Brain glitches and learning to eat better
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LJgfg
Posts: 81 Member
Whether my "brain glitches" are caused by my environment or my environment (incl. my extra weight) is caused by my brain glitches - I'm just not sure. What I am sure of are three things - One: I have never been able to stay on a food plan / diet for more than a few hours before going into a full-fledged binge. And I mean a true binge (2000+ calories in a matter of couple of hours on top of regular meals) - and the binges don't stop until I stop trying to limit calories.
Two: I am disorganized. I'm unable / unwilling / unskilled at doing anything on a regular basis (from shopping off a list, to recording my meals, to working out). I have a large family, a messy house, lots of outside commitments with irregular demands (erratic work, elderly parent, kid in college). I have no set anything.
My mention of brain glitches is a reference to things like I have horrible time perception - I frequently have to go check to see what day of the week it is for example. Now whether this is caused by the erratic schedule I live where neither my husband nor I work on certain days of the week or I gravitated to a job with an erratic schedule because it feels more normal than going to work on a set schedule, I don't know. But this is one example of things I struggle with.
Which bring me to number Three: I need to lose weight.
Anyone else struggle with disorganization / anxiety issues who might have some tips on how I can approach this new attempt at weight loss without sending myself into an anxiety binge and with learning how to do the simple things (like enter food information daily) while having the memory / organization skills of Dory? I mean my first meal of the day may occur anywhere from 5am to 2pm, and might be anything from a glass of milk to a steak and potato. I never eat the same thing often, never eat at the same time of day, never eat the same number of times a day. (Makes it much more difficult to get things entered).
I feel like my first steps should be simple - track what I eat, come up with a plan to improve it in some fashion (like adding a serving of fresh vegetables), and exercise regularly to at least begin to get the situation under control. But what sounds ridiculously simple as I type it is something that seems more difficult than figuring out how to launch myself to the moon when I actually try to do it, unfortunately.
Two: I am disorganized. I'm unable / unwilling / unskilled at doing anything on a regular basis (from shopping off a list, to recording my meals, to working out). I have a large family, a messy house, lots of outside commitments with irregular demands (erratic work, elderly parent, kid in college). I have no set anything.
My mention of brain glitches is a reference to things like I have horrible time perception - I frequently have to go check to see what day of the week it is for example. Now whether this is caused by the erratic schedule I live where neither my husband nor I work on certain days of the week or I gravitated to a job with an erratic schedule because it feels more normal than going to work on a set schedule, I don't know. But this is one example of things I struggle with.
Which bring me to number Three: I need to lose weight.
Anyone else struggle with disorganization / anxiety issues who might have some tips on how I can approach this new attempt at weight loss without sending myself into an anxiety binge and with learning how to do the simple things (like enter food information daily) while having the memory / organization skills of Dory? I mean my first meal of the day may occur anywhere from 5am to 2pm, and might be anything from a glass of milk to a steak and potato. I never eat the same thing often, never eat at the same time of day, never eat the same number of times a day. (Makes it much more difficult to get things entered).
I feel like my first steps should be simple - track what I eat, come up with a plan to improve it in some fashion (like adding a serving of fresh vegetables), and exercise regularly to at least begin to get the situation under control. But what sounds ridiculously simple as I type it is something that seems more difficult than figuring out how to launch myself to the moon when I actually try to do it, unfortunately.
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Replies
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...I'm unable / unwilling / unskilled at doing anything on a regular basis...
The key to successful long-term weight management is consistency. Building consistent, healthy habits sounds like it would be an enormous challenge for you. Hopefully, someone here with a similar background can give you some good advice for either overcoming this challenge or somehow making it work to your advantage. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'm just sticking around to see if anyone has any good advice. Good luck!
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
Next you make a sign and put it somewhere your eyes will cross over it.. on the fridge, a cupboard.. etc.
and whenever your meal is, 5am or 2pm.. whatever it is... when you walk into that kitchen and decide on a meal, the sign is going to say "what can i do to this meal to make it healthier?" ..
