Diary of A Compulsive Overeater - Day 13

:flowerforyou: good luck today

Well, I admire your honesty as well. I guess the only thing I can say about this is that if you don't eliminate your eating triggers, it will be extremely difficult to ever stop.

That probably means stopping from going out to eat for a while. I know that sounds crazy, but politely declining isn't as hard as it sounds. Look at it this way, you wouldn't ask a newly recovering alcoholic to go to a wine tasting, or a newly recovering gambler to go to a vegas night. So why would you expect a person with food issues to do ok at a restaurant?

Eliminate the triggers and it makes your recovery much easier, at least at the start, results make refusal much easier to do.

Hope this helps, best of luck to you. Don't give up!

-Banks

I also admire your honesty and maybe logging everything will help you figure out what is making you overeat. It looks like you have the best intentions going in to each day then life happens and you get deterred. I have suffered with overeating in the past.
Things that help me now:
I have made a list of pros and cons of eating too much and my goals big or small and I put one copy in my bathroom one on my fridge and I carry one with me now.
For most of the restaurants that I go to I already have an idea of what I will order when I get there. I try not to look at the menu much this is what I am getting and that is final. I dont usually include salads in there but try to get grilled chicken or fish with steamed veggies. If I get fast food I usually get a grilled wrap or maybe a jr burger and then a salad.
Now at home I just don't buy the crap that I know I will not be able to stop eating ie. Potato chips, brownies,candy,any baked desserts and so forth. The only things that are easily accessible for snacks are light popcorn, pretzels, nutrigrain bars and fruits and veggies.
I drink water before and after every meal so this way I make myself feel a lot fuller. If I am making a higher calorie dinner at home I chop up a cucumber or other veggies first and eat that while I am cooking the meal (it keeps me from picking and starts out my meal healthy). I stay out of the convience store and if I do go I know what I am getting and that is my limit.
I have turned to the lower calorie options when I shop now. FF milk and low fat dairy, I look for lower calorie breads and wraps, I stock up on frozen veggies and some canned so I don't have an excuse not to eat it. I get a lot of chicken and ground turkey sometimes pork. I never go to the store really hungry either. I also go to a produce store that sells fruits and veggies cheap. I try to buy something new each time I go and look it up on the internet how to cook it.
There is still some places and situations where I don't do well. If there is a candy bowl out I can't keep my hand out of it. I also noticed if I am with people that tend to overeat so do I. If I am with people who eat better I do as well. Now I try to lead by example although it doesn't always work.
I just figured I would pass on some of these things that have been working for me and see if you wanted to apply anything to your new lifestyle. I know this is hard and different situations arise everyday. You can do this. It took me to reach a breaking point.... I was sitting at home with my two kids and watching a program on tlc about obesity with people who were so overweight they could not leave their homes and how they eat so much that their bodies wouldn't be able to burn it off in a week. Honestly it scared me although I was not really that close to that it finally sunk in that I can't do this to my body anymore and that I don't want to keep gaining weight. Then I thought about where this would take me in ten years. Hmm I guess it was my breaking point and that's is when I started eating healthier and I found this site. Honestly although I did want to lose weight my main goal was just not to gain any more.

I hope any of this helps you in the slightest way. Good luck to you. -Heather

My two cents..

A lot of restaurants have online menus with nutritional information. Set aside some time to look at the ones for places in your area. Make a list of pre-approved restaurants. When somebody asks if you'd like to go out to eat, suggest one from your list. That way, when you get there you will already know what is safe to order.

My second suggestion is to not worry about wasting food. Pretty much every restaurant out there has some type of take home box or bag that you can save the food for another meal. So, eat half or whatever and take the rest home. Or go ahead and split the meal. Saves money too...

Hope that helps! Keep up the progress!