I think I'm a food-a-Holic

I gained 60 lbs when I had my last child. He is now 4 years old and I cannot get this weight off. I try over and over and cannot stay focused on my weight loss goals. I always seem to sabotage any efforts I make my stuffing myself with food. Food seems to be my go to for comfort. When stress rears ins ugly head then I reach for food . When I am anxious I eat! When I am bored I eat ! When I am alone I eat ! I eat more now Han any other time in my life . I really feel I have developed an addiction . I am scared today as I start this journey , once again, that my addiction will consume me .

Replies

  • emmaprocopiou
    emmaprocopiou Posts: 246 Member
    It's hard isn't it , at least you recognise the signs though.
    Pretty much we are all here because we love food too much, now you need to be in control.
    Only you can give yourself the willpower , we will be here for support.
    I'm assuming you have set up mfp to create a cal goal , don't go for too aggressive a deficit.
    Make small changes, you are going to still be eating the same foods just less of them, no fad diets , no woo supplements.
    Everyday we get a new slate, make your first goal just to get through 24hrs - btw the first week is always the hardest.
    You eat when your bored - find something to do, busy hands and all that
    Go out for a walk - excersise really relives stress.
    Don't give up on food - learn new recipies that give you more bang for your calorie Buck .
    The weight will come off just go slow and steady.
    Remember you are a role model for your child , set a good example for them to live a long and healthy life .
    Good luck op and friend me if you would like support. X
  • CatherineElizabeth13
    CatherineElizabeth13 Posts: 212 Member
    I could have written that myself.
    It's so hard to combat emotional eating. It doesn't help when people say "just don't eat so much". Yeah.. duh. But the need to eat just consumes you (no pun intended). It's overwhelming and feels impossible.
    I haven't figured out how to gain control yet, some days are good, others are really bad.
    If you want to have a chat pop me a message :)
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    I was in the same situation, but my baby #2 is now 7. Last summer, I finally said, "enough!!" I lost some weight through the summer just from trying to eat better and doing a ton of gardening (it melts the weight off for me), but late last summer my nephew, a trainer, sent me a link to MFP, and I have been logging and tracking religiously since then. That has made all the difference. Even when I really want the doughnut, in general I now either do not eat it (it won't fit into my calories for the day) or I have done so much physical exercise (5 hours of hard-core gardening) that I can accommodate it. It has also been important for me to do a lot of exercise so I can eat like a normal person, so I will generally be logging multiple kinds of exercises a day: gardening, half-hour or more workouts on the arc trainer, a 2X weekly body sculpting class; heavy lifting 2-3x weekly, couch to 5K running 2-3x weekly, and lots of walking and bicycling. It is especially difficult with kids, because as a working mom I want to invest every spare minute in them, but they can come along on walks and bike rides (you get an even better workout if you pull them in a wagon or bike trailer) or even giving piggy back rides or just running around in the yard playing with them is a significant calorie burn. MPF is designed for you to log your burns and then eat back those calories so you will still be at a deficit. So far I have lost 36 lbs from my worst point last winter, a good portion of that using MFP. It's hard, but you can do it, and once you do it long enough, it becomes an entrenched lifestyle.
  • lodgehemp
    lodgehemp Posts: 10 Member
    In same boat, and depressed about it. Please add me.
  • Zombella
    Zombella Posts: 491 Member
    Same here. I went from eating to deal with stress to smoking back to eating (when I quit smoking). I'm trying to figure it out but right now I feel stuck.