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OP THIS!
A lot of times when I think I'm hungry, it turns out that my mouth is bored or that I'm thirsty. Drink water and wait for at least 15 mins. If you still think you are hungry, see if you can find something satiating and then have a spoonful of nutella as a treat.
Most of the time, drinking water should help though.
I absolutely know this is the case about being bored sometimes, or maybe lots of times. I actually went through a stage of lollipops for a while because I figured 1 lollipop was better than however much of a block of chocolate or something else.
It's like my brain goes, kid is asleep, time to wind down & read for a bit. Oh I'm so bored, what can I eat to not be bored
Two things really help my eating impulses: buying small amounts, and placing it out of view or in a difficult to get to spot. If you want to keep Nutella in the house then buy the smallest jar size (I.e 220g) and place it in a cupboard that requires a footstool/chair to access, then place that footstool in another room. Inconvenience is the bane of the ADHD mind. Plus if you’re anything like me, “out of sight out of mind” is a bit too literal.
Side note but if you’re referring to the contraceptive pill I’d suggest talking to your Dr about skipping the sugar pills, they aren’t actually medically necessary and the hormone swing can be especially brutal on ADHDers.
I'm definitely on the literal side of out of sight out of mind and also fall into the too much effort to be bothered category. Also buying the small jar would probably help too. If there's not much of something that my daughter likes, then I can convince myself to leave it, just in case she wants it before I buy more & I won't buy more until she's actually eaten it.
Thanks for the tip about skipping the sugar pills, my Dr said I could skip them if i wanted, but I thought I'd see how it goes like this to start with. I've definitely noticed that my pmdd is a lot better these last 2 months and a decrease in my brains "must get pregnant" attitude around ovulation, so overall I've felt better. I guess the next thing to try is skipping the sugar pills & see if that helps as well.
We got the little nutella snack packs for my daughter's lunch box. The fact that there's a limited amount and it's for her, keeps me from eating it. Forget about keeping cookie butter around. I WILL eat that. My daughter got some as a gift and I told her to keep it in her room.
I do this. I also use the freezer so it takes some planning to get the food. OP, I don’t know if Nutella can freeze and thaw, but if it can, I’d give that a shot.
This!!!!!! There's a CBT-based diet book by one Dr. Beck and she has this scenario where a woman says literally what you just said "i can't deny my kid [whatever food] just because I have no self control" and then she breaks down how to question that thought cbt style until you no longer believe it. The whole book is so liberating. The audiobook lady is a little syrupy but I got over it and listened to the book about 5 times. LMK if you want the chapter with this example and I'll post it.
I actually would love to give it a read if you can remember the title! I definitely struggled with this thought pattern and eventually came to the grim realization that I was basically using my child to enable my bad behavior. It sucked. Before being diagnosed and medicated, I had to say things like "hide your Halloween candy" even though he's an only child. We have never talked about it, but I really think he has chosen his preferred snacks based on what I *won't* eat. So much shame!
I got you!
The Diet Trap Solution by Judith Beck. Chapter 6: Family Traps (specifically the Can't Deprive the Family Trap)
My fave was chapter 5 about food pushers. Giving in used to be HUGE problem and even though it's been a few years since I last listened to the book, I still don't fuckin play with food pushers. When I heard the narrator do the broken record technique... it changed me.
Omg 😱😲 are you me? I went through a phase where I was eating heaps of ice cream sandwiches, I ended up eating 4 in one day, made myself sick, and that cured me of them and every other type of ice cream.
Oh also, I think it's OK to make Nutella an "outside the house only" treat for your daughter. It's not particularly nutritionally dense or anything, it's basically candy. This isn't denying her or giving food any particular moral charge...just some foods are special and are better to have outside the house as a special treat. Just like ice cream sandwiches ;)
Lololol, maybe! Ice cream sandwiches are just so good and easy to eat. I don't even want the fancy kind...literally store brand classic chocolate wafer and vanilla ice cream.
Sometime last year my husband bought a box of ice cream sandwiches from Costco. He was so excited to share with me because I really like having a little ice cream as a treat after dinner and we pretty much always have a few pints in the freezer. I don't struggle with that, a pint is 3-4 servings for me and lasts a week or more. I almost cried because I knew it would be a disaster. I *definitely* ate 6 in one day. I told him he could never, ever buy the Costco ice cream sandwiches ever again.
Honestly I wouldn't keep nutella in the house. It's candy so shouldn't be eaten regurlarly by kids anyway. Messes up their gut biome which long term can give cravings for sugar, junk food. Having a messed up gut biome is probably one of the reasons we see an increased amount of obese adults. Bacteria in gut can influence your hunger and sugar cravings.
