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?
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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.
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.
Stock healthy food. Almonds, carrots, apples, bananas, grapes, plums/peaches/nectarines etc
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
I don’t know if it would work for anyone else, but chewing gum keeps me occupied when inattentive and watching something, or any activity where I’d be snacking without noticing.
Other comments mention many other options. But sometimes, none of the tricks work, and that’s usually due to a stressed+bored combo.
If there were a chewing gum with the flavour and texture of fresh kettle chips, I’d be all over that
Get some multigrain snack (like a bun not chips) or an apple. You eat less after.
A low-sugar (Monster, Nightwatch) energy drink can be a temorary substitute. Zero-sugar just get me more munchies(?) long-term.
What i noticed:
Overeating has been my thing. I’ve done two main things. First, exercise. Exercise has been so helpful. I like to exercise in twenty minutes bouts and so do two session. I’ve known this about myself for a while and couldn’t do it. Two things helped. First, doing something at home. And second, taking creatine. Exercise has been difficult because of not having enough energy and creatine has been helpful at a low dose.
The other things that have helped is taking a digestive with my meal. I always felt tired after a meal, but the supplement helped. Finally, ending the day with psyllium. It just topped me off so I wouldn’t eat at night.
So far it’s been good. Let’s see how the next few weeks go.
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.
Embrace being on your phone while watching a movie. (If you’re not at a theater)
Movies aren’t enough stimuli for me either. So I just scroll a bit during boring parts.
Don’t buy snacks and leave them in the house unless they’re healthy. Some nuts. Baby carrots. Fruit.
Find fun sparkling water drinks to sip
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.
Sometimea you might not realize that you’re actually thirsty. Drink a glass of water and see if that helps. Meds cause dehydration.
Gum helps keep me from snacking between meals.
Install some phone games that you can play without sound or text. Antiyoy is a good pick. When you’re bored and watching tv, do a sudoku puzzle. Put it down for action, pick it back up for boring dialogue.
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.