# Can't stop eating!



## dontcare (Oct 6, 2008)

I just eat, eat, eat, all day. The sugary foods are best but I'll take whatever I can lay my hands on. At first I blamed it on depression, but now I raised my meds and am feeling better--but I'm still eating, I can't seem to stop myself. What could be the issue? Apart from the fact that I have issues :roll


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## Little Willow (Oct 26, 2008)

Sometimes I eat and eat too. When I can't stop, I compensate by working out more and more. It's a little annoying. I've tried to stop my chewing gum, or eating popcorn instead of candy. I don't know if it has anything to do with anxiety or depression, but when I work out I feel less like eating candy. I think it's something to do with endorphins.


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## sparkationsgirl (Oct 25, 2008)

you should def def stay away from sugar-cause that does cause cravings. fruits that contain sugar usually arrive in the fall and animals eat them in order to build fat in preparation for hibernation! 

i think what helps is having small meals throughout the day, and cut out sugar. drink tea. follow a low-glycemic diet.


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## Strategist (May 20, 2008)

Wow, I was just going to post this same thing. Personally, I think I'm a sugar addict and somewhere along the line I learned that candy/sugar is something to eat to feel better or as a reward. Lately it's been really bad because I'm under a lot of stress right now and the more depressed I am the less I try to stop myself.


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## dontcare (Oct 6, 2008)

But many times I just have to eat. What do I snack on? Cucumbers?
Or should I not eat at all? I'm just going out of my mind.


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## Mr. Orange (Apr 20, 2008)

Exercise. Then you won't gain weight. I eat tons, but I run 4 miles a day and lift weights, so it cancels out.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

It's fall - you're inside - it's boredom eating/preparation for winter fat.

This is actually the time of year I lose weight because I run so much and it takes more to keep me warm. I do dress well, but the cold makes it a little harder to warm up .


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## brealair (Aug 31, 2008)

I have periods when I eat and eat. And the opposite where I barely eat anything. Right now I'm in the "barely eat anything" phrase.


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## Lateralus (Oct 28, 2007)

dontcare said:


> I just eat, eat, eat, all day. The sugary foods are best but I'll take whatever I can lay my hands on. At first I blamed it on depression, but now I raised my meds and am feeling better--but I'm still eating, I can't seem to stop myself. What could be the issue? Apart from the fact that I have issues :roll


Well, it's good that you've noticed you're doing it and that it's a problem. A lot of people unfortunately don't take any action until they've developed diabetes and are forced to. I'd recommend you start keeping track of your daily intake, and compare that to what it should be. Start to slowly adopt a healthier diet based on that. Also drink lots of water.


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## ju_pa (Sep 21, 2008)

Drink lots of water and eat peanuts. Chinese peanuts have worked extremely well for me. I used to feel hungry all the time when I wasn't eating them.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

It no doubt is your meds. L Tryptophan, an amino acid supplement, will enable you to control your diet. I would to research online tho' as there is a small chance of serotonin syndrome. But a small dosage (half a tablet) would be my suggestion. SOURCE NATURALS W/B6 really seems to work for me.


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## dontcare (Oct 6, 2008)

I just figured out what's causing it, I'm doing it to stay awake. I don't drink caffeine so I guess I'm using the sugar instead. But I'm getting plenty of sleep, too much sleep in fact. I guess I should change the title of the thread, though I have no clue how.

What could be my issue? I was blaming the tiredness on my depression also, but lately that has begun to lift, after I increased my dose. I always feel horrible, am never in the mood of anything ... maybe I should just stick it out and keep taking the higher dose, and eventually it will all smooth over?

It's not the weight gain that bothers me, I'm one of those lucky people that never gains weight. But I feel totally sick about it.


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## jas498 (Feb 22, 2008)

You should talk to your doctor...


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## Eilicea (Jun 15, 2008)

brealair said:


> I have periods when I eat and eat. And the opposite where I barely eat anything.


Same...right now I seem to want to eat like a fatass. It might be a metabolic thing, or because of stress or boredom.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

dontcare said:


> But many times I just have to eat. What do I snack on? Cucumbers?
> Or should I not eat at all? I'm just going out of my mind.


Cucumbers are actually pretty okay if you put soy sauce on them. But that's a totally different craving - that's more of a chip replacement for me.

