Healthy Eating but binging!!

Angeltoe

Hi all,

I'm a long time Lurker here and really need people's advice. I've been trying to eat healthy lately, ideally I'd just like to lose 4 lbs but that's no biggie, it's not a lot to lose so not worried about it. What I am worried about is my eating habits.

I've been having porridge made with water for brekkie, 2 haddock or cod fillets( tesco frozen ones) with a load of salad leaves for lunch and then ideally veg with meat for dinner. I say ideally cos it never really happens. By the time dinner comes around I've already raided the presses looking for sugary foods....and anything will do.

I dunno why this is happening?? I've always had a carb heavy diet and rarely eat meat. So I changed my lunch from toast and an apple to the above mentioned, but it's like it's caused me to binge on sugar.

I am SO frustrated over the whole thing. Sorry for the long post but has anyone any advice?

Torakx

I had years of this too.The first few days cold turkey can really give you the munchies and you only need one taste of a biscuit or sugar and your cravings kick off again.
But if you can go low carb and continue it, the wanting sugar feeling will go away and you will start to regain your taste buds and notice yourself enjoying healthy food alot more.

My advice from experience,is to first try to clear out your fridge and presses of foods that are refined carbs/sugars etc.,as an ex sugar addict i found its best just not to buy it anymore.)

Then replace with whole foods and for snacks well... you will have to find what you like thats acceptable.
I use nuts and plain yogurt as a snack between meals and the odd time when i need to eat junk i make popcorn.

I think its important to note that one of the main ways your body stores fat is through insulin levels,which react to sugar/carbs.

I have a very high fat diet,but because i only get carbs from veg and yogurt i dont seem to gain much fat.My blood sugar is ussually very stable with a whole foods, low carb diet.

This makes it easier for me to "binge" on yogurt and nuts that make me fill up in a more healthier manor than i would have before.
I also found herbal teas with xylitol as a really nice comfort drink when im trying to fight off cravings for things like nicotine and sugar.

for me personally when first going off sugar, i found that keeping to a low carb diet helped me not to experience cravings so much.
Compared to a regular diet where say you eat some pasta and then your blood sugar rises slightly giving you a craving for a cup of tea and biscuits which would then lead me to buying and eating a whole pack of choc chip cookies.
Just wasnt worth the torture and for other health reasons i need a low carb diet anyway for a few months.

Hope that helps some.

Just keep working on your eating habits and your brain will eventually learn the routine foods instead of sutomatically thinking junk food.
You'l get there.

ps, it is frustrating as hell, but dont let it get you down or kick yourself too much.Think that you can work it off tomorrow and get back to the routine.
When you go to the press and grab a healthy item as many times as you have grabbed an unhealthy one, you have then reversed the habit i suppose.Think of it as training routines.

jam_mac_jam

I dont think you are eating enough. I think you need more fat in there to fill you up

Torakx

Good point.Its what helps me when i am too tired to cook and i have the binge feeling.I go for the yogurt and nuts straight away.

Or if you like eggs they can be so handy and healthy.
Poached eggs(or any eggs) on spinach for breakfast i find nice.
Or if your just in the door and tired, you could boil 2 eggs pretty fast before you sit down, so you will have something in you to give you some energy and patience to cook a proper meal.

Oh dehydration can cause some strong hunger feelings too,so keep an eye on that too if you havent already.

Angeltoe

Thanks for the replies. I'm anxious about going completely low carb all the time....sometimes I eat an egg or chicken sandwich in the evening. So giving up sugar as well as grains I think I'd find difficult.

I drink 2-3 litres of water a day, do 30-40 mins on exercise bike, get a half hours walk in every 2nd day or so and yesterday started 30 day shred.

It's the food side of things Ive been struggling with. I do well till about 3pm and then the sugar munchies kick in! I think I'll try the suggestions of egg or yogurt as a snack though....which yogurt is best to eat?

