HELP!

hey, i know how you feel girl! i was like you for a very long time. A lot of times i would look at my friends who could just go and eat normally and I was jealous because I could never do that. I would be starving, but being around food made me nervous because there were so many foods that i considered "bad foods" or foods that I could never ever eat. if i did i'd feel guilty or want to throw up.... its not a good way to live. Its a mental torture because food can be an addiction, but its not like drugs or cigarettes because you NEED food to live.

Try to stop thinking of any foods as "bad foods" you can have peanut butter, you can have brownies, just log it on here when you eat it. and don't feel guilty about it. Once you start working on that change of mind set you won't feel the need to binge on those things. Its almost like the old saying "we want what we can't have" if you limit yourself to certain foods, your mind is going to focus on the ones you're telling yourself to stay away from. If you tell yourself that you can have those foods if you chose, it will help you to be able to control it, and to make good decisions when eating.

I know its tough, i've struggled with this since I was 17, and i'm 27 now. Its still tough, but work on changing your out look on eating to fuel your body, and whats really going to make you feel good. And i would also suggest writing down a list of 10things you like about yourself, or things that make you special and unique EVERYDAY until you really start believing them. The more you like yourself the more you will try to do everything to keep YOU around :flowerforyou:

there are really a lot of people on here that know how we feel! i think that really using the food log will help you to see and visualize that its okay to eat, and its okay to eat what you want and you can see how many calories you still need! its hard work to change your mental state, but you can do it!! and if you have a close friend/boyfriend/family member i'd encourage you to share this with them too..a lot of times sharing this info with someone close, yep, may seem embarrasing or shameful but the more you talk about it the better you will feel. I kept it all inside for 8years, finally talked to my fiance about it, and suprisingly he didnt shame me or laugh or kick me out, he was helpful, and if I tell him "okay make sure I stop after 1 bar" or "support me when your family keeps trying to make me eat cake when I dont want any" he always does!!

good luck!

I have the same problem but I do it in the middle of the night. What has really helped me is using the food journel on here. Plus exercise. When you exercise you can up your calories some.
Try subway. I was craving fast food last night so bad. Then I remember how yummy the tuna salads are at Subway and that I can shove all the veggies I want in them. It's sooo filling. I got home logged it and it was only 265 calories! WOW that's awesome.

It's good to get rid of all the bad stuff. Just for now until you can break the habit. You'll stop craving it soon. Come up with another habit other then eating. Like exercising. I clean house all day long. It keeps my mind off of fod, my house clean, and I get a good workout : )

STICK WITH IT! Think how rewarding it will be when you do : )

I couldn't agree more with you girls... I have always struggled with the concept of food... they were either good or bad, and if i had a 'bad food' i would beat myself up over it for days (and usually binge on more)... MFP finally helped me realize that there really are no bad foods... it is all about moderation. so what if you ate a jar of peanut butter, log it ... figure out what you have to work with and use it as motivation to go to the gym and earn back those calories... you really need to look at how you view food... it is fuel... nutrition... etc. and please don't beat your self up over the jar'o'peanut butter etc... you aren't going to gain weight in a day... just use it as motivation to get to the gym... or to eat healthy for the rest of the day... etc. I hope this helps, I know it is tough... trust me I am the same way. good luck (ps i do the gum thing too.... i found that drinking lots of tea / water helps calm the urge to eat ... where as gum makes me hungry ??? no sure why. haha. :bigsmile: