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?
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.
Carrot sticks and hummus are my go-to for this situation. It might not be the lowest calorie option, but still healthy without at all feeling like I’m torturing myself in the process.
Like so many things, there are degrees. Yes you can sit down with a big bowl of celery, but making yourself miserable isn’t going to help you keep up the good habits.
Well the problem seems to be eating without actually experiencing the act. So either that keeps going and they don’t care or they start paying attention to what they are doing. It’s a win either way.
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.
Amphetamines and cigarettes
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
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 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.
looks down
…
badly?
Same, but it’s a nice shelve for the beer
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.
Grab a no or low calorie drink to sip on instead. Water, flavored water, or something carbonated. Plan snacks like carrots or celery, pickles, or seeds or nuts or grapes etc. And yeah, gum, mints, suckers or cigarettes.
Try telling yourself things you can have instead of things you can’t. Then keep those things in arms reach. And try to always start with water. I even drink water with a splash of vinegar and salt bc the salt sparks your dopamine. But of course be wary of overindulging in salt.
As for meals have something that signals the end of the meal for you. Some people wait to drink until they’re done eating. Smokers light a cigarette. Maybe a hard candy or gum so you know you’ve completed the meal at least for you?
Carrots and hummus work for me sometimes. Haven’t found any other non-sweet snack that can substitute sweet snacks though.
Ive been doing One Meal A Day, for quite a while, although when food is around I tend to snack. The biggest strat for OMAD for me is just not having food in sight, and if I do have a snack I try to stick to peanuts or frozen fruits. During the summer ice works too
Intermittent fasting, 16 hours of fasting, 8 hours eating period. It simplifies the problem to “am I allowed to eat right now or not”.
I should try that honestly
This works for me too. I lost a bunch of weight too because I just wasn’t eating when it wasn’t mealtime.
When you put it that way, it makes so much sense.
I drink alcohol instead.
I am not a good role model.
Hey hey, that’s what I do too
+1, but I also do farm work so I don’t get fat.
And I’m too AD to worry about the long term health effects.
A couple of people mentioned sparkling water, and I want to join the train.
I got an off-brand sodastream. That and some Aarke flavor drops (https://aarke.us/collections/flavor-drops), and I have an infinite supply of la croix-esq bubble water.
I keep 2 bottles of (fridge-filtered) tap water in the fridge at all times and when I get the “I’m bored and don’t know what else I want” pangs, I go there first.
I also generally try drinking more water, especially at the start of a meal, to push back against the tendency to over eat.
Finally there’s the “just buy healthier snacks” but I struggle with that one the most
Have you tried being more stimulated?
Try building something. I’m putting together a bike right now, in between office work and dad duties. My fitbit is screaming about my cardio load and I forget to eat.
Don’t shop hungry and make sure you only have healthy food in the house. Celery and hummus work for me.
Gum helps keep me from snacking between meals.
