How to stay on track when emotional wreck?

emovogue
emovogue Posts: 1 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I struggle with a hell of a lot of depression, anxiety and stress. They're actually probably the biggest factors that got me to this point, because I've used food for comfort so many times when I'm struggling. But I'm not going to lose any weight if I keep doing this. I'm typing now and devouring a bar of Cadbury's caramel chocolate, because I felt so utterly low today.

I'm not asking for tips on how to overcome depression/anxiety/stress, just tips on how to plough on with my normal eating routine regardless of how I feel? Any help would be appreciated.

Replies

  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
    edited November 2015
    Medication.......change dosage/brand. Once your meds stabilise your mood somewhat you should find its easier to go with the food flow
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Make logging as important as.cleaning your teeth.

    Even if you go over, just log.
    It is a slow journey for most of us, and we can easily get distracted by life's events. If you can, set a time in the day for logging. Some do it in the morning; some the night before; others on the go.

    Try to think of it outside your anxiety, depression, and stress, and not make it a part of it.

    Cheers, h.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited November 2015
    log no matter what. even if you go over. it's an easy way to confront overeating and help you be more aware of what you are putting into your body
    meditation and prayer works for me
    yoga also helps. it makes me stronger and flexible, and it makes me more in tune with my body
    running because I have to turn my brain off or I would stop. I started with walking.
    animals. animals make me happy even if i am having a bad day
    medication. I've been on and off. I do better on

    and realizing that depression is something I have. it is not who I am. and it does not define me
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    It's just not as simple as changing/getting on meds. I'm not anti-meds in any way whatsoever but they aren't always or sometimes ever any sort of solution. Heck, most psychoactive medication increases appetite making everything even harder, I know it's how I gained a lot of my extra weight!

    So I've been there. I started this when I was in a relatively stable place and used a strict program to get me going. It's not necessary but I needed that initial discipline to break my habits.

    Regardless of anything else my top tip would be as above, make logging a part of your very day habits and life. Logging is the biggest thing that has stopped my binges because it made me confront the fall out in black and white. Exercise is now my coping mechanism. I'm bipolar 2 with a bunch of co-morbid mental health issues and exercise is no what I turn to. So hypo I can't sit still? Get out and run. So depressed I can't get out of bed? Force myself to do 25-30 minutes of physical exertion. Most days it's the only thing I do.

    And don't buy the junk, don't keep it in the house, don't keep change in your purse so you can't go to the corner shop, do whatever to minimise the chances of over-eating.

    And lastly, be kind to yourself. Forgive the lapses. Eat the chocolate if it fits. And if you're not ready you're not ready.
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    Maybe you could try pre-logging. If you have your food for the day planned out you may be less willing to mindlessly splurge on foods to make you feel better. Pre-planning healthy snacks you can grab if you do feel the urge to eat is an idea too. Having a serving of veggies or cookies or whatever ready to grab will help keep you from grabbing a handful of whatever is nearby.
  • ckspores1018
    ckspores1018 Posts: 168 Member
    IMO, as someone in therapy and on medication for these same issues: You cannot separate these two things (overcoming depression/anxiety/stress and over/emotional eating). They are connected. If one is truly the cause of the other, you must deal with both.

    You should speak to a mental health professional. The advice others can provide is not really going to be helpful. Maybe there are some temporary stops for the problem but nothing will truly be helpful until you deal with the issues causing the overeating.
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    edited November 2015
    find something other than food to use as an outlet for how you are feeling instead of grabbing a candy bar. for instance, go for a walk/run or do some sort of physical exercise for 20-30 minutes a day. maybe start a new hobby?
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    And don't buy the junk, don't keep it in the house, don't keep change in your purse so you can't go to the corner shop, do whatever to minimise the chances of over-eating.

    +1 for this - if you know you can't control yourself around certain foods, don't keep them around until you can come to terms.

    i also suffer from anxiety and depression.. initially i refused to be medicated for fear of ending up being afraid to come off of the meds, but i finally broke after the first month or so and agreed to go on medication when i found myself at rock bottom - crying every day for no reason, felt like i was having a heart attack, etc.

    take care of yourself before all else.. your weight can wait. mental health is no joke.
  • serasmommy
    serasmommy Posts: 61 Member
    This place is amazing. I've lurked on so many depression/anxiety threads now, and people are truly wonderful. yes, this is a real thing. Accepting and real, nothing you get with family, co-workers, acquaintances, anyone out there in the horrible "real world."
  • MarcyKirkton
    MarcyKirkton Posts: 507 Member
    You would need to find some othet activity to break the pattern.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    Exercise is amazing for mental health. Not a cure-all of course, but helps immensely.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    If you're on this site, there's a good chance that eating your emotions will just make you feel worse. What you put in your mouth is something you have control on, no matter what life throws at you... so decide to control that.
  • Bowsergirl
    Bowsergirl Posts: 89 Member
    For me therapy is invaluable. It's made me much more successful.
    Also a lot of the things other people suggested: I preplan my meals and prelog them the night before. Set yourself up for success.

