I need serious help!!!!!

TrueQuest

I've been using MFP on and off for awhile now. I believe that I have some sort of obsessive eating disorder. I do have issues going on in my life.....depression and anxiety and that doesn't make my emotional eating habits any better. At the beginning of the year I was at my lowest weight (243lbs) since 2008 and now I'm at 256lbs and just totally failed. I've been seeing a therapist but I feel quite helpless in my journey. I just don't know how to start over and how to stop binge eating.

Every morning I wake up and tell myself "Today is going to be the day you won't have any sugar. You can do it, fight your cravings" and 5 minutes later I'm stuffing a cookie or icecream down my throat.

My FAVORITE hobby is baking and when I bake I eat everything in less than 2 days. I went out and bought weights, a crosstrainer/elliptical, fitness bracelet to track things and I don't use any of it now. I need motivation again.

karenrich77

Can I ask why you tell yourself NO sugar? I find if I cut anything out completely. FAIL. Try cutting down and giving yourself a treat everyday?

TrueQuest

karenrich77 wrote: »

Can I ask why you tell yourself NO sugar? I find if I cut anything out completely. FAIL. Try cutting down and giving yourself a treat everyday?

Sugar is my enemy. I just can't have 1 of something...It's either I have all or none - it's best if I have none. I wish I could have one snack per day. In the past when I was doing good I'd replace my sugary snack for a smoothie. Hopefully I can get back to that point again. Thanks for your input.

CollieFit

Strikes me that you are trying to treat the symptoms, but possibly not the cause.
I hope your therapist can lead you in the right direction to look at what this food issue is *really* about and what it defends you from, that you *really* need to work on. x

jadior

Unfortunately, I ride that roller-coaster with you. Sugary sweets are my poison. I'd rather have anything sugary sweet. Like you, I can't stop at a "taste." I have to stay away from Oreos, candy, bakery goods completely or I eat the entire thing. There has to be some way for us to have "just a taste," as everyone says you shouldn't deprive yourself. I find if I don't have any of it in my house, I will do okay. But then I've been known to drive to get something with frosting on it when I have a really bad, emotional day. I know this about myself and am trying to work through it.

I have not advise as I'm in the same battle but maybe there is something we can do to trigger the stop at "just 1." I'm thinking stretchy bracelet that we call pull on to remind us we've had enough?? Just grasping at straws. If you come up with something, please share. Good luck and keep trying. Logging everything has helped me too as I don't want to have to write down my bad habits.

kstenke

Try this for just one day and see how your sugar cravings are: have 2 sausage patties and 1 red grapefruit first thing when you get up. (I eat morningstar patties because I'm vegetarian.)

The difference in my cravings when I forget to do this is HUGE. Maybe it's worth a try?

I know not everything works for everyone, but this has worked for me. Good luck!

NotQuiteNorm

Firstly, you have got to acknowledge that your "all or nothing" approach is not right - how can it be if 5 minutes later you eat cookies. But I sympathise as I have problems in the past binging.

Try upping fats and protein and avoiding non-vegetable carbs as much as you can*, instead eating potatoes, carrots, peas, any veg really to fill your carb allowance up.

You may see a huge change in your cravings this way and then be able to slowly reintroduce more and more carbs like rice and pastas in small portions. You may also find you are much fuller! Also try using sweeteners if you can and google low calorie recipes when you fancy baking!

*including not eating more than 2 portions as recommended on labels of fruit

wizzybeth

My thoughts are...you have these amazing sugar cravings because you are not eating a nutritionally balanced diet otherwise.

What if you did this - allowed yourself a treat at the end of the day if you met your other macros. Give yourself something to look forward to - if you eat nutritionally sound food the first part of the day. The suggestion to eat sausage patties is a good one. Have 3 protein rich meals ...have a good breakfast with protein and maybe some yogurt. Have fruit or a veggie such as baby carrots for a snack. Have a lunch with more protein and veggies...like a huge salad with hard boiled egg and grilled chicken or some tuna or ham chunks....then for a snack maybe have some strawberries or berries or melon (honeydew melon is only about 100 calories for a whopping 300 gram serving!).

