Well here's the skinny on my fat problem

Hi Kristen. I'm a binge eater too. Have been most of my life that I can remember.

1. When you do have a binge, forgive yourself. It's going to happen. The trick is to not give up over a mistake and get back on track immediately. Thinking "oh well, I've been bad all week, I give up altogether" is not how to get to your goal. Recognize it for what it was so that next time you can find another way to deal with what triggered it. Say ok, that just happened, but right now this second I'm back on track. Don't give up.

2. I'll be your friend (anyone's friend, really) You can send me a message any time.

3. I need you to show up here. Log in, be truthful about what you're eating, start on your new path. We are all in this together, which is what I love about this place. Some are at the beginning, some in the middle, some at the end. But the journey is all the same, and we are the only people who can understand us. We can all do this together.

You mentioned Borg - that is all I need to know. We can be friends

Hi Kristen!

My name is Brittany, and I have had a problem with binge-eating for a while. I think, for me, it's an emotional eating kind of thing. I've been overweight since I was, like, 9 and I'm 20 now. So, it's been happening for a while. It takes a lot of effort for me to control my urges to overeat, but I like to think I'm slowly getting better. My best method to avoid is distraction. Sometimes it works but I still occasionally slip up. For instance, I binged last night and I was miserable afterward. But today, I remind myself that it's a new day. I drink plenty of water and try to be more conscientious of what I'm eating today.

I'll be your friend! Feel free to add me. I don't have very many friends, especially where I live. I'm new on this website, so I don't have a lot of experience with being a weight loss buddy online. I've only ever had one friend who was my weight loss buddy in real life. She and I encouraged/supported one another, especially when we saw results. We discussed food choices, new recipes, and our struggles losing weight without judgment. And we sometimes worked out together. We never nagged, though. Right now, the only person in my life that knows I'm trying to lose weight is my husband. I don't have plans on telling anyone else that I know in real life, because I don't want to have to live up to their expectations and judgments.

The only things I look for in a buddy is someone who is positive/encouraging and isn't going to judge me if I slip up. I've never felt bad by anyone succeeding too much in their journey to better themselves -- if anything, it actually encourages me.

Welcome back!

If you were going on a trip and there was a detour, would you turn around and go home?
If you had a flat tire, would you just sit there? Would you fix it? After you fixed it would you continue forward?

I think you'd continue on your trip.

This is no different! We all fail at times. Get up, dust yourself off, and Keep Going.
One night of a binge does not mean you gie up forever!

We are here to help! To get you past the 3 week mark, and beyond!

Good luck!

I used the do the whole, eat healthier,.. don't drink this don't eat that etc. etc. Lose 10lb, gain 20lb back.

Since I've started here, and I haven't been here that long. I've lost 30lb, while eating things I like, along healthier things.
So I will have cake, ice-cream, chocolate etc. because if I don't I'll do just like you said, go nuts and eat a ton and then give up.

I find an exercise I like, and stick with it,.. because I do need to exercise,..but I'll switch it up. I don't "have to" run this much etc. etc.
I love my gazelle because it's easy,.. I can do it in front of my tv and I can do it for an hour or so. So find something you don't mind doing.

Diet is key! Sure I don't give up anything ,..but I do have to fit it in my calorie goal... So I can't play the and game... not ice-cream and chocolate and cookies and pie and pizza. I'll have pizza today,.. cookies tomorrow etc. As long as it fits in my calories.

Feel free to add me as a friend.

I like exchanging new ideas, sharing victories and mess ups.. (I mess up all the time) .. Support to me is someone who gets what you are doing ... not a drill Sargent.

ill be your friend. i sent you a request.

for the binge eating, im so bad for it. i cant bring bad food home anymore, i just cant have it around. on the other hand you need to find some healthier alternatives that you enjoy. for me its protein bars, frozen grapes, oven baked "fried" pickles, (ONE PORTION OF) chips and salsa etc. the bigger selection you have of healthy foods that you enjoy, the less likely you are to go completely off the rails and binge on actual junk food, because you won't feel as deprived by your calorie restricted diet.

I understand not wanting the support from your real life family and friends. Im extremely introverted and private. i dont want to fail in front of everyone, and i dont want anyone questioning my choices, or to feel scolded or judged when i mess up. so i definitely get it.

Hi Kristen,

I would love to be your friend (since we are the same age and all...)

