I have been avoiding this thread because I was so ashamed. I never got back on track with OMAD after my vacation. Even though some of the weight did come off, I am not where I was before leaving for vacation. I struggled with deciding if I should go back to OMAD if I am just going to put on weight.

I had a realization last night. I was going about things the wrong way. I wrestled with my decision about OMAD because I KNOW IT WORKS. I have had SUCCESS, even though it wasn't lasting because there was still something wrong with me. It started with a Google search of "I'm scared of eating" because I had felt an intense amount of fear once I got to 200 lbs. that anything I ate would sending me spiraling backwards. I found a YouTube video that was very profound and gave me insight into what I am doing wrong.

I am dealing with food obsession, or more specifically a sugar addiction. The video I watched was a female doctor describing some symptoms, some information about food dependencies, and a few steps to treat addiction. For food obsessed people, the main diets fail after a while because the person reverts back to 'normal' habits. They never treated what the underlying problem was, even if they were temporarily eating healthy. So treating weight loss with a diet is the wrong approach. It needs to be treated like addiction.

It was very interesting too because it was only in 2008 that a study was able to finally PROVE that sugar is an addictive substance. That at certain levels it lights up the pleasure center of the brain 8x more than COCAINE. That companies have used science against the biology of our body. People who are addicted to food fall into 2 categories, sugar or fat. and being addicted to high sugar, fat & salt foods such as processed food and fast food is what is causing obesity in this country. Like a drug addiction it is chemically altering the body for dependency. Basically when people eat high sugar and fat foods it sets off the reward center of the body. Overusing those ingredients over stimulates us and healthier, simpler foods no longer appeals because it doesn't have the addictive ingredients our body craves. A craving is vastly different from being hungry or appetite. The doctor used a lot of comparisons to an alcoholic.

1) You have to take it 1 day at a time. When you join AA you go in knowing that you can never touch the drug/alcohol/pill again. Not even one drink. Which most addicts cannot handle thinking about giving it up entirely for the rest of their lives all at once. So she said you need to tell yourself "it's just for today I'm giving this up. Just 24 hours"

2) You have to know your triggers. Seeing alcohol can trigger intense cravings that can overtake the body (which I identify with for food. As I told you before sometimes I get something in my mind and my body shuts down until I consume that thing.. serious obsession).That triggers can come from emotional responses, or physically being near something that triggers that type of craving.

For me many triggers exist at work. I have one coworker who goes out for fast food every day and often hands out free junk food to us. He takes a lot of offense if you don't participate or accept what he gives you. Another is a manager who leaves a bowl of candy sitting on his desk that I walk by 50 times a day. Adding to those pitfalls, I get so stressed at work I am often triggered to is the right thing to do. It helped curb a lot of the binge episodes, but I still needed to work on my emotional responses which was a lot of my weaknesses. That I needed to not let other people influence me because most people do not realize how serious it is for ME. That if you say "I am addicted to sugar" they will think oh it just means you like candy, not that you are slowly killing yourself with uncontrollable urges to consume poison.

I've been so ashamed of failing these past few weeks, but the shame stops here.

thebobo6740 wrote: »

I'm with you here. I have been seriously struggling with food as I have using it to help me deal with feelings of sadness, frustration, and stress due to serious events happening in my life. Add to that, the thought that I have to lose weight to get my dream job, and everyday has been a struggle- some I have won, others I have not. I keep on trying to push forward and believe OMAD is the only way of eating that will help me push through even more. I come to read these forums daily, and I take what people share very seriously. So thank you for sharing these details and know your words have an audience... In my eyes anyway.

Bobo

If I may ask, what is your dream job and why would you have to lose weight to get it?