How can I control my eating when I have impulse control issues?

Never be too hard on yourself, and have faith in your ability to change and become the person who you want to be. You are in control of your life, but making changes still takes time and you need to be gentle with yourself during the process.

Keeping a food journal is a great way to control your eating habits! You can write your food logs down, or download an app to help you (for example, Lifesum is free and is very easy to use). Alternatively, you can distract yourself with activities or hobbies that you enjoy. It's a great way to get your mind off of unnecessary eating. Finally, another great way to help is to delay. Set a time for giving into your urge. Usually during that time, you will forget about it. I hope this helps!

Channel your impulse to something else, like hobbies and other stuff you enjoy doing. The more time you make yourself busy, the more youll forget about eating.

Impulse control and willpower are a muscle that needs to be exercised and strengthened over time- which sucks. BUT, when I am having a weak moment, I find it helpful to tell myself, "Okay, I will wait 15 minutes and if I still REALLY REALLY want *insert food item here*, then I will have a little." 90% of the time, I completely forget I wanted it in the first place. Otherwise, that annoying slogan, "moderation is key" is actually really helpful and applicable. You have to think your food choices through, which can be super annoying, until it becomes natural.

You could find other alternatives to eating even though it may seem difficult at first. Any sort of distraction should help really; something you can get lost in. Perhaps a sport, or a club or something such as drawing :)

Start small. Reward yourself when you hit certain goals. Find something other than food that you can let your impulses out on. Whether it be music, spending time with friends, or going swimming. Most importantly, talk to someone. You are not alone.

It is extremely hard, but I find the best thing to do is to try and take a step back and focus on why you are eating.

You can ask for help with friends, family, relatives and/or someone you look up with for overall support. And of course, we'll always listen to you at 7 cups.

Eat more vegetables, approximately 50% of your meals l meal's portion, vegetable has low calorie and high fibre, it can help you fill full for a long time. Get some healthy snack, by healthy snack I mean fruits and eat then if you're hungry in between meals. Hope my advice help, meow~ >w

Firstly, seek professional help. 7 Cups can only do so much, and professional help will be much more effective. To answer the question, try and eat slightly smaller meals each day. Take out one small thing, or a small amount of something of your meal and not eat it. And then each day, take something else out. Eventually, you will get to a place where you are eating meals that are more “reasonable”.

Learning and practicing mindfulness. Yes, it can be really, really hard. You might go into self-denial or even escaping your present reality, be it your emotions or dealing with tough situations and people. Try your very best and you are worthy! Think long-term, perhaps ask yourself, will the consequences of my excessive food choices be bad for you in a month? a year? 5 years from now? Lastly, be mindful of what you eat (as specific as you can break it down into the food groups - protein, veggies, carbs, fats, fibre...) and frequency (3- 4 hours is a good rule of thumb). For some, snacking on healthy, good -for-you foods might be what you need and help assist with the impulse control.

Plan specific meals and meal times. Place snacks in bowls instead of eating out of the bag. Mindfulness.

Before anyone answers that, you first have to understand that you do have the power inside of you to control your behavior. Commonly people forget this, and this is where the fail. You have to be able to tell yourself you have to do what is right for you and you WILL do what is right for you because you CAN.

Ask yourself before you eat anything: Will this make me healthier? Will this enhance chances of loving longer?

You could try to drink something. Drink a glass of water or a cup of tea instead everytime you feel the impulse to eat.

With Impulsive control issues it is hard to make sure you do everything in moderation. If it's about eating, there usually is a deeper feeling as to why they can't stop. Everyone has their own reasons and feelings so don't compare to other people but look at yourself. This might not always be the easiest thing to do, that's why here at 7cups we have listeners who can sometimes help you understand your own feelings and thoughts. A possible solution to uncontrollable eating can be as simple as making sure there is no food to over eat, always buy just what is necessary and plan ahead for what you are going to need and when. If you don't control the amount of food in your home, it is possible to find something you enjoy doing that will distract you from food and from overeating.

Have you ever told yourself 'I will just have a little', then you have a little more and a little more? Add that food to the list of things you cannot have just a little of. Know that if you try to tell yourself 'I will have just a little', then you are lying to yourself. Be aware of these things, its the first step to taking control. That's about as far as I have gotten on the matter personally.

When you're binge eating, you might tell yourself "One won't hurt" and then one turns into two and two turns into twenty. It's hard to control until you realize how much harm it's doing to your body, and even then, it's hard to control. Maybe even harder. What I might suggest is maybe having a healthy snack or not as unhealthy and work from there. Whenever you want to start eating something, reach for that healthy snack you like. Such as almonds or peanuts. They will keep you full and help you from eating a lot. As you start eating healthier, your taste buds may want less amounts of food (they will say "eww, raw broccolli) and then, you might be able to control what you're eating.

Often when we want to gain control our eating habits can have a detrimental effect not to mention or mental health. There are lots of cases of people wanting to gain control therefore start to gain great control over their eating habits. Often this results in eating disorders. We can control these impulses through positive self talk telling ourselves when a negative thought comes flooding in we can say I am in control this does not define me. Meditative practice can also be a great way of dealing with control and getting back into a positive head space. Remember that you are enough and this does not define you.

instead of trying to suppress those impulses to eat, try redirecting it to something you can benefit from. Exercise would be an example. Try going for a run/jog next time you feel like you might lose control and compulsively eat. Its all about finding what works for you. Hope this helps!

Try changing these impulses to something different, try and take up a hobby that you can impulsively do rather than eating. This could be drawing or painting or something you're interested in.

Set yourself timed targets to eat between so you can be mindful of your eating and how your body feels.

Don't keep unhealthy food at home. At all. Have homemade meals that have been already made ready. Don't let yourself get too hungry.

try to diet little by little to see where that gets you it could take days or months just try sticking with it

I'll try and keep this one short because there's probably a lot that I could say! One of the biggest things is to learn about your impulse control; why is it that you feel you have issues with it? Where did it come from? What triggers it/calms it down? Once you can have that insight about yourself you may find that it helps so much with your eating and even other aspects of your life. The second thing is mindfulness. When we eat we're often 'not here'. Maybe we're thinking of something else, maybe we're watching tv, or we are stressed/upset/angry. So we're taking in this food but might not even be aware of it - the same reason that suddenly the bag of chips are empty?! So learning how to be a little bit more present can be helpful so you're more aware of what you're eating, how you're feeling and finding other strategies to give you that sense of joy/comfort.

Of course, there are so many tools that are recommended by the specialists and peers. Only you may know what works best for you: whether it is to take a hot shower, or to put on your comfiest clothes and pour a cup of tea, or to go for a walk. Perhaps, practicing body awareness may be a helpful tool. Also, talking to a friend or learning a new arts & crafts skills. Like knitting! :)