Comfort Eating(didn't really think about it till now)

Yes me bikergran although like you I had not given it, that name but that is what it is!
I find myself thinking "what can I have now" things I fancy and I to, am not hungry.
It is not good to eat whilst watching tv or on the pc>>>
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3109064/Eating-dinner-TV-using-smartphone-makes-FAT-likely-snack-later-on.html

No, but can see how easy it would be to happen.If I fancy a snack during the evening then I make a drink instead ( one biscuit is ok with it.) That fills you up.
I think comfort eating could slide into habit, which is why I don't do it.
The other thing you could do as well as a drink, is eat a piece of fruit.

hmm interesting Leesa although I do sit at the table to eat my meals (but can still see tv if I turn my neck 180 degrees lol.

When I write down what I've eaten and the mixture through out the day..its a wonder im not ill!

I do get stuck into house work and have 100s of projects to sort (photos etc) but as you said all thats going round in my mind is "what can I have to eat" maybe I will buy more fruit as I am not too much of a fruit lover (prefere bag of crisp) but need to sort myself out!

Yep me too. Sometimes all l think about is what l'm going to eat next! Sad because 3 years ago l lost 2 stone. Now it's creeping back on. I do try not to eat too much sugary stuff though but like you say, it's the evenings when you're watching tv.

I think Bikergran its a vicious circle
The more you snack. the more your body asks for more.
Like you I seem to have lost my mojo and that is when the fridge starts to beckon.

I keep a lot of fruit in the house which I am forever snacking on.
inc several bananas a day.
I do know that fruit is also high in sugar and
should be limited.
but if not that then it would be chocolate.

Could your problem as such, just be boredom?
Even much loved TV programmes can become dull and just watched out of habit.

my OH is a snacker,he'll trawl the cupboards and fridge most evenings,its boredom with him ,if he's busy he doesn't eat at all and would go whole days without food if I didn't make it and shout him in to eat it.He's always been like that and his weight is about 5 pound heavier now than he was 20 years ago...I leave dishes of humous or chilli sauce and garlic mayo in the fridge and carrot batons and corn chips for dipping ,a wee bit of strong cheese and a few crackers works for him or a bit of feta and olives .As long as I keep him away from sweet stuff I think I'm doing OK.He's a man who will say at 11.30 at night "thid carpet needs cleaning" and before you know it the furniture is moved and the shampooer in action so I try not to be too hard on him .

yes cherry it could be boredom although I have a 101 jobs to do...just come back from my little walk..and now going straight upstairs to do some tidying (before the cupboards beckon!
may dig my camera and all singing dancing camera out that my dd bought me yrs ago been trying to get engulfed in that but find it really hard concentrating on anything these days. (maybe a time lock on the fridge/cupoards)

I do it too and can't really afford to.weight wise I mean not penny wise.
Be careful of fruit snacking ,yes it's better than chocolate but still not good.
Do you knit , crochet, sew, embroider, cross stitch ? I found it I do these I don't snack.
I only do it when I'm sad though , no other emotion makes me eat and if I angry I can't even drink let alone eat.

Yes me too and its a habit I really want to break I'm fine throughout the day I work full-time but evenings and weekends I constantly eat crisps chocolate a sandwich I divorced 7 years ago and have only started this about 2 years ago and have put at least 2 stone on living alone I think it is comfort eating but until I read your post hadn't really thought about it

I have this problem too so every now and then tell myself that I won't put anything in my mouth that isn't good for me!! Amazingly for me it works and I definitely feel healthier and can even walk past the cream cake section in the supermarket.

Now that you can afford to buy other than essential items you are buying items containing more sugar. The fructose in the sugar turns off the "I've had enough" function in your brain.

Buy and eat non processed food. Read the labels on the back of the products. How many grams of sugar in per 100 grams of the product Plenty of good quality vegetables and a little fruit. Try a few nuts for nibbles. There are many different kinds and they all contain numerous extras we need.

Don't forget some exercise eg walking, a bit of gardening, so with more more relaxed shopping you do not increase you weight.

I'm so glad your life is a bit easier now. Make your comfort eating good for you. Good luck.

Hi bikergran snap I definately think its comfort eating not boredom.I lost my dh more recently than you,but I think its compensating for something we love.I too have 101 things to do and sometimes I actually do some but I am forever looking for something sweet.When I got hurt as a child my mum would treat me to something nice to make me feel better.so its learned behaviour isnt it?Someone suggested mindfulness app but heh ho I will give it a go unless these lovely people on gransnet have some miracle cures for us.

I too am a grazer ! And yes it's boredom or habit at times. I now don't keep anything in the house that would tempt me ! Even the treats for my grandchildren are bits that I don't personally like so I would not be tempted at all. I also floss and clean my teeth at 8 in the evening, so I def would not eat after that, and will only drink water.