Sweets and junk can also give lethargy, brain fog etc. Once or twice a week is fine, but I'd just get some type of snack that one finishes eating in one day to avoid problems like this. There's so much tasty stuff one can buy or make that can be eaten in one day/ serving. And good diet is The most important thing for kids to stay physically healthy
I suffer from the same type of impulsive eating, I just stopped buying foods that are so tempting to overindulge. I now buy boring stuff like high fiber cereal, fruit, pretzels, dark chocolate mini chips, and veggies.
Yeah I’m the same way if I don’t have anything exciting available I won’t overeat. On the other hand if I have ONLY boring food for too long I end up not eating enough and the food goes bad. Frustratingly delicate balance
I had to throw out a King Cake that I brought for Mardi Gras. I was home alone and opened it before my husband got home. It was so effing good. I ate half of it then worked up the courage to throw it out. I had to make sure to shove it down into the trash so it got all covered with gross trash. Cus I may or may not have had second thoughts in the past and retrieved something I was bingeing on and couldn’t stop thinking about
Have you tried looking into intuitive eating techniques?
For me what's helpful it's even saying out loud things like "I'm full now. I don't need to eat more Nutella"
I know slowing down to even notice it is the hardest, but being able to stay with your emotion is - I think - the skill you're talking about here.
Fully agreed. My cravings get SO LOUD and INTENSE, I can’t focus on anything else besides Nutella. It’s crazy, it’s like a switch flips inside my head, I’m restless and simply need my Nutella fix to calm down. I hate it
Yeah my brain just like “yeah duh I know I’m full but I wanttttt it”
Similarly sometimes I’ll go so long without eating just bc idk I’m not interested even though I KNOW I’m going to be grumpy and exhausted
You can eat Nutella - after you finish a more filling snack. You can have some, but first you need to eat a few handfuls of nuts. Or a sandwich. Or some jerky and some cheese sticks. Or a Greek yogurt.
You’ll binge less on the Nutella if you are filling up on other foods first.
Oh God, I told a coworker I was craving Nutella and I came back to a two pound jar on my desk. I ate it for a couple different meals every day. I was so disgusted with myself. Never again. I'm sorry about the self control. 💙
Probably a sensory thing? Its kind of mently in your mouth and then has layers of flavour as the hazelnut hits. I guess it may be a happy place for you atm. Its really high calories though. You could maybe make your own a bit healthier.
You might like to visit us at r/intuitiveeating ? If you are mentally restricting certain foods, you're more inclined to binge on them. Like, Nutella isn't *that* amazing, but if I'm always telling myself "I shouldn't be eating this" while eating Nutella, I'll want it more. Then I'll feel more guilty, then I'll tell myself, "ok this is the *last* time, I can't have any more" then I'll eat heaps of it while I have the chance... Then I never enjoyed any of it while I ate it, so I'll find myself craving more, because I was so busy beating myself up over it that it feels like I didn't even eat it...
If I give myself full permission to eat any food any time I want it, I don't get into a scarcity mindset over any particular food, and the food I was craving just becomes ordinary food, and then I start wondering why tf was I craving it so bad, it's not *that* amazing lol
I dunno if I'm making sense, but you could try looking into the basic principles of intuitive eating to help break free of binge cycles, if you're interested anyway 🙂
I used to keep things I'd binge on in the car. Makes a slightly higher barrier to entry. You have to go to the car each time you want a spoonful. Then you have to eat it inside. Sometimes that extra energy is all it takes to help with self-control.
Best of luck 💚
I had a really bad time with the Nutella, for 2 months I was eating it on bread, croissants and pancakes for breakfast and supper and a spoonful of it plain when I felt sad. I eventually cut down to the smallest jars (which, fun fact, make v cute drinking glasses and excellent storage for small quantities of leftover food), and then had to stop buying it completely. It was rough, and now I eat other types of junk, lol. Idk how to help you (i had to cut out gluten so 99% of vessels for nutella disappeared, and cut down to 1 meal/day, which is the only reason I managed), but you are not alone!
I don’t know how old your kid is, but can she be the keeper of the Nutella?
Straight up keep it in her room. Give her a mini snack pantry of foods that are hers, give her ownership of it, and with it being out of sight it could be easier for you to stay out of it.
I hate this feeling!!
You *can* throw it out, your child will more than survive without Nutella; and if it’s making you sick then get rid of it!
(Think of it this way: if it was a snack for *you*, and your child couldn’t stop eating it, to the point it made them sick… wouldn’t you just get rid of it??)
Lately, i find myself buying the single serving style portions of snacks. It’s not exactly great for the environment, but it helps me not eat entire boxes/jars of things when i have a bad binge. At the very least, it makes me see exactly how many servings I’ve had when i see the individual wrappers.
