I'm afraid I'll never learn...

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
I'm afraid I'll never learn...
8
Sat, 05-07-2005 - 10:44am

...to control my eating and not let my eating control me. I know that I can do this and that I have all of the resources available to me to be successful at becoming more healthy, but I have the hard time utilizing my resources sometimes. I have to be completely honest and say that yesterday was a bust, too. I don't think I really went over my calorie limit, but I wasn't in control. Today I was good...until I walked in to work. Pretty much the minute I hit my desk I felt like I lost all control. I was sitting here and trying to figure out where I can get some food from and thinking about all the things I want to eat this afternoon. I think I am starting to realize that a big part of my problem is that I am somewhat obsessive/compulsive and when I am in the mode I am in now, it gives me something to obsess about. When I get on a healthy eating plan and stop making food the center of my world, I obsess about other, trivial things, and it stresses me out. Just before I went completely off track, I was being very hypochondriatic (if that's even a word), I kept worrying that I would be in a car accident, I worried that my boyfriend didn't want to be with me anymore...I worried about pretty much everything, because I couldn't find anywhere else to direct my energies or attentions! I know that food has always been a comfort to me, but I also think that it has also been a cure for me to keep my mind from obsessing about other "problems" that aren't even real.

I'm taking a deep breath today, and I am NOT GIVING up, I just know that I am going to have to take control of my eating and not let it control me. How do you guys deal with this?

Staci

p.s. thanks for listing to my long winded post!


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2003
Sat, 05-07-2005 - 10:58am

Well, it might help if you bring food w/you to work. Then, you don't need to worry about where you next meal or snack is coming from. It also gives you control over your eating. You could pack up your meals and snacks the night before, if you're rushed inthe morning.

also, try eating every 3-4 hours. I don't mean meals, but like have breakfast at 7, a snack at 10, etc.....just so you don't get sooooo hungry that you go nuts when you do eat.

I can't help you with the other issues, sorry :( But hopefully these ideas will help YOU control your food, and not the other way around.

Hang in there, staci!

dawn

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Sat, 05-07-2005 - 11:07am

Thank you for your reply, and I actually do have tons of food here at work...just not the junk food that I feel like I "need'! I have a couple of frozen dinners, some soup, some frozen chili, the stuff for burritos, and milk, but none of it is "unhealthy" enough to satisfy my urge to just eat! I know that, for the most part, to get past this I just have to acknowledge what my problem is and accept it and find ways to solve it. It was helpful for me just to post the first message becuase it's out there in black and white now, and I can't deny that that's what my problem is. Now, I am going to find ways to get past my urges. Thank you all for your support! :)

Staci


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Sat, 05-07-2005 - 1:31pm
have you tried taking sugar free gum to work with you...I get the orbit bubble gum and any time i hungry I just have a piece of gum it works fabously for me.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2004
Sat, 05-07-2005 - 8:04pm
Staci are you my twin?
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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Sun, 05-08-2005 - 12:15pm

Staci...the important thing is that you dont give up and your not :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-04-2003
Sun, 05-08-2005 - 12:58pm

Usually, I'm obsessing over food more when I'm OP then when I'm off.

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Mon, 05-09-2005 - 1:16pm

Thanks you guys for all of your support and suggestions. I am happy to say that after Thursday and Friday being about obsessing about eating and overeating and when am I going to eat again, I got back to "normal" on Saturday and Sunday and am doing ok today today, too. I am not On Plan as I was before, but I feel like I have control over my eating and not the other way around. I have kept my calories in line for "maintenance", and feel much better about getting on track than before.

As far as something else going on as far as obsessive/compulsive tendancies, I know that it's something that runs in my family. My mother was much worse than I, but she's gotten a lot better, and my grandmother was even worse than my mother, but she, too, has gotten a lot better. It's like it's been passed down among the women in my family, but at least it's lessening by generation, and it seems to get better with age, too. I have already noticed a marked improvement in a lot of ways in my own life, but I know that I will continue to deal with it for a long time. One day at a time is all we can do :).

Staci


 


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Registered: 01-19-2005
Mon, 05-09-2005 - 3:35pm

Staci,

Let me first say that I feel your pain and can identify with you. I too, compulsively overeat or binge eat. I, like you, actually plan my bad choices, like what I'll order this afternoon for lunch, etc. The whole time I'm saying, I should NOT be doing this, and I keep telling myself not to do it, right to the last bite of that no good, fat strewn stromboli filled with steak and pepperoni!

Afterward, when the high wears off, I feel the guilt and the sorrow. So, how do I deal with it? Well, I spent years and years binge eating, then starving myself periodically. I tried hundreds of diets, did the self talk "I'll start on Monday", I took medications and even made my self throw up a time or two. But, today, I admitted my problem and scheduled an appointment with a counselor who deals with compulsive eaters. I, like so many here, am still searching for my way to break this cycle. I'm tired of putting myself down and beating myself up over the bad choices I make. I'm tired of the control battle that I'm obviously losing! I need help because I can't do it alone.

So, that's how I'm dealing with it, I'm seeking professional help. Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but I hope it helps.

Melanie