Emotional eating

bendero
bendero Posts: 5
edited September 26 in Motivation and Support
I've had a love/hate relationship with food pretty much all my life. I absolutely adore food. There's not a lot of foods I DON'T like. But when i'm feeling stressed or upset about something i reach for the all the bad stuff...the ice cream...the chocolate...the chips! I've been doing so well for the last three weeks but today I had a falling out with a friend and it's just been a real crappy day. I wanna binge so bad I can almost taste the ice cream and saltiness of that bag of chips! Thankfully I have none of that stuff in the house so I can't. I've come too far to ruin it all the first time I have a bad day! Am I always gonna wanna pig out everytime things aren't going so well? Am I always gonna sabotage myself?

Replies

  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    Don't be discouraged--You've already made a great start by not keeping those things in the house or within easy access!

    I think that eventually we have to learn different ways of dealing with our stress and emotions...I find that exercise of any kind makes me feel better (even just a quick walk around the block).

    Hope it gets better. Feel free to add me for more support.

    Ellen
  • tonicia
    tonicia Posts: 145 Member
    Major high -five to you for fighting the urge. I struggle with this myself. Good job staying strong during a crappy time! = )
  • lsd007
    lsd007 Posts: 435
    You DIDN'T eat the ice cream and the chips. Even if you didn't eat them because they simply weren't in the house, you are the one who chose to not buy them. You didn't sabotage yourself. Sabotaging yourself would have been getting in your car and driving to the grocery store to stock up. You did GREAT!! The urge will probably be there for a while, I still have urges all the time (and give in a lot) but you can overcome them like you did tonight! It WILL get easier and YOU CAN do it!!! Just remember that even though you had a terrible day, you beat the chips and the ice cream. Hope tomorrow is better for you!:flowerforyou:
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
    I'm new to weight loss and eating differently and everything too...

    I can't even tell you! Today I saw a kid with Hot Cheetohs in my class... and I so badly wanted to go buy a bag...and was about to as well... but instead I had some frozen yogurt... maybe not the BEST substitute but much better than those Hot Cheetohs...

    What I'm trying to say is... it is going to be hard at times, but it's really all up to you and your will power! You know what helps me when I have those bad cravings? I go on these forums and read the Success Stories and view pictures.

    Because of that... I know I want to feel better about myself... and I know if I eat something bad I'll get disappointed in myself. It's ok to treat yourself once in a while, but that should be because everyone deserves a treat once in a while (especially when you've been good for so long :P)

    It can be so hard, trust me I've always been on the heavier side... and I'm just now starting to realize it's not going to come off by itself... I HAVE TO WORK HARD. Yes it is hard and sometimes I don't want to exercise... but when I do something I didn't want to do when it comes to health... I can go to bed feeling better about myself. Sure I haven't seen progress yet... but that's cause I only started a week ago.

    Actually my main motivation is when I see my boyfriend in mid June... I hope by then I can lose 10-20 pounds so I can see his expression! It's the little things that make you keep going. Whether it's words of encouragement... or just 1 pound lost in a week. No matter what you can't give up. You know what you want in the end... so just do your best! Push yourself! You'll love yourself all the more for it :)
  • mzbrandyluv
    mzbrandyluv Posts: 103
    But you didn't sabatoge yourself! You made the concious decision not to keep foods like that in your house...so YAY YOU! Emotional eating is something we use as a coping devise...a "pacifyer". When we make the decision to start being healthy, we need to realize that means how we deal with stress, how we see ourselves etc. I believe a lot of the reasons most of us struggle with our weight is mental. So consciously try to find another stress reliever! (A healthy one...let's not subsitute food for cigs, or a bottle of wine ;)
    Coming here and venting and seeking help is an AWESOME step in the right direction! Get a support system, vent your frustrations...(get a punching bag and visualize those in your life that make you so flustered that you ALMOST want to go back to food) :) View this as a VICTORY! You didn't go on an emotional food bender!!! You saught emotional help from a network of people who understand where you are.
    Congrats on the hard work the past several weeks! Just keep making the same choices you have been...don't buy the junk food and find people to vent to. The urge will pass and you will feel SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD for not having given into it again! You are breaking the habbit, and it's a GREAT thing :)
    * Hugs *
  • stevemcknight
    stevemcknight Posts: 647 Member
    It's not your fault!

    It's a viscous cycle set up by the hormones that are controlling your body. Go buy Gary Taubes book "Why We Get Fat" It's a great read and explains everything so well. Understanding what's going on with your insulin/cortisol/cravings will help you beat it, once and for all!
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
    It's not your fault!

    It's a viscous cycle set up by the hormones that are controlling your body. Go buy Gary Taubes book "Why We Get Fat" It's a great read and explains everything so well. Understanding what's going on with your insulin/cortisol/cravings will help you beat it, once and for all!

    I think I'll give this a read...
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    yeah, ya know - what is the first thing we experience after our birth into this world ( besides a slap on the bottom...)?? a breast in our mouth delivering nutrtion and love! So why wouldn't we all be emotional eaters....it's the way things are set up. So do not beat yourself up at all.

    Now- what we do with it all now is a choice...feed yourself with nutrtion and love a different way........so many funny options to try.....slowly suck on a peppermint and take a long walk....breathing....walking....being conscientous of ones inner self, what's going on, etc.

    Retrain the mind so to speak.......

    Just something to consider :)
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
    yeah, ya know - what is the first thing we experience after our birth into this world ( besides a slap on the bottom...)?? a breast in our mouth delivering nutrtion and love! So why wouldn't we all be emotional eaters....it's the way things are set up. So do not beat yourself up at all.

    Now- what we do with it all now is a choice...feed yourself with nutrtion and love a different way........so many funny options to try.....slowly suck on a peppermint and take a long walk....breathing....walking....being conscientous of ones inner self, what's going on, etc.

    Retrain the mind so to speak.......

    Just something to consider :)

    Today I did something similar to this... I didn't want to exercise cause of this nasty blister on my foot refraining me from running on it... so I decided I'll just walk... but when I turned the corner and challenged myself to run. I didn't get to my destination but it's interesting how the mind works...

    I have to push myself so hard mentally sometimes... plus it's nice just to get some fresh air :)
  • bendero
    bendero Posts: 5
    thanks guys! i made it through the night without making a pit stop anywhere for junk! i know there's gonna be other nights like this but i figure each time i manage to fight through it'll get easier.
  • bendero
    bendero Posts: 5
    it's been one of those days! i'm proud of myself for not reaching for the chips and chocolate bars which is my usual "thing" but i still ate too much. i bought one of those rotisserie chickens which usually lasts me a while but i ate about half of it in one sitting. Then i had more at supper time...plus some fish. In the grand scheme of things i could chalk it up to a bad day but it was the reason behind my overeating that wasn't so great. I wasn't eating cause it tasted so damn good (although it did)...i was eating because i was upset about something. I ate till i was full and then ate some more. sigh..
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