I'm 12, and I know taht this is bad for me. Please help! How do I break out of my bad eating habits?
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Sweetie, I've been there.
First of all, quit the "I can't get fat" talk. You're just making yourself more anxious and beating yourself up when you do eat, and it's the anxiety that's making you want to eat in the first place.
Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner (even when not quite hungry) is quite all right! Just about every red-blooded American does--or should--eat three meals a day. We all need nutrition, and especially at your age when you're going to be growing into your young adult self. So, STOP WORRYING, okay?
Now that we've got that out of the way...
What you are doing is called emotional eating. Everybody likes food, if it didn't taste good, we wouldn't eat it. But at times we all feel yucky inside, and if we can't find healthy ways to feel better, we turn to other stuff. So really what you need is not to refuel, but to *feel better*. And to feel better, you've got to figure out what you're feeling in the first place.
The next time you feel like overeating, take 5 minutes before digging in, and do this mental exercise.
* What emotion am I feeling right now? Circle all that apply: angry, sad, confused, helpless, depressed, afraid, lonely, hurt, weary, worried, frustrated, inferior, disappointed, enraged, resentful, uncertain. (add to this list if you need to--google "feeling words" for more ideas!)
* Say it out loud. SAY: "I'm angry" or "I'm sad," or whatever you're feeling. Say it enough times that you really feel it. Cry if you need to. Punch the seat or a pillow. Throw something (non-breakable, of course!) If you're scared, let yourself shake or hide in a corner. This really helps!
* Now that you're thoroughly in touch with your feelings, take some time to journal about what's bothering you. What happened today that triggered that feeling? Who angered or hurt you? What did you want to say to that person, but didn't? You can really get into this and pretend to write them a letter expressing your feelings. Be honest with yourself, especially if you don't like what you're feeling. Get out every gory detail, out of your head and onto the paper. Now you can see it for what it is.
*Finally, pick somebody in your life that you can talk to about the situation. It may be the person who hurt you--in which case, plan how to confront them if that's what you need to do. Or you can find a trusted friend to vent to. Either way, it's important that you open up. If you just stuff your feelings inside, that's probably what's triggering your food addiction.
After you've unwound yourself in this way, ask yourself again: do I still want some ice cream? If the answer is yes, then by all means go ahead and eat! You deserve to be nourished. However, whether you choose to reach for the fridge or go for a nice, long walk, FOLLOW THROUGH and talk to somebody about what's bothering you. Our bodies are not well-designed for the storage of emotions. We're built for expressing them to other people. Keeping it all to ourselves is what makes us sick.
**Edit: And if you're 110 lbs at 5'4", you're UNDERweight. You "feel fat" for emotional reasons (low self-esteem, anxiety, depression), not because you are actually fat. 120-160 is normal and healthy for your height depending on how big your frame. Also, being thin and dieting can *actually* make you feel fat or see yourself as fat--it's psychological.
:-)
You may very well have described the problem- You're growing older. If you aren't gaining weight, your body probably wants you to eat. You are probably growing a lot, starting to hit puberty, etc. Theres a good chance your body needs the extra food, which is causing you to crave it.
I'm like that too, just I'm a guy and I'm 13. I don't eat quite as much as you it sounds like your eating a lot. I eat when I'm not hungry sometimes, but if I'm full, I'll stop. I'm not fat at all I actually should mabye gain some wait. I don't know what to tell you besides stop if you start getting fat, I could probably stop whenever I wanted so can you. I don't need it, it's just an extra pleasure.
get a hobby. learn a foreign language. do some gardening. train your dog to do a trick. learn to draw or paint. find something constructive to do with your time (and your hands...so they won't reach for food)
honey, try to just stop now. buy healthy but good snacks.
baked chips and stuff like that, 100 calorie packs, fatfree icecream.
try to think of something other then food. but you need to stop, cause it only gets worse as you get older, and when ur 15,16 and ur fat. your going to regret it.
I'm 13 and i'm over weight not badly though but i use to pig out alot!! but i have to control myslef what i do is before i eat i think about this... "Am i really hungray like does my stomach want this? or do i just want the sweet taste in my mouth?" so ak yourself is my stomach wanting this food or do i just want the sweet taste or it? its not to late to losse weight. put a picture up of a skinny girl or guy to insprie you to losse weight exercirse alot and control your eating habits...
best wishes
look just stop..... first its goin 2 b hard but try and never quit...my friend is in danger of losin his life becuz he weighs 600 pounds...and i hate 2 c any1 else go through that
hey, im 12 too. well maybe ur depressed?? usually people eat when they r or when they r bored. try runnin or walkin the dog(if yu have one)=]]
Getting serious:
Talk to your parents about this. Also since your eating a lot try eating foods that are healthy that taste good. Like celery with your favorite dip or dressing. A fruit salad. Any fruit alone.
Mcdonalds/fast food resturants:
If you eat at Mcdonalds get the fruit salad with the cream dip or their salads.
Drinks:
Soda is really hard to get off of I know.So limit your soda's to 3 a week and if its hard for you to drink water right away drink flavored water, or sweet tea or juice.
Ways to lose weight:
A thing you do thats good is you went shopping! Believe it or not shopping for at least and hour burns loads of calories! Dancing for 30 minutes burns a lot of calories also.Do an after school sport.
When your bored dont get on the computer or watch t.v. go outside and play.
Food court at the mall:
Try to get some of the healthiest things at the mall on the menu's, or try bringing your own lunch. Have your friends help to remind you, your changing your eating ways and to eat healthier.
Always remember:
Dont freak out! Usually when you freak out it's harder to lose weight and it builds up to stress. Like walking around and moving around by itself helps you lose weight regardless! You can have junk food every once in a while but just dont go crazy on it.
If you have any ?'s e-mail me at mia_bria09@yahoo.com. GL!
" I am growing older and I can't get fat" im not sure if you're just lucky for now or just your system, but regardless its bad for your health. which seems like you are aware of, which i am politely shocked do to your age. good head on your shoulders, just bad habbits. i as well eat at times when i am not hungry due to the fact of feeling like it. sometimes feel like eating but dont know what and am restless until something is found that satisfies. even after eating (way more than should, even to the point of feeling sick) i feel very disappointed. i am by no means overweight, but do share the bad habbits. i find it more oftenly when i have these cravings.or when these habbits are more intense are when i have too much time on my hands. nothing to do or am neutral in mood and dont feel like doing anything which leaves me free to develop these moods. the only suggestion i have to break these habbits are to have a productive schedule and stay with it. make that your habbit,(sounds corny i know) but i find it true.
hope at lease a word of this is of some help. rock on for seeking a better managment of diet
ok i'm 12 too and i do that
but i try to eat watermelon more.
and i'm underweight (but not sick or way to skinny i look normal)
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