Developed an unhealthy relationship with food

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  • Jellybeanz44
    Jellybeanz44 Posts: 31 Member
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    Hi Willow, I'm Jessalyn. So I'm someone who has struggled with an eating disorder in the past, which creeps out occasionally. I have seen a dietitian 3 times now who is helping me get back to eating intuitively and healthily, without having food restrictions but focusing on the healthy things and habits in life. I'm not doing all the things perfectly and I'm learning to forgive myself for these and understand its a process. If you want a friend who is just trying to be healthier and do things in moderation, please add me. Anyone else here, too. Best wishes to you.
  • willow8220
    willow8220 Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks Jessalyn, I have sent a friend request. I am so glad you have received help for your eating disorder. I look forward to talking to a professional about my food issues. Thanks for reaching out to me and keep up the great work that you're doing xx
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
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    willow8220 wrote: »
    Wow, thank you for responding so quickly I appreciate your kind response. I am so happy for you that you found a way out of disordered eating. I will certainly have to read up more on IIFYM for sure, it sounds interesting.

    I guess for me, I have quite an all or nothing type personality. I have never been able to just eat one small piece of chocolate, so I just cut it out of my diet completely. However I am not sure this approach is working for me anymore either, because I am binging on these "forbidden" foods so badly. And realistically? I want to be able to eat chocolate or some fries now and again. I am just so struggling trying to adopt the healthy mindset of having just one, instead of a whole packet. I envy people with so much control.

    I was anorexic in my teens. But I love sweets. I have to fit treats into my daily calorie allotment. I pretty much have a very rigid planned diet. Coffee and greek yogurt for breakfast, water the rest of the day, lunch is a salad, snack is a fruit, and dinner is what the family is having as a normal portion. If I want chocolate or ice cream, I buy hershey kisses or small individually wrapped candy. I only put one or two in my lunch. I can't eat what I do not have. When we go for ice cream, I always get the kid size. Again, I can't eat more than what I have in front of me.
  • willow8220
    willow8220 Posts: 26 Member
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    I love sweets too Libby283. When I binge its always on chocolate, ice cream, donuts, lollies etc. Food that makes me come crashing down real quick. Thank you for the tips and I am sorry to hear of your anorexia battle as a teen, that must have been so hard to go through.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
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    Don't try to cut them completely. Try cutting the donut in half. Grab a couple spoonfuls of ice cream. Buy chocolate in individually wrapped packages. Set rules. You can only have chocolate with your packed lunch. Eat ice cream as a family, etc.
  • sunfastrose
    sunfastrose Posts: 543 Member
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    Libby283 wrote: »
    Don't try to cut them completely. Try cutting the donut in half. Grab a couple spoonfuls of ice cream. Buy chocolate in individually wrapped packages. Set rules. You can only have chocolate with your packed lunch. Eat ice cream as a family, etc.

    This is good but also remember - sometimes you will want the whole thing. And that's okay. It is not a failure or weakness or something shameful.
  • cprbrat17
    cprbrat17 Posts: 20 Member
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    Do you have support at home? Admitting theres a problem is the first step to figuring out how to fix it. Why not try keeping a journal and find your triggers for having these behaviours happen? And make sure to always stay at a healthy calorie amount wise so youre not under eatting but also not over eatting.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    Two things helped me immensely.. One was IIFYM as another poster had mentioned and the other was Eat to Perform, another helpful plan. Both have websites.
  • willow8220
    willow8220 Posts: 26 Member
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    Ah, support well, I talk to my husband a lot of my struggles with food. He is a great listener but says I should just try and stop at one piece and not eat the whole lot. I wish it were that simple.

    I dont feel there are any emotional reasons for the binge eating. I think the gorging on foods is really due to the heavy restricting I have been doing, thus I am ravenous and starving and cannot control my urges and I am looking to refuel quickly with carbs and sugar. I must break this awful cycle. Its hard, I am not eating well, especially when restricting, I dont even sit down for dinner and eat with my hubby and kids-how sad is that? Its no way to live.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
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    willow8220 wrote: »
    Ah, support well, I talk to my husband a lot of my struggles with food. He is a great listener but says I should just try and stop at one piece and not eat the whole lot. I wish it were that simple.

