Courtesy of my WL doctor...
 

This sounds familiar, for me I was 15 and fortunately my homeless stint was quite brief. The first couple of years out on my own were extremely slim pickings though when it came to food. Even though I worked full time, it was minimum wage, $1.30 per hour. Rent and a bus pass were about all I could have. I spent quite a bit of time genuinely hungry.

What that time in my life has left me with is sort of a weird combination of scarcity/hoarding behaviors in the kitchen. Until fairly recently I have always felt the need to have a jam-packed pantry "just in case". Having so much food around all the time was I am sure a big part of putting all that weight on me that I carried for a decade. If it's in the house, someday, someone will eat it. It was usually me.

I am now at a point where I feel about it much like Alex does. It is an uneasy truce, but holding up a couple of years later. I still keep a well-stocked basic pantry but now it consists of all healthy whole foods.

Assuming that all holds well in my medical world, come September I'm going to embark on another physical change. Again I will experiment and track much as I did with my weight loss challenge. This time it will be for a body composition change. I know it will involve a lot of the same things I went through before with having to move away from some of my new favorite comfort foods and back into some uncomfortable places.

Oh joy

It will involve some "weight loss", although it will be actually more of a weight swap. Even though I am pretty much what would be popularly considered a "normal" (whatever that is) weight, I need to drop some body fat and pick up some lean tissue. A couple of the folks that were in here a few years ago may remember that I spent a lot of time in this thread during my initial changes and I plan on spending more time back in here and in the daily exercise thread when I start the next phase.

The support and accountability that I got in here really helped. I hope some of the people newer to this thread will come to appreciated it as I did. It is a lifeline.

:cheesy:

I definitely believe someone getting sick or catching a cold and how long it takes to recover and get over has to do with diet.


I believe you hit this on the nail for a majority of people that struggle with eating binges and emotional eaters. BTW it's great to see you in here PaPa!


Kudos to all that continue to come here and share. Glad to see you all on your weight journeys Thanks!
I've been stuck on the same level and that is knowing what eating healthy is and doing so sometimes and then other times eating whatever the heck I want and having cravings. I haven't really gained or lost. I know what I need to do it's getting motivated or wanting to be motivated to do it. I, like starry have also got the hip hop abs and it's been sitting in the box unopened now for a little over a month!! We moved just about that time and it still sits there. Right before we moved I found some awesome work outs on line and I was doing those in the mornings. When I find them I will post them for those interested. I also lost in the move all my protein visalus shake mix. I was/am bummed and have to find an alternative. I also want to try fresh veggie and fruit smoothies and have been doing research but haven't actually made them yet. We also have a small gym and pool here where we live. I have utilized the pool but not the gym just yet.

So, onward and upward to all.. we have a few months (4) before Thanksgiving and Christmas hit us so we should all make the commitment to focus till then :P

First of all, thanks Ruffryder for welcoming me to the thread. I wanted to say that first before I forgot.

With the last week I have been reading, analyzing my actions, trying to make changes, keeping a daily food log, writing in a journal, and trying to eat less and move more. I have had one success this week in that I was able to fit back into the pants I wore at the beginning of my internship last summer. However, I celebrated by eating a piece of jello poke cake. I find that the old habits are dying hard. I reach and put things in my mouth before I even think about it. I found this especially true since my brother's family was here for a couple days. I would be interacting with them and not even aware that I was shoving a little bite here and a little bite there into my mouth while we talked. Ugh! I am now trying to figure out how to be more mindful of my actions and even reactions because I think that is what emotional eating is about (the reactions).

Did anyone else have this struggle? If so what strategies did you employ to help stop the behaviors? If you did not have a struggle here what do you think helped so you didn't?

I find my mind running in many different ways with what needs to be done and grasping at ways to get a grip....Idk if this is normal, but it is how it has been this first couple weeks.

In thinking back over what things have helped me the most so far, I come up with two primary tools. They just happen to be in alignment with what we are talking about here.

Like the others have mentioned, mindful eating tops the list. For me that means no distractions; nothing with a screen, no books, no talking on the phone or anything else that will take my attention away. Early on I made a ritual out of it. I like to set a nice place at a table, use decent dishes and silverware, and make sure I'm eating good quality food. It helps if I can be a little on the hungry side also, my mother always used to say "appetite is the best sauce". I don't do this 100% of the time but as long as I can have one, or better yet, two meals like this in a day it's all good. If I pay attention when I am eating I feel like I have gotten enough. If I don't, sometimes it feels like I just went through the day and didn't eat when the reality is I just didn't pay attention when I was eating.

