Feeling Hopeless.....

GamecockFan14

alyssa0061 wrote: »

hope516 wrote: »

alyssa0061 wrote: »

GamecockFan14 wrote: »

Would people tell a meth addict to do meth in moderation? Hopefully not. Why then, do they push this mentality on me? On us who struggle with this??

Well meth isn't food so.....

There's no correlation there. We need food to live. It's not the same thing. People don't require meth to sustain life.

I am pretty sure the correlation that OP is trying to make is that she is addicted to food, and just as you wouldn't tell an addict of a drug to have it in moderation, it is hard to have food in moderation when you have a food addiction. The main issue with that is we actually need food to survive.

ETA: Not everyone is blessed with using food for its intention which is to simply fuel our body. A lot of people see food as a coping mechanism, a boredom buster, a friend, and the only thing in life that brings them joy. Is this wrong???...of course. Is it that easy to say ok I know this is wrong I will stop??...ask the people on the show of "My 600 pound life" if it is that easy.

As others have stated, no one is addicted to food. It's the behaviors associated with food and eating. That's an important distinction to understand.

No, not everyone is "blessed". A lot of us end up here, between needing to lose a few pounds and morbidly obese, because of our relationship with food, not an addiction to food.

I weighed 400 pounds. I was well on my way to "My 600 Pound Life". But I have never once said I was addicted to food.

GamecockFan14 wrote: »

alyssa0061 wrote: »

GamecockFan14 wrote: »

Would people tell a meth addict to do meth in moderation? Hopefully not. Why then, do they push this mentality on me? On us who struggle with this??

Well meth isn't food so.....

There's no correlation there. We need food to live. It's not the same thing. People don't require meth to sustain life.

I think you missed the point. There is, indeed, a correlation.

No, I didn't miss the point. Meth and food are not related.

I disagree. Have you ever had to completely withdraw from sugar? Considering your weight loss, I'm assuming you have. Or at least, cut down much less than what you were consuming before. So then you'd know that it can make you physically ill- much like when a drug addict is coming off of drugs. Sure, there is a huge relationship component to food- just as there is for a drug addict. It provides a mental comfort as well as a physiological comfort.

ogtmama

That's part of the brainwashing. It doesn't make you feel better...not even in the short term. You feel guilty when you start. Ashamed while you do it, uncomfortably full if not sick, ashamed, embarrassed, fat, sick.

It's a fallacy. A false memory. That is the insanity of addiction.

HardyGirl4Ever

trigden1991 wrote: »

Everyone requires food to live. It is up to you to want to lose and maintain weight more than you want to get a few moments of satisfaction from eating.

That's like saying to a drug addict that it's up to you whether you want to live or get that 5 minute high.

kshama2001

GamecockFan14 wrote: »

I've been trying to lose and maintain weight for as long as I can remember. I'm 32, and I've been trying since at least 9th grade in high school.

My most recent biggest loss was from 280lbs to 202 lbs back in 2013. I gained it all back- plus some. Now, here I sit again. Struggling to find the ways to make it through my days with a smile. Feeling hopeless that I'm not capable of beating this soul crushing issue I have.

I hate being an addict. I hate needing food to live. I can't enjoy it in moderation like most people. That's what always gets me. Whenever I'm doing well with my eating (which is my biggest obstacle since I LOVE to work out. Even now. I work out every day.) , ultimately, I end up giving in to the notion that everyone should eat "everything in moderation". Why is it so hard for people to understand that I can't? I can't eat rice in moderation because it makes me binge eat on other foods. I can't eat pizza in moderation. I can't eat chocolate or cake in moderation. Would people tell a meth addict to do meth in moderation? Hopefully not. Why then, do they push this mentality on me? On us who struggle with this??

Some Moderators cannot put themselves in the shoes of Abstainers and vice versa: http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/

I used to self-medicate with booze and other substances and behaviors and find Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works for all that plus food.

I went to one or two each Rational Recovery and Smart Recovery meetings and found them very useful. I went to a whole lot more AA/NA meetings (mostly with family and friends) and didn't find the 12 step model especially useful.

This book on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for overeating was available in my library system, so perhaps yours as well.

The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person

Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)