Eat a good dinner again - more protein (I try to get a minimum of 40-60 grams of protein a day) and veggies. Then for dessert...later on...have a handful of your favorite cookies. By the end of the day you should feel more full/satisfied because you've eaten good foods that fill you up (protein and fats).

It may help to divide them out into single servings and put in a zip lock bag. Don't tell yourself NO you can't have it, tell yourself you CAN have it after you've met your goals for the day....and my guess is that if you've eaten well all day long, you will be less likely to binge and overeat because you won't be AS hungry.

My personal experience has been when I ate more carbs all day without balancing it out with proteins and fats, I ended up always hungry, always looking for more food to eat and I would of course reach for what I craved (carbs and sugar) rather than what I needed (proteins and fats.)

This is why Weight Watchers didn't work as well for me long term - I was always reaching for the lowest points foods (veggies and fruits and 100 calorie snack pack things but nothing with protein or fat!) so that I could have enough points at the end of the day for more snacks!!! I was never really satisfied and always ready to devour the entire box of Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms or eat 8 or 9 oreos at one time. Now I am more likely to be restrained in it - the other day I had JUST ONE Krispy Kreme donut at work. In the past I would have eaten 4 or 5 before anyone else even knew the box was in the break room.

jadior

kstenke wrote: »

Try this for just one day and see how your sugar cravings are: have 2 sausage patties and 1 red grapefruit first thing when you get up. (I eat morningstar patties because I'm vegetarian.)

The difference in my cravings when I forget to do this is HUGE. Maybe it's worth a try?

I know not everything works for everyone, but this has worked for me. Good luck!

Interesting! do you eat the grapefruit, peeled like an orange? I must say its probably my most despised food but I'll try it!

jadior

Wizzybeth, i wish I could copy and save this post to refer to. You spelled it out in baby steps and it makes sense that way. I have a problem with trying to conquer the entire mountain instead of 1 step at a time. Thank you for your help.

kstenke

jadior wrote: »

kstenke wrote: »

Try this for just one day and see how your sugar cravings are: have 2 sausage patties and 1 red grapefruit first thing when you get up. (I eat morningstar patties because I'm vegetarian.)

The difference in my cravings when I forget to do this is HUGE. Maybe it's worth a try?

I know not everything works for everyone, but this has worked for me. Good luck!

Interesting! do you eat the grapefruit, peeled like an orange? I must say its probably my most despised food but I'll try it!

I slice the grapefruit in half and dig into it with a serrated grapefruit spoon (which I love way too much). I think you could do 1/2 cup berries instead of grapefruit. Something a little sweet, but naturally sweet. I got the idea from this INSANE program that basically made me despise food after six days (Tofurky is only good in moderation!).

But, I took from it this breakfast idea and to have a big bowl of greens with other vegetables and protein for a midmorning snack.

The one day last week that I ate a typical carbohydrate-rich breakfast, I proceeded to then eat almost half of a pie and 9 mini cupcakes. I normally have major sugar cravings.

The next day I went back to the morningstar sausage and grapefruit, and I didn't even want the high-sugar things. It wasn't a matter of willpower, I just didn't want them). This from someone who could eat 8 Krispy Kremes without breaking a sweat. It's kind of weird. We'll see if it lasts! Done it for a couple of weeks now.

zoeysasha37

That all or nothing attitude isn't the best way to look at things sometimes. You need to learn moderation and portion control. It's easier said then done for sure. But it is possible. I lost all my weight eating ice cream and cookies daily. Before I would eat the whole gallon of ice cream or a dozen cookies, but after I learned portion control and moderation, I learned how to eat a serving per day and fit it in my day so I didn't feel deprived.
I also suffer from depression and anxiety , its tough but this can be done. Motivation needs to come from within yourself . when you are truly ready to make the lifestyle change, you'll make it work. I used to over eat then become depressed about over eating, then I would eat more because I was depressed. It was a vicious cycle. Finally one day I started to take the steps needed to make the change. It takes time but after you get into a daily routine, it becomes much easier.
After a healthy lifestyle is just part of your daily life , you do it without thinking too much about it. It's just routine at that point. So you can so this , and it isn't easy but can be done. I'm proof that it works. Take baby steps and you'll get there. Remember that there has been plenty of people in your situation, and they all made it through so you can do it too

KingoftheLilies

It's important to remember this is an issue with self-control, so it's something you can beat and replace with a better habit.

