Need help and encouragement from food addicts

Hello everyone,

I am starting this journey again, it's been a lifelong battle. I am going to try to focus on eating healthier things and exercise and not what the scale says. I can easily gain or lose 10 pounds overnight, this is my biggest problem, I focus on the scale and if I think I'm eating good and still gain weight, I give up. I need motivation to keep going on the bad days and gain control over this addiction. I say it's an addiction because the thought of food pops in my head all day even when I'm not hungry and tend to binge eat. It's time to take my life back!

Replies

  • navdeeprana
    navdeeprana Posts: 473 Member
    Scale is not everything but yeah a great way to measure yourself. Its really depends on how hard. ..how desperate you are to be the way you want. It's more like a mind game....you can do it ...stay strong..

    Cheers
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I'd suggest making sure that you're logging everything accurately (weighing by the gram), and choosing the correct entries. Use fitness goals instead of relying on the scale. I weigh probably once every few months or so because 1-2lbs can really affect my mood.
  • nickolecrane
    nickolecrane Posts: 4 Member
    Food addiction is a very real and very hard addiction. While many addicts can go to rehab and maintain a clean and healthy life free from the drug that haunts them, No one can live without food. My personal addiction has been seriously out of control in the past. I chose medical weight loss surgery to help lose a majority of the weight affecting my health. I chose to see a therpist before surgery to help me build some tools that would help.
    The first was stop eating in front of the T.V., that allows for mindless eating and makes the brain associate television with food.
    The second, was always put my fork or spoon down between bites and make sure I totally chewed and enjoyed my food.
    The third, try to make as many healthy "at home" meals as I could.
    And finally...
    The fourth, on my fridge I placed a list of activities to go do instead of opening the fridge or pantry to grab munchies. My list includes go for a walk, work out, read a book, listen to music, find something to clean...etc
  • sayingyes2success
    sayingyes2success Posts: 39 Member
    Keep your scale in a place where it's not easily visible to you. I tend to become obsessed with that number and I also fluctuate very easily. If it goes up at all when I think I've done well, I do get very discouraged. This is NOT a good thing. Try not to weigh more than once a week. Keep yourself busy. Before automatically reaching for food, stop and think. Are you truly hungry or do you want to eat to satisfy some other emotion? Journaling has really helped me. I've struggled most of my life and those who do not have the issue, cannot really get it. Feel free to friend me. I'm available for support! You can do this!
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    Finally, it's becoming a way of life. Joining the MFP community turned my life around. No more guilt about food. I learned that we all struggle. I felt guilty because I could eat an entire bag of cookies in two days. Even the most successful struggle with weight loss. It's not as complex as we make it.

    I actually love logging now. Don't stop. Keep logging. Keep trying. It will become a new and rewarding lifestyle for you.
  • Kms9947
    Kms9947 Posts: 4 Member
    Hi my name is Karen and have been a food addict sense I was 5 yrs old. Food had become my best friend. I know this sounds crazy but I have come to discover through doctors and dietitians and through intense counseling that my addiction to food is real and have had to remove all carbs from my diet. It has been very difficult but I no longer have the cravings for bread, potatoes, rice, sweets. Once your off of the carbs consistently your body burns the fat you have stored for energy. I have lost 85lbs and feel amazing. You have to want to be health more then wanting food and you have to seek out the real reasons for over eating. I over ate because I was stuffing down depression of my childhood and feeling unloved by my father always ask how your feeling when you have a craving journal your feeling and triggers of your cravings tgen you know where to make changes.
  • emmaprocopiou
    emmaprocopiou Posts: 246 Member
    I love food, I love eating , am i addicted? I don't think so but I have definitely had periods where I can binge, still eating when I am full but not feeling it.
    I take each day as it comes now and each day is a fresh start.
    Keeping busy helps as does recognising your triggers ( emotional eating anyone? )
    I find if I start eating something sweet I can't stop so I plan in my sweet treat for the end of the day and look forward to it.

    Nothing is off limits just the amounts.

    If I log it I eat it. I am also adding in those binges as well, it keeps me accountable.

    I am now able to weigh daily , it has taken time to get here but I am a number junkie and I like to see the trend . Getting to know my monthly fluctuations has helped relive my anxiety of the scale.

    Logging everyday good or bad keeps me on track , it has become so simple now and I have found great combinations that help achieve my goals.

    It's been 6 months and I'm 16kg down, I still live life and manage what I consume. You can too x
  • Ant488
    Ant488 Posts: 372 Member
    This is an interesting forum. I enjoy eating too! However, I had to cut back on eating tons of bread and sweets. When you eat in moderation and exercise, should will see results, I.e weight loss.
  • JenniferSchaffer1
    JenniferSchaffer1 Posts: 69 Member
    you sound just like me 2 years ago you can make the change you just have to change the way you think about eating and the way you eat with baby steps food is not CONTROL food is ENERGY. You have to change the way your mind thinks about it and its not easy its hard as hell the head hunger can drive you insane. You have to throw out all the junk! Go High protein change that big plate into a child size plate count 20 times before you swallow each bite this will give your body time to absorb food fill you up faster drink a bottle of water before and after each meal, eat three meals a day with snacks in between. You also need to figure out what triggers you to eat write it down keep a journal release your thoughts and feeling on papers this may help you to not go for that food. Writing help me even if I wrote down dammit i want a snickers so *kitten* bad i can taste it errr. You can and will get through this with help I did and you can too!