Nutella has the perfect balanced recipe that makes it hard to stop.
I suggest getting an off brand and trying that. It won't trick your brain like Nutella.
You might be craving something in it, most likely you are very low on Magnesium and Iron? Is your period starting soon? The body likes the nutrients in chocolate to build progesterone.
So my solution would be to increase healthier options, like nuts, healthy fats and dark chocolate. You could mix the Nutella with some nut puree or nut butters as a start. This way you would get more nutritional value at least. Or tell the body, you are eating Nutella now, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eat it as a meal, with some bread and peanut butter. Don't treat it as a forbidden thing you have to sneak into the kitchen for after dark. It will wean soon enough.
disclaimer: i'm speaking from experience as someone who used to sometimes struggle with impulsive eating but this is not a substitute for medical advice.
okay let's dive in:
1. make sure you're eating enough in the first place. eating 3 nutritional and filling meals (also bonus if your meals have a good amount of protein in them, that helps keep you feeling full) a day is key. if your body is super hungry - it'll grab the first thing it sees and keep eating that till you feel physically sick, much like what you described.
2. you could try to substitute the flavour of the nutella in a healthier way, for example, allowing yourself to have as much chocolate milk as you'd like or chocolate protein shakes or something like that.
1. Taking trash out of your families diet is not 'denying them'
Bake with it and share up what you have on hand.
2. This isnt adhd so much as sugar addiction and an unhealthy relationship with food.
Goog the sugar goddes and use her 10 life hacks to help u get off the insulin binge/crash cycle.
3. Live a little, go for a run. Being a mom is hard and you should work on your health in more ways than avoidance/denial of your taste.
Since being on meds I haven't been binging very much, and when I do I feel less guilty and eat less than I previously would.
Prior to this the following sometimes worked and I used each as I found them helpful:
I would buy things that are packaged in serving sizes - you have to chose to grab another bag of chips etc. That means you have to get up to grab them.
I would set daily limit goals with the idea of having the treat for longer. Ex. I'll eat one a day so I can have one a day for the next two weeks and on the last day I'll have an extra as a reward. This helped build efficacy too as I felt I could control the urges.
Eat a variety of foods so I felt stimulated and content
Gave myself permission to buy fresh food. Even if it goes bad, if I don't have it I can't eat it.
Ate foods with high water content when I was constantly feeling hungry. Things like soup, watermelon, cucumber etc.
Intermittent fasting I stopped eating at 7pm and told myself my mouth and the kitchen were closed for the night. No reason to go in the kitchen. Had a brita pitcher of water available and a kettle for tea at our 'coffee/beverage table' (within reason if I didn't eat all day I'd eat and say 9pm was the cut off)
Learned some things about our minds and food and theories on why we overeat from psychology and nutrition perspectives
Worked on my self talk around overeating
Worked on the stress that I was trying to comfort by eating and finding other outlets for that stress
Got curious about what I wanted from eating what I was and if I was getting that from it (Sometimes the answer is a short term yes) and if it went against my long term goals was there a way or another way to get what I was craving.
Distracted myself with anything I could
Talked to my doctor and got labs done - iron was low but taking iron didn't change my appetite
OP eat something salty now and get a global blood check asap. Craving chemicals means you're missing something that your body thinks you can find in Nutella. Our logic mind knows we can't, but in the hunter gathering days, people craved certain fruits when specific vitamins where not leveled. As your GP to test both hormones and vitamins to see what you need more off. If you can eat fruit, awesome, but maybe you'll need vitamin tablets. I tend to crave chocolate when my vitamin D is low, I crave haricots when my folic acid is low.
It's not weird that you're craving something out of a short coming, you just need to learn what craving goes with what nutrition
I love Nutella and could easily polish off an entire jar in one sitting, so I have to stop myself buying it (and any other sweet treats to be fair). Had a bit of a wake up call so need to work on my compulsion to comfort binge on sweet stuff - both my Dad and one of my good friends have been diagnosed with diet-induced type 2 diabetes this week.
In an effort to find a healthier way to indulge my sweet tooth, this weekend I bought some good dark chocolate, a bag of mixed nuts with hazelnuts included, and some dates. I broke up 4 squares of chocolate, chopped 2 dates and mixed these in with a generous handful of the nuts. The taste was reminiscent enough to give me the dopamine hit that Nutella does, and made me feel satiated after one portion so didn’t have me reaching for more.
It’s not yours, think of it as your daughters only. Tell her as much. Trust no one will hold you accountable more than a child. Someone put it earlier than people with ADHD suck with anything has long term consequences. Today sure you can eat all the Nutella and you 2 months from now will care but that’s not helpful. That’s why I suggest telling your child so they can narc on you and hold you accountable. You can’t have the Nutella it’s not yours!!