One cookie, fine. You can have one cookie and stay on track, maybe even two. Eating a whole batch is a self-control issue and no substitution of food is going to break that habit for you. Tell yourself no, allow yourself to feel pride for your self-restraint, and strive to repeat it more often than your desire gets the better of you.

It's OK to falter once in a while, don't beat yourself up for it and suppress your emotions with eating.

njitaliana

Hi OP, I can tell you what helps me, although different things work for each of us.

Since you love to bake, maybe try switching white flour and sugar to whole grain flour and stevia. I do that with muffins, and I find I don't eat more than one, because I don't get the cravings that white flour and sugar bring (since the whole grain flour and stevia doesn't give me highs and lows in my blood sugar; the highs and lows from white flour and sugar cause me to have reactive hypoglycemia and cravings).

Also, it's easier for me to stick to one if it's something I don't need to cut into (such as cookies or muffins, where you can take one and walk away, instead of cake or pie, where you have to cut into the food to get one slice). But, even at that, save those products for a treat at the end of the day, after you have met your macros, like Wizzybeth said.

And, if you have enough calories left, I find that having some protein after/with the treat helps me to not eat more. A cheddar cheese stick or an ounce of nuts or a serving of turkey pepperoni or Light n Fit Greek yogurt (it has no added sugar) all help with this. I usually have the treat as dessert, and then have the protein snack around 8 PM.

This doesn't mean you can never have sugar. But, if it's a big trigger for you, it might help to save it for special occasions or as a dessert when you eat out and have had a healthy meal. I find it is easier to not keep sugary foods in the house.

As I said, this is what helps me. I know everyone is different, though.

wizzybeth

I do not like stevia. It tastes as gross as any other sugar substitute. If you are going to go the stevia route, see if you can borrow some from someone to try it out before wasting money on it like I did because everyone said it was so awesome.

Ella_deb

I am in the same position as you are. But, I've been able to tone down my sugar intake. I try eating sugar in smaller portions. Give yourself a container with a lid, or a smaller container. The container with a lid provides a bit of self control, a little bit of work each time you want a snack. I distract myself with other things too, like exercising, reading, doing a hobby, spending time with family, etc. This tip is more for hunger, but there have been studies shown that dehydration is often confused with huger, so people eat instead of drinking water. Drinking more water might help with the sugar cravings. I know that we are all different but these are a few tips that helped me. Don't subtract sugar from your diet, we all need a little treat every once in a while .

I hope these tips help you.

jadior

I didn't start this thread but boy and I learning a lot reading everyone's suggestions! Thanks! This is why MFP is so great!!

TrueQuest

jadior wrote: »

Unfortunately, I ride that roller-coaster with you. Sugary sweets are my poison. I'd rather have anything sugary sweet. Like you, I can't stop at a "taste." I have to stay away from Oreos, candy, bakery goods completely or I eat the entire thing. There has to be some way for us to have "just a taste," as everyone says you shouldn't deprive yourself. I find if I don't have any of it in my house, I will do okay. But then I've been known to drive to get something with frosting on it when I have a really bad, emotional day. I know this about myself and am trying to work through it.

I have not advise as I'm in the same battle but maybe there is something we can do to trigger the stop at "just 1." I'm thinking stretchy bracelet that we call pull on to remind us we've had enough?? Just grasping at straws. If you come up with something, please share. Good luck and keep trying. Logging everything has helped me too as I don't want to have to write down my bad habits.

thank u. Glad I'm not alone.

TrueQuest

kstenke wrote: »

Try this for just one day and see how your sugar cravings are: have 2 sausage patties and 1 red grapefruit first thing when you get up. (I eat morningstar patties because I'm vegetarian.)

The difference in my cravings when I forget to do this is HUGE. Maybe it's worth a try?

I know not everything works for everyone, but this has worked for me. Good luck!

Thank u but there's no sausage patties in Australia. Gosh I miss them