Food...control...the endless loop

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  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    It is just so much freakin' work!

    heh, heh, I had to chuckle on that... it is like my "lobster defence theory"... they (crab legs too) are just too much work to keep eating them so you eat less of them! (money MAY have something to do with it too! :lol: ) One of the first things that MFP did for me was cut-down on harder to log foods and little tastes and bites that started being too much frigging work to log!!!!

    I get that. But what I was referring to was the work of understanding the reasons for binging. It is a lot of work to figure out what is going on inside my brain/guts! But, maybe if I do, all the wonderful things I've learned here (much from you, PAV ) will have a chance to have a positive effect on my journey to a healthy weight.

  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,247 Member
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    Let's do it, Athijade. I get caught in the same cycle myself. Don't want to anymore. I know what I should do - but can't seem to get there.

    I started the document today! Logging what I eat, what time I eat, and any notes about how I feel or why I picked what I picked. For example, I am sipping on a Sprite this morning because I am very nauseated due to illness. Sprite helps settle my stomach.

    But I am not logging calories or amounts of food. One step at a time.
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    I'm not quite there yet. Working on understanding "why" - but not writing anything down yet. That is kind of tough to face at the moment.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,649 Member
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    I'm impressed to hear of your efforts you two! And your insights will be welcomed!
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    :D:po:) trying
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,247 Member
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    I'm not quite there yet. Working on understanding "why" - but not writing anything down yet. That is kind of tough to face at the moment.

    The why is hard for sure. Like last night I wanted ice cream. Not a problem, I believe in all things in moderation. But I had a HUGE bowl of ice cream. Why did I have so much? No idea. I wasn't hungry. I know now I would have been fine with a single scoop. But I still served myself like 3+ scoops. Is it because I DIDN'T think about what I was doing and just went through the motions? Maybe. That is kinda what I am leaning towards.

    So I need to be more mindful of what I do. Lesson 1. Now to actually do it.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,649 Member
    edited December 2022
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    My usual excuse is that it "tastes good". And "I'm not too full".

    But my "I'm too full" to continue eating what "tastes good" is well above the line of where it should be...

    Plus it will "perk me up", or "soothe me" or, most often "warm me up"... Of course all repeat dosing does in the end is end up increasing my weight!!!🤷🏻‍♂️
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
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    I think I will try this, too…kind of lol
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    Perk me up/energize me is a common one for me - and soothe me. I've been surprised to discover "numb me/disable me" when I've hit overwhelm and can't allow myself to shut down.
  • Yoolypr
    Yoolypr Posts: 2,851 Member
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    Empty - when I feel empty like bored, lonely, anxious.... it’s as if there’s a void that I’m trying to fill up.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,649 Member
    edited December 2022
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    Yoolypr wrote: »
    Empty - when I feel empty like bored, lonely, anxious.... it’s as if there’s a void that I’m trying to fill up.
    when I've hit overwhelm and can't allow myself to shut down.

    That's a good combo. I'm now trying to process this!

    Figuring out if it can relate to late night "inertial" eating that could probably be easily remedied by going to sleep... but, like a 2 year old throwing a tantrum, eating copious quantities of calories instead of going to sleep....
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    PAV - the late night eating is one I experience too - sometimes needing the sugar/carbs to keep the brain going (which I think is a legitimate method - unfortunately it results in weight gain so more realistic expections would be a better solution.

    The one I've encountered lately is more of a middle of the afternoon thing - full out bingeing which kind of leaves me comatose so there is nothing I can do but flip the computer to youtube and nod (and turn the phone off of course because there are those people on that end waiting on me).

    Next level of the "why" - why do I so badly want to do that? It is one a step beyond why am I eating this now - and one step beyond "soothing oneself" ... this is murky nasty tear inducing water to poke around in. Makes me want to eat something :D
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,649 Member
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    Why did I open a box of gift giving cookies?! hmm...
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    Good question. :p

    Do you buy into the idea of sugar addiction? I do...but I also think it is part of the equation. I'm not going to do it before Christmas - but shortly after doing a detox.

  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,247 Member
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    So made the decision to wait until after the first of the year to start logging food as discussed above. Why? Because I am still fighting this illness and so my eating is all over the place based off of my energy and what I have in the house.

    Plus I decided I want to record it in a notebook or something instead of on a Google Doc. That way I don't have to have access to a computer or phone to do it.
  • Yoolypr
    Yoolypr Posts: 2,851 Member
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    Not much control for a while! Because.......
    lcbfifvf0oq5.jpeg

    Mercifully there are no New Years celebrations in my future. We have a two-day out of town vacation next week and dealing with restaurants. But I can start better choices on Monday because there won’t be those overly calorie laden “traditions” to deal with.
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    Thank goodness 2023 is just a hop skip and jump away!
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    Okay. Today I tracked for the first time in ????

    My mucked up knee is a serious reminder of how much of an issue it is to be carrying around extra weight.

    Looking for your brilliant input here :)

    I'm not sure how much weight I have gained....not it all back, but I'm guessing about half. I haven't weight myself in a bit.

    Part of me just wants to track at a modest deficit for this month...to try and avoid going to extremes...and wait until the end of the month before I weight myself. To avoid that emotional shock until I have some successful weeks under my waistband (no belt necessary).

    Any thoughts? Do you think it better to bite the bullet right away? Or does waiting make sense????
  • Yoolypr
    Yoolypr Posts: 2,851 Member
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    I think Laurie it’s an individual decision. I’m a bite the bullet person. When I’m ready - I’m ready. I go full force. I gave up smoking overnight years ago after 15 years of heavy use. I was just DONE.

    Of course, getting to that turning point is often a long unpredictable wait for me. I can procrastinate and delay and make excuses for a long time. Then one day something clicks mentally and I go for it. But it’s all about my mindset.

    So how someone approaches weight loss depends on what works for that individual. Some need to ease into it. Others like me just tend to be more impatient - or pig headed?
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,634 Member
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    I tend to be your way to, Yooly. But I'm trying to do things differently this time.
    Patience + Moderation = Long term success????

    From from early 2020 until I joined this group in October of that year I lost just about 110 pounds. That was no problem. The following year I ended up maintaining while attempting to lose another 20. But then, when I tried to switch to maintenance in preparation for and post surgery - everything just went mad. I still don't fully understand how I let that happen.

    A big part of me wants to go back to 1000-1200 calories a day and just get this over with. Again. But why would that work any better than it did last time? Long term I mean :)

    Part of me wonders if I should just avoid weighing myself completely. lol. And just focus on tracking my calories in. For the moment I have set my weight at 170 pounds (where I was when I lost control of it all), my activity level at sedentary (which for the moment is close enough to the truth), and my goal at "maintenance." If I eat at the level I imagine I will lose weight - and theoretically end up weighing 170 pounds? There will be no "shift to maintenance" as I will already be eating at "maintenance."

    Writing this has brought me some clarity. I think. Weighing in daily helped me stick to my strict deficit because I got such a charge of dopamine whenever I weighed myself. But that ended and will end again. I need to find something more sustainable.