I too am guilty, and being very short, I really can not afford to carry extra weight.

You might find that cleaning your teeth would deflect you from eating for a while.

Or perhaps a glass of water with ice and a slice might slow down the eating.

Hugs. (Perhaps check out some groups/clubs in the area that interest you?)

Food is a great love substitute...........we don't choose it to be, but it is.

I am huge and have been through repeated bereavements and live alone and do not believe one biscuit can be enough........one packet more like. I have tried buying less delicious stuff.....and then just fill up with tasteless crap..........

Answers please.

I have IBS not too much fruit for me or veg.........

I have just had my garden turfed and will buy a light, push mower and do a small amount of exercise and wait and see..........

Either the weight falls off or a robot mower is going on my Christmas list.

Try to keep your hands busy whilst watching tv ,I do knitting or crochet, eat something like fruit if you need a snack or nuts not the salty kind ,

It's sugar! I once treated myself to a two-pack cup-cakes, they were reduced, so a bargain I thought. My husband didn't want one so I tucked into one and thought I would save the other for later. No way! I ate the first one, and I must say, it was absolutely DISGUSTING, tasteless, apart from the wholly sugary icing on top which actually tasted unpleasant. Well, I bravely ate it all and then........I desperately wanted to eat the second one, so I did. Now I realise that is what happens when you eat sugar, even though you don't want it you have to have it. Never again.

My answer is ..... don't buy it in! I (through monetary circumstances) never buy things like biscuits, cakes etc. as I know I'd eat them if they were there. When I'm in the supermarket I just say to myself "Why would you buy this (cake?) when you could spend your money on 'healthy things' and all it is is filled with sugar, will make you fat, rot your teeth and you don't 'need' it!!!!! Works for me every time!!!!! Good luck!

I lost my husband two years ago. I have always been a healthy eater and a size 8. Now I live alone and my whole pattern of eating has changed and there is now and emotional edge to it. I have just got into the habit of comfort eating. No matter how many healthy snacks I have I still crave sugar or salt.
I work all day and never even think of food but as soon as I come home I’m looking for snacks mostly sugar but high salt works too. I am a teacher so about to spend a long summer off work. I am by no means fat or even over weight
( yet) but I am constantly battling with it. I try not to buy rubbish but with grandkids you need to have some treats in store.
I can so relate to the cupcake story above. It’s like I convince myself I need to eat it all just to get it out of the house so I can then be good after its gone. I am disciplined in every other way so this is all at odds with who I am.
I am not sure why they call it comfort eating as I find it depressing.
My daughter said I should try drinking very cold cucumber or tonic water when I get the need to comfort eat. I have just been and brought some but I really need to deal with the emotional issues that are causing me to try and fill a gap that’s not hunger.

I'm so ashamed at the way I eat - putting on weight like nobody's business - I used to be so slim. Such a shame. I can't walk into the kitchen without looking for something to eat, can't sit and read or watch the to without eating at the same time.

I do so envy people who just eat at meal times and don't yearn to eat all the time.

I've been an emotional eater all my life!
I was lucky and could eat virtually anything I wanted and not gain weight though, so I got used to being a proper little piggy.
However, pregnancy seemed to change my metabolism, and after DS was born I started gaining weight very quickly!
I'm a grazer, I can sit down and have a good, healthy, filling dinner, then while I'm washing the dishes I'll pinch a couple of biscuits, or a lump of cheese, I don't even realise I'm doing it!
I went and had hypnotherapy three years ago, and it worked very well, but twelve months later I had a big emotional upheaval and went back to my previous eating pattern!
I've started losing a bit of weight now due to running around after DGS, and I don't graze when he's here, I'm too busy and also I don't want him thinking constant eating is okay,
I'm going to have to give myself a good talking to, I'm not happy being as big as I am at the moment, but the only one able to change it is me!

I think when you are down , it's away of doing something nice for yourself. A treat. It's similar to the kids on social media. Except they look for LIKES. Get that small hit of delight. Then I think it becomes an obsession. Distractions would help .

I don't know if this will help, but when the urge to comfort eat strikes, I have a cup of diet hot chocolate, which is about 40 calories.
It feels like a treat and seems to dull the need for snacking!

Twirls are sometimes £1 at my Coop, I buy them with the idea of one finger a day but within one day all 8 fingers disappear. In the pantry are biscuits for DCs and DGCs. The other evening, although not hungry I thought I would open a packet of Leinbiz choc biscuits, just have one but I ate the whole lot. Sometimes Thorntons little chocolate squares are £1 - I can eat a whole packet straight off. I loathe myself afterwards for my lack of self control, this week I've put on 3 pounds although I'm still not overweight. It's in the evenings that I have this urge to eat and it's not because I'm hungry. No-one in the family knows about my secret eating. I have been very fed up recently and this unnecessary eating adds to my fed-up-ness.