I have a MAJOR food problem

shewillbe

I can say this is like my 5th mfp account, I kept making new ones because I was convinced the problem was not me. I blame my family, stress, school, bordem, but I get it now. The problem is me. Im going insane. There's normal people who have set backs once in a while, but I just can't control myself. I keep eating and I truly cannot stop myself anymore. I don't which direction to go anymore....help?

Justifier

Maybe it's time to see a professional counselor to discuss why you have a bad relationship with food.

stevieou

Maybe try some mindfulness - there's free meditations and yoga on doyogawithme.com

The counselor idea is a good one, too.

barb1241

Start small. Substitute healthy snacks for empty calorie ones. Move more. Chew sugar free gum. Find something to keep your hands busy. Figure out why you eat-bored? Lonely? hangry? And then work on fixing THAT. And stay away from the marked down bakery rack at the grocery store (one of my own weaknesses ;-0)

Railr0aderTony

Maybe it's time to see a professional counselor to discuss why you have a bad relationship with food.

Agreed ^^ and your ticker says your only 35lbs overweight? how is that a Major problem?

shewillbe

It's not just the weight, its my state of my mind when it comes to food, and I'm saving up for tuition....so I don't I can see a counselor now

uconnwinsnc

You need to find the cause of your problem. Do you eat because you're bored? Tired? Depressed?

shewillbe

For every emotion sad I eat happy I eat angry I eat....etc.

Sabby888

For every emotion sad I eat happy I eat angry I eat....etc.

Maybe you should try to stop thinking about food

I find that when I'm occupied with other things going on in my life... food is often the last thing on my mind

andreahanlon

I learned some great ideas for managing eating problems when teaching behavior modification for people to quit smoking. I realized that these same behaviors could help me in losing weight. Examples include: setting your environment up for success (not having food around that you usually overeat on), writing out a plan (what/when you will do things like exercise and planning out your meals), bringing on a support system for encouragement and accountability, envisioning success when in a tempting situation, reinforcing new healthy behaviors to replace old ones, waiting out a craving for 3-5 minutes before taking action, substituting a craving with something beneficial (for example, sweet tasting flavored water or diet hot chocolate instead of high calorie sugary snacks) etc. These principles helped me lose and maintain so perhaps some of these ideas could help you too.

Nicolee_2014

Keep busy if you can.

Roaringgael

I have felt like you describe. Some sort of counselling probably would help.
Rather than trying to drastically reduce your intake maybe just work on eating at meal times only.
Don't worry too much about what that is to start with. Then after awhile you could try wholesome, nutritious foods.
Take small steps.
You can be in control, don't expect perfection. Talk to family and friends about the way you feel.

sarahwilson12

An option might be to see a nutritionist. Not sure if there's any in your area, but at some of the health care clinics, they give free nutritional advice. Might help a bit

Hope something works out for you. I can imagine how discouraging all this might be. All the best

Smeltzer2

I had Assn disorder for 54 years. All i thought each day was food. Either how to control it our binging or purging. Would start a diet each morning than eat every fifteen minutes all day. I did this fir 54 years. One night after ny biggest binge i asjed God to make a normal eater out if ne. I staeted tge bext day to eat three meals to cut bacj abd to journal my deelinga. I got the enitional spiritual and ohysucal me together. It now is good to enjoy life and have more in my head tgan foid. I now know ne. Eatung dusorders are reak. God helped ene. I jept 80 pounds off for ten yeaes. You can xo thus. Get to know you. Journal your feelings dont eat tgem. You cant stop eating until you find out what is eating you. Good luck.

elyelyse

Maybe you should try to stop thinking about food

for some people, this is a LOT harder than for others. for me, there have been times in my life where my thoughts are CONSUMED by thoughts of food, constantly, all day. "What can I eat? when can I eat? I shouldn't eat this but I want it...I can't stop thinking about it until I have it... I'm going crazy..if I just eat this maybe I'll be satisfied...nope...still thinking about food....what else can I have?" It's not as easy as "mind over matter". (simple yes, not the same as easy) There are typically much deeper issues that need to be dealt with, along with a LOT of work at behavior modification and teaching yourself to recognize the obsessive thoughts and not give in to them. More often than not...someone with my type of issue needs counseling.

OP, if your problem is that you can not stop thinking about food, you should try to see if there is a counselor in your area who will take payments on a sliding scale, or, you might want to find an Overeaters Anonymous group. there's been some other good advice in this thread, but if you feel like you need outside help, those are 2 options.

Smeltzer2

m Android phone the words don't make sense even try to proof read. Sorry

goodnamegone

Have you tried the 12 Step program for this? OA? The 12 step programs are great at helping with these kinds of problems. Good for you reaching out for help. I hope you find the answers you need.

WalkingAlong

I think a lot of 18 year old girls feel nutty and out of control. You're saving for tuition for college? Colleges have good, free counselors. Use them. Do you have community colleges? Those are dirt cheap where I live, and a great place to start.
When you're in college you might find that you have a lot less time to worry about your weight, too, which can be a good thing.

duckiebayb

I've always had a major and very unhealthy relationship with food for most of my life; until I started seeing a professional. I have always been an emotional eatter, which took me a very long time to recognize and accept. It is something that I still struggle with to this very day, however I have gotten much better. It is definitely a mind over matter kind of situation. One reason it has been easier for me to deal with is because I am no longer keeping unhealthy foods in my house, I have been keeping more fresh fruits and vegetables in the house. I cut up carrots, so that way when I'm in the food for chips I just grab my carrots because it makes the same "crunchiness" that chips have. I guess I've learned to "trick" my mind into eatting more healthy

1Cor1510

Next time you feel like eating, take 5 minutes and free write in a journal. Why do you want to eat? Are you really hungry? What is the real reason you want food right now? If you say, "I'm sad", figure out why you're sad and what if anything you may be able to do to change that... and then try to substitute the food with something more productive, like a 1/2 hour walk (exercise does amazing things for your moods) drink a glass of water instead, wait 30 minutes and then decide if you want to eat... Journaling has done wonders for me in figuring out what I really am having a hard time with. Sometimes it's not what you think and finding the causes can help with how to find the solution. Treat the problem, not the symptom. Sometimes things happen in your life you can't control and you have to feel the anger and sadness, to bury it in food or medicate it away is never the answer. Just remember to control the things you can and let go of the rest. Hope that helps.

arl1286

I also have an incredibly unhealthy relationship with food. For pride (?) reasons, I've been avoiding going to see someone professional about it for several years now. I think it's about trying different things until you find what works. For me, I don't buy unhealthy food to keep around the house anymore. If I want a snack, it's apples or carrots, not chocolate. Of course, occasionally, I'll eat a quarter pound of peanut butter in one setting and feel awful about it, but for the most part, limiting my dessert intake to what I buy at restaurants has worked wonders on my mental state.

Another thing that I've found works for me is just going completely cold turkey on desserts/processed foods. I've done it several times now, where I've picked a month, and said "okay, eating 100% clean until the end of the month." And it's worked great. For me, I'm an all or nothing kind of eater. Moderation doesn't work well for me, but restricting myself for a limited period of time works extremely well.

arabianhorselover

I would also recommend Overeaters Anonymous.

rebelo3

You said you are saving up for tuition? Are you in school now? If so schools have not only counselors but nutritionists that you can see for free (as part of your tuition). Look into it! I saw my school's nutritionist when I was in undergrad and she gave me a lot of useful information.