    And this time around, I'm not giving up. I fail a lot, sometimes once or twice a week I give into my depression/addiction, but I just start over the next day. Don't give up and when you mess up, take it as a learning opportunity.
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
    I pre-log and dont allow myself to add things or make changes unless they're just adjusting something I logged "loosely" meaning I just sorta threw it down with an estimated amount/cals. So if I guess I want 140g of chicken for dinner, I can change it to 200g if I really wanted/needed the fuel but I cant go changing it to cookies. Its just a solid rule Im practicing. Its been a while, somedays better than others but each day I get closer to 100% adherence to this particular rule. It just takes the binge eating out of my options.

    Yesterday I had a very low day. Ran out of my prescription so I havent had it since the weekend. All day I managed to keep doing life- went to work, did my chores, went through the motions but a constant thought in my head was "I dont want to die I just wish I didnt exist at all" those are days I usually binge when I get home. But yesterday I had *kitten* to do, so I kept busy until it was nearly bedtime and suddenly I realized I hadnt binged. I felt pretty damned proud.

    So my long winded reply is meant to show you how I came up with one simple way to try and cope with emotional eating: dont make eating decisions while you're upset. But to also show that a new way of doing things takes a while. I have been "trying" to get to what happened last night for at least two months. Do your best to distract yourself from the food, and over time the urge really does lessen. It didn't even occur to my brain at all as an option last night and Im so shocked! So I think practice is what you need. Start by delaying eating (whatever the reason) by just a few mins each time. Decide if you're hungry or not, and make your brain switch to logic thinking. I talk to myself out loud a lot! Maybe that could help you too. If you realize you're not hungry and just wanting to eat your feelings then spend a few moments FEELING them and analyze them. Any ideas why you may feel this way? Will the chocolates fix the issue? Will eating really help you feel better? Sometimes the answer will be yes and you go for it, just be as sensible as possible.

    And also yes of course mental health is much more important to get in line before you worry about your weight. Struggling with both is incredibly disheartening.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I've noticed as well, now when I get an urge to snack, I get up and wander round my flat for a few minutes, peer into the fridge (where I keep no easy to snack on items), give the cats a fuss and a kiss then back to whatever I was doing. It's just a distraction technique, a really common thing with mental illness, like my exercise and former eating. It's just about finding what works.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    Meditation Oasis podcast are free and phenomenal. Anxiety=increased cortisol=lots of problems. I'm dealing with that right now and instead of trying to strictly count calories I am also focusing on lowering my cortisol levels.
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
    Eating in a healthy way and to my macros is probably the most important thing I can do to help my emotional state, particularly when stress, etc. Next is probably exercise, and meditation, friends, etc. all help to. But for me food is very fundamental. When I'm not eating well for me (keeping to my macros) and when I don't exercise, I am digging the hole of my emotional upset deeper and deeper.
  • katie1318
    katie1318 Posts: 59 Member
    Try writing down how you feel and why you want to eat. Write at least a page or for at least 10 minutes. If you still want food after that, have ONE serving and repeat the process. Usually after writing the first time though, I realize I don't really want the food and I feel better.
    If writings not your thing, you could try listening to two songs while reflecting, going for a walk (like someone else said), or doing art. Basically creating a distraction for a little while helps, as others have stated. For me, doing something creative that attacks why I'm feeling down is what works best.
    And as others have already pointed out, exercise is invaluable. Endorphins baby.
  • fidangul
    fidangul Posts: 673 Member
    If you only want "plough" through then; just say NO to food, use smaller plates, pre-log, focus on something else etc...But, I found that I just revert back to old habbits. And I have to agree with some of the statements made above.

    Working on the actual problem (problem being anxiety and depression) automatically (like literally) helped me with my relationship with food and my weightloss as a whole. I'm not done yet, I still have my moments of "am I going to be able to do this?" but now I have the strength and will to continue. And I hope that it will go on that way. Even though I'm not seeing any mental health professional anymore and stopped taking meds, time to time I still self analyse my emotions in general so as not to go back to where I

  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    I'm on a fasting diet. I believe the fasting has helped me in many ways besidss loosing weight. I generally feel a LOT better and can do a lot more. I'm much more motivated to do things than I have been before going on this diet.
  • thywillbedone17
    thywillbedone17 Posts: 69 Member
    Fasting will help short term but will also make your body store your fat cells eat healthy fats to stop this
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
    nail polish. I've drastically cut my calories recently, and I am hungry a lot. So I drink a lot of water and paint my nails. It distracts me and I feel pretty.

    I don't stock "snacks". Find projects to keep your mind and hands active. Today I cleaned out a bunch of junk. I still have more but that is another day. I have sewing projects and art projects, job searching and school work; all of these distract me from food.

    Limit food consumption to the kitchen/break room.

    Eat a bag of baby carrots. I love baby carrots.
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