how do I make it past 2 weeks????

snowy_sk

I am an amazing 2 week healthy eater.... I start full of resolve, faithfully log everything and see great results. Then..... the emotional eater in me makes an appearance, I go off the rails because I am happy/sad/excited (pretty much any reason really!) and once again I am back to square one. How do I get past this? If there are any emotional eaters out there, please please please help! What was it that made this finally click for you?

swissbrit

Willpower plain and simple, if you want to achieve something you have to get your head in the right frame of mind. You are doing this for a reason and if you feel you are going off course put these reasons up in front of yourself and ask if its worth it.
Good luck :flowerforyou:

Sqeekyjojo

Just start another two weeks immediately after the first two finish.

Keep doing just two weeks at a time, immediately after the last two weeks.


After a few two weeks, you'll be doing fine.

trixiemou

Have a goal every two weeks for example to cut out biscuits, less bread, less cheese. Those are the things I slowly reduced in my eating plan for the first few weeks until I could include them sensibly. Which meant that I had a new plan every couple of weeks and kept me motivated. I still sort of do that now.

lambchoplewis

You can do this!! Remember it is a lifelong thing - not just 2 weeks, one month or one year. I have been maintaining for 5 months and end up "going off the wagon" every now and then when I have an event, want to go out or just get depressed and bored. I am beginning to think that people who have no issues with their weight binge (or over eat) every now and then but..get right back on track for a few weeks only to do it again. Maybe that is the secret. Look forward to events and really work on your healthy living in between. Don't pig out but allow yourself a glass of wine.

rosebarnalice

As an emotional eater, I empathize, and willpower sometimes just doesn't cut it.

One thing that can help is to STOP and acknowledge that stress/ emotions are WHY you want to eat, and see if something else will deal with those feelings. Journaling (for you young people, that's like blogging only without the public posting part. . .) and surfing the MFP boards for people whose problems are bigger than mine are.


So, surround yourself with some guilt-frees and--- things you can eat your fill of without feeling terrible about it. Mine are
* Celery Sticks (my house is never without them)
* Canned tomatoes (yep-- I will just eat a whole can of tomatoes when I just want to eat for the sake of eating. Doubling the portion by adding water and calling it soup makes me feel so full I can't eat another bite. . . but still less than 100 calories.

CherokeeBabe

"Just do it" seems cliche, but it has a truth to it. Seriously, just do it. Push yourself, force yourself, because getting over that initial slump is all it takes and it'll get easier again.

This past week I've been feeling a lil off, tired a lot, cold from the weather, blood sugar has been wacky, etc, and I was tempted. I picked up a chocolate bar, put it back down (already had dessert that day, didn't *need* it). Looked at a pizza place menu when I wanted dinner, put it back down and walked away to make healthier chicken pasta (already had my pizza indulgence last week). When you feel like giving up, just push through. And it helps to experiment with new foods and recipes that give you things you like but in a lighter way.

It's a choice you make, every day.

You can do this!

bad_hair_bear

I'm exactly the same, only with a week not two. What I do is change things around each week, so that each week feels like I'm doing something new. This week I tried porridge for breakfast (yummy!), next week I might alter my typical lunch at work. I might go running one week for cardio, the next week I might try the elliptical. I like not having a routine as such (I think that's what kills me - I'm quite impulsive, and doing the same thing over and over again is dull!) and it doesn't feel too much like a plan.

Also:

* Canned tomatoes (yep-- I will just eat a whole can of tomatoes when I just want to eat for the sake of eating. Doubling the portion by adding water and calling it soup makes me feel so full I can't eat another bite. . . but still less than 100 calories.

I am totally stealing this idea - love it :bigsmile:

wendy1024

From one emotional eater to another.......

Learn to recognize the emotions popping up BEFORE you decide to eat over them (this is much easiser to type than to do;) and learn a new way to process them out without hand to mouth motion.....I once was a very compulsive eater, often finding myself standing in front of the refridgerator not even remembering how/why I was there. I had to make a very strong conscious effort to plan what I was going to eat for the day (healthy) and then stick to it no matter what. I would call a friend (or in this case log it on MFP at the beginning of the day) to committ it to someone who could hold me accountable. When the urges pop up and they do, I would try and write it out...call someone and talk it out or basically do ANYTHING to let it pass and not eat....walk, drink water, brush my teeth, take a nap, or a bath/shower....just don't eat no matter what....you might end up crying or yelling or laughing or just plain FEELING the FEELING instead of feeding the feeling...which it what feelings are meant for. It helps to have a strong network because we can all relate to this and if you reach out you'll be amazed how much support you will recieve. I wish there was one easy answer/solutiion to this, I don't really think there is. All of the replies offer a piece of everyones "strength" and what has worked for them, only you can chose what will work for you. I still eat emotionally at times but the "waves" are much calmer. When I do its not so catastrophic and it doesn't last as long....I've lost and maintained 35 pounds for over a decade and now am batteling with the last 10 or so. Its the same struggle in many ways because the feelings and root causes of sabatoge are often the same....however, one "layer of the onion" at a time, I believe I will find its center.......best wishes;)

quilteryoyo

I love Wendy's answer. Also, just don't buy the stuff you normally reach for when you are eating emotionally. That is what helps me. If it's not in the house, I can't eat it. Good luck!