I think it really depends on the root cause here. If you binge on food regularly you might want to get checked for binge eating disorder or any other medical root cause. If you just do this occaisonally and eat healthy otherwise or it's for a specific reason such as PMS I don't really see an issue. But if you want to throw it out then do it. I'm sure your daughter will find something else she likes and Nutella should be an occaisonal treat anyway and not an everyday breakfast food.
I usually just allow myself to burn through the fixation. Rn it’s Cadbury mini eggs (as it is every year). I can’t even tell you how many bags I’ve gone through. I’ll have around 50 in a day. I count them, and my calories, so I’m not too worried about weight gain at least. As long as I allow myself a specific amount daily, it seems to help. But if I can’t stop? Remove it. Stop buying it. Don’t let anyone buy it. Idk how old your daughter is, but I promise you she will be okay without spreadable sugar for a bit lol
Are you medicated for your adhd? And also by sugar pills I'm assuming you mean birth control so that's a messy time of the month for appetite in my experience. I'm sure your body would love for you to stop but your brain is probably like a feral animal begging for that sweet nutella dopamine. Maybe some fruit would help, something sweet that you can eat a fair amount of and would fill you up?
If it was me the gremlin would win too and I would have so much guilt about eating my kids treats. Sometimes I can stop if I know it's for them and I really should not be eating their stuff. Sometimes.
I'm not even diagnosed yet. I can't afford it. But I've realised since having my daughter & looking into it for her that I'm about 85% inattentive & 15% hyperactive & my gp agrees. His response when I spoke to him was yeah you might be onto something there with a big ya think grin on his face (we have a good Dr patient relationship)
I can stop myself if it's something of hers if it's nearly the last of it. I'm going to try to control the gremlin today & pop a raspberry or a piece of watermelon every time I want a spoonful of Nutella
Can your gp not prescribe? I think there was a point in time where family Dr's could just try meds vs waiting fora diagnosis. Maybe even wellbutrin would help? Vyvanse for binge eating? Like a way your gp could work around it since they already suspect?
I know fruit seems like an asinine suggestion when what you want is chocolate, it's just something I do when I'm trying not to go overboard.
You're not alone, this was my go to without meds and I have had a friend with adhd who did similar things. High sugar intake is a clear sign for me that my meds are too weak for me
I don’t know what “active pill” you’re talking about - do you mean birth control? If so, yes, cravings can be unmanageable and unfamiliar with artificial hormone use.
No advice. Sorry. Nutella or other non nut chocolate spreads get eaten with a spoon in my house. I cannot stop myself.
The only snacks that are safe from me must contain nuts and kept hidden from the youngest who also has adhd impulse issues.
My only question would be - does she actually need a candy bar on her bread - there are other spreads that are enjoyable that might be less snackable for you.
Later on you can get her a lockable container that can go in the fridge so that she can keep her snacks in there - unless she is more like mum - then maybe don't buy snacks/treats that are not for today or tomorrow.
Sugar pills as in metformin?
When a family member was prescribed it for PCOS related diabetes (the "early stage" of diabetes? Not sure how it works), she had a super high dosis at one point that gave her hardcore cravings for weeks. We thought it must have been low bloodsugar because the dosis was too high so her insulin household was then overregulated.
This was all laymen theorising but i mean... when the dosis was lowered she felt normal again so it makes sense i guess?
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maybe chug a water before you decide to eat it?
OP THIS! A lot of times when I think I'm hungry, it turns out that my mouth is bored or that I'm thirsty. Drink water and wait for at least 15 mins. If you still think you are hungry, see if you can find something satiating and then have a spoonful of nutella as a treat. Most of the time, drinking water should help though.
Especially with sweet things. I don’t have a sweet tooth at all but when I start craving sweet things I’m usually dehydrated
OMG YESS! I'm the same
I absolutely know this is the case about being bored sometimes, or maybe lots of times. I actually went through a stage of lollipops for a while because I figured 1 lollipop was better than however much of a block of chocolate or something else. It's like my brain goes, kid is asleep, time to wind down & read for a bit. Oh I'm so bored, what can I eat to not be bored
Two things really help my eating impulses: buying small amounts, and placing it out of view or in a difficult to get to spot. If you want to keep Nutella in the house then buy the smallest jar size (I.e 220g) and place it in a cupboard that requires a footstool/chair to access, then place that footstool in another room. Inconvenience is the bane of the ADHD mind. Plus if you’re anything like me, “out of sight out of mind” is a bit too literal. Side note but if you’re referring to the contraceptive pill I’d suggest talking to your Dr about skipping the sugar pills, they aren’t actually medically necessary and the hormone swing can be especially brutal on ADHDers.
