For people with a unhealthy relationship with food--thoughts..

kshama2001

endlessfall16 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

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.)

I'm interested in the bolded part. So, what is this difference that we should be thinking about?

If you are in the Amazon listing and Look Inside, you can see parts of the book. These are the sorts of thought patterns CBT can help you change:

positivepowers

Three weeks ago I downloaded "Never Binge Again" and it's changed my life. I've never gone more than a few days without binging and never more than a few hours without craving something but since I've begun Livingston's program I've been able to not only control my inner "Pig" and stop binging but I've noticed a significant reduction in cravings. Last Thursday a vendor brought in two huge boxes of Einstein's bagels with cream cheese. I looked at them, told my inner Pig "NOT on the Food Plan" and walked off without giving the bagels another thought. I can't remember when I've ever been able to do that before. If I passed up the foods that I love I always felt deprived and obsessed on the foods until (a) All the food was gone so I couldn't have any anyway or (2) I gave in and ate . . . and ate . . . and ate!

Also, this feels like a lifetime fix, not a temporary solution like a diet. Although I've lost a few pounds, I don't care if I never lose another ounce as long as I can stop binging.

Another perk . . . my blood sugar, once so out of control that my physician was talking about putting me on insulin, has now dropped to almost normal.

ETA: BTW, Livingston's reference to the Pig (with a capital "P") is not pejorative. It's just his way of explaining the evolution of the human brain based on food availability. We are hard wired to binge when the food is plentiful so we can endure the lean times. Problem is, most of us don't really have to worry about "lean times" so we binge. The Pig is the part of our midbrain telling us to keep eating after we're full, eat another piece of cake, another doughnut, some chips, etc. just in case we aren't able to find food tomorrow. Livingston teaches how to cage the Pig and tell him to shut up.

WendyLeigh1119

I like to make Monday through Friday days where I keep a tight -1000 calorie deficit through exercise, so that I can eat enough to feel good and then loosen up on the weekends and give myself an extra 500 calories (or whatever works)and take off exercise so that it feels like a series of short routines that I can manage rather than a never ending calorie-count-a-thon. With that larger weekdays deficit and much lower weekend deficit, I don't feel like I'm dieting constantly and still see consistent weight loss around 1.5lbs.

It's kind of like looking forward to the weekend at work. Work harder "at work" so that you can look forward to "days off" on the weekend. It's still just math....but it's a schedule and mentality most people already adhere to. I find it works well for me and feels like a normal routine when applied to calories, exercise, and food choices.

jenmarrs429

I can relate a little.....I think for me I can get in a state where I am afraid of hunger. Hunger must be avoided at all costs. Hunger is an emergency. This can lead me to overeating and obsessing. Feeling hunger without fear and trying to relax is what helps me.

erienneb66

I did not read all of the comments so if I am repeating sorry but-

I have never been diagnosed either. BUT I did start seeing a therapist about a year ago for disordered thinking when it comes to food. I didn't start losing weight until 2 weeks ago even though I've been working with her for a year, every 2-3 weeks.

I'm not going to share particulars of the things I've had to work through but getting the other voice into the mix, a professional who could talk me down or help me work my own problems, has been the driving force behind changing myself. My thought processes with food will always be a struggle but I think putting the conscious effort in to talk about what's happening, explain to myself what is happening, finding the why's, the patterns, all of that helped me. I still slip and it's only been 2 weeks that the scale is reflecting and that I'm actually logging, but I'm in a better place.

And honestly I didn't come back on here for a long time. I started with the physical act of writing what I was eating down, without looking at calories. After a few weeks when that was a habit, I started adding number counts. Couple more weeks, looking at macros. So on and so forth till I was able to join back up here and handle the days I go read. I log my binges, and they've gotten smaller over time because of it.

150poundsofme

I too have a binge eating disorder. And I just can't get it together - binge-diet repeat cycle. I am well over 50 and have been doing this way of eating just about my whole life. My Mom is well over 80 and she too will say "I was good today" "I got under the number". I think it is so sad that my Mom is still trying to diet. So sad that me in my late 50's is still trying to diet. Great advice all who gave. I can only give you a big hug and strength, determination, motivation or whatever you can do to get this under control and be happy for the rest of you life.

kommodevaran

positivepowers wrote: »

Three weeks ago I downloaded "Never Binge Again" and it's changed my life. I've never gone more than a few days without binging and never more than a few hours without craving something but since I've begun Livingston's program I've been able to not only control my inner "Pig" and stop binging but I've noticed a significant reduction in cravings. Last Thursday a vendor brought in two huge boxes of Einstein's bagels with cream cheese. I looked at them, told my inner Pig "NOT on the Food Plan" and walked off without giving the bagels another thought. I can't remember when I've ever been able to do that before. If I passed up the foods that I love I always felt deprived and obsessed on the foods until (a) All the food was gone so I couldn't have any anyway or (2) I gave in and ate . . . and ate . . . and ate!

Also, this feels like a lifetime fix, not a temporary solution like a diet. Although I've lost a few pounds, I don't care if I never lose another ounce as long as I can stop binging.

Another perk . . . my blood sugar, once so out of control that my physician was talking about putting me on insulin, has now dropped to almost normal.

ETA: BTW, Livingston's reference to the Pig (with a capital "P") is not pejorative. It's just his way of explaining the evolution of the human brain based on food availability. We are hard wired to binge when the food is plentiful so we can endure the lean times. Problem is, most of us don't really have to worry about "lean times" so we binge. The Pig is the part of our midbrain telling us to keep eating after we're full, eat another piece of cake, another doughnut, some chips, etc. just in case we aren't able to find food tomorrow. Livingston teaches how to cage the Pig and tell him to shut up.

I'm reading this now, thanks for the tip. (It even forced me to get Kindle, which I have resisted.) My mind is "luckily" male enough to not take offence of the "Pig" reference. I've been calling my midbrain monkey brain, reptilian brain and grandma, why not squealing pig

But I'm doing something differently. Foods I tend to overeat, aren't foods I love! But I don't hate them either. I just prefer "foods I can eat to satiety". Foods that are pleasurable only in large quantities, are special occasion foods. And I'm so OK with that. Nothing is off limits, but there are limits, and things have proper times and places. You could call it self discipline, but it's a very kind version of discipline.