Feeling tempted

pyepezb

I suffered a back spasm last Thursday night and have not been mobile since then. I was able to visit my dad on Father's Day and managed not to overeat at the barbecue. I'm feeling pretty depressed since I can barely walk. I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow but am feeling really tempted to eat junk. I was doing so well but this recurring back problem gets me down. Any advice?

Genome88

Just don't overdo it. Measure out how much of the junk and log the calories. And if you go over on calories a couple days in a row, don't let it demotivate you for the rest of the week. Junk food every once in a while shouldn't derail your long term goals.

Maybe eat some veggies instead? I know they don't satisfy in the same way that junk food does, but it'll keep your chewing muscles occupied. I also keep hard candies like lemon drops around. They're only about 15 calories each and as long as I don't chew them they can last a really long time, satisfying my sweet tooth without using up all my calories.

If you do any sort of crafting, I find that keeps me from snacking too. I sew, crochet, knit, and cross stitch - all things where you don't want messy fingers getting your work dirty. Scrapbooking and the like would probably work as well. If you don't already craft, though, taking it up as a means of weight loss probably won't be all that helpful. I actually do this stuff several hours a day just because I enjoy it.

pyepezb

Thank you. Those are really great ideas.

ak4niner

I just suffered a back spasm recently that got me down. I had to stop walking and biking for a week or so. (I did something evil and started back up probably quicker than I should have; my only saving grace is that I took it slow.)

I don't have too many ideas (Genome88 had some good ones) but I know you will get through it. Keep yourself occupied with things you can do. I snacked on life savers and pretzels (though not too man) to help me curb my appetite.

And if you snack a little extra on some junk once or twice, don't let it get you down. Savor the "cheat". Just remember what your ultimate goal is. And the fact that you are here means you haven't forgotten. Keep it up!

pyepezb

Thank you!

kellycasey5

My advice? DON'T DO IT. AT ALL. No junk food for depression.

My experience? Chronic illness, steroids, tons of anticonvulsants and antidepressants, completely sedentary/bedrest, with depression and anxiety related to the illness and disability and eating above my bmr. I gained 60 pounds in a year.

Now: How I wish I had stopped and cut the calories at 150 pounds. 160 pounds. 170 pounds. At 180 pounds I totally gave up. At 192 something changed and enough was enough. It is challenging to lose weight, and perhaps more so with zero activity. It goes slower and careful attention must be paid to the calories. My recurrent (read 380 days and counting) disability is very depressing. Food didn't help, and in fact made me feel worse. Oh yeah, and then I made myself obese with high blood pressure and high cholesterol because I ate too much and gained weight. I did it to myself.

Thoughts: Don't be like me. Learn from my mistakes. Phone a friend, have a friend come visit, find a support group, take up knitting (or some other thing you can do while you can't walk), watch a show or 500 on Netflix, but please PUT THE FORK DOWN. Learn ways to cope with ongoing injury, learn strategies to cope with depression, and realize that food will not help your issue. Choose healthy nutrient dense foods (and I don't mean fat and salt or sugar laden) that will help maintain and fuel your body. Healthy can tasted good. Don't give up and don't give in.

Of course you can eat what you want and do what you want, I just hope that you don't do what I did. I still have the illness and am overweight, and food did ZERO to help me with the depression or anything else for that matter. It wasn't the food's fault, it was my overeating of calories. So, if you really want to eat junk you of course can, and can fit it into your calories too if you are cautious about weight management. But my thought is that you don't want to eat the junk REALLY, and it is more about the depression and not being able to get out of bed. Eating for that reason sounds like a bad idea.

My take is don't do it, PERIOD. Eating junk because you are depressed from a recurrent injury that recurs? I am not trying to be harsh, but there are so many ways to justify poor decisions, especially when sick or hurt. And what do you do when this injury is happening? Or happening next time? Or the next time?

I wish I never overate or turned to food for my illness and depression. Stop yourself while you are ahead. Somebody had to be the voice of tough love...so today I pick me. DON'T DO IT.

Good for you for reaching out and sharing your story! And for seeking advice! And I wish you success in healing and at the doctor office!