Food Addiction--New for 2008

[Pcola Girl]

I just wanted to start up a new thread on food addiction for 2008.
We had a old one but everyone stopped posting for some reason and I think its time we had a new one and start posting about this bad addiction most people have with food these days, including myself.
Yes I am a food junkie, I admit that and I want to get over it. I want to lose my weight and keep it off and stop letting food control me. Its about time I stand up for my rights and control food and not let it control me anymore.
Food is addictive and we all can see what it does to our bodies when we let it control us.
So okey ladies and gentlemen, lets get this thread going and beat this addiction once and for all.
Let us know what you are doing to control your bad eating habits, post your daily menu if you want, your exercise, etc. anything that you are doing to get your life back under control.

Food does not control us anymore...........

[Pcola Girl]

Okey, I will start us off here. some of the ways I am trying to control my eating habits is by planning out my weekly menu's. I make a plan and stick to it and know what I will be eating each day.
When I go grocery shopping I buy only what I need for my meals and no JUnk foods.
I also watch my caloric intake and to and keep it at no more than 1200 calories a day.
I eat only low carb foods and if I want bread I eat only 100% whole wheat because it has alot of fiber.
I read all food labels and watch for hidden carbs in them.
I don't fill my plate up and eat like I am starving.
I do water aerobics twice a week for my exercise.
I stay with this suppot group here and chat alot with everyone, this helps me know that I am not alone with my weight problem. I am around others who understand what i am going through.

There is a thin person trying to get out of me and I know she can find her way out one day by eating low carb and sticking to it for the long run.
This is a new way of eating for me now and I plan to stick to this way of eating to for the rest of my life.
I am going to beat my addiction to food. I keep telling myself over and over I can do it and I will.

Now you all come in and post to and let us know your plans for losing your weight and addiction to food
See ya!

[MountainGirl]

Hey Mary!

I'm with ya. I'm an addict that's for sure.
I posted this today in the Main Lobby. Can you offer any suggestions?

IT'S PORTION CONTROL DUMMY! :-(
I am SO mad at myself!!!

We went to Ryan's Buffet for lunch and I had all the RIGHT foods, but I ate waaaaay to much of it! I could have, should have and wish I had, stopped with one heaped plateful, but noooooo, I had to stuff my face like someone would steal my food.

I am so disgusted with myself. While I was telling myself I was staying on my LC plan, I was totally stuffed and kept eating. Just like before I started LCing. I must REALLY be addicted. If it's there, I HAVE to eat it!

Now, I feel horrible. I'm stuffed, lethargic and feel like I've blown it. I just HAVE to learn to stick to portion control and stay away from the All-you-can-joints cuz I have no willpower.

::kicking myself hard!::

Help me, I'm hopeless!! How do I truly eat smaller portions when it's not about hunger, it's about being addicted to food!

[MountainGirl]

Hey,

No one posts in here?

[Pcola Girl]

Hi MountianGirl, I have done the same thing at buffet places and like you I felt terrible afterwards. I am not sure what makes us do this but we have to learn how to control it or get fat again. I have already lost too much to ever gain it back.
When I did induldge in food like that I just fasted the next day. I did drink water but ate nothing.
That helps me not to gain my weight back. It is hard but I find things to keep me busy so I won't think about food when I fast like that.
I know fasting is not on low carb but it helps me contol my weight.

Sometimes I think we must get a high from eating so much like that, and it makes us feel good at that time but afterwards we go on a down fall and feel awful.

Sometimes I wish our bodies never had to eat, just take a pill or something for its nourishment, maybe then we would not over-eat like we do.

I also think that alot of our eating habits are formed way back into our child hood years. I know my father use to force me to eat everything on my plate when I was little and I think that was what made me become obese in my teen and adult years. I was made to never waste food and eat it all, so I did. Now I guess somewhere back in my mind I am still feeling that way.

Take care and post often.

[Determinedtolose]

Hi Ladies,

I know what you mean. Before I started low carb, I would from time to time binge on certain foods, or even eat the wrong foods all the time, especially when I was by myself. I wouldn't let anyone see me doing that. Of course I gained weight.

But the thing with me and food is, not only do I love to eat, but I would eat fast. I don't know why, if it's I didn't want anyone to watch me or if I wanted to hurry up and get seconds.
I know I have a problem with being watched while I eat, so I would eat quickly. Bizarre huh!