Torakx

I find the onken natural set has the nicest texture and doesnt have a strong taste.
Or if you like greek types the glensik would be nice or tesco natural.
For me with the yogurt its alot about the texture and that its cold from the fridge.
After a while i got used to it and love the stuff.
You could throw in some blueberries if you can afford those.

If your eating alot of veg and not a whole lot of meat,that could be why your getting munchies,that or your blood sugar has gone up in that time.

You mentioned in the first post ideally you would have meat and veg..but sometimes end up eating carbs instead.

Maybe its the routine of cooking thats an issue.
I sometimes come in after a jog and feel too tired to cook.
Thats the danger time for me to start eating something thats all ready to go.
In that case i revert to nuts and/or yogurt until i can manage to cook something.Even if its just an omlette.
But you could also cook a whole chicken in the oven one day and put the legs and wings in the fridge for the next day incase your too tired and impatient to cook.

I find for hunger, that eggs dont cut it for long.
I really need to get chicken into me with lots of greens before i feel satisfied.

Or recently ive taken to buying 15-20% fat minced beef and dicing garlic and onion with spices and herbs with some egg white, to make my own spicy chillie burgers.
I used ice berg lettuce to wrap them and fried more onions and burgers in butter and coconut oil.
Had 4 burgers around 6pm and i was suprised that it lasted me the rest of the night without a need for another big meal.

My fav dish for low carb has to be home made coconut chicken curry with brocolli.
Sorry i cant resist talking about food, im obsessed!

franpod

Quick questions Thorakx ,
You don't really mention fruit, what do you do for fiber?
I have found that I rely on fruit a lot as a snack. I probably shouldn't as it's high in sugars and won't help cravings.

Also, do use the low fat yogurts?
I try to keep it low carb but I get cravings for sugary foods, I get the low fat Vitalinea yogurts. I don't think they have much added sugar but they're fruity. Maybe if I changed for natural yogurt and added my own fruit I could have more control over what sugars are in there . . .

Torakx

franpod wrote: »

Quick questions Thorakx ,
You don't really mention fruit, what do you do for fiber?
I have found that I rely on fruit a lot as a snack. I probably shouldn't as it's high in sugars and won't help cravings.

Also, do use the low fat yogurts?
I try to keep it low carb but I get cravings for sugary foods, I get the low fat Vitalinea yogurts. I don't think they have much added sugar but they're fruity. Maybe if I changed for natural yogurt and added my own fruit I could have more control over what sugars are in there . . .

Ye i am off fruit, im always thinking about fiber.I tend to make it up with nuts(alot of fat goes right through you when not used) and alot of greens.
Every cooked meal i try to use as much cabbage,spinach or broccolli as i can.

No i try steer clear of anything low fat.
I need full fat with a low carb diet like mine.

I used to buy 2 pots of plain yogurt and 1 pot of flavoured and mix them.
But now ive transitioned easy enough nw to just plain yogurt from the pot.

UnknownSpecies

Torakz do you not think those yoghurt's are very sugary or carb heavy? I was looking for yoghurt in Tesco, they all seemed pretty sugary!

Torakx

I use onken natural set,glenisk natural (full fat) or tesco natural.
Not much in the way of fast acting sugars i think,but yes sometimes if i over eat with the yogurt it knocks me out of the ketogenic aspect of my diet,due to the amount of carbs in the yogurts.
I try to use nuts in between yogurt snacks to balance this out.
But when i cant afford to buy nuts i end up eating alot of yogurt and eggs,although not together

I think whats most important is avoiding the spike in blood sugar which can make eating healthy a little harder.
The plain yogurts i eat dont tend to effect me as much in that area.
If you compare how you feel after eating a half to full tub of plain yogurt , with eating a small one with additives and fructose/sugar you will probably notice being more hungry after the small tub with concentrated flavours and sugars.

After a while some of the flavoured yogurts taste like crap anyway
Blueberries help you to get started though if plain is too plain.