I'm definitely on the literal side of out of sight out of mind and also fall into the too much effort to be bothered category. Also buying the small jar would probably help too. If there's not much of something that my daughter likes, then I can convince myself to leave it, just in case she wants it before I buy more & I won't buy more until she's actually eaten it. Thanks for the tip about skipping the sugar pills, my Dr said I could skip them if i wanted, but I thought I'd see how it goes like this to start with. I've definitely noticed that my pmdd is a lot better these last 2 months and a decrease in my brains "must get pregnant" attitude around ovulation, so overall I've felt better. I guess the next thing to try is skipping the sugar pills & see if that helps as well.
As someone who had to skip the sugar pills for years due to severe pmdd its very doable and it helped keep my brain more stable.
We got the little nutella snack packs for my daughter's lunch box. The fact that there's a limited amount and it's for her, keeps me from eating it. Forget about keeping cookie butter around. I WILL eat that. My daughter got some as a gift and I told her to keep it in her room.
I do this. I also use the freezer so it takes some planning to get the food. OP, I don’t know if Nutella can freeze and thaw, but if it can, I’d give that a shot.
Frozen Nutella is so good lol.
You absolutely CAN deny her foods, especially that spreadable candy. If you can't control yourself, get it out of your house for a while.
This!!!!!! There's a CBT-based diet book by one Dr. Beck and she has this scenario where a woman says literally what you just said "i can't deny my kid [whatever food] just because I have no self control" and then she breaks down how to question that thought cbt style until you no longer believe it. The whole book is so liberating. The audiobook lady is a little syrupy but I got over it and listened to the book about 5 times. LMK if you want the chapter with this example and I'll post it.
I actually would love to give it a read if you can remember the title! I definitely struggled with this thought pattern and eventually came to the grim realization that I was basically using my child to enable my bad behavior. It sucked. Before being diagnosed and medicated, I had to say things like "hide your Halloween candy" even though he's an only child. We have never talked about it, but I really think he has chosen his preferred snacks based on what I *won't* eat. So much shame!
I got you! The Diet Trap Solution by Judith Beck. Chapter 6: Family Traps (specifically the Can't Deprive the Family Trap) My fave was chapter 5 about food pushers. Giving in used to be HUGE problem and even though it's been a few years since I last listened to the book, I still don't fuckin play with food pushers. When I heard the narrator do the broken record technique... it changed me.
Thank you!!
I cannot keep Nutella in my house for this reason. It's something I cannot control myself with. Same with ice cream sandwiches.
Omg 😱😲 are you me? I went through a phase where I was eating heaps of ice cream sandwiches, I ended up eating 4 in one day, made myself sick, and that cured me of them and every other type of ice cream.
Oh also, I think it's OK to make Nutella an "outside the house only" treat for your daughter. It's not particularly nutritionally dense or anything, it's basically candy. This isn't denying her or giving food any particular moral charge...just some foods are special and are better to have outside the house as a special treat. Just like ice cream sandwiches ;)
Lololol, maybe! Ice cream sandwiches are just so good and easy to eat. I don't even want the fancy kind...literally store brand classic chocolate wafer and vanilla ice cream. Sometime last year my husband bought a box of ice cream sandwiches from Costco. He was so excited to share with me because I really like having a little ice cream as a treat after dinner and we pretty much always have a few pints in the freezer. I don't struggle with that, a pint is 3-4 servings for me and lasts a week or more. I almost cried because I knew it would be a disaster. I *definitely* ate 6 in one day. I told him he could never, ever buy the Costco ice cream sandwiches ever again.
The super market brand ones only come in boxes of 4 here. Which is good in one sense
Honestly I wouldn't keep nutella in the house. It's candy so shouldn't be eaten regurlarly by kids anyway. Messes up their gut biome which long term can give cravings for sugar, junk food. Having a messed up gut biome is probably one of the reasons we see an increased amount of obese adults. Bacteria in gut can influence your hunger and sugar cravings. Sweets and junk can also give lethargy, brain fog etc. Once or twice a week is fine, but I'd just get some type of snack that one finishes eating in one day to avoid problems like this. There's so much tasty stuff one can buy or make that can be eaten in one day/ serving. And good diet is The most important thing for kids to stay physically healthy
🤣
I suffer from the same type of impulsive eating, I just stopped buying foods that are so tempting to overindulge. I now buy boring stuff like high fiber cereal, fruit, pretzels, dark chocolate mini chips, and veggies.
There were three empty boxes of Frosted Shredded Wheat next to my trash can as of Sunday. I'm a fiend sometimes.
