Food Addicts Anonymous??

Eava57

Welcome, cherryred. I am new to this thread too. Everyone is so supportive and helpful. Congratulations to you for taking that first step to help yourself. I know you are under a tremendous amount of stress. One of my best friend's son also has been diagnosed as autistic. She works very hard to provide her son with all the best care and in doing so she neglects her health. I am trying to motivate her (and myself) to take better care of our health. You are still young so you can prevent a lot of health issues from developing later on. I am in my fifties and am finally taking the right steps to improve my health. It is never too late! Hope we can motivate one another.:flowerforyou:

bluenote

Absolutely, Eava. We are here to help one another on our journeys. Cherry, that is a lot of stress going on for you. I am a teacher and I currently have five autistic students spread out over 6 classes (I teach elementary music). I have gotten to know their parents very well and yes, they are all trying to make sense of everything everyday. But it gets better. I recommend you going to a support group in your town/city. You will LOVE the human interaction with other family members of autistic kids.

Cherry, you have a LOT of focus on food right now - well, who blames you? Your life is topsy turvy. But you CAN and WILL do this, my friend. Start with a small goal, like for instance, every time you think of food outside of your regular meal time, drink water instead, or walk around your house - find something else to do. Try to get food out of your focus, even for three hours one day. Start small and watch yourself grow stronger everyday. And remember, we are here for you, sister! :flowerforyou:

Eava57

Great advice for all of us. You are an inspiration, zorahope. Now I remember you saying you are a music teacher. Both my boys are jazz/music students (college and high school). We definitely support the ARTS!

bluenote

Wonderful, Eava! What instruments do they play?

dms24

I love, love, love you guys!! I can't believe how many posts this thread has gotten! It's amazing that there are so many others out there feeling the same way I do. So I have been crazy stressed with school lately. Gained back 4 pounds officially but I had a great workout day today and am eating really well so no guilt on my shoulders- just pressing on. The funny thing is that I gained some weight back because I STOPPED LOGGING IN MY FOOD!!!! I thought I was eating within my limits (Guess I wasn't ). Anyhoo, the life of a food addict Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. Back to the grindstone for me. We can do this together! Your posts have motivated me - thank you!! I want to be tone by May (I am in one of my best friend's wedding!) I don't want a muffin top so please kick me in the butt if I start slacking! Love to you all

dms24

cherryred96, I am a nursing student too:) What semester are you? I start nursing 3 in Jan (maternity and ped's) then one more semester after that:) That's why I gained back 4 pounds

dms24

oh, and cherryred96, my nephew is autistic too. He was dianosed around the time he was 3, he is 12 now. It's still hard to communicate with him as well but he understands us. He still is considered to be on a 3-4 year old mentality level but he is very smart in other areas. It's very hard on my sister who, is also a nursing student, and her weight has fluctuated as well. You can do this!!! If you have gotten as far as signing up on this website, you are motivated enough to follow thru. I have "failed" countless times. I gained some weight back to but I refuse to get sucked in to my usual self hating routine. No more! One day at a time so if you have to start over each day it's ok There are worse things to worry about right? Like our health Happy holidays:)

bluenote

Well put, dms. We are in this together, for better or for worse! Wow, are we married? LOL :laugh:

Consider it a promise - we will officially kick your butt if you start slacking! Make yourself more accountable by logging your food every single day and drinking your 64 oz. of water. Then let us know how you're doing, every day if you need to. That's why we're here! :flowerforyou:

buggaboo73

Oh God, me too. My husband left me for someone else late last spring and while we've worked hard to keep it as amicable as possible (we have two kids ages 5 and 9) - it still really hurts. On top of that I now suspect he's actually been cheating for years, including during my last pregnancy. I'm 5'4 and I was 175 before all this started so I was chunky, but now I'm up to 200 and I'm pretty mortified about it. I realized not too long ago that there is so much pain in my life right now that pretty much the only thing that makes me happy is eating what I want.

Well along with getting all the emotions worked through I'm ready to work through the food issues as well. My grandmother got me a 750 piece puzzle for xmas and I have to say, in the evening instead of munching I now plop myself in front of the puzzle and transfer my "just one more bite" mantra into "just one more piece before I got to bed". So maybe that will be useful to some of you too.