I think if you can get by without binging on carbs somewhere else then it would be wise to consume only a small amount of yogurt per day.
I have sometimes eaten 2 tubs over a days time, but probably best to get it to a half to full tub a day.
But i go jogging nearly every day or two so that also would need consideration

Angeltoe

Thanks for the replies.
I'll have to stay away from nuts because I know I would easily overeat on them.
I'll definitely try the natural yogurt though as one snack during the day. And I'll also up the protein intake more and see how I go then.
I really miss my brown bread though...I used to eat at least two slices of Johnston Mooney and O Brien whole grain per day....is this really best avoided?:-(

Torakx

Angeltoe wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.
I'll have to stay away from nuts because I know I would easily overeat on them.
I'll definitely try the natural yogurt though as one snack during the day. And I'll also up the protein intake more and see how I go then.
I really miss my brown bread though...I used to eat at least two slices of Johnston Mooney and O Brien whole grain per day....is this really best avoided?:-(

You can buy this biona bread that is slightly better i think than regular bread.
I used it because it was gluten and yeast free and it helped me get off the idea of eating bread.
Its quite nice if you poach or fry a few eggs and do some spinach in a pot with garlic and butter,salt,pepper.

Drop the spinach on the bread and then the eggs on top.
After a month or two like this i eventually went onto just eggs and spinach for snacks.
Ive now moved on to making cabbage soup with a few laddles of my curry dinner into it
Slow cooker is full with this soup now and i can snack away on it whenever im hungry.

Dont worry about eating too many nuts.
Try eat the ones with more protein and watch the heavy omega 6 ones like too many walnuts.
Its about getting your eating habits into a routine first.When you are off junk on a regular basis you can worry about the fatty nuts giving you too much vitimins then.
I stuff myself somtimes on nuts when i get too tired or lazy to cook and im hungry.Its better i think than going straight for something with carbs/sugar.
That would just start a rollercoaster of cravings again.

Stench Blossoms

Torakx wrote: »

Dont worry about eating too many nuts.

I'm going to disagree with this.

If you have a habit of over-indulging with nuts then don't eat them. They are high in calories and the protein isn't as fantasic as it's made out. They won't help your weight loss if your eating too many.

LoTwan

I have to say tou are not eating anywhere near enough to maintain yourself without considering the level of exercising you are doing. I want to say stop sitting on the bike for 30 minutes and doing the shred... you are just stressing your body.

A little bit of organised preparation and you can have dinners sorted for a week. Porridge for breakfast is going to cause an insulin spike that is going to leave you chasing carbs for the rest of the day. Unless you detox the carbs completely and increase your fat intake you will continue to eat the whole kitchen every day because you are hungry, plain and simple.

Glitter

I found that weaning myself onto dark chocolate helped me with my after-dinner sugar cravings enormously. You just can't eat as much of it.

I factor one square of Lindt Orange Intense into my daily calorie intake (= 48 kcals) and it's done my diet no harm.

If I'm starving later in the evenings, say because I had a small dinner and then went to the gym and did a long workout, I eat a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter slowly. It's sweet and the protein calms the hunger pangs.

I think the best thing to do with any craving is to just give in a tiny bit so you don't feel deprived, but don't do any real damage to your diet overall either.

This does take a fair bit of self-discipline though!

saa

If I feel deprived physically it will lead to me to getting into the binge mindset, I needed to practice being able to sit tight and let the cravings pass. I have to focus on how my body feels as counting all the calories makes me try and sneak in triggering foods and I think its okay because its under my limit nah doesnt work for me. Also I find even when I change my diet to become healthier "good" foods become binge foods and then I am slowly left with less and less foods in the house variety wise so hopefully it goes away when you eat more, as if youre eating that and exercising and not losing excess weight your body is not running as an effective fat burner it needs something, which I feel that I can't speculate in your case I think it will take some trail and error.

If you cut down on food and the binges started then that is straight forward you increase your intake of nutritious food and I believe that takes time and a lot of research to figure out and it takes a while to change your diet as well.

