I figured my overeating might be caused by my undiagnosed inattentive ADHD I have been suspecting to have it.
Like with other habits I try to make any plan or strategy falls apart in max few weeks. But I need a long term solution. However I have never thought about it as caused by ADHD. But When I think about it, I overeat only when I am bored.
During meals I eat normal portions. But when I am bored I will be eating small chunks of food every time I visit fridge. I do not stop that because of my inattentiveness I do not even know I ate a lot. While watching a movie I get bored - even if it is interesting and I am very invested in it. I get some snack and I will eat a whole bag not even knowing when that happened. This happens even if snack was some special offer that tasted bad.
Few examples I get bored and overeating:
- watching a movie - somehow movie is not enough stimuli for me
- after I eat my meal and I wait for others to finish (I eat exactly as twice as fast as my wife)
- when I am visiting someone and there is a food in front of me (conversation somehow is also not enough stimuli)
- random parts of the day - usually if I have to wait.
No standard recommender diet practices worked in the long run (portion control, mindful eating, intermittent fasting, healthy eating, building a healthy lifestyle/routine…) Especially those based on building routine failed the most.
Do you have similar issues? Do you have a strategy that works in the long run? Have you successfully substituted eating for other stimuli?
looks down
…
badly?
Same, but it’s a nice shelve for the beer
by being poor and not able to afford a lot of food
The only thing that solved that for me was finally getting medicated. A lot of adhd meds curb appetite. So that plus the extra executive function makes it a lot easier
I’m medicated, still waiting for the loss of appetite while I know someone who has to stop taking meds to regain weight
If you’re prescribed stimulants, you should feel the loss of (over) appetite the very first day. If you’re using food for emotional comfort or as a coping mechanism, stimulants may actually increase your appetite. I used food for comfort/coping and boredom so I had to stop stimulants while I dealt with deep-buried emotional trauma. But even a decade later, if I have a really stressful week at work, no stimulant medication is going to prevent me from (wanting to) devouring a tub of ice cream over the weekend. P.S. if you have even a little bit of OCD, you can exploit that to keep yourself focused and engaged between meals.
Yeah food is full of dopamine 😕
Somebody once recommended pumpkin seeds as a snack to me. Not because they are especially healthy or something like that, but because they are really annoying to peel. Yes, I could eat them unpeeled, but the entire point of the idea is to make the snacking just a bit less rewarding. I tried it. Worked for maybe a week or so before I stopped. But it had a much more interesting long term effect: it got me used to unsalted nuts as viable snacks. Of course I immediately fell back into my old habits after the pumpkin seed experiment, but from then on I made sure to always buy a pack or two of unsalted nuts or seeds or dried fruits together with my other snacks. And at some point I managed to figure out the one rule that worked for me, and had the biggest impact long term: only buy new snacks once I’ve fully run out of old ones. And maan, that bag of wallnuts/peanuts/pumpkin seeds/dried apples could last for a long time. In turn I also started snacking on stuff that I didn’t really consider a snack before. Like, I’m bored, and the only snack in my cupboard is a bag of wall nuts - so I’d make myself a cucumber salad instead (which is just cucumber and soy sauce. Maybe some olive oil if I’m feeling fancy) . I didn’t really stop snacking. And the amount I am eating hasn’t really gone down either. But what I’m eating has become a lot less fatty and sugary in general. It took me about five years of very slowly changing the ratio of sweet snacks to healthy snacks, and by now I basically never have more than one single pack of cookies, chips or chocolate at home (which is gone within a day, but it’ll take about a week before I buy another one). At social events I find myself constantly eating whatever is on the table. But all in all, my weight is very slowly, but consistently, going down, and I am feeling better about myself in general.
Tldr: buy a bag of unpeeled pumpkin seeds, and force yourself to peel each one of them before eating it. See where the journey takes you.
I managed to wire myself with a trigger to answer my inner dialogue of “I can’t …” with “Well what CAN you do?”
In case of the escalating snacking, I realised that I can’t just switch them out with something healthy. But I CAN make a plate of raw carrots, apple slices, cucumbers etc. and set it up at my desk. Surprisingly, that was already one big leap forward. Even my sloth mind - especially my sloth mind - would rather chew on a carrot right now than get a chocolate bar from the kitchen. Beat it with its own weapons.
Vyvanse is also used to treat binge eating disorder. However once it’s past dinner and it’s ineffective, all bets are off.
I tried exercise, but I end up running at 10PM, coming home, and eating even more. A year later you’re the same weight and your knees hurt.
I found it’s worse when I’m cold, so turn the heater up, I guess?
Try doing something with your hands. Instead of watching movies, play a video game.
I drink alcohol instead.
I am not a good role model.
The most useful thing has been grocery shopping. If you don’t have calorie dense foods at hand then you won’t eat them. Sure you can mindlessly eat an apple or two, but you will probably be full by that point. Also 2 apples is way less calories than any junk food.
Want stimulus when watching a movie, sit down with a big bowl of broccoli. Even if you eat all of it, that’s like 100 calories.
Stock healthy food. Almonds, carrots, apples, bananas, grapes, plums/peaches/nectarines etc
Being short of money pretty much covers it for me. Yeah sure I could whip up some sustenance but I’m not “that” hungry. Where if there was a dirty nachos pile with hot dog pieces I could make appear from the local 7-11 for 2 bucks … .HELL yes.
Pre-measure your snacks into a reasonable portion size. Go ahead and refill the container if you want more. It gets tedious pretty quickly which stops you from eating, and helps you realize just how much you’ve had so the disgust kicks in and you realize what you’re doing to yourself.
It took a couple of months, but I had to get into the habit of writing down everything I ate. So each meal, each snack, etc. The first month was the hardest, but after that month I was solid on meals and working on snacks, and then around the end of the second month I was making decisions to not eat so I wouldn’t need to write it down.
Sadly I lost the habit during covid because it felt successful enough that it trailed off. Put the weight right back on and I’m trying to get back to it again, but damn it’s hard!
I fast. I do 24* hour fasts 5 days a week (only eat dinner), a 36 hour fast (I don’t eat on Thursdays). Friday I eat twice, breakfast and dinner.
Works for me, but most people say there is no way they could do it.
I make up for it on those days where I ate 3 grapes all day because I couldn’t be bothered with cooking or even going somewhere.
Ready to eat quick food that is relatively healthy. Bananas, carrots, celery, rice cakes, chewing gum, water. Short circuit the junk snacks with fruits and veggies that are more easily accessed or at least as easy. I also had premade meals delivered. Make it to where it’s a hassle to get access to unhealthy food. Hard to go through the trouble to get the junk food when the healthy stuff is readily available.