You can do this once per day with whichever meal you choose to apply it to.
Once this becomes more habit.. you can think of the next step... it could be exercise or it could be logging that one meal into MFP and becoming more aware of the calories you ate for that meal.
Great idea - Thank you! That's exactly that kind of simple step advice I can use! I appreciate the support. 1 -
Sounds excellent
So I am disorganised as hell, don't plan a single meal ahead of time till I am hungry and eat continuously from morning to night while I'm awake. And did I mention I don't go to bed at the same time every day.
I've broken my diary into 5 time slots "awake to noon" "12 to 4pm" "4pm to 8pm" "8pm to midnight" "midnight to sleeping time" and I log what I eat during the time slots.
While I was actively trying to lose weight the rule was that I could NOT start eating the food till it was fully logged. Because it does suck badly to think you had the room for the chocolate bar you just ate only to discover you didn't! Or that you don't have enough room left to eat the fiber and protein you want.
Over time (and with some experimentation), I've discovered some "go to" food items (or concoctions) that I use often especially when I am in a hurry to eat something. They usually involve fridge staples (refrigerated sugar free jello puddings, 0% yoplait source, 0% greek yogurt, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, pickles); pantry items (cocoa, cinnamon, sugar free fruit cups, canned salmon and sardines, plain oatmeal; freezer items (frozen veggies, frozen fruits, fish fillets, prawns).
At most these items (now) require 10 minutes from the time I get up from my desk to head to the kitchen to the time I am sitting down eating my (fully individual component weighed) food. Yes, these days I log WHILE I eat ;-)
Other than that... you probably need to eat a little bit less than what you spend for a while... and you will lose weight.
To be honest getting a handle of WHAT you're currently eating is an EXCELLENT first step. And even the act of logging by itself will result in changes to your eating behaviour. You shall see.
My only other piece of advice: don't see this as a RESTRICTION. See it as an opportunity for improvement. And forget the "quick fix" mentality of I will cut my food intake in half! The goal is small, but sustained, changes.... small changes applied over long periods of time!
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So, I have a (kind of) similar issue, and what I'm doing is working for me, but it might not work for everyone.
I have a history of eating disorders and unhealthy behavior, so I have to approach 'dieting' (I'm actually 'not allowed' to diet anymore- lifestyle changes or bust) with a lot of caution and careful self-monitoring. Because of my personal history, and because over the years I've learned what behaviors are triggering for me, I do not count calories.
That seems antithetical probably, especially for this website, but it simply isn't feasible or healthy for me to do so at this point in time. I might eventually reach a stage where it isn't compromising for my mental health to count calories, but I'm not there yet.
Rather than counting calories, I try to pay attention to what I'm eating. I don't do elimination diets or cleanses or anything like that. I'm a believer in the idea that chocolate is good for your soul. But I do monitor what I'm eating and how I'm eating it. I have binge tendencies- especially when I'm anxious/upset. I'm also a boredom eater. When I want to eat, I ask myself whether I'm genuinely hungry or just bored/emotional. If it's the latter, I get a glass of water and find a way to occupy myself until I'm really hungry. Relearning this behavior is one of the most important steps for me, but it may be different for you.
Another huge problem I have is the tendency to default to fast food/convenience meals/ mindless snacking rather than eating nutritious, filling food. I'm a college student and I work, so free time can be kind of short handed. To combat this, I fill my pantry and fridge with healthy foods that I enjoy and make little challenges for myself. Just little things such as, "You can't spend any money out of the house on food today". It's much easier to handle if you break things down so that you're only tackling them one step at a time. Just implementing small changes like this I've seen weight reduction with no problem.
Like I said, it might not work for everyone, but I've seen success without calorie counting and excessive restriction.
If you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to add/message me!4 -
Have you ever brought your inability to organize, lack of time perception, memory problems, anxiety to a physician to see if there is a medical issue?