When I want a candy bar but know that I shouldn't have one, good replacements are: celery with peanut butter, almonds, sweet apples, or a few pieces of hard candy. Also fruit popsicles are good, the ones that are actually made with fruit. And also Laughing Cow makes a really good cheese spread that's suprisingly low in fat.


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## Lisa (Jul 8, 2006)

dontcare said:


> But many times I just have to eat. What do I snack on? Cucumbers?
> Or should I not eat at all? I'm just going out of my mind.


Could also be anxiety. I have had phases when I barely stopped eating. Never really mattered what I ate, like, chocolate, crisps, then chilli with rice, then a sandwich.

Until you figure out what to do about it make sure you drink plenty of water to avoid constipation and definitely exercise a lot. I cycle.


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## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

I've been going through a similar thing. I seem to eat way more than I used to, and I've practically lost all my eating inhibitions. I just ate a chocolate croissant, after which I ate a Butterfinger. Jeez. This summer, through exercise and eating well, I lost a lot of weight. I've since gained back at least half of it. I feel terrible. I feel really unattractive actually. I eat because it gives me some pleasure, in an otherwise rather painful existence. 

Sorry about the depressing post. But yeah, regular cardiovascular exercise works wonders for keeping the weight off.


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## dontcare (Oct 6, 2008)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> I sometimes ill eat like a pig sometimes ill eat healthy hopefully i dont have an eating disorder.


Yeah, I do the same thing I guess, because there have been times when I'll realize, oops, I never ate today. It hasn't happened in a while, though. Somehow I don't think this is considered "normal".


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## ANCIENT (Aug 9, 2005)

Mr. Orange said:


> Exercise. Then you won't gain weight. I eat tons, but I run 4 miles a day and lift weights, so it cancels out.


Same here. A few weeks ago I was losing a lot of weight (more than I wanted to). I actually started eating more because I felt like I was losing muscle(not that I have a lot). I was losing more than 3 pounds a weeks. My goal is to lose 2 pounds a week.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

dontcare said:


> But many times I just have to eat. What do I snack on? Cucumbers?


Cucumbers would work. I don't buy candy because I have a long history of eating the whole bag in a single day when I do. Now try doing that with something like apples -- I don't imagine many are so tempted by a sack of apples that they'll eat a three pound bag of them in a day. Keep around foods like that which nobody would want to eat excessive amounts of. Oatmeal would be another example -- nobody is going to love that slop enough to overeat on that.


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## Nae (Nov 10, 2003)

Eat foods high in fiber and drink plenty of water as has been mentioned. Splitting up your meals into many smaller meals throughout the day may help, too.


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## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

Are you sure you dont have hypoglycemia. I think it is pretty common here.


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## Tryxy (Oct 30, 2008)

I just polished off an entire package of brie. I have to admit, it was pretty great.


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## yakubu (Nov 4, 2008)

dontcare said:


> I just eat, eat, eat, all day. The sugary foods are best but I'll take whatever I can lay my hands on. At first I blamed it on depression, but now I raised my meds and am feeling better--but I'm still eating, I can't seem to stop myself. What could be the issue? Apart from the fact that I have issues :roll


i have a question for you. are you extremely lazy ?

if so then you may have avoidant personality disorder. this disorder is basically the same as SA but more severe and with it also comes laziness/procrastination.

avoidants have an extremely low threshold for discomfort. human beings are creatures of comfort and nobody likes discomfort but normal people have a higher threshold for discomfort than avoidants.

avoidants cant stand discomfort . they cant stand feeling anxious, they cant stand just a bit of discomfort from doing a bit of work , feeling a bit cold when getting dry from a shower, getting out of bed in the morning. this casuing them to put everything off and be lazy cos getting things done requires a bit of effort wereas laziness is so confy.

when avoidants feel uncomfortable they do things to distract themselves from the discomfort. they do things like read a book, spend money, eat food. they are very reckless and can be very impulsive with things.

i used to blow all kinds of money and eat and eat and eat all day long. it was a major issue for me


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## dontcare (Oct 6, 2008)

Today I ate very little, now I have a headache because of it. This pattern is a headache. For those of you that have phases like that--did you ever find out what caused it? Or do you just ignore it? I don't remember the phases having followed each other quite this rapidly before. But I guess this would rule out all the theories everyone was suggesting before. I guess I do just have issues.


