Trying to lose weight and stop the binge eating: How do I distract myself from food?

you are not alone, buddy.

if food was crack, i'd be hanging out with whitney houston right now.

Read the books "Why we get fat, and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes and "Wheatbelly" by William Davis. Check they out at your library or check the reviews on Amazon first if you want to get an idea of of what they are saying... basically carbs are bad, fat and protein are good. For athletes, you will still need carbs, but you could probably stand to cut way back and snack on things like cheese, nuts, jerky, etc.

You are not alone, I go on legendary food benders where I consume 5,6,7k calories in a day. If I could only stop the binge eating I would lose these last 5 lbs but I cannot resist the urges to binge eat, especially in the evenings on days when I pull doubles.

I went on the 4 hour body diet or the slow carb diet and it helped a lot.

Basicallly all those carbs are telling your brain to be hungry, we really are addicted to cheap carbs (bread, potatoes, sugar)

Have some lentils with breakfast and no sugar or carbs and it should slow the process down.

My friend just started that.

Breakfast was black beans, some egg whites, and spinach.

I suggest going to a nutritionist and coming up with a plan, you probably don't realize how many calories you need and you may be undereating most of the day which causes you to binge later on. Also, having "off limit" foods can lead to binge eating, allow yourself to have a small portion of something "bad" earlier in the day and I bet you don't crave it so much later on and have better control. Everything in moderation.

Forget the typical low carb advice and modify your behavior by changing habits. Get to the psychological root of the problem.

Begin by allowing yourself two binge days a week. The only caveat is you have to eat two apples before you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want.

Begin a food journal. You don't have to modify your eating, just write down whatever you eat.

www.fitday.com

Next, on double days, try your morning run without carbs.

Next, add two days a week where you limit carbs before lunch.

Next, on cheat days, add a 15 minute meditation session before you can eat whatever you want.

Lots of other tricks after you try those.

Just eat as much real food as you can, and avoid junk food. It's ok to eat junk here and there, especially if you are an active runner, but just eating real food will keep you satisfied and overall healthy.

Real food = all meat, eggs, fish, root vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, squash, pumpkin etc.), veggies, fruits, rice, and nuts.

Eat until you've had enough, and if you overeat it's not the end of the world. Eating an extra sweet potato or two (which tastes great by the way), is way better than eating cookies or crap. Same thing goes with fruit - eating an extra banana is more filling than endlessly eating cereal or something.

I drink herbal tea at night which seems to do a good job at keeping my cravings in check. Plus most the food I keep around is pretty healthy.

Thanks. I feel like I overeat because I like the taste of the food... I just keep on eating and eating because it tastes good, even when I'm already full. When I eat to the point of satiety, I tell myself "I can eat a little more so I'm full" and then end up going overboard. I'm going to try that tip. I just took a trip to the grocery store and am trying to eliminate a lot of junk and eat apples instead. I need to get this in check as I think this is the main thing keeping me from reaching my running potential.

Running in the Rain wrote:

I drink herbal tea at night which seems to do a good job at keeping my cravings in check. Plus most the food I keep around is pretty healthy.

I also drink a lot of tea throughout the day. If I am not drinking tea, then I find myself eating all day out of boredom or simply because the food is there. Chewing gum helps too sometimes.

zzzz wrote:

Read the books "Why we get fat, and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes and "Wheatbelly" by William Davis. Check they out at your library or check the reviews on Amazon first if you want to get an idea of of what they are saying... basically carbs are bad, fat and protein are good. For athletes, you will still need carbs, but you could probably stand to cut way back and snack on things like cheese, nuts, jerky, etc.

TERRIBLE advice and TERRIBLE books. Do not even glance at either one, they are complete fad BS.

And it is hilarious that fat/protein = good, but then you say cut back on cheese and nuts. What the hell do you think those two foods are chock full of?

max219 wrote:

Just eat as much real food as you can, and avoid junk food. It's ok to eat junk here and there, especially if you are an active runner, but just eating real food will keep you satisfied and overall healthy.

I agree that junk food is the major problem for most people, but it is CERTAINLY possible to gain fat and excess weight just eating "real food", especially if that is food is mega portions of beef (yes, even ultra yuppie grass fed organic kinds) that are not lean (high sat fat content), mega portions of nuts (very nutritious, but loaded with fat), and mega portions of carbs (whether it be potatoes, rice, or pasta). It certainly can happen.

And I meant to add in comment to the guy saying "Fat good, carbs bad...", that, for those that don't know it already, dietary fat tends to be less satiating and more likely to be stored as fat than carbs (carbs, especially whole grain/fiber rich ones are more satiating, and less likely to be stored as fat than fat). Yes, protein is more satiating and less likely to be stored as fat than both carbs and protein, however, most people get a lot of fat with their protein (whether it comes from cow, pig, tofu, or nuts). If you are truly eating lean protein, yes, this is a good way to fill up and not gain fat. However, most people don't really eat protein that is that lean, and end up getting a good amount of fat too, which defeats much of the good gained from the protein (as far it the meal not being stored as fat).

