Eating Disorder

[Road-runner]

Looking for friends who have a food addiction/eating disorder (like me!) to share support..  Sticking to an eating plan when you have a food addiction/eating disorder has its unique challenges.  Let's compare notes and encourage each other on our journey to recovery!

[emilluca]

Certainly a subject that has my attention.

Can I admit I have an issue?

Is it an issue?

Boredom eating?

SLOW metabolism?

AM I making excuses or is it truly a unmangeable task based on my genetic makeup?

Thats enough thoughts for awhile....

In His Service

Emil

[Road-runner]

I have had a "problem" with eating and diet all my life. Even after I lost
all the weight, I continued to have difficulty controlling the food I ate:
the cravings, especially for refined carbs and sugars was irresistable. I
have come to the conclusion (and my Psychiatrist agrees) that I have an
eating disorder similar to a person with Bulimia except that I don't purge
(vomit, use laxitives, etc.). So I'm in an intensive outpatient program to
treat my disorder. I realize now that without addressing my problems
surrounding food, I will never be able to maintain a normal weight. My
Psychiatrist (who specializes in eating disorders) defines an eating
disorder like this: if your eating (and the resulting obesity) are
interfering with your life, yet you still overeat, then you probably have
an eating disorder. If you lie about how much and what you eat, hide what
you eat from others, hoard food, then you have an eating disorder. If
thoughts of food and eating monopolize your life, then you have a problem.
It's like a substance abuse problem, an addiction just like to alcohol or
drugs, only the substance you abuse is food.
--
Becky Randolph
"Life is a beautiful gift: not to be possessed or hoarded, but to be
treasured and shared."

[KristenAnne]

I feel like I go through the grieving process when I eat. I feel bad, I'm in denial that I'm not hungry, I bargain with what I'm eating and wonder if I deserve it. I accept that I need the food, but the sadness and regret of eating is always there. I go through this even if it's a healthy meal (while sometimes I'm not too bad on myself if it truly is healthy).

No one knows this about me... Not until now!

[Road-runner]

Wow, that took real guts to admit; sometimes it feels like food is an enemy and I do battle EVERY DAY with it.  It's the feeling out of control that I hate.  I wish I could just stop dealing with it alltogether.  Unfortunately, without food, I would die.

[KristenAnne]

Thanks, you too!

It's exhausting to go through this every day; 3 times a day! I know it good for me, keeping me a live, keeping me able to run and workout, giving me energy, etc... Yet I just hate it so much!

[emilluca]

The rub is when I try to manage and truly do and the result is negative. I still gain 2 lbs. Constant revaluation of the process. Convince myself that it is me and then discover a better way to manage the issue.




"We cannot witness what we do not live."

[JennyJenny]

The only way I have had any success in weightloss and overcoming my food addictions has been to clear out the junk food that was in our house. Also, avoiding the aisles in the grocerie store that have my trigger foods. It is hard, even with all that because I often find myself frusterated and hungry and miserable because I WANT my food. I keep slipping up, but I keep getting back up again.

[KristenAnne]

That's good. It's hard to resist.... Have you tried looking up healthier versions of the food you WANT? At least you're not saying that you NEED the food... That's a great start. There are a lot of yummy ways to get healthy and not deprive yourself of the tasty goodness. If you's like let me know what your trigger foods are and I can help you look up better for you recipes.

[JennyJenny]

Oh, I have many healthy substitute recipes and products, but it is not the same. I really love giant pretzels, and anything salty/crunchy. I used to NEED a pretzel or chips everyday, but it gets , slightly easier the longer I resist, lol. I still have chips on ocassion, but I only get the really good stuff and in the single serving bag, so an indulgence doesn't become a binge. I also try to not get all guilt ridden over it because going down that road just leads to MORE over eating. 

[dotnetcowboy]

I deal daily with everything everyone is talking about in this thread. Wow. It's good to know I'm not alone in all of this struggle. If you look at my profile you'll notice that nothing is private, not even my food log. I've made everything public so there's nothing to hide and I can force honesty in myself by knowing that others can see every action I do any time they want. It's kind of a weird psychological trick I'm trying out but so far it's helping. I have reached for food since I started and said to myself "Who's going to know if I don't log this?" but then remind myself of my goals and intentions. I then either eat it and log it (and enforce accountability) or put it back and don't eat it. It is, as my mother would say, "A hard row to hoe" but it's good to know that there are so many wonderful people here in the community to help and encourage.

[Road-runner]

I know what you mean.   I decided that the only way my recovery program was going to work for me was if I were BRUTALLY HONEST.  This means I quit lying to my husband about what I eat; if I binge, I tell him.  No more sneaking around.  And whatever I eat,  I log every bite.  Knowing I will have to log it, I think twice about eating it.  Maybe making my food log public like you did is a good idea for me, too.  Another step in being honest with myself and the whole world. 

[Road-runner]

You are so right.  There are certain binge foods that just "call" to me.  In the grocery store, it's the doughnut section.  I got rid of all my binge foods in the house, too.  Less temptation.  Now, if I could just get my husband to quit bringing junk into the house too, that would really help.

[colleen]

I used to be real heavy and now I have to work so hard to keep it off. I think I may have exercise bulemia. Where you only eat what you burn off. Like today I was at the gym for 3hrs. Then when I left I was happy because I felt like"Yeah I can eat" I have gotten better though. I would be interested in joining any group you strart. 

[Road-runner]

Yeah, I know how you feel.  The fitbit app shows how many calories you've burned so far and how many you "can eat", and I get happy when I see that I can eat all these calories; it's tempting to get on the treadmill more times (I already do three 20-minute sessions a day) so I can eat even more.  But that's part of my eating disorder.  What I really need to be asking myself is, "why do I want to eat all this food?".  The whole idea of the logging of the food and activities is to show the relatonship between our energy needs and what we eat.  The idea is that we eat to sustain our bodies; we're not supposed to be exercising excessively so we can eat more.  I'm really working on my relationship with food, trying to not use food to deal with my stress and anxieties.  Ironically, I have found a good 20 minute session on the treadmill lessens the stress and anxiety as good or better than a bowl of ice cream!

[Road-runner]

I started a new group:  Eating Disorders/Food Addictions.  If anyone is interested, check it out here:

https://www.fitbit.com/group/22235N

[Road-runner]

I had to "cleanse" my house too, much to my husband's dismay.  I just can't handle having sweets in the house; they are my fav binge foods.  At the store, I just stay away from the bakery section and the candy section.

[badminton]

I have removed all cheese products, and most chocolate. I am not big on chips, or even most icecreams, so I tell my family they can have those for snack/desert. I still eat the occassional piece of cheese, and chocolate, but not in the house. I reach for a piece of fruit for sweets. It's been 2 weeks, and so far it has helped.

[Road-runner]

My new snack of choice is raw veggies with a non-fat Ranch dip.

[Kristee]

Hi!

I struggle with emotional eating. The only time I really eat is when I'm depressed or bored. Been doing a lot better and have lost some weight since gaining control of it too.