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I am forgetful but my life has gradually become more regulated by necessity. I suggest a pill organizer at the very least. And I suggest if you are on no pills you start with a multivitamin. Check at the end of the day, which weekday it is, and take the multivitamin.
To prevent the binge, don't take on this project as an exercise in deprivation. You are making healthier choices every day.0 -
Have you ever brought your inability to organize, lack of time perception, memory problems, anxiety to a physician to see if there is a medical issue?
^ Yeah I'm thinking you might need to be evalutated for Attention Deficit Disorder. If your brain is processing things in a way that is chronically disorganized, that's a big red flag. And if you get help with this through counselling, education, and possibly medication, that may really help your whole life.
Another question is: Were you ever taught how to organize? This is serious, because if your parents were disorganized, or you were never taught or expected to, you may not have ever learned the basic principles of organization.
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What worked for me, many years ago when I was in a similar situation was.
1. Disciplined logging. Like others above. Log before you eat. 2-3 weeks at a minimum. Don't focus on reducing just build the logging habit.
2. Planned and scheduled feedings. What I discovered was that I was inadvertently fasting... this may not be your issue, but I would go 3-4 days on 300-400 calories and then binge 5-7000. Not healthy or sustainable. So I built scheduled feedings in with daily plans and timers. For example, breakfast will be packed and prepared the day before and can be eaten any time in the morning before 0800. If at 0800 when the timer/alert goes off... it hasn't been eaten yet. Drop everything and feed.0 -
Yeah, I'm not one for armchair diagnosing, but this screams ADHD to me. It sounds pretty extreme. That being said, you seem to be able to hold down a job, which presumably requires some degree of routine/planning/organisation etc? If that is the case, it's curious that you wouldn't be able to bring even small aspects of that into your home life.
I'd definitely do some research into attention deficit disorders and talk it over with a professional to see if it applies in your case. Healthy weight loss will require some thought, planning and long term consistency, so it will be harder (but not impossible) without the ability to focus and fully commit.1 -
I'm pretty disorganised and have some similar issues (such as forgetting the day of the week or even the time of year!). I also rebel against rules and will binge on things purely because I've told myself they're "not allowed".
So I've finally found my groove, and it goes like this:
One rule only: log everything.
There is no "should", there is no "must", there is no "mustn't". Food is not a moral choice.
If I want it, I can have it. Of course I can. I'm an adult. Nobody's going to stop me.
However, I have different goals. Eating this may move me closer to my goal, or it may move me further away. I log because that allows me to fully face up to the consequences. Sometimes I eat it anyway. Other times I don't. But I work very hard to avoid drama or criticism over eating choices. Whatever I ate, that was a decision I made, and it is in the past.
This works for me. Over time, I make more decisions in line with my weight loss goals than decisions which act against them. And the more I reinforce the fact that these are free decisions and not obedience to rules, the more successful I am.
So if it were me, I would start by just logging everything. Making no changes. Just logging.
At the of the day, it will probably take some time to find the approach that works for you. But stick with it, you will get there in the end!5 -
Whether my "brain glitches" are caused by my environment or my environment (incl. my extra weight) is caused by my brain glitches - I'm just not sure. What I am sure of are three things - One: I have never been able to stay on a food plan / diet for more than a few hours before going into a full-fledged binge. And I mean a true binge (2000+ calories in a matter of couple of hours on top of regular meals) - and the binges don't stop until I stop trying to limit calories.
Two: I am disorganized. I'm unable / unwilling / unskilled at doing anything on a regular basis (from shopping off a list, to recording my meals, to working out). I have a large family, a messy house, lots of outside commitments with irregular demands (erratic work, elderly parent, kid in college). I have no set anything.
My mention of brain glitches is a reference to things like I have horrible time perception - I frequently have to go check to see what day of the week it is for example. Now whether this is caused by the erratic schedule I live where neither my husband nor I work on certain days of the week or I gravitated to a job with an erratic schedule because it feels more normal than going to work on a set schedule, I don't know. But this is one example of things I struggle with.