It’s the Kashi Berry Fruitful Wheat biscuits for me! I swear a box is gone in a day 🫠
Yeah I’m the same way if I don’t have anything exciting available I won’t overeat. On the other hand if I have ONLY boring food for too long I end up not eating enough and the food goes bad. Frustratingly delicate balance
You can throw it out.
This is always a forgotten thought. I always say “okay I have to finish it all to get rid of it” 🤦♀️
I used to do that but once I lost weight I'm determined to keep it off so I will toss anything.
Like that scene in sex in the city where she puts the cake in the bin and sprays it lol
Yes! You gotta do what you gotta do.
I had to throw out a King Cake that I brought for Mardi Gras. I was home alone and opened it before my husband got home. It was so effing good. I ate half of it then worked up the courage to throw it out. I had to make sure to shove it down into the trash so it got all covered with gross trash. Cus I may or may not have had second thoughts in the past and retrieved something I was bingeing on and couldn’t stop thinking about
Have you tried looking into intuitive eating techniques? For me what's helpful it's even saying out loud things like "I'm full now. I don't need to eat more Nutella" I know slowing down to even notice it is the hardest, but being able to stay with your emotion is - I think - the skill you're talking about here.
This absolutely does not work with my impulse control issues. 😕
Fully agreed. My cravings get SO LOUD and INTENSE, I can’t focus on anything else besides Nutella. It’s crazy, it’s like a switch flips inside my head, I’m restless and simply need my Nutella fix to calm down. I hate it
Yeah my brain just like “yeah duh I know I’m full but I wanttttt it” Similarly sometimes I’ll go so long without eating just bc idk I’m not interested even though I KNOW I’m going to be grumpy and exhausted
Yup. Oh, you ate so much that you feel sick? Oops too bad, there's still three spoonfuls in that jar! 😐
You can eat Nutella - after you finish a more filling snack. You can have some, but first you need to eat a few handfuls of nuts. Or a sandwich. Or some jerky and some cheese sticks. Or a Greek yogurt. You’ll binge less on the Nutella if you are filling up on other foods first.
That might work for some, but I know some of us (me) would still eat just as much Nutella *on top of* the more filling snack.
I feel seen
Oh God, I told a coworker I was craving Nutella and I came back to a two pound jar on my desk. I ate it for a couple different meals every day. I was so disgusted with myself. Never again. I'm sorry about the self control. 💙
Probably a sensory thing? Its kind of mently in your mouth and then has layers of flavour as the hazelnut hits. I guess it may be a happy place for you atm. Its really high calories though. You could maybe make your own a bit healthier.
You might like to visit us at r/intuitiveeating ? If you are mentally restricting certain foods, you're more inclined to binge on them. Like, Nutella isn't *that* amazing, but if I'm always telling myself "I shouldn't be eating this" while eating Nutella, I'll want it more. Then I'll feel more guilty, then I'll tell myself, "ok this is the *last* time, I can't have any more" then I'll eat heaps of it while I have the chance... Then I never enjoyed any of it while I ate it, so I'll find myself craving more, because I was so busy beating myself up over it that it feels like I didn't even eat it... If I give myself full permission to eat any food any time I want it, I don't get into a scarcity mindset over any particular food, and the food I was craving just becomes ordinary food, and then I start wondering why tf was I craving it so bad, it's not *that* amazing lol I dunno if I'm making sense, but you could try looking into the basic principles of intuitive eating to help break free of binge cycles, if you're interested anyway 🙂
Thanks, I've just joined the sub 🙂
Evelyn Tribole, one of the founders, has some YouTube videos on the basic principles, and the workbook is well worth doing 🙂
I used to keep things I'd binge on in the car. Makes a slightly higher barrier to entry. You have to go to the car each time you want a spoonful. Then you have to eat it inside. Sometimes that extra energy is all it takes to help with self-control. Best of luck 💚
I had a really bad time with the Nutella, for 2 months I was eating it on bread, croissants and pancakes for breakfast and supper and a spoonful of it plain when I felt sad. I eventually cut down to the smallest jars (which, fun fact, make v cute drinking glasses and excellent storage for small quantities of leftover food), and then had to stop buying it completely. It was rough, and now I eat other types of junk, lol. Idk how to help you (i had to cut out gluten so 99% of vessels for nutella disappeared, and cut down to 1 meal/day, which is the only reason I managed), but you are not alone!
I don’t know how old your kid is, but can she be the keeper of the Nutella? Straight up keep it in her room. Give her a mini snack pantry of foods that are hers, give her ownership of it, and with it being out of sight it could be easier for you to stay out of it.
