What can I do to stop overeating?

[Rory17]

Hi ?,
I’m a young adult ??female who is Autistic. I’m on Olanzapine and Pregablin for anxiety. I’m also mainly vegan. My overeating, which was brought on by the medication, is out of hand. I pig out about 60% of nights. It’s gotten very severe. I’m putting on weight. I need to lose weight.
I do a lot of exercise, but I get the urges to eat and overeat. When I want to eat what I want, that’s what I want, not to resist.
My eating is horrific and has put downers on both my mum’s and my mental health. I try to stick to Guidelines and habits that I set for myself, but often fail, sometimes resulting in tears ?.
I just ate stuff at nearly 12:00 am.
We are reducing one and have tried various attempts to cut down medication before. We have a doctor’s appointment scheduled.
What are some useful tips? Please help.
No rude or abusive/bullying answers about veganism or anything else.
Thank you ?. I will be grateful for any great answers that could help sufficiently.
Best Wishes to all,
Rory.
Have the best day and night ever!

 

[amberfunk]

What exactly are you eating? The medication also causes weight gain no matter how you eat. You can snack on veggies and fruits instead of crackers, bread, etc..

 

[Rory17]

Chocolates ?, rocky road, millionaire’s crispy shortbread, biscuits ?, sweets ? and desserts.

 

[Jai]

So your diet is over-eating due to compulsion, yes ? Rather than being hungry? It's important for you to establish the nature of the issue in order to address it accordingly.

I was going to suggest "drink more water' as an appetite suppressant, but I'm not sure that will be of any consequence, considering your last post.

 

[amberfunk]

Replace the sweets with fruit. After awhile if you stick to it your body will no longer crave sugar. It takes a couple of weeks.

 

[Sax]

I've got a major sweet tooth too. I've noticed snacks with refined sugar and flour keep me craving more and more.

I've recently started making oats with soymilk, chopping up a banana and mixing berries into it. It's very filling, and even if you eat too much it's healthy and low-calorie density. Add more fruit, and chop it up into smaller pieces, to make it sweeter.

Dates are really good when you need something candy-like...usually 2 or 3 is enough to satiate.

Pay attention to which foods are actually satisfying and which just leave you craving more.

 

[Emma JC]

hi Rory

I am so sorry that you are suffering in this way. I have no experience of what you are going through and am not a health expert. What I am is a life experiencer and what I have learned, along the way, is that you can't eat (at midnight) what you don't have available to eat.

So my recommendation is that you and your mum agree not to purchase any type of junk food. As some have recommended have lots of fruit and even things like celery and carrots as they have crunch. Put some grapes in the freezer and pull them out when sugar is needed, they sweeten up beautifully. Have cereals around to eat instead of crisps. Cereals like puffed kamut or puffed wheat, shreddies, etc. Even pretzels are better than most fatty salty crisps. If you're going to buy chocolate, make sure it is 70% or darker as it does still have the same mouth feel but less sugary so less compulsion to eat more of it. For an after dinner sweet we often just have two small squares and it is satisfying.

Putting some peanut butter or almond butter on celery is a wonderful snack. I saw a great YouTube video, the other day, from Jane Esselstyn and they cut ripe bananas in half (still in their skins) put some toppings (cacoa powder, chocolate vinegar etc) on and put them in the oven. Almost like a chocolate bar.

Try to channel that compulsion into being creative and find yourself things to eat that are large in volume and low in calories. Then try to maybe even walk 10 times around the house or the block or even around the kitchen before giving in so that your calories out try to keep up with your calories in.

All the best with your journey back to health.

Emma JC

 

[poivron]

Replace the sweets with fruit. After awhile if you stick to it your body will no longer crave sugar. It takes a couple of weeks.

This is really true. A month or two ago, my husband and I started eating fruit salad for dessert after dinner, and now we don’t crave the kinds of heavy dessert (like chocolate and vegan ice cream) that we used to like.

To make fruit salad for two, I just peel and chop an apple, slice a banana, and add a handful of blueberries. Sometimes I vary the ingredients, using pink grapefruit, black grapes, cantaloupe, or watermelon. It’s surprisingly tasty, and I feel it gives me energy the next day.

 

[Hog]

I have an autistic son. I am certainly not a diet expert.

Your eating might be a "stim." As you know, a stim is a repetitive ritual that brings comfort. Some people hand flap. Other people wash their hands. Others make unusual noises. You might want to replace eating with something else. For example, you could try playing a video game when you feel the urge to eat.