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## BrandonCA86 (Nov 10, 2008)

yakubu said:


> i have a question for you. are you extremely lazy ?
> 
> if so then you may have avoidant personality disorder. this disorder is basically the same as SA but more severe and with it also comes laziness/procrastination.
> 
> ...


^ Holy crap, I think this is me!


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## lesaabeverley (Feb 13, 2009)

You're certainly facing a binge eating disorder. Consult a doctor, and he might advice you go for a treatment. Once you know your problem, solution becomes easy. Try this site for eating disorder treatment http://www.edtreatmentcenters.com/ . Good luck!


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

I love to eat, and really don't think I'm ever going to be fat, I pretty much eat whatever I want. I have a good metabolism, plus I'm active - it really makes it easy for me unless I stop working out. I'm not really helping though...who doesn't love sweets though? Unless you're eating until you're sick or there are healthy risks or you fear getting fat, I say enjoy having a big appetite. 

Also, Ancient was banned?


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Prodigal Son said:


> Also, Ancient was banned?


Yes he was, unfortunately. There were some long-term issues there. 

I have to watch what I eat, thanks to Paxil. Without it, I would be like Prodigal Son. I stayed too thin, to the point I had people ask me if I ate enough :lol.


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Oh, I'm not that thin, are you calling me skinny? :lol

I just have good musculature. Is that a word? It works.


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## Metal_Heart (Feb 11, 2009)

Mr. Orange said:


> Exercise. Then you won't gain weight. I eat tons, but I run 4 miles a day and lift weights, so it cancels out.


Exercise might stop weight gain, but it won't stop the damage that sugary and fatty foods can cause to your body when eaten out of proportion.

It could just be that you've become used to snacking as a comfort and you now do it out of boredom.

The best way to stop snacking all day, is to do something productive, like exercising, cleaning, listening to music.. and when you do go to snack... snack on something healthier like fruit or low fat yoghurt.


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

It can certainly help stop the damage as well.


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## dontcare (Oct 6, 2008)

lesaabeverley said:


> You're certainly facing a binge eating disorder. Consult a doctor, and he might advice you go for a treatment. Once you know your problem, solution becomes easy. Try this site for eating disorder treatment http://www.edtreatmentcenters.com/ . Good luck!


:rofl
Thanks.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

How do you stop? The same as any other rewarding or addictive activity: either increase your dopamine, serotonin and other neurotransmitters, or "willpower" your way through it. Of course, individual willpower depends on many things, neurotransmitter activity being one of them.

Temporary fixes:
Coffee
Cigarettes
Tea
Possibly exercise

Sustainable methods:

Tyrosine
DLPA
Tryptophan
Theanine
Selegiline


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## Jinnix (Jul 6, 2006)

I ate non stop for a few months, but now I feel really bored of food so don't eat that much.


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## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

bezoomny said:


> Cucumbers are actually pretty okay if you put soy sauce on them. But that's a totally different craving - that's more of a chip replacement for me.


No advice, but I'd just like to point out that cucumbers + soy sauce = really, really yummy. If you're feeling bold, put some roasted sesame seeds on them.

I wish the grocery stores weren't closed on Sundays here. Now I totally want some!

Have a nice day,
Kelly


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Soy sauce makes lots of things taste good, since it is concentrated sodium in liquid form. Well...if you like salty stuff. I do.


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## Meee (Oct 24, 2005)

I have some issues with binge eating and stuff. I'm really not sure what's causing it, but it seems to me like lack of sleep has a big effect on how much i eat for some reason. Whether it's lack of willpower when i'm tired or some chemical thing or maybe i'm just imagining the connection, i don't know. 

Some days i'm fine and food doesn't phase me at all, other days i just can't stop eating even if i eat so much i physically feel ill. Maybe it'd be classed as an eating disorder at this point. :\ 

I exercise quite a lot so the effect isn't too bad but i've definately been gaining weight for the last couple years.


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## mypasswordneverworks (Dec 12, 2008)

I use food to mend my emotions...it works while I'm eating and then it "hurts" again...so I eat more.

It's unfortuate. Plus, I don't reach for healthy food... it's ALWAYS sugar...always.


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