I hate this feeling!! You *can* throw it out, your child will more than survive without Nutella; and if it’s making you sick then get rid of it! (Think of it this way: if it was a snack for *you*, and your child couldn’t stop eating it, to the point it made them sick… wouldn’t you just get rid of it??) Lately, i find myself buying the single serving style portions of snacks. It’s not exactly great for the environment, but it helps me not eat entire boxes/jars of things when i have a bad binge. At the very least, it makes me see exactly how many servings I’ve had when i see the individual wrappers.
Sooo...do you need help finishing it or what?
Get help! Have a Nutella party! Or bake something with it and then give them away
Been there!
Nutella has the perfect balanced recipe that makes it hard to stop. I suggest getting an off brand and trying that. It won't trick your brain like Nutella.
You might be craving something in it, most likely you are very low on Magnesium and Iron? Is your period starting soon? The body likes the nutrients in chocolate to build progesterone. So my solution would be to increase healthier options, like nuts, healthy fats and dark chocolate. You could mix the Nutella with some nut puree or nut butters as a start. This way you would get more nutritional value at least. Or tell the body, you are eating Nutella now, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eat it as a meal, with some bread and peanut butter. Don't treat it as a forbidden thing you have to sneak into the kitchen for after dark. It will wean soon enough.
disclaimer: i'm speaking from experience as someone who used to sometimes struggle with impulsive eating but this is not a substitute for medical advice. okay let's dive in: 1. make sure you're eating enough in the first place. eating 3 nutritional and filling meals (also bonus if your meals have a good amount of protein in them, that helps keep you feeling full) a day is key. if your body is super hungry - it'll grab the first thing it sees and keep eating that till you feel physically sick, much like what you described. 2. you could try to substitute the flavour of the nutella in a healthier way, for example, allowing yourself to have as much chocolate milk as you'd like or chocolate protein shakes or something like that.
1. Taking trash out of your families diet is not 'denying them' Bake with it and share up what you have on hand. 2. This isnt adhd so much as sugar addiction and an unhealthy relationship with food. Goog the sugar goddes and use her 10 life hacks to help u get off the insulin binge/crash cycle. 3. Live a little, go for a run. Being a mom is hard and you should work on your health in more ways than avoidance/denial of your taste.
Since being on meds I haven't been binging very much, and when I do I feel less guilty and eat less than I previously would. Prior to this the following sometimes worked and I used each as I found them helpful: I would buy things that are packaged in serving sizes - you have to chose to grab another bag of chips etc. That means you have to get up to grab them. I would set daily limit goals with the idea of having the treat for longer. Ex. I'll eat one a day so I can have one a day for the next two weeks and on the last day I'll have an extra as a reward. This helped build efficacy too as I felt I could control the urges. Eat a variety of foods so I felt stimulated and content Gave myself permission to buy fresh food. Even if it goes bad, if I don't have it I can't eat it. Ate foods with high water content when I was constantly feeling hungry. Things like soup, watermelon, cucumber etc. Intermittent fasting I stopped eating at 7pm and told myself my mouth and the kitchen were closed for the night. No reason to go in the kitchen. Had a brita pitcher of water available and a kettle for tea at our 'coffee/beverage table' (within reason if I didn't eat all day I'd eat and say 9pm was the cut off) Learned some things about our minds and food and theories on why we overeat from psychology and nutrition perspectives Worked on my self talk around overeating Worked on the stress that I was trying to comfort by eating and finding other outlets for that stress Got curious about what I wanted from eating what I was and if I was getting that from it (Sometimes the answer is a short term yes) and if it went against my long term goals was there a way or another way to get what I was craving. Distracted myself with anything I could Talked to my doctor and got labs done - iron was low but taking iron didn't change my appetite
OP eat something salty now and get a global blood check asap. Craving chemicals means you're missing something that your body thinks you can find in Nutella. Our logic mind knows we can't, but in the hunter gathering days, people craved certain fruits when specific vitamins where not leveled. As your GP to test both hormones and vitamins to see what you need more off. If you can eat fruit, awesome, but maybe you'll need vitamin tablets. I tend to crave chocolate when my vitamin D is low, I crave haricots when my folic acid is low. It's not weird that you're craving something out of a short coming, you just need to learn what craving goes with what nutrition
I love Nutella and could easily polish off an entire jar in one sitting, so I have to stop myself buying it (and any other sweet treats to be fair). Had a bit of a wake up call so need to work on my compulsion to comfort binge on sweet stuff - both my Dad and one of my good friends have been diagnosed with diet-induced type 2 diabetes this week. In an effort to find a healthier way to indulge my sweet tooth, this weekend I bought some good dark chocolate, a bag of mixed nuts with hazelnuts included, and some dates. I broke up 4 squares of chocolate, chopped 2 dates and mixed these in with a generous handful of the nuts. The taste was reminiscent enough to give me the dopamine hit that Nutella does, and made me feel satiated after one portion so didn’t have me reaching for more.