Which bring me to number Three: I need to lose weight.
Anyone else struggle with disorganization / anxiety issues who might have some tips on how I can approach this new attempt at weight loss without sending myself into an anxiety binge and with learning how to do the simple things (like enter food information daily) while having the memory / organization skills of Dory? I mean my first meal of the day may occur anywhere from 5am to 2pm, and might be anything from a glass of milk to a steak and potato. I never eat the same thing often, never eat at the same time of day, never eat the same number of times a day. (Makes it much more difficult to get things entered).
I feel like my first steps should be simple - track what I eat, come up with a plan to improve it in some fashion (like adding a serving of fresh vegetables), and exercise regularly to at least begin to get the situation under control. But what sounds ridiculously simple as I type it is something that seems more difficult than figuring out how to launch myself to the moon when I actually try to do it, unfortunately.
Wow. OK.... Step one: take a breath.
Exhale
Repeat
Next: decide to make yourself a priority.
I have anxiety issues and can be quite scatter brained. I find it helpful to take a few minutes in the morning to pre-log my food diary and then I eat at regular intervals through the day.
Find a few things you really enjoy and work then in daily and if you get bored then make small adjustments
Figure out what works for you in terms of combination of fat/protein/carb to feel satiated.
Weigh and measure EVERYTHING. Can not stress enough. You would be shocked at how inaccurate some of the generic entries are.
Most importantly ENJOY what you eat. ENJOY the journey. It isn't a "diet" it is a new REALationship with food and with yourself.0 -
Have you ever brought your inability to organize, lack of time perception, memory problems, anxiety to a physician to see if there is a medical issue?
Not yet. It's something I'm considering and I appreciate you mentioning it. I don't want to get into all the details, but I do belong to a counseling group on disorganization and am working on many aspects of my life beyond just trying to improve my eating that should help.
I'm old enough to have learned a great deal of this is circular - better diet, better sleep, better exercise, better emotions, better brain function - and the same in reverse - more stress, more exhaustion, less exercise, more junk food, poorer judgement...
So I'm working on improving what I can on my own and then seeing if I still need professional help (probably make that call in the next 3 to 6 months depending on how this goes).
Last fall I finished my first half marathon and that was a great experience, but it highlighted some issues (like the weight and nutrition struggles) and also a reality check in the form of a pulled hamstring.
I just got released from PT, so feel this is really a good point in my life to try again - but doing so in a better manner.
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kenyonhaff wrote: »Another question is: Were you ever taught how to organize? This is serious, because if your parents were disorganized, or you were never taught or expected to, you may not have ever learned the basic principles of organization.
A book called "Making Peace with Things in Your Life" has been very helpful. Background is that I was a super-organized child but lived a very sheltered life. Traded that for the beautiful, wonderful, happy, utterly-insane chaos of raising six children (3 of them in less than 5 years). As noted in that book, everyone is different and have different levels of ability for organizing - mine was obviously exceeded *grin*
I'm not convinced that I have an attention deficit problem as much as I think I was trained (by them) to be AD. Over a decade of never being able to focus on any one thing for more than a few minutes or risk disaster - LOL!
Right now I'm just trying not to put the cart before the horse (again). Last year I trained for and completed a half marathon .... so I'm getting better at setting goals and accomplishing tasks. But truth is I didn't lose weight and I didn't improve my eating while doing so - and ended up with a pulled hamstring and six months of restricted mobility.
Now I want to work on my diet (should have started there before) and that's where I run into issues - I know what didn't work before (failed calories restriction, failed attempting to document daily) so I need either work-arounds to achieve the goal without triggering those negatives and/or baby step tips to get me ready to face those issues again without failing this time.
It's a complex situation and I appreciate everyone pitching in with their thoughts to try to give me a hand.
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Sounds excellent
So I am disorganised as hell, don't plan a single meal ahead of time till I am hungry and eat continuously from morning to night while I'm awake. And did I mention I don't go to bed at the same time every day.
