There has to be a less traumatic way to lose weight... no ma

cp005e

One other thing - if you have been used to eating a lot more, then your stomach is probably a little larger (it can stretch over time). If you can avoid binging and having that really FULL feeling - then it will start to shrink again. Eating often might work, as some have suggested - it might help 'take the edge off'. But, for some people, eating more often just leaves them thinking about food all the time! So definitely do what works best for you. I always make sure to have a big glass of water whenever I eat anything - it helps me feel more full at the time, and gives my real feeling of satiety time to catch up. Cutting back slowly sounds like it might be better for you. Just try not to get that 'stuffed' feeling, and eventually your stomach will start to shrink and you will feel full after less food. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

girldeese

Ok, E, I have another idea....you said you binge by eating out....which costs money, so lets say you still eat out once a day, but the other times you think of binging, eating out, you save that money for something you have always wanted?? And you go home and if you still have the urge to eat you eat fruit, salad, sugar free/fat free dessert, something! Anything! I mean really eating out has tons more calories than eating in, and you have incentive to not binge, because you know you will be able to reward yourself with something later?? Maybe I am just talking too much and have no idea what I am saying? But I can't stop thinking that it has to be almost a habit....couldn't the Dr. give you some kind of something to help out for a while? Like somesort of appetite suppressant, or maybe that wouldn't even work? It sounds so much to me like OCD (which I have)....you get to the point where your actions become so ingrained that you don't even realize you are doing them anymore....or you can't control them. Maybe somesort of antidepressant? Please don't be offened byt this I have just been thinking of you and your situation all night and realized how much it sounds like some of the things I do with OCD, and I can't control it without medicine, so how would what you are experiencing be any different? Oh well....that is my Dr. genius rant, and rambling thoughts....I really do only wish you the best of luck though!

dothompson

I think you should log your intake for a week or two without trying to restrict calories, then cut back but try to eat enough to avoid binges and retain control. Evaluate where you can comfortably cut back and try to reduce it by 200-300 calories and as you suggested cut back a little each week until you get to the point where you are losing.

The point is to develop a healthy relationship with food again and keep yourself in control rather than the food. This is going to be a long process, but absolutely worth the journey.

Keep logging and trying. You're going to succeed.

Fitness_Chick

i honestly don't know, but i really think it's a combination. i don't like the sensation of an empty stomach and am not used to even the feeling of a non-stuffed-to-the-brim stomach. i know i have mental issues associated with food, but how can i change my eating if i can't stand being hungry?

i would suggest going to a therapist or something like that for the mental issues associated with it,
but yes that plan sounds like a good idea to me, it cant hurt to try it
good luck!:flowerforyou:

I agree...perhaps seeing a Professional...to explore what's really going on underneath....so much can be happening under the surface as we begin to lose weight and continue losing it.

I see a therapist and I've found it most helpful... after losing a big chunk of weight in the past year...I needed to really explore how I was feeling and what to do with those feelings....I used to eat the 'feelings'...now I go workout and talk about it instead of eating them a couple times a week.:laugh:

Losing weight is a HUGE psychological change for not only our bodies but our whole being.

I wish you well on your journey:flowerforyou:

Katy009

I think that is a wonderful idea!!! Slowly reducing calories will not give you such a shock. I also agree with allowing yourself to cheat certain days of the week until you feel comfortable reducing / elminating that as well. Also, if you feel the need to binge, it might help to know that you have allowed yourself, say Thursday night, to eat out.

Good Luck!!

Katy

OomarianneoO

Something else you could try...

Once you logged in your foods for a week (without rescricting your calories), take a look close look at what you took in and I'll bet you'll be able to say "I could've done without that, that day". Then set yourself a goal. So instead of say...ordering a full value meal at McDonalds, you order a happy meal instead and eat inside the McDonalds. Don't order through the drive-thru...and bring a friend. As soon as you're done eating, leave.

- It can be such a PITA (pain in the *kitten*) to have to park and then go through the trouble of standing in line.
- Bringing a friend and knowing that there are others around you, may make you think twice about going in line a second time, for something else.

