What's your biggest hurdle?

Adrianne619
Adrianne619 Posts: 7
in Motivation and Support
Every day we have to make a million (or so...) decisions. Some are easy, some our brain make without consulting us...others are a struggle.

I struggle most with my emotional eating. When I feel the stress of the job,or the loneliness of this job, an anxiety sets in that seems to be soothed by filling my mouth with chewy or crunchy anything... sometimes it could be a sandwich, or a bowl of something, but I will not stop until the package is empty.

Just admitting that, even if no one says anything, is therapy! It's now out there for anyone to see, my guilt and shame attached to it. Hopefully, by hanging this out to dry, I can hang this binge eating habit out to dry also.

So, what challenge do you have to tackle each day?

Replies

  • juliaamilee
    juliaamilee Posts: 262 Member
    sweets! for the past few weeks I cannot get past it. I had 3 cupcakes today. Lucky they were low can and yummy but I could not resist. i had my hubby toss them for me into the bottom of the trash. I am usually not a big sweet eater. Def emotional eating as well. Bored, happy, sad, mad ugh
  • pwittek10
    pwittek10 Posts: 723 Member
    sweets!
  • Bagman12002
    Bagman12002 Posts: 216 Member
    Portion controll has been hard something taste good and dang if i dont go and over board.
  • mommy2maddox
    mommy2maddox Posts: 141 Member
    Emotional eating, especially as of late. I cannot get ahold of it. I've gained 5 pounds in about 2 weeks. I'm having some health issues in the female/gastro area and it is just killing me. I am hiding my eating and shoving food in my mouth. I am in desperate need of a wake me up.
  • EuroReady
    EuroReady Posts: 199 Member
    Everything, sadly.
  • SingeSange
    SingeSange Posts: 98 Member
    My biggest challenge each day is actually myself. I'm so incredibly hard on myself when I do something "wrong" and find it so difficult to realize when I'm doing something "right". Sometimes I'm so worried about failing that I won't even try new things. It took me about 3 months to get past NOT wanting to try and lose weight because I was worried I wouldn't be able to do it and I would give up. I still worry about that when eventually I do reach a plateau.
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
    I eat when i am bored. And I get bored a lot at work. I also keep candy there for the others in my area. I don't eat candy at home ever but the Tootsie Rolls there call my name...because I am bored. I just got off a week vacation and not one piece of candy or unhealthy food and then 3 hours into my first workday back I am eating a piece of candy. I need a job where I am not sitting at a desk all day I think.
  • shadesofjade77
    shadesofjade77 Posts: 18
    I'd have to agree with you. I often let my emotions get the better of me, and I've always turned to food. I am trying something different now. I'm replacing one bad habit with another. I try to leave the house and go shopping... or just go spend money on anything I want to make me feel better. It works, but probably not good for my bank account. :huh: I realize that you're having the problem while you're at work. If you have a desk job, I'd say to put a mirror at your desk where you'll be forced to watch yourself throughout the day.. That way, you're more likely to catch yourself eating (it's what I used to do, kinda made me accountable to myself). If you do have to have something, find a healthy alternative to take to work with you. I would always take a lite string cheese and a serving of whole wheat crackers to get me through the afternoon.
  • riveraphx
    riveraphx Posts: 380 Member
    maintenance for sure. I have gained and lost big numbers probably 10 different times now. Once I lose the weight, I think I'm a skinny girl, but really I'm a chubby girl that has to work tremendously hard to get their and maintain.
  • RobinShay
    RobinShay Posts: 53 Member
    Cooking for my family. If it was just me and the hubby that would be ok, but I have 3 kids at home still that don't like what mom and dad eat. Yes I should make them eat the healthlier food, but you know how that gos. Im a taster when I cook and their food tastes better than mine. I taste a lot. Lol!
  • ClemsonMGT
    ClemsonMGT Posts: 4 Member
    I am a huge emotional eater as well. Bored, stressed, angry, whatever. It's common for people to think it's just females who do this, but be assured we all do. I can crush 3,500 calories in a sitting easy. It's such a simple solution to feel the instant gratification of control as you can eat whatever you want but what feels 100x better is looking at yourself in the mirror after the first week of sticking to a nutrition and fitness regimen. It all goes away and is replaced by a fire that makes you want to work even harder. It just takes an initial investment.

    I've been eating bad the past few weeks, which is abnormal for me, and I find myself back into the old habits of craving everything I think of and being unable or unwilling to resist. However, I know that after that initial week of battling these urges, they will subside. After awhile there's nothing I look forward to more than my meals that I know are healthy and taste great. It's only temporary.

    For now do things to avoid the temptation and make sure your getting your calories from good clean sources of whole foods not liquid (and no simple sugars!) so that you're not actually hungry. All other foods that you have around the house or at work need to be THROWN AWAY. Even if you involve a cheat meal once a week you should never keep those foods around you if you have difficulty resisting them. You should also be keeping a water bottle with you 24/7 drinking at least a gallon per day to hydrate yourself as well as avoiding the false sense of being hungry. Finally, chew gum. I find that orbit lasts about the longest and it helps with the oral fixation (don't use food flavors use mint or cinnamon).
  • JamesterCK
    JamesterCK Posts: 109 Member
    I'm not so much of an emotional eater (usually when I'm upset or anxious I can't eat), but I eat the most when I'm bored. When I watch TV, I want to eat. When I read a book, I want to eat. You get the idea. I find it worse when I'm doing my college homework. I always peruse the kitchen looking for things to eat; then I proceed to gobble down any food that looks good. It's awful. I think I have it under control at the moment. The tracking of my food (which I input a day ahead of time) really helps me stay on track.
  • kais79
    kais79 Posts: 41 Member
    Definitely binge eating, emotional eating and portion control equally. I feel my binge eating could be helped by better portion control and I just have always been so emotionally weak when it came to eating to feel better. If I had to pick one, however, I'd say the binge eating. My problem is having so much alone time. I get bored, I want to munch. I would like to get out more but just don't enjoy doing anything. I'm seriously considering trying another water exercise class such as I've done in the past, just once, to get me more active, so hopefully that will help.
  • Adrianne619
    Adrianne619 Posts: 7
    Really awesome to see y'all sharing -- thank you! I see some similar struggles, and some helpful tips too! Downtime is so hard, especially if, like me, you don't have a family or big social network. I moved here for my job, and the nature of my position has me working solo, not able to make friends with the people I supervise. That lonliness is a huge contributor to my weight gain over the last year, and I'm determine to ignore it now! Focus on being my healthiest self!
    My dog is my constant reminder to be active, whether it be walking, playing ball or wrestling (he's 145lbs, so it's definitely a workout to rough house with him!). Joining a small gym and this site is helping to better control eating and improve my workout quality, so I appreciate everyone sharing and being so supportive! Feel free to add me as a friend, and accountability partner -- Don't be afraid to get after me if I slip up ;)

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