I've broken my diary into 5 time slots "awake to noon" "12 to 4pm" "4pm to 8pm" "8pm to midnight" "midnight to sleeping time" and I log what I eat during the time slots.
While I was actively trying to lose weight the rule was that I could NOT start eating the food till it was fully logged. Because it does suck badly to think you had the room for the chocolate bar you just ate only to discover you didn't! Or that you don't have enough room left to eat the fiber and protein you want.
Hmm...that might work too. I like the idea of time slots because it would help me identify groups of calories instead of if I ate a particular meal or not. I've been guilty of eating dinner for example simply because I thought it was time for an official meal rather than because I was hungry. Taking the labels off and simply having time slots appeals to me.
Since I don't carry a device with me, maybe another good baby step would be simply to have a notebook with me at all times.0 -
Update - decided on a visual reminder, and went with my preference for the unconventional (it amuses me and holds me attention better) - sounds crazy, I know, but I spotted a large ladle that hangs in the kitchen - today's goal - simply use the ladle to get a drink of water every time I pass through the kitchen. (No reminders of dirty glasses/dishes needing washing, no issues with whose bottle of water is which, no guilt over using plastic bottles or worries about contamination, no worrying about where I left my water bottle, and I'm not going to try to track it) But, if I do this, I know my water consumption will increase (positive step) and maybe help with issues brought on by lack of proper hydration. If nothing else, will erase guilt and worry about whether I'm properly hydrated. 2
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Whether my "brain glitches" are caused by my environment or my environment (incl. my extra weight) is caused by my brain glitches - I'm just not sure. What I am sure of are three things - One: I have never been able to stay on a food plan / diet for more than a few hours before going into a full-fledged binge. And I mean a true binge (2000+ calories in a matter of couple of hours on top of regular meals) - and the binges don't stop until I stop trying to limit calories.
Two: I am disorganized. I'm unable / unwilling / unskilled at doing anything on a regular basis (from shopping off a list, to recording my meals, to working out). I have a large family, a messy house, lots of outside commitments with irregular demands (erratic work, elderly parent, kid in college). I have no set anything.
My mention of brain glitches is a reference to things like I have horrible time perception - I frequently have to go check to see what day of the week it is for example. Now whether this is caused by the erratic schedule I live where neither my husband nor I work on certain days of the week or I gravitated to a job with an erratic schedule because it feels more normal than going to work on a set schedule, I don't know. But this is one example of things I struggle with.
Which bring me to number Three: I need to lose weight.
Anyone else struggle with disorganization / anxiety issues who might have some tips on how I can approach this new attempt at weight loss without sending myself into an anxiety binge and with learning how to do the simple things (like enter food information daily) while having the memory / organization skills of Dory? I mean my first meal of the day may occur anywhere from 5am to 2pm, and might be anything from a glass of milk to a steak and potato. I never eat the same thing often, never eat at the same time of day, never eat the same number of times a day. (Makes it much more difficult to get things entered).
I feel like my first steps should be simple - track what I eat, come up with a plan to improve it in some fashion (like adding a serving of fresh vegetables), and exercise regularly to at least begin to get the situation under control. But what sounds ridiculously simple as I type it is something that seems more difficult than figuring out how to launch myself to the moon when I actually try to do it, unfortunately.
I would recommend seeing a therapist or counselor.
I struggled with anxiety too that made it hard to stay consistent/stop binging.
Once I learned how to persevere even in the face of anxiety or anything obstacles and built up some mental strength, I found myself being able to stick to a schedule during the critical "habit creating" period.
Now that it is in fact, a habit, it makes it so much easier to stay on track. It's not a diet or something short time, it's just my life and what I do.
Through therapy I learned the power of positive thinking and structure. I keep myself busy because I find when I am idle is what triggers binging and unhealthy behaviors.
A lot of employers offer an employee assistance program that covers 3 therapy visits, if you're unsure where to start - also nutrition counseling & other wellness resources.
Best of luck to you!! You can do it, I promise!
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