    I dont feel there are any emotional reasons for the binge eating. I think the gorging on foods is really due to the heavy restricting I have been doing, thus I am ravenous and starving and cannot control my urges and I am looking to refuel quickly with carbs and sugar. I must break this awful cycle. Its hard, I am not eating well, especially when restricting, I dont even sit down for dinner and eat with my hubby and kids-how sad is that? Its no way to live.

    It is because you are restricting. Stop restricting. Fit small amounts into your daily food intake. Enter your food the day before if needed. I know this makes me stick to the plan because I am lazy and do not like to change entries.
  • willow8220
    willow8220 Posts: 26 Member
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    Yes I will restrict no more, once I take care of that I hope the desire to binge will fade, I have a long way to go but I dont care how long it takes. I want to take care of my body. I have already prelogged tomorrows food for the day
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Log everything. Eat all your calories. If at the end of the day you have room for ice cream, by all means, get ice cream.

    I stopped eating chocolate, for example, until my sister brought me a box and I ate the whole thing in one seating... so I bought a lot of chocolates. With them in the house, I knew they were not going anywhere, so it was actually easier for me to only eat a square or two at a time. Obviously, it doesn't always work, and I do have binge issues still (whether I restrict or not, to be fair), but once I figured out that it's ok to have whatever I wanted as long as it fit my calories, it really helped.

    But I lost 80 lbs. I gained 8 lbs back in the last 3 years but my clothes still fit the same so I don't feel too bad about it (still want to lose them though). I still binge once or twice a month (usually during PMS). I just walk a lot and eat less the rest of the time. The key really was to LOG EVERYTHING. Seeing those red number is honestly a huge wake up call.
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
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    Your post sparked something in me. You made me realize that I have been having my own unhealthy relationship with food lately. I've been trying to eat more nutritious, made-from-scratch, whole foods and increasing my veggie intake (for the good of my body since I don't naturally reach for veggies). Just a couple of days ago, I was craving my fave carby (practically zero-nutrition) ramen noodles. It was fine calorie-wise so I ate it, deciding to have a lighter dinner. Then, even though I was full, that triggered me to raid my whole office looking for all the "junk" (and doing my best to ignore the "healthy" pistachios").

    Last year, the folks here had helped me understand that 80% nutritious food is plenty and that it was fine to let myself eat about 20% of junk. I'm struggling with that this year and I really need to reframe my mind. I am considering PLANNING a small portion of some empty-calorie treat I love into every day. I think tonight, I am going to have a weighed-out portion of Munchies. Ooooo...it already put a smile on my face :)

    I'm tired of the guilt and feeling like I need to punish myself. Last year, I lost the weight easily and still enjoyed my junk food. Unfortunately, I piled back on 10 pounds over Christmas and have not been able to shake it since. Looking back, I think it's because of this whole restrict/binge/guilt/restrict cycle I have been on.

    So thank you OP for your honesty in posting. Something about your post helped me see what I have been doing to myself.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
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    I'll try to make it short and sweet: this weight loss thing, like most things in life, is a marathon and not a sprint. Your story sounds so effing identical to my own (over the course of years, in my case) that it's eerie. At one point, I got so sick of the yo-yo-ing. When I lifted heavy weights, it was a relief to finally say, "You need to eat!" It's all about moderation and it just takes a LOT of practice.

    Eat more when you feel like restricting. Eat a hell of a lot less when you feel like bingeing. Remind yourself that both the restricting and bingeing have pretty major consequences and it's not good for your body or soul.

    My two cents. Hang in there! I couldn't figure this out until I'd made a lot of mistakes and I truly cannot claim to have this thing totally figured out. Don't beat yourself up, either!
  • niamhjruss
    niamhjruss Posts: 4 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I'm removing my comment because I reread your original post and you said your binge eating isn't at all emotional, so my response about emotional binge eating isn't topical. Wishing you the best in ending the restrict/binge cycle, sounds like you have lots of good suggestions on the thread!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    I highly recommend the Half Size Me podcast. You'll find a few nuggets here and there about sustainability and some that mention binge eating. She does have a specific course about binge eating, but it's members only course and I can't vouch for it since I'm not a member.

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