The other thing that has been super important for me is tracking. I don't do a traditional paper journal, instead I use the computer. I am a self-confessed data geek so it just works best for my natural tendencies. I first have to know what the problem is before I can fix it. Tracking was the tool that let me do course corrections on the fly. Analyzing what I had been doing for the previous few days and seeing what the outcomes were let me skip past plateaus more often than not. Just seeing how things would balance out during the day would help me make better choices for the next day.

Thinking about what Papa said, the habits are really tough. I have seen some research lately about habits and behavior that has come out lately that has contradicted some of my previous beliefs. I used to think that I could replace a bad habit with a good one but found that rarely works out. Some of the newer studies back that up. They're finding that even when we adopt new good habits the old habits remain. It seems that can be helpful to at least partly overlap a bad habit and a good habit. I remember years and years ago when I quit smoking something that helped me a lot was taking up the habit of tootsie pops. That way I took the habit apart a piece at a time instead of all at once. Keeping the oral fixation for a while as I was getting off the nicotine, then tapering off the candy. That might not be the best example here, but it is one that came to mind.

Maybe it might help with the unconscious eating around others if you had something else to do with your hands. I remember when I was young and my mother (back to mom) would be on some diet or other she would use knitting to keep her hands busy and away from snacking, she also then would not want to handle her nice yarn with greasy hands.. Gemme has some good ideas too. Maybe having something like a pack of cards handy where you could keep a little running game of solitaire going would serve the same purpose. Something that would keep your hands actively engaged, and also be something where you wouldn't want to go back to with dirty fingers. It wouldn't be so engaging as to take you away from conversation but would give you something to fiddle with.

Thoughts for now, keep up the great work!

:cheesy:

I finally bought a scale for my GF's house.

She doesn't weigh but goes by her clothing (too tight, time to eat less).

Not only do I have a history of eating when sad but I have discovered that I eat when happy!

Who knew?

In the end, it is all emotional eating and eating while not conscious of what is going in the mouth-

my mouth, that is.

Weighing myself is the one thing that works for me.

Every morning, naked, before I eat or drink anything.

My personal reality check.

Weighed myself yesterday for the first time in a while.

Reality check indeed.

Put a rubber ban on my wrist to snap myself when i feel like munching!!

"Snap!!"

For the first 35 years of my life I was an emotional eater. As a child and teen I gained weight to protect myself from unwanted advances. In using food for that purpose it also became my friend. I wanted to celebrate with it and if I was sad food was right there with me too! Food was always with me, always around...food never let me down.

I eventually reached 300 pounds and I knew I had to change something. I realized I no longer needed to eat to protect myself from others. I also realized that what I loved so much was killing me. I had several health issues that I had to start dealing with and all my excess weight was making things much worse for my body. I was flipping out at the idea of dieting. I was in no way ready to lose weight. I wasn't ready to give up my comfort..my only friend.

I guess the change came when I started to love myself and I realized I was important and I deserved to be healthy and live a healthy life. In the last 5 years I have lost 160 pounds. I changed my eating habits and lifestyle 100 percent.

In my mind I will always be an emotional eater. It is still a fight sometimes when I have good and bad moments my first thought is what can I eat...
When my girlfriend of 17 years and I broke up last year I fell off the wagon hard. I think I alone supported the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in my town:)~

Now I control my urges by only having food in the house that I am okay with eating. Do not put any trigger foods in your pantry until you can control yourself around that food. The hardest lesson for me was to take food out of it's *special* place in my life. Food is for the nourishment and health of your body and nothing else. I am at the place now where I can eat any food I want without triggering emotional eating and binging. I have learned to have my favourite foods in moderation and keep my food intake in balance.

One thing I know is you have to really want to eat right and lose weight to be successful. It is so hard to accomplish controlling your food intake when you really aren't ready to face it. I tell myself every morning...that I'm worth it. I think that thought that I am worth it keeps me trying to be as healthy as I can be.

Great Thread!!
 

I guess I hadn't really thought about this in quite a while. When I was younger and I would get stressed I would get a very upset stomach and would not be able to eat because of that.

Somewhere in my middle 30s a switch flipped somewhere. Ever since then stress seems to trigger emotional eating, specifically sugar.

Sugar is my kryptonite.

I really like that!! "Snap NOT Snack!"
I may try this behavioral modification strategy too now.
Have you truly found it has worked??

You best be reading labels as gum is usually full of artificial sweeteners

Warning: product endorsement ahead.