Now I have no problem with eating fat, I am simply saying it is misguided to state that eating as much protein and fat as you want will not lead to one becoming overweight, while carbs certainly will. The evidence absolutely doesn't support this position in most people over the long haul. For most people, overall calories plays the biggest role. And while yes, cutting carbs and fat in favor of truly lean protein might make you leaner, you will lose out in a lot of important micronutrients and fiber this way. And lastly, while it is still controversial, in animal models, and some short term human studies, there are still some concerns about the effect of medium to high protein diets on the kidneys. And a high fat /high protein diet, even if not excessively high in calories, has been shown to increase the plaque buildup and diminish arterial blood flow compared to a higher carb diet. Furthermore, several studies show that cutting carbs for more protein and fat LOWERS testosterone levels compared to the higher carb diet. Very lastly, if you are running a lot, by cutting carbs, you will potentially suffer poorer training recovery, which could lead to less intense and shorter workouts, i.e., burning less calories, and then you will rely on the less efficient protein and fat for energy, taking away protein that could have gone towards muscle re-synthesis.

Excessive sugar and soft drinks and candy and mega portions of refined/stripped grains are certainly bad for one and will lead to weight/fat gain. And yes, a fair amount of people are gluten insensitive or have celiacs. But to jump from there to "carbs... are .... bad for all people all of the time. Especially wheat. Fat (especially sat fat!!) and protein are all good. End of discussion" is truly dumb, and just not reflected by the research.

sigh......... wrote:

Thanks. I feel like I overeat because I like the taste of the food... I just keep on eating and eating because it tastes good, even when I'm already full. When I eat to the point of satiety, I tell myself "I can eat a little more so I'm full" and then end up going overboard. I'm going to try that tip. I just took a trip to the grocery store and am trying to eliminate a lot of junk and eat apples instead. I need to get this in check as I think this is the main thing keeping me from reaching my running potential.

Sounds likes me. I think it comes down to self-control. I can't remember the name of the guy that wrote it, but there's a book out there that talks about emotional eating and brain chemistry. They say self-control is like a muscle and for some it takes more willpower to keep their eating in check.

For me, anything that's full carbs like a big bag of chips, cereal or cookies won't even last past two days. Don't even buy them when you shop. I buy something like 20-25 apples over the weekend and that'll last me the week as for as snacking goes.

I was in the binge camp for many years. I think it's the body trying to maintain homeostasis. What I did was keep a running, back-of-the-envelope count of calories and basically just "eat less", but not restrict any particular thing. The restrictions came later, once my hunger was more rational. For instance, I would eat a Quarter Pounder with Cheese but no Fries and a Diet Coke. That would be (don't know exactly) what? 600 cals? When you reach for something, think about the calorie count. I did this for many months and lost a ton of weight. Now I'm still refining (no fried foods, no soda at all, etc), but I don't binge at all and I'm maintaining my weight at 50-60 mpw.

So I didn't over think it at first, just simple (eat less calories) and now I'm refining what I eat, but that's a lot easier that sitting on the see-saw.

Sir Lance is right about nutrient/calorie dense grass fed beef-- all that stuff you hear about how much you can eat without getting fat is ONLY if you're in a full blown ketosis. 90% of the low carb people who think they are in it, are NOT.

That's a really crappy state to be training in. Your breath will smell like rotten fruit, kerosene. You will be sick to your stomach and will shit you pants (pardon my language) and pass out with extended tempo workouts.

All that nonsense you hear from the Paleo crowd is just that. Those Paleo endurance guys make exceptions when running, recovering from runs over 1 1/2 hours and hit the carb powder HARD.

Sure, you can pull of the Crossfit nonsense, but that's just Tabata/HIT stuff-- sub-45 min.

BTW-- what studies show eating more animal cholesterol lowers testosterone?

If you're citing studies about people in extended ketosis, that's just not going to happen in the real world.

Far more damage is done to testosterone levels from runners eating 70-80 % carbs without sufficient fat intake-- something that commonly happens among the eat every two-three hour high carb crowd.

Though, to be fair, it doesn't happen often for sub-40 runners. Over 40 and hormones are a huge factor in recover and body composition.

Sir Lance-alot wrote:

zzzz wrote:

Read the books "Why we get fat, and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes and "Wheatbelly" by William Davis. Check they out at your library or check the reviews on Amazon first if you want to get an idea of of what they are saying... basically carbs are bad, fat and protein are good. For athletes, you will still need carbs, but you could probably stand to cut way back and snack on things like cheese, nuts, jerky, etc.

TERRIBLE advice and TERRIBLE books. Do not even glance at either one, they are complete fad BS.

And it is hilarious that fat/protein = good, but then you say cut back on cheese and nuts. What the hell do you think those two foods are chock full of?

Sorry it wasn't clear... late night half-asleep posting does that. I wrote that you could probably stand to cut way back (ON CARBS), and snack INSTEAD on things like cheese, nuts, jerky, etc.

What's BS in those books? I see some of the Wheatbelly stuff as speculation and stretching things, maybe a lot. However, the general idea that carbs is what makes people fat and low glycemic index foods = good is the main thing I got from those books.

I'm 42 and have eaten high carb-low fat-low protein most of my life until the past half year or so. I know the Taubes and Williams books are written for fat people, and not people who need carbs for performance.

I'm only speaking about personal experience, which may or may not be the same for other people. For the purposes of this post, I'm writing about my snacking experience, not my whole diet. I've had the not-being-able-to-stop-eating experience from things like bread, chips, and cold cereal in the past. After such snacking episodes, I would usually feel bad about it because they rarely satisfied, and didn't provide a good enough taste experience. When I finally ran out of the cereal/chips/etc. or otherwise stopped, I was usually still not close to be satiated - often I was even less satiated than when I started.

Snacking on something with more fat in it, I often reach a point where I just put it down because I've had enough.