Why can't I break this ADDICTION???!!! HELP

mshlmybelle
mshlmybelle Posts: 1
edited September 19 in Motivation and Support
I lost 25 lbs last year. I was doing so well. I was walking 7 miles 3-4 times per week and feeling GREAT!! Well, winter hit and gone were the days of walking outside. Then I decided to go back to school while still working 40 hours/week. Plus, I am a single mother of a 4 yr old boy (no help whatsoever from father)......This all equaled...................
23 lbs gained back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get so down all I can think about is the next piece of chocolate I want to eat, then that piece turns into 20. I am so obsessed with food as a crutch for my stress and complete fatigue. I eat, sleep, breathe food. I sneak food because I am eatig way too much.
I am so DEPRESSED!!! Not about my son or school. I am having a hard time at work and the fact that I worked so hard to get this weight off to turn around a blow it. I need a new way of dealing with stress besides stuffing my face. I usually start eating well for a few days then temptation hits at work or on the way to school where I have 30 minutes to get out of work and get to school. No time to eat healthy so I snack in class; to come home and still feel hungry and snack even more!!!

I NEED HELP!!! I feel so gross and bloated (I weigh 228 lbs). I would appreciate ANY encouragement and any thoughtful tips. I cannot feel this way anymore!!

How have you stopped your obsession with food? I thought about overeaters anonymous but I just don't have time to join any clubs or gyms. I plan on getting back to walking but it is the food addiction I cannot control.........

PLEASE HELP ME!!

Replies

  • skroder
    skroder Posts: 4
    Hey there....it's okay to fall off the wagon as long as you get back on it! :happy:
    I think it's fantastic that you're working, parenting AND going to school! That alone should make you very proud of yourself! As far as snacking I just read in a Jillian Michaels book a little bit about sleep and relaxation. Getting enough rest is part of the weight loss formula as well. She says that if you want to lose weight you have to make sure you're getting enough sleep. Research was done on leptin, ghrelin, human growth hormone, and cortisol. These 4 hormones control appetite, fat and carb metabolism, and growth of lean muscle. If you have a sleepless night your leptin and ghrelin (which are your check and balance system to control feelings of hunger and fullness) get out of whack. Your leptin produced in fat cells which send a full signal to your brain goes down and your ghrelin which stimulates appetite goes up. The research showed that sleep deprived people have their cravings for high-carb, calorie dense food increase by almost 50%!! AND the same study showed that those who slept the least amount had the highest body fat and weighed the most! This study was done between Stanford and the University of Wisconsin. She also said that stress triggers cortisol and that promotes abdominal fat and makes us feel hungry when we are full. As any post, take from it what you want, but hopefully this will help out a bit for you! Hang in there, you can do it!!!!
  • SarahNicole317
    SarahNicole317 Posts: 302 Member
    I lost 25 lbs last year. I was doing so well. I was walking 7 miles 3-4 times per week and feeling GREAT!! Well, winter hit and gone were the days of walking outside. Then I decided to go back to school while still working 40 hours/week. Plus, I am a single mother of a 4 yr old boy (no help whatsoever from father)......This all equaled...................
    23 lbs gained back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I get so down all I can think about is the next piece of chocolate I want to eat, then that piece turns into 20. I am so obsessed with food as a crutch for my stress and complete fatigue. I eat, sleep, breathe food. I sneak food because I am eatig way too much.
    I am so DEPRESSED!!! Not about my son or school. I am having a hard time at work and the fact that I worked so hard to get this weight off to turn around a blow it. I need a new way of dealing with stress besides stuffing my face. I usually start eating well for a few days then temptation hits at work or on the way to school where I have 30 minutes to get out of work and get to school. No time to eat healthy so I snack in class; to come home and still feel hungry and snack even more!!!

    I NEED HELP!!! I feel so gross and bloated (I weigh 228 lbs). I would appreciate ANY encouragement and any thoughtful tips. I cannot feel this way anymore!!

    How have you stopped your obsession with food? I thought about overeaters anonymous but I just don't have time to join any clubs or gyms. I plan on getting back to walking but it is the food addiction I cannot control.........

    PLEASE HELP ME!!

    I am also struggling with this problem right now. I lost 30 lbs and kept it off for 2 years and now I'm back to where I started. If it would help we could be accountable to eachother to get back on track and eating healthy. Let me know what you think!
  • j4nash
    j4nash Posts: 1,719 Member
    i love food, absolutely love it. I find that eating 6-7 times a day makes a huge difference. It's okay to cheat every once in a while but do it in moderation. I lost my most weight (60 lbs) when I designated one day a week a cheat day to keep my cravings in check. Obviously don't go overboard but it does help. Good luck!
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 17,210 Member
    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    I felt like you not so long ago. I decided to make a small change starting immediately.

    My first change was to make a plan of what I would eat the next day and then stick to the plan, no matter what.

    My next change was to decide that I would accept no food that was offered to me, no matter what.

    It helped me a lot to take one day at a time (that means a lot of things including not looking back at what I did before), stay open minded to new ideas, take baby steps (not try to change my whole life immediately), and find a group on MFP that I could check in with every day for support and encouragement.

    Start walking, no matter what else you do.

    If you work at this, you will succeed. :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • Tofuheart
    Tofuheart Posts: 191 Member
    I can relate to this. I too would think of food like that. Get excited about eating a huge bowl of ice cream and so on. Something switched over in my mind, I can't say what it is because I haven't identified what it is exactly. I started making little changes in my diet and not cutting myself off from the food I felt addicted to, found something new to do. (walking and joining a meetup group) I started to forget about eating late at night and stopped buying ice cream all together. If you have a few foods you love to eat that aren't healthy in large doses cut one item out. For me that was ice cream and dark chocolate. I allow myself one dark chocolate bar just around PMS time when I'm craving chocolate and that's it. The ice cream I had to cut out of my life, it's my totaly weakness and emotional eating comfort food. I eat yogurt intead now. Not the same but it has some of the same qualities.

    You have done fantastic with your weight loss so far. Think about the changes you made then and you can do it again. Weight is just a number. You can do this again. You seem very strong.
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