to do! I was eating it multiple times a week, and sometimes even two meals a day would be fast food. I am twenty now, and twenty pounds lighter and finally done with fast food. Even if I smell it now, I do not want it anymore. I have so much more energy and never knew how great it felt to have all that junk out of my system. However, it took me like four years to kick the addiction to fast food pretty much. I mean to get it completely out of my system to the point where eating it makes me feel sick. Four years is quite a long time.

As for a healthy diet, it may well take years for me but I am willing, as long as I can be healthy by age twenty five and have good habits and lifestyle habits for the rest of my life.


----------



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

Broshious2 said:


> The best results I had was when I had nothing around the house that wasn't healthy. I'd get all nervous and crave food like crazy, but go look in the cupboard and be like, "Oh...saltines with nothing to put on them. I think I may just pass."


Brilliant! Oh, I need to try this. It doesn't help that whenever I finally go on a health kick, my mother goes and buys ice cream pies and fattening mac and cheeses and stuffs them in the freezer. I sometimes wonder if she does it on purpose, because she herself is overweight and so are my grandparents. Whenever I tried to suggest that they not eat fattening friend southern food (native Alabamians) my mom chews me out and says "Stop that, people are set in their ways" and whenever I want to eat healthy, my mom always wants to cook something unhealthy.


----------



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

tsundere said:


> Yeah it's like that saying goes "out of sight, out of mind." I've even heard of taping pictures on the refrigerator: one a "before" pic of you; the other a picture of someone who has the body image you want...I haven't tried that yet, but I think seeing a picture of myself will disgust me so much I don't want to eat...


Um. I've heard of doing stuff like that, and it doesn't work. When I get sad/depressed, I tend to overeat. If I see a picture of how ugly I am (in my mind, anyway) then that WILL NOT help me.

A better idea would be to buy a shirt that is too small that you want to wear with the hopes of one day fitting in that shirt comfortably. That is my plan.


----------



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

wrongnumber said:


> Try to limit bringing junk food into the house that will tempt you. Find something healthy and filling that you love to eat. I discovered I loved eating salads at around 18 (with lots of olive oil, avocados, olives etc) and will eat a bowl of it the size of my head. It might be stir fries, roast veggies or a plate of fruit for you. Eat it enough times and you will start to crave it.


I like some veggies and fruits, but nothing fresh. I am lazy and a college student with not a lot of free time. I don't have time to make fancy *** salads. Believe me, if I could have a fancy salad with all that stuff on there every night, I totally would. Only I don't have the time and I don't like to spend too much time cooking.

I do like fruit cups. In stores, my popular brands they make little cups of pineapples, grapefruits, and mandarin oranges which are good, but they are processed, right? As for veggies, I can eat beans or black olives out of a can. I like peanuts and potatoes, too, which are pre-packaged usually. I don't know how healthy that stuff is, but maybe eating a can of beans is better than eating a can of pasta and meatballs.

I'm lazy and I hate cooking and doing dishes. Maybe I should just accept a life of granola bars, fruit cups, and bags of peanuts.


----------



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

michaeljoe said:


> Hoping you find a solution.
> 
> I feel that sugary foods and caffienated foods actually fuel my anxiety to higher levels.
> 
> MJ


Oh, damn. I can't live without my coffee, though. And diet soda.

And I will find a solution! If it's the last thing I do!


----------



## Grapefruits (Oct 26, 2010)

Zil said:


> This might not stop you, but eating a ton of cucumbers instead of anything else will help you, all it has is vitamins and water and they taste pretty good. It's also easy to digest if you're stressed.


Jeez. Thanks for THAT advice.

Cucumbers are gross! Unless they are pickles, which are loaded with sodium.

But whats worse? Being bloated for a day or two because of some high sodium cucumbers and then peeing it out, or getting fat put on your body from some cheesy meaty processed carbohydratey goodness?

I think being temporarily bloated might be a better option.


----------



## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

My anhedonia is that bad I simply don't care to eat many times. Luckily I still at home so I don't have to cook lol.

Get enough protein, veggies and fruit. Don't buy junk food.


----------