You sound really worried about your diet and you want to lose only 4lbs? IF you are obsessing or getting overly anxious about this then the problem could be more that what you're eating, when I worry too much about being healthy I eventually snap and binge as that nervous energy is draining and if binging has always been your coping mechanism food is not all of the answer (i.e eating more of x and y will not prevent binges completely).

Angeltoe

Thanks again for all the replies, everything people is saying makes sense.
But even though it's been said I'm not eating enough I never feel hungry at all after breakfast or lunch. I just 'want' something ' nice' to eat!
Maybe I'm obsessing too much over the whole concept of eating well??

Tayla

I was addicted to chocolate but gave it up by melting Lindt 90% chocolate with coconut oil and splenda, took me only 3 or 4 days to break my chocolate addiction.

Now I eat the 90% chocolate on it's own, it's not everyones cup of tea but once you're used to it you will love it, I even find the 85% stuff tastes too sweet for me now! That's a bit annoying though because the 90% Lindt is €2.60 or something in Tesco but Aldi do an 85% one that's half the price.

You could start with the 70% Aldi one, even my 6 year old loves that!

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

franpod

Torakx wrote: »

Angeltoe wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.
I'll have to stay away from nuts because I know I would easily overeat on them.
I'll definitely try the natural yogurt though as one snack during the day. And I'll also up the protein intake more and see how I go then.
I really miss my brown bread though...I used to eat at least two slices of Johnston Mooney and O Brien whole grain per day....is this really best avoided?:-(

You can buy this biona bread that is slightly better i think than regular bread.
I used it because it was gluten and yeast free and it helped me get off the idea of eating bread.
Its quite nice if you poach or fry a few eggs and do some spinach in a pot with garlic and butter,salt,pepper.

Drop the spinach on the bread and then the eggs on top.
After a month or two like this i eventually went onto just eggs and spinach for snacks.
Ive now moved on to making cabbage soup with a few laddles of my curry dinner into it
Slow cooker is full with this soup now and i can snack away on it whenever im hungry.

Dont worry about eating too many nuts.
Try eat the ones with more protein and watch the heavy omega 6 ones like too many walnuts.
Its about getting your eating habits into a routine first.When you are off junk on a regular basis you can worry about the fatty nuts giving you too much vitimins then.
I stuff myself somtimes on nuts when i get too tired or lazy to cook and im hungry.Its better i think than going straight for something with carbs/sugar.
That would just start a rollercoaster of cravings again.

Thanks for your advice thorakx. I tried the plain yogurt (low fat though, the cal content swung it for me in the end) I find it's lovely just plain.
Also, would you eat much beans/tofu as a protein source? Is it as good for you as chicken and eggs?
Also, for the people that find themselves overindulging in the nuts, I bought them chopped and spooned them into the yogurt. That way I didn't finish the whole packet the same day :-)
I think if you're lacking any vitamins it can cause you to have cravings too so I always make sure to take a multivitamin.

Torakx

No problem, happy to help.
Long as i am actually helping and not blundering along giving bad advice lol

Im not really sure about tofu, i havent ever looked into it.
Heres a link to a site i found through a google search.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-things-to-know-about-tofu/#axzz1vVgHpUOp

Il be avoiding soy products for life personally.But there might be some good products that i will not see,or miss hehe

I would say you just cant beat eggs for nutrition and protein.
I used to be allergic to them for most of my life until 3 years ago i went on a candida diet and now i can eat them without feeling sick,so i try make the most of it now.
Frying,omlettes,poaching(easier than i had imagined),boiling, helps me to vary the way i eat them with other sides or just on their own with a plate sprinkled in salt and pepper.

Good idea for the nuts and yogurt.
For some reason i dont like the two mixed anymore.I used to eat natural yogurt with seeds sprinkled in,but stopped that too.
If i could afford it, i would defo put blueberries in though