:flowerforyou:

bluenote

That is great advice, buggaboo! I never thought about doing a puzzle and I love them! Thanks for the tip!
I went through that exact thing with my divorce - depression, huge weight gain. I, too, thought that food was making me happy. But it really isn't the FOOD that makes us happy - it's the control issue. After something as traumatic as a divorce, we feel out of control. We can control what goes in our mouths - we can't control things like divorce and stupid men (LOL - sorry guys, not all men of course). So we control feeding our void. But what I found out through YEARS of therapy is that I can also control what goes IN my mouth, and still get that great sense of being in control of my life. So now I am feeling MORE in control by choosing what I eat, instead of just eating to be numb. Does that make sense?

buggaboo73

Yes it does, absolutely, and it's a healthier sense of control as well. The thing with the puzzle, I was doing it the other night and it was getting past when I should've been heading to bed but I kept thinking "I'll just get one more piece then that's it" and I started to laugh because the desire was so similiar to binge eating then it hit me......I hadn't eaten or thought about food at all during my biggest "weak time" : after dinner. So maybe there's a connection.

Thanks!

gympamela

I started playing the XBox and I tell you what, if you find a game you like, you can play that thing forever without once thinking about food!!! So I have decided to become a gamer LMAO. I just get a bottle of water and after lunch or dinner (depending on whats going on in my day) I will play for awhile before bed or while london is sleeping. Im hoping to get wii fit plus so I can do that instead.

Sunsh1ne

Hi, guys, I'm finally back. Christmas was a nightmare without this support. I kind of fizzled out once I got home after the semester ended. My mother makes me crazy in a big way, and it was too much to put up with her crazy and my crazy at the same time - and hers is the insistent kind. I'm back on top of things now because I'm spending time in New Hampshire with my boyfriend and his family. (by far, the best Christmas I have ever had.) I guess the only upshot is that I've gotten used to portion control, so I haven't gained anything back. But man, did I miss you all! PS - zorahope, I love your new profile picture!

Learning2LuvLindsay

I would love to join this group! I am an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy, sad, tired, and so on.

bluenote

buggaboo - I think you have something there. After dinner time is tough for me, too. Especially since I am still struggling with portion control. Somedays I think I have it mastered, but other days (like today), whoa... scary. :noway:
Welcome, lhiggins! You will like it here. :flowerforyou:
Welcome back, Ms. Sunsh1ne! :drinker: I have missed your upbeat and encouraging posts! I am glad Christmas was salvaged by the bf's family! I am so glad to hear you did well with portion control. Thanks for liking the pic - that is me and my niece and nephews from Christmas day. I had a BLAST with them!

I am ready to go full steam ahead with my weight loss. I hope everyone else is, too! Together we can do this!

janemreeves

I"m new to this site- but I have the same over-eating problems as many of you. I have solved some of them- so there is hope to solve more!aa
For anyone who has problem with getting all the water they should have- try drinking with a straw! I now drink at least 66 oz. at work- plus more when I get home.
My problem time for over-eating is after work- from 4:00 till dinner (7:00 or so). Any good/new ideas would be great!!!
I have high hopes for the new year!!

bzk125

Although I have always struggled with my weight I can not remember a time in my life where I was feeling so out of control. I get up every morning and hit the gym before 6 and do great all day until 4-6PM. I am very aware of it and yet I can not seem to stop going to the pantry to get more carbs. Cereal and crackers are the hardest to resist. I have been eating like crazy for a few weeks now and gained 12 pounds since I started working out every day back in September.

I will do better tomorrow because now I know that all of you are doing the same thing. I am finally reaching out for help.

bluenote

Welcome jane and bk. We are here for you!

BK - sounds like you are craving carbs, so why not replace the crackers with green veggies? Can you stock your fridge with good carbs, like broccoli, etc.? Also, when you log your food on MFP, do you see any patterns with your carbs? Maybe you're not getting enough, especially if you do work out every day. Check it out and see if there is a pattern of something missing in your daily intake. Just a suggestion.

erinm

Has anyone tried Jillian Michaels new weight loss pills? Just curious. My sister in law bought them and swears by them, but at the same time, she is 5'2 and has never weighed more than 120 pounds probably. I have never been one that liked diet pills, but didn't know if anyone thought Jillian Michaels pills were better, or legitimate. I would hope so considering her position and stance on weight loss, but you never know. Just curious if anyone had tried them at all.

Hang in there everyone! The holidays are about over, and if we stick together, we will succeed!

Eava57

Happy New Year, ladies! We rang in the new year at home. My husband and I had dinner. I didn't go over in portions but did go over on calories. I made pumpkin pies for tomorrow (which is now later today). Well...we had a piece of pie tonight. I am going to try to exercise at least 45 minutes (later on). I will check in with everyone. Have a great day! I started taking a cinnamon supplement that my friend's doctor recommended. It helps digest sugars and seems to curtail my appetite. It's Natures-Made brand. I can't take any diet pills due to my thyroid. I was surprised to read that Jillian Michaels has a diet pill...I thought the Biggest Loser's achieved their goals by diet and exercise...no magic pills...