Then maybe later you could even reduce that by still ordering the happy meal, but only eating half of it and sharing the other half with a friend. This is just a small suggestion. Basically, just take one step at a time and baby steps at that. You'll get there faster with baby steps than just standing still.

jamerz3294

Only thing I can add is that since I've been logging every thing I eat, AND all the exercise I do, the weight has slowly been coming off. I am trying to incorporate snax (mid morning, afternoon, and after dinner) as well. That way, I don't feel hungry all the time, and I try to snack on mostly healthy food. If you stick with it, your tummy will start to gnaw at you less and less. :flowerforyou:

pinkpixies

Have you tried Overeaters Anonymous? Some people find it really helpful.

lotusfromthemud

Here's part of it, at least for me. (and man, do I recognize my old self in a lot of your habits.) Losing weight was really "traumatic" for me. I think that scaling back gradually is a really good idea. I made one "change" at a time. (my first one was giving up cheap chocolate. . .I still ate the good, dark stuff. . .but not "gas station chocolate bars")

But, here's the deal. It's really hard when you're using binges to mask feelings of discomfort. I had the same kind of childhood issues with food. For me, we would have nothing when it was close to payday, and then all of a sudden the house was full with (usually bad and junky) food. So, I got into a feast/famine binge cycle.

If you've been using food as an anesthetic, not using food will involve pain. It will involve actually feeling the emotions you've been using food to hide, and it will be, to use your word, "traumatic".

That all being said, I think that going slowly and being very, very kind to yourself is crucial for you. It took me three years to lose my weight, but I've been at this weight (or very close to it) for two years now, so I don't regret my snail's pace.

And, you're not alone. Know that, too.:flowerforyou:

briblue72

I don't like being hungry, either!

and, I don't like not smoking, and I don't like doing the dishes, and I don't like cleaning toilets.....

but I'm going to say now what I tell the 2nd graders in my class when they don't want to take a test or walk in the hallways:

there are times in our lives when we have to do things we don't like doing because it's what's best for us.

MFP family, please don't judge me or think I'm cruel.
I smoked for 6 years, and then a year and a half ago, I overheard a doctor tell the woman in the next exam room that she had lung cancer from her pack-a-day habit. I was planning my wedding and planning for my future and realized that to have that future, I needed to be ALIVE. I'll be honest - it was TERRIBLE. I quit cold turkey. I was grouchy, short-tempered, and craving them so much. But I knew it was what was best for me.

I graduated high school at around 150 pounds, and it took just 6 years to get to 215. 10 pounds at a time, ladies and gentlemen. One size at a time. One burger at a time, one beer at a time, one milkshake at a time.

My new husband and I went on our honeymoon over New Years this year and I was humiliated by the photos of us at Disney World and Sea World. I felt like I was a bigger whale than Shamu. And it dawned on me... if I could quit smoking for my health, for my future, I could get the rest of my body healthy.

I threw out the junk food, quit ordering lunch, and ate more salad than I care to admit. Slowly I began to realize that even though the hungry feeling was uncomfortable, it was my body's own warning signal for me to nourish it - just like a baby cries for its mother to feed it. I realized that eating crap was NOTHING compared to boost in self esteem when I lost hte first ten pounds, dropped below 200, wore a smaller size, got compliments from friends, compliments from family, acquaintances making comments. Not only do I FEEL amazing, but I LOOK amazing, too! I feel confident, sexy, and healthy. I could still lose 20 pounds, but I know that I have the tools to do it now. Just like I have the tools to be a non-smoker for the rest of my life.

Sure, I eat pizza. But a slice or two - not a whole pizza. I eat burgers, but one (or even just half) instead of a Big Mac with fries and a drink. I eat everything I did "before" but I realize that I'm going to wear whatever I eat. I'll wear it on my gut, in my arms, in my butt, on my heart, in my liver, in my colon.


It's hard! If it's an addiction or habit, it won't be easy to break. It will not be easy.

I think as soon as I recognized that it would never be easy, it made me a much tougher person with more courage to keep fighting.

You are strong. You are stronger than this. It won't be easy, but you can do it! We're all behind you!