Starting over, again☹️

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deeander
deeander Posts: 17 Member
Ok I'm back, I have gained half the weight I lost so I am now under a doctors program. I need to break the cycle of emotional eating. My doctor says it's been programmed into my brain since childhood.

He had me keep a log of the food that I ate for a week, he also had me track my feelings at the time that I was eating. I discovered that I eat when I was stressed, happy, sad, excited and generally any emotion that I left out. I was feeling rather disappointed in that I was hoping I only ate when I was stressed and hungry. You always hear about the stress eater and how they are the people who put on excess weight.

However it stands to reason being from an Italian family that we would be eating for all sorts of emotions. I can remember when I was a child being given a treat when I hurt myself or food is equivalent to love. I'm absolutely positive that I have continued that legacy with my own children. Fortunately neither of them have a weight problem, But they are in their teens and their 20s.

I also noticed that I never eat when I was hungry. I probably do not allow myself to get hungry with all this emotional eating.

So I've decided it is too difficult right now for me to make any decisions around food, I'm a stop this emotional eating and the only way to do that is to rid myself of food decisions. So yes I have finally acquiesced to the doctor supervised liquid diet. This is almost like swear words to an Italian cook and eater of Italian foods. But I believe the psychology behind removing the decisions about food will get me on a different track will allow me to do something else when I am thinking about food especially because most of my thoughts revolve around food in relation to my emotions.

Well wish me luck and I'll try to keep a log regarding this new endeavour. Dee

Replies

  • tcatz68
    tcatz68 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi Dee, I wish you much success. I am also Italian (and Irish) but my papa was all Sicilian so I know exactly what you mean about food. I could never do a liquid diet but I really hope it works for you. This is my first week and I have lost 3lbs pretty much by changing my eating habits at work. Breakfast is usually fruit, or hard boiled eggs. For lunch I have switched to tons of veggies, and around 1/3 or 1/2 cup of brown rice, a zucchini and mushrooms and either a mushroom veggie burger or 3-4oz of chicken breast. It really fills me up till dinner. Please feel free to add me as a friend as I would love to see how you are doing and be there for support.
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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    Thank you tcatz, sounds like you're off to a great start I know you can do it. I've lost about 40 pounds using my fitness pal but I've gained back 20 of them. This didn't happen overnight it happened over two years but now I'm just in a panic wanting to finally address the emotions around my eating. I just can't do it right now with food choices too much stress going on in my life so hopefully this will put everything into focus. It's worth a shot I've tried everything else.
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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    Dolly she's my dads favorite ;)
    OK so today is my first day on my liquid diet. It is not bad tasting if you add some powdered coffee or cinnamon to it I chose Vanilla. I was doing OK most of the day but now it's 7 o'clock and I've had a pickle and a carrot just because I needed to chew something. I still have one more packet to go which only takes me up to 900 cal which is worrisome because I thought we shouldn't go under 1200 but this is under doctors care so I'm guessing it's OK well day one is not over yet
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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    Well day one went without a hitch! So I'm encouraged.
  • Shane00000
    Shane00000 Posts: 14 Member
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    @deeander one day down, keep it going. I'm in the same boat as you. I lost 90 lbs in 2014, and gained back 50 of them. I'm fortunate enough to have a supportive family and a partner who is actively participating in weight loss as well. Good luck to you, you can do this!
  • glenniwhitehouse
    glenniwhitehouse Posts: 4 Member
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    I don't know much about your problems, although you have explained much already, but I hope we can become friends and be encouraged each day of your new journey :)
  • katie22mfp
    katie22mfp Posts: 386 Member
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    Change that sad face into a happy one you are taking action and that number on the scale tape are only going to drop!
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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    Thank you Glenn Shane and Katie, yes you are all right I am going to keep up the good effort with a smile on my face and be thankful for my supportive family we can do it!

    It is day three, and although yesterday I got two headaches one in the morning and one in the evening I managed to make it through another day. I woke up this morning with no headache not feeling starving so this is a good start.
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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    Mother's Day and holding, even survived Starbucks. I got a sugar free hazelnut black ice coffee. Now to survive Pasta efagioli
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
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    It will be one month June 5 and I'm feeling great. I have lost a total of 15 pounds on my liquid diet. Having said that I do incorporate some snacks and modified meals. For example if I wanted to have pasta with the rest of my family I had mostly a bowl of sause with one fork full of pasta, sometimes no pasta at all and that seemed to satisfy the craving. If I cooked a meat roast I would have a couple of ounces of meat with a little vegetable, and if I prepared rice I would have a quarter cup. Yesterday was a big day as I had a function to go to I had my protein drinks all day still had one more however I did not have that instead I went to the function I had two beers and I nibbled on celery and vegetables and hot sauce and I did pretty well I did not go over 1200 cal for that day. Well I'm up for another month of this my doctor encourages me to stay away from the food because were trying to modify behaviours, but I think to modify my behaviour in a matter of a couple of months over several decades of eating habits is a bit ridiculous, however I am learning to portion control and self-control so it is working. My main focus was to go on this liquid diet to take away the decisions of what to eat and what not to eat. if I'm liquid for most of the day with the occasional pickle or carrot stick as a snack and have a dinner with my family, modified of course, then I seem to be doing just fine. Of course watching TV and seeing those darn commercials drive me crazy because there's so much food, bad food especially, and it just sets off all sorts of triggers. yes I would like to sit down and eat a very large portion of cheesecake,it's yummy, but I know I shouldn't, and I definitely shouldn't have it in the house; it's would be like catnip to a cat
  • m_d_henson
    m_d_henson Posts: 17 Member
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    I am currently doing a liquid diet as well. It's so hard to go days on end so I have started adding in veggies and lean meats for dinner about either other day and veggie snacks during the day if I just have to have something. O and I chew gum! LOL
  • deeander
    deeander Posts: 17 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Back at it!