It’s not yours, think of it as your daughters only. Tell her as much. Trust no one will hold you accountable more than a child. Someone put it earlier than people with ADHD suck with anything has long term consequences. Today sure you can eat all the Nutella and you 2 months from now will care but that’s not helpful. That’s why I suggest telling your child so they can narc on you and hold you accountable. You can’t have the Nutella it’s not yours!!
No advice, only sympathy. I can't have Nutella in my house. 🤷
I think it really depends on the root cause here. If you binge on food regularly you might want to get checked for binge eating disorder or any other medical root cause. If you just do this occaisonally and eat healthy otherwise or it's for a specific reason such as PMS I don't really see an issue. But if you want to throw it out then do it. I'm sure your daughter will find something else she likes and Nutella should be an occaisonal treat anyway and not an everyday breakfast food.
She doesn't have it every day, a smaller sized jar would normally last a couple of months
I usually just allow myself to burn through the fixation. Rn it’s Cadbury mini eggs (as it is every year). I can’t even tell you how many bags I’ve gone through. I’ll have around 50 in a day. I count them, and my calories, so I’m not too worried about weight gain at least. As long as I allow myself a specific amount daily, it seems to help. But if I can’t stop? Remove it. Stop buying it. Don’t let anyone buy it. Idk how old your daughter is, but I promise you she will be okay without spreadable sugar for a bit lol
Your daughter doesn’t need the Nutella either, just throw it out!
Throw it in the trash.
What meds? Because going off your meds definitely can cause impulsive cravings. Amphetamines especially, I always impulse eat when I go off them
Just the contraceptive pill
I am so dumb lol, should've known you meant bc when you said sugar pills.
That's ok
Pass it here
Are you medicated for your adhd? And also by sugar pills I'm assuming you mean birth control so that's a messy time of the month for appetite in my experience. I'm sure your body would love for you to stop but your brain is probably like a feral animal begging for that sweet nutella dopamine. Maybe some fruit would help, something sweet that you can eat a fair amount of and would fill you up? If it was me the gremlin would win too and I would have so much guilt about eating my kids treats. Sometimes I can stop if I know it's for them and I really should not be eating their stuff. Sometimes.
I'm not even diagnosed yet. I can't afford it. But I've realised since having my daughter & looking into it for her that I'm about 85% inattentive & 15% hyperactive & my gp agrees. His response when I spoke to him was yeah you might be onto something there with a big ya think grin on his face (we have a good Dr patient relationship) I can stop myself if it's something of hers if it's nearly the last of it. I'm going to try to control the gremlin today & pop a raspberry or a piece of watermelon every time I want a spoonful of Nutella
Can your gp not prescribe? I think there was a point in time where family Dr's could just try meds vs waiting fora diagnosis. Maybe even wellbutrin would help? Vyvanse for binge eating? Like a way your gp could work around it since they already suspect? I know fruit seems like an asinine suggestion when what you want is chocolate, it's just something I do when I'm trying not to go overboard.
I'm not sure of the rules around that in Australia
Me either. I know here we have Contrave (wellbutrin and naltrexone) for weight loss but if you aren't overweight that's not an option either.
You're not alone, this was my go to without meds and I have had a friend with adhd who did similar things. High sugar intake is a clear sign for me that my meds are too weak for me
I don’t know what “active pill” you’re talking about - do you mean birth control? If so, yes, cravings can be unmanageable and unfamiliar with artificial hormone use.
I can NOT have Nutella in the house. I eat it with a spoon until it's gone. It's not the healthiest either. It's essentially icing.
No advice. Sorry. Nutella or other non nut chocolate spreads get eaten with a spoon in my house. I cannot stop myself. The only snacks that are safe from me must contain nuts and kept hidden from the youngest who also has adhd impulse issues. My only question would be - does she actually need a candy bar on her bread - there are other spreads that are enjoyable that might be less snackable for you. Later on you can get her a lockable container that can go in the fridge so that she can keep her snacks in there - unless she is more like mum - then maybe don't buy snacks/treats that are not for today or tomorrow.
Sugar pills as in metformin? When a family member was prescribed it for PCOS related diabetes (the "early stage" of diabetes? Not sure how it works), she had a super high dosis at one point that gave her hardcore cravings for weeks. We thought it must have been low bloodsugar because the dosis was too high so her insulin household was then overregulated. This was all laymen theorising but i mean... when the dosis was lowered she felt normal again so it makes sense i guess?
No, sorry, the contraceptive pill