1. I struggle with stress eating too. When I have a difficult client at work I have started to feel the exact moment the urge to go cruise the conference room snack table hits. I have no easy answers on this one, other than yoga/mindfulness work has helped me at least recognize what's happening, if not eliminate it completely. And then recognize the option to go do something else for a minute. I have walked around the block my office is located on hundreds of times...

2. see above; I'll add you!

3. I think the support that is most helpful for me is feeling like there is somebody else out there struggling with the same things I am. Most of my friends and family members are normal weight, and they seem to eat whatever they want most of the time. It's easy to feel alone, which sucks because losing weight is hard work. So just hearing what others are experiencing in an honest way is helpful for me.

Hi Kirstin, I'll be your friend. You sound like a nice person. I won't nag you but encourage you to come and join our little group called 3FC pals. So far we are three who all met on the 3FC forum - our group is new here. We encourage each other. I've just been through a small glitch in my weightloss journey but with their help got through it and am back on track.

I'm only slightly taller than you and have worked as a waiter plenty of times. If its a reasonably busy restaurant, you don't need to bother with any other exercise. In fact, i don't think you should worry about it anyway until you get your weight right down and/or feel so motivated. I find it easier to sustain a weightloss program without it in the long term and most research these days says while exercise is great for health, it doesn't really achieve much re weightloss.

I have a history of binging too. I know its a tough nut to crack. There are some good books about it. I haven't read any of them yet but i've pretty much conquered my history. One good book i have heard many talk about is Brain Over Binge. I've got a book beside my bed called The End of Binging/Binge eating.

How i deal with stress when i am genuinely upset and feeling overwhelmed and things of that kind, is find a counsellor to talk to. I find it moves me on very quickly. I have set myself up locally with a few people i can talk to - one is my GP, one is a psychologist (i have a history of depression too) and one is at the place where i volunteer which is a community centre where they offer that sort of service anyway. One you can get all your thoughts and worries out of your head, you start to feel better. And hopefully in the session you can start to look at solutions too. For me now, i usually find one session is enough but i would go back a week later if i still had concerns.

Its no coincidence that stress triggers binging. There are physiological explanations for it.

With regard to binging, i've committed to quitting sugar foods because these are the things in binge on. In fact my emotional binging just became a habit of binging and so i had to do something totally radical like quitting all that rubbish food so that i had room for healthy vegetables and stuff which help me avoid binging and so on. I have found out that a lot of people aren't ready for a tactics like this but for me it works. So far its been over six months since is started i my quit sugar campaign. Its not quitting sugar TOTALLY. There are certain prescribed situations where i have deemed it safe for me to eat it. And so this year i've had about 6 serves of cake or dessert. Sometimes it still requires a lot of mental effort to make sure i don't eat more than one serving but so far so good and i'm really happy with my strategy.

Another strategy on a day to day basis that i have picked up this year from a book, was to rate my appetite and satiety with each meal. All the girls in our group do this now too. Its an approach to intuitive eating.

What is it I need: I need your good -at- wordiness. I need people to chat to in the group. I have found posting stuff to people who listen and respond every day helps me keep focussed and on track. Also as i have just found out for the first time this year, it really helped me get through a tricky time when things could have gone off the rails. I had been experimenting with low carb and went off it suddenly and found the adjustment back to moderate fat levels difficult. It completely threw me, plus i had some other stresses that were weighing on me a bit but hadn't got to the point of going for counselling yet.

I. I don't keep foods that trigger binges in my house. If I am stressed, I jump on here and I talk to others about what is stressing me out. I realized early on in this process that I needed to limit my time with people who stress me out. I have learned that It is okay to set limits. Don't be afraid to let others know you put your healthy and well-being before them. Cake is my favorite binge food. I try to buy a slice every once in a while. I have it when I am not stressed.
2. I have sent you a friend request.
3. Comment when you want and remind me if I am not being accountable.

1. I don't ~binge~ eat (I would run out of food so fast and I am on a budget) but I do emotional eat. I'm working on stopping myself and saying "No, you're not hungry, you're bored." "I'm not hungry, I'm sad." Things like that.

2. Friend request sent.

3. I don't really know, I just started looking for MFP friends. Right now, just people to Like when I lose weight on a weigh-in or when I'm under goal on my diary. Comments are cool.