Something that I like to do as a way of keeping an eye on things is to periodically take my measurements. I do this quarterly, it is long enough to show significant progress between measurings. It can also be really encouraging when it seems that progress seems slow. (and helps when shopping for replacement clothing)

I have always just used a cloth measuring tape meant for sewing. I ended up getting this specific body measuring tape as sort of an accident, it ended up being free when I had it shipped with something else.

The Myotape

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L160_SL90_.jpg

Getting the measurement right if you don't have someone to help is kind of tricky. I would keep dropping it, or pulling it too tight, or leaving it too loose.This little thing makes it really simple. You just put it really loose around the body part and put the little pin on the end in the holder, then you just push a button and it automatically adjusts to the proper tension and holds it there. Then you can just unhook it and easily get the correct reading. You get the same tension every time. It seems like a little thing, and I never would've bothered with it, but I find it is a really cool little device.

It's $5 on Amazon.

What is the diabetic plate method? Don't want to assume.

First of all, Mopsie, I want to thank you for sharing since I know it is difficult for you. Secondly, I did not know that is what it was called!! I am not diabetic, but the High Risk Obesity Clinic gave me a picture of this method. They include it with all packets they give to patients. The page also had a picture of a deck of cards, a baseball, a golf ball, a poker chip, a hockey puck, etc...It is used as a visual method of learning measurements. I have tried to switch to this method because it is easier to see how much I should be eating and then adhere to that amount versus what actually is taken onto my plate and ingested when not keeping a food log or thinking about it.

I think one thing I am battling for me is the actual addiction part. The sensational aspects of food: the smell, the texture, the taste, the visual component...I have realized it was never about hungry or full. As a matter of fact, I have not known hunger in many years. I do not know what it is like for my stomach to growl and tell me that it needs nourishment. Drinking a glass of water a half hour before meals does not diminish my appetite because in my addiction I entered a pattern of eating past the full point. During those times I would keep eating and then be able to eat more and without pain. That to me is just plain scary when I think about it in hindsight!!! That is insane! I guess addictions are crazy like that!

My next appointment with the doc is on the 18th. I have a nutrition class beforehand. It will be my first actual class because before I did not attend those. When going through my paperwork from all the times I have been there, I realized I have went there off and on since 2000. That is 13 years!! I think it is time to buckle down now and git 'er done! I am really struggling, but I am determined as I have said before. I also am grateful for this thread and the supportive friends I have here. Thanks to all of you for contributing to my recovery.

Thank you for explaining Mopsie.

I so need to remember this...
 

link about stopping food addiction
 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/1...ood-addiction/

I read this today and learned a few interesting things so wanted to share.

thank you Papa

Still on the prednisone but soon to be done,.. got get back on track!


and the test shows i have a food addiction tendency!

Truth? If we as humans only ate when we were hungry, and stopped when we were satisfied, we would not have a problem... that's my opinion anyway

Food is comfort and lack of it is comfort for me too, so when i go from starve to binge it plays havoc on me.

Progress always ongoing....

I just saw this: http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2013/06...fat-acceptance

I do think we (I) need to get out of the mindset that fat=unhealthy. Not necessarily. People are the size they are for all kinds of reasons, including genetics. If there's health problems due in part to being heavy, then it makes sense to sensibly reduce. Otherwise, it makes much more sense (and costs far less) to focus on good habits instead of getting to some unrealistic shape or weight.

This week, I was diagnosed with mild, very early arthritis in one knee. I have anti-inflammatories if needed, was instructed to do gentle movement several times a week, and stretch. The doctor did recommend that I lose some weight, as excess weight is hard on knees.

So, onward. This will become a well-read thread for me, and especially the last few posts on mindful eating. I have to confess it's quite overwhelming, though. Maybe one habit at a time, done well.

(oh, and I also show "food addiction tendencies". I knew that deep down, anyway. That's the kind of thing I think I need to go back to OA for, not necessarily a focus on "losing weight").

Thank you for the words of encouragement Miss Scarlett. Congratulations on your own growth and awareness. I think as I too raise my cognizance to my habits and be more mindful of my actions/reactions I will be able to get this addiction under control.

Glee Gum is a really good natural brand that does not have aspartame or any of the nasty other artificial chemicals. They even sell a home kit for making you own gum. Spry gum is also another good brand.

I avoid any of the major national brands because of the chemicals, dyes and artificial ingredients they put in the gum.

i could skip eating all day and eat nonstop after 6pm.

Anyone else?

i love crunchy things and munching.. and thats my downfall. i spend the whole day being *good* then crave carbs and milk after 6-7 pm!