When I eat, it's not a pretty sight, lol, because I would put loads of food in my mouth. And sometimes I just want to get the eating over with.

After I would cook something, say for breakfast, if there was anything left over, but not enough to actually put away, I would just eat it.
It seemed like I could never get full!

Now, after being on lc for about 8 months now, I feel better about how I eat. There are times when I would get the urge to overeat or binge on something I'm not supposed to or do that with certain lc foods.
But I quickly turn away from that and the way I do that is to premeditate my actions.
If that makes sense. It's the same thing I would do when I used to drink. If there is something that looks really good to eat that is hc or lc and I have the urge to eat it, or over eat it, I think about my actions. I picture myself eating the food, then think about my reaction to it. I picture myself getting upset, how the food would make me feel, physically and emotionally.
I would think about how that food could possibly cause me to gain weight and if eating it would be worth it.

Like last night, I made a ton of chex mix. There are 5 big containers in my house sitting there looking good! lol Yesterday as I was making them I did have some not alot, but a some here and there, bascially the scraps. After I did that I kept thinking to myself, oh it won't hurt to eat more. But I know it would hurt because my emotions would be high and then I would be thinking about why did I do that, and so on. So I stopped.

I think just by thinking about our actions before we actually do anything helps. It helps me anyway.

It's like what we tell kids, to think about the consequences before we do something we'll regret later.

I'm not completely over this behaviour but I know in time and with the grace of God, I'll get a handle on it!

Talk to you all later!

[MountainGirl]

Hey gals,

Thanks for the replies and for this thread.

I hate that I binge-eat and I want to stop. I actually have done better since being on LC, but I still have those times where I'll eat every legal food at the buffet. I just need to NOT go to the buffet, that is destruction for me.

I do SO much better at home portioning out my foods.

I'm glad to be able to talk to y'all about this. It's embarrassing.

[Determinedtolose]

Hi MountainGirl,
I know what you mean about being embarrassed, but it helps to talk about it, that's for sure.
As a matter of fact, what I posted is the first time I've ever said that. Hmmm, that's something! lol

Oh I'm reading your signature, you're in remission, that is wonderful and I'll praise God with you too!
I love your woe stats too!
I pray for your continued success in losing weight!
You have done really well too. I can't wait to get to the 180's myself.
Soon. . . .very soon!!

Have a good evening!

[Pcola Girl]

Hi girls, I know I have binged at times and hated myself afterwards. I am really worried about the food that will surround me duing this Holiday season, I do real good with it sometimes and other times I just eat everything in sight. I know than cannot be normal.
I try to control myself but its like I become another person who is starving. Its weird.

Today I am doing better. I have been doing one of my fasting days today because we went out to Golden Corral last night for supper and I ate to much and ate wrong to.
Fasting like this after a day of cheating is the only way I can keep from gaining my weight back. I have heard its not good to do but it works for me, I have been doing this for years.
Have any of you ever fasted after a day of overeating?

I know some of you on the board might be negative about my fasting but I am determined to lose the weight and I don't think fasting has hurt me any. In fact I think it has helped me stick to plan better and flush my body out some impurities with all the water I drink on my fast. Then the next day I eat the foods that Atkins has on his induction plan and I stay on it for a few days and then increase my carbs up to around 30 aday and eat as usual but all low carb.

Post often girls and I will check back in later with you to see how you are doing.
Be good.

[Determinedtolose]

Hi Mary,
I don't think it's bad to fast, as long as your body can handle it and from what you said, you've done that many times. . . and you're still with us!

I think during the holidays, we just need to surround ourselves with lc foods. Make some deviled eggs, those lc crackers, vegetables, cheeses, sliced turkey breast with no sugars. Make one of those snacks with the cream cheese block and put salsa over it or something lc and eat it with those lc crackers.

We have lots of options.

I know you can do this Mary! We can do this!!

[Pcola Girl]

Diana, thanks for the snack suggestions. I do love devil eggs and all sorts of cheeses.
I will make up a low carb tray just for me.
I also like to make a spinach dip with cream cheese, its real good for dipping veggies in.

Yes I know we can all lose this weight, I really need to now for my health becasue of my knees. I just did so good many years ago with losing it but now just cannot get back in the groove of things.I got into a bad slump when we moved to a new city two years ago and just never got out of it. But I am trying hard now and I feel that I will achieve success to with it.

