some days, i cannot stop eating

[Anonymous]

the thing is--i don't think it is emotional. i actually feel really hungry on these days and go thru cycles of craving things (salty, sweet etc)...

and i tend to make bad choices on the days when i feel hungry all the time. this is what i ate today

1. blueberry muffin, 930am (i know, i know...i almost never do it)
2. mashed potatoes, veggie burger and collards for lunch (WF hot bar) 1230
3. chipotle veggie burrito 630
4. bowl of ice cream 1030
5. small frozen pizza midnight (this last thing puts me over the top, i know. totally excessive).

this is definitely more food than i eat on a normal day. this happens to me a few days a month, but it doesn't seem to sync up with my period, oddly. i am about 15lbs heavier than my goal weight (which is probably 8lbs heavier than my ideal weight).

i get to the gym about 3 days a week and walk everywhere all the time.

what gives?

ps--just had a physical with a complete blood workup and everything came back ok, including thyroid.

[Anonymous]

I think your body is trying to tell you something. First of all, did you have any fruits or veggies? Calcium? (besides ice cream) Iron? Potassium? Fiber? I think you would have more a more balanced appetite if you have more balanced meals. Try cleaning up just one of your meals, say breakfast. I think you would feel much better.

[Anonymous]

My guess?

You're not usually eating as much as you should, so some days your body just gives in and really needs the food. It can also go into starvation mode which will make it hang on to calories.

You need to figure out how many calories/day you should be eating based on your age/height/weight/activity level/weight loss goals and make sure you eat that amount (and not less)

Make it healthy foods with protein/fiber (more filling/longer lasting.)

5/day of fruits and veggies.

and lastly, if you're ever hungry right around when you just ate a decent meal- try drinking water. The early stages of dehydration can mimic hunger when you're actually thirsty.

[Anonymous]

The blueberry muffin is straight sugar and setting you up for failure for the rest of the day. Eat a high protein breakfast like eggs and see if it makes a difference. Eating too many refined carbs like sugar and white bread/white rice can literally be addicting and make you crave more sugary stuff even when you are truly not hungry. Diet cola or anything with Nutrasweet does the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Nothing kills cravings like romaine or uncooked spinach and tomatoes.

[Anonymous]

I think the other posters had good input. Sounds to me like you're eating because you're hungry...which is totally OK and normal. Sounds like you need better and more food. I second loading up with a big proteiny breakfast and getting more produce into your body. That Chipotle veggie burrito has more nutritional bang for the buck than the ice cream for sure.

[Anonymous]

is there a pattern related to the days you work out? I run 6-11 miles every other day. On run days, I actually don't eat a ton. But I do find myself eating more the day after the run because that's when i'm hungry. (and since i run every other day, that is conveniently the day before the next run, so i'm probably carbo-loading for that run too.) i think for some people, exercise is an appetite stimulant, and for some people (me), exercise makes them less hungry that day, but they make up for it the next day.

also gonna go out on a limb and suggest you get some more protein, especially with your breakfast. i like low-fat yogurt as a morning-friendly protein source. i've also heard that when you're thirsty/dehydrated, you can think you're hungry when you actually need fluids instead.

[Anonymous]

This used to happen to me. I've always been quite skinny and when I was in my 20s, I could get a little controlling about it. I would be fine for a few weeks and then go on these binge days. Nothing crazy, and I would never purge in any way, basically it would be a day like you described. It would take me a few days to get back on track.

Then when I hit my 30s and educated myself more on nutrition, I decided to give up most everything artificial (like the lower calorie yogurt that is artificially sweetened, diet sodas, etc). Nothing crazy, just tried to eat more natural stuff, and eat when I was hungry, and eat a few snacks a day. Plus I eat a little something sweet and bad for me every night.

That has really helped. I now almost never get ridiculously hungry because I'm always fueling my body and never trying to fake myself into thinking I'm full by drinking diet soda etc. I think you are probably just under-eating a little bit on the "normal" days and your body is trying to catch up. And in doing this, I have not gained any weight.

And I agree the bb muffin makes you hungrier, but every once in a while it is fine to start your day with a blueberry muffin! It's when we get too rigid we fail, at least from my experience.

[Anonymous]

Oh and one more thing OP, I'm the PP and I must say, your day does not sound THAT ridiculous. I get that you want to lose a little weight, and obviously I would urge you to eat more fruits and veggies, but considering what a lot of people in America eat, you really didn't even go that overboard!

So don't beat yourself up. It happens.

[Anonymous]

I think it's the hormones, it happens to me , before my period I can't stop, and then back to normal, and the craving is crazy but depending on your age alsoI am going throuh premenopause so I dont know if that causes it, I tried exercising more and I got hungrier.