i think i really am addicted to food, what can i do?

i am a student and i know when i get stressed or depressed i eat or atleast want to and today proved it. i have to take this algebra class and i hate it and dont understand it and i was getting very upset and i wanted to eat and gave in to the vending machine snacks. i need some serious stress relievers or ways to not give into my cravings. i need something to occupy my mind. i never thought trying to lose weight would be so hard.

Tue. Oct 18, 8:44pm

I have the same problem you do: I am obsessed with eating & food. What has worked for me is letting myself eat - just eating different, better stuff. Think about it; if you eat candy bars, chips, ice cream, etc., you are loading your body up with fat & calories. You can still eat, just make better choices. Eat pretzels or veggies or frozen yogurt. You'll lose weight because even though you're still eating the same amount, you are taking in far less calories and fat. I can tell you that it absolutely worked for me.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005, 10:16 PM

so have you lost weight from that? thank you for posting

Tuesday, October 18, 2005, 10:26 PM

I was hugely stressed when I was in college, and I tried to do two things so I wouldn't eat whenever I got overwhelmed. The first was take lots of naps. I didn't know this then, but sleeping helps regulate the hormones that control feelings of hunger. So if you're screwing with your sleeping schedule and not getting enough, you are much less likely to be able to hear your body tell you to stop eating.

Second, I'd go for a long hard run or swim (my two main modes of exercise in college). That would get all my frustrations out, and it would give my mind a chance to either veg and take a break or process whatever task was stressing me out. I can't tell you how many papers got half-written in my head as I did my 40 laps in the pool.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 6:56 AM

Yes, I have lost weight. 84 pounds, to be exact, and the last 24 with PEERtrainer. I'm in the Spotlight "clubs" group and if you look in my daily log I have a blog you are welcome to check out.

Kate (kissmekate02)

Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 9:12 AM

I find that obsessing over food makes it worse for me. Every time I am thinking about food away from meal time, I force myself to think about something new. (currently that new thought is glass etching, which I've never done, and may not do in the future, but it gives me a lot to think about). That way, meal time is much more relaxing and I am so happy to be enjoying my food, and not engulfed by it.
(By the way, that is a slow process.)

Second: eat lots of veggies. Last night I ate 4 cups of food and was so full it was gross. I really needed to do it because of some things going on.... but, it was chicken (boiled, skinless, sauce added afterwards, so low fat) and acorn squash, and green beans. I was so full of veggies I *really* didn't want dessert, and food wasn't appetizing. (This was part of my plan, since I had to bake for an event, and didn't want to eat the batter, or ruin the cake by taking some out.) I know it's not healthy to regularly stuff yourself, but in this case, it was a pretty low calorie dinner (it was 250 calories, only. greens/veggies give you lots of fullness and very little calories and plenty of vitamins, too).

Friday, October 28, 2005, 10:32 AM

From our experience running PEERtrainer there are many components to "food addiction." Some of it is the food you eat, some of it is psychological. Over the years we have worked to help people identify the components as well as chip away at them.

The first thing you want to do is take a very close look at your diet. It is likely that a component of your issues with food is that you are not consuming enough nutrients.

We recently put together a short document that guides to toward the foods that are likely to help you feel less hungry, and away from foods that aren't helping you.

We designed this to be effective, yet forgiving, and takes into account that we all live in the real world.

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2011/02/the-peertrainer-cheat-system.html

The download is free, and the document is being updated periodically.

We have also put together an article that outlines some of the emotional components to eating.

http://www.peertrainer.com/how_to_stop_emotional_eating_and_night_eating.aspx

If you are just finding this thread via an internet search, welcome to PEERtrainer!

-PEERtrainer

Monday, March 7, 2011, 6:30 PM

For me, I don't eat emotionally as much as I eat constantly. I just always crave eating some sort of food. The hard part of eating well for me is limiting myself to healthy snacks and only eating when I'm actually hungry, not because I'm watching TV and I'm bored. Sometimes I find that having a drink handy that I can continuously sip helps. Water doesn't really do that for me, but for instance, right now I'm sipping Crystal Light as I cruise PT!

Monday, March 7, 2011, 9:25 PM

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