Food runs my life and I hate it.

How old are you?

Have to find a way to get in control of it. Try different things. The first step is realizing you hold all the power. Its up to you to decide if you let it control you or not.

What helped for me was fasting. I did intermittent fasting (16:8) for about a year. Then tried extended water fasting. It gave me control of eating specifically by giving me a whole new perspective on food and digestion. Fasting IMO is the best course for practicing self-discipline. I've built up to 96 hour fasts and can still do long easy runs during said fast, staying in a nice fat burning zone. Obviously fasting will have a big impact on workouts that call for a higher demand, so have to weigh the pros and cons and do it all safely and slowly. Slow build up is the key to letting your body adjust to burning stored fatty acids. Plenty of info out there on the internet.

Same story and dance. Figured out the problem. Eat more red meat, eggs, butter, and fish. And get rid of most of the plants in your diet. Your body is craving nutrients that you can not get from plants. Go eat a huge rare steak and you'll see what I'm talking about.

What kind of food are you binging on?

In my case, I was obsessed with food in college when I was running competitively and living in the dorms. Then I got my act together once I graduated and lived on my own and bought my own food instead of being bombarded with unlimited options at the dorm cafeteria.

Now when I go food shopping, I only buy what I'll eat that week and don't "stock up" on junk food just to have it lying around waiting for me to devour it. If I want to treat myself, I go out and do it and get it out of my system instead of having donuts lying around the house (I love donuts).

To each his own, but I believe "fasting" and "extreme diets" that call for only protein (keto, etc) are ridiculous and unsustainable long term.

Everyone I know who's tried one of these extreme diets has quit within a few weeks. Just sayin'.

There is a fair amount of research showing impact of gut microbiota on bingeing. Take a look at the fodmaps diet. Lack of fodmaps are probably why people are successful with keto or meat based diets. Foods like potatoes and white rice as well as fish and meat are low fodmaps and can help get cravings under control. Fodmaps are dose dependant, so need to pay attention to portion sizes.

Since the OP hasn't responded, I can only assume he/she isn't interested in getting help, but just came on here to vent.

saad wrote:

Food is ruining my life. It's all I think about all day. I'm either thinking about eating because I'm hungry or mad at myself for eating too much because I just binged. I can't seem to find a medium. I saw a couple counselors, but that didn't help at all. I feel like I'm doomed to a life of misery.

Male, late 30s, have dealt with disordered eating & body dysmorphoria since I was 16. I'm currently in a good place with food, but that nagging feeling of thinking I'm fat (or being caught up in the numbers on the scale), still persists. Food is such a cluster because you need it to live but too much or the wrong kind will negatively affect you.

I follow a very restricted diet and have learned over the years that although food should taste good, it also needs to be nutrient-dense and should be viewed as fuel. At the same time, I do enjoy the occasional cookie, beer, or what-have-you.

However, I know how many miles I need to run to burn off whatever I eat and it makes me sick that I still think that way because I won't have that cookie (even though i ran 12 miles that morning) or I'll have a bagel & banana, go run 10 miles and then not eat again until dinner.

I truly wish I could impart some sage advice because it seems like you need the tools to deal with this effectively. I wish I could tell you it gets better. I wish I could recommend a decent film or good book for people like us (although if you search for eating disorders and male distance runners, a plethora of information will appear). What I can tell you is, as you get older, you get better at dealing with it effectively.

Best of luck and Good Running to you.

Animals are food. Plants are drugs.

Yes, I had the same problem, then I went to the doctor who prescribed me different pills after lunch, which made me feel bad and my stomach was just swollen like a ball

I said goodbye to this doctor and never saw him again. My cousin helped me with this problem, he suggested that I move in with him for a while and that he control my diet

I agreed

We ate meat and fish all the time. We gave up potatoes, sweets, pasta, and so on , my cousin found a recipe

https://www.lolacovington.com/recipe/dragon-chicken-recipe/

and we cooked it very often , it could replace me with two meals a day, in general, meat is a very good product when you eat less, and when you eat more , it is universal

fellow sufferer wrote:

There is a fair amount of research showing impact of gut microbiota on bingeing. Take a look at the fodmaps diet. Lack of fodmaps are probably why people are successful with keto or meat based diets. Foods like potatoes and white rice as well as fish and meat are low fodmaps and can help get cravings under control. Fodmaps are dose dependant, so need to pay attention to portion sizes.

Not true. I have been on 16 /8 fasting for the past two years and it’s very easy and sustainable. Basically it just means cutting out breakfast from your life which is very easy. Meal 1 - 13.00-14.00 pm, Meal 2 - 19.30-20.15 pm.

Result 7 to 8 kg weight loss and better blood markers. I do this to avoid diabetes. If you eat all day your glycemic index goes up and you risk diabetes long-term.

Just wait until you are feeding 3 kids. Talk about food running your life.

I am also very addicted to food. And it affects me very badly. After 8 pm I start watching TV and eating all sorts of harmful snacks, chips, nuts, popcorn, pieces of salami, sometimes sweets, and sometimes drink soda. and mostly I don't control how much I eat. Because of this,when I go to bed I feel unwell and, of course, gain weight. So I want to give up eating altogether after 7. I hope, I’ll lose a little weight and feel much better.