[GhettoMama]

One of my problems is just eating out of boredom...or habit. Right now I am laid off and am home pretty much all the time. It is easy to just eat with out knowing it. Even now lowcarbing I have to make myself stay out of the fridge...and when I get in it anyway, I make sure I just grab something like a few pepperoni or green olives. Food should not be a hobby or companionship!
I pretty much gotta stay home most of the time cause my husband is now disabled and pretty much freaks out if he is home alone...I have no idea what I am gonna do with him when I go back to work in Jan. He is so used to me being here pretty much all the time. Oh and yeah, I am a stress eater too. You are right MountainGirl....this is all very embarrassing. And people are cruel, so it is hard to talk about. I am ashamed of my weight, and I know it leads to low self esteem too. And the worst of it is that being overweight is preventable. Its just takes determination.
This is a great board...I am glad I found it.

[Debralynn]

Great thread! Marking my spot!

[amadeus4313]

Hi all,
I suffer from food addiction. I find I am most vulnerable when my life seems to be out of my control. Right now I am so swamped with stuff to do that I find myself avoid it by eating. I used to use smoking the same way - as a procrastination device to keep from having to face the chaos.

Here is my plan for right now - I am setting the time for 15 minutes and I am going to spend that time straightening up my computer room. (Do we have any Flylady fans here?)

Good to meet up with all of you.

[amadeus4313]

Wow! I hope I didn't kill this thread by posting on it. Where did everyone go?

[Determinedtolose]

Hi, I'm here.

I've been here and there, and for awhile no one posted here, I thought I did the same thing that you said. LOL!
I just got done baking some cookies, low carb. I guess you just can't substitute lc cookies for the real deal. They don't taste the same, of course. I think the cakes and desserts come out better than the cookies.
But my think is with the hc cookies I baked, am I going to be tempted to eat them.

When I first started lc it was so easy for me to resist the hc stuff. I could bake cookies and not even flinch at them. Now since I've done it for awhile, I'm wanting to taste some, but I'm not going crazy thinking about it.

I think for me I need to drink lots of water to get that full feeling, then maybe I won't feel tempted to eat.

I'll get through this, We all will get through this!

Talk to you all soon!

[amadeus4313]

I know what you mean, Diana. When I'm on plan nothing phases me, but let me stray even a tiny bit, and I'm off and running. I'm on OA group lists and I am totally awed by people who celebrate years of abstinence from problem foods. I often wonder if I'll ever get there.

[Determinedtolose]

I think it's great when others can overcome this addiction. For me, I don't know why I like to eat food so much. I haven't stopped to look at the reasons why. I just always have. I remember being a kid and would stuff my face with food and not even care about it. I was always being made fun of though, in grade school and even with at home.

Now I can laugh at it all because I have put things in perspective but why did I eat the way I did when I got older. I carried that same habit from child to adult.
Anyway, I know one day, I will only eat when I'm hungry, not because I'm bored or out of impulse.

Have you ever seen a movie called "Fatso" with Dom Del Luise, it is hilarious, but it has some truth too it. I reccommed watching it, because it makes us laugh at ourselves and also shows the way family can be with an overweigh sibling. Very good!

Well have a good evening and take care!

Diana

[amadeus4313]

Hi Diana,
I have a bit of insight into why I eat the way I do. My mother died when I was a child, my Dad was an alcoholic, as was his mother. I think the tendency to use things addictively (is that a word?) may be an inherited trait. I used to smoke. When I quit smoking my compulsive overeating worsened because not spending time smoking gave me more opportunity to abuse food. I love the OA step of turning it over to God. I know that's the only way I'm going to get there. The problem is, I keep taking it back. Once I figure out how to quit doing that and just let go and let God, I know the way will be much easier. Until then, I am amazed at my ability to not give up.

I notice that you are in the Valley of the Sun. I am in the snowbelt. LOL! We got quite the snowfall this weekend.

[Determinedtolose]

I totally agree with you on giving this to God, that is the only way we can deal with.
I know He will give us the grace to get through this!

Yes, I'm in Arizona and it's around 55 degrees here. It's not that cold, mainly because the clouds have been out all day and it kept us insulated. I just took my dog for a little walk to get out for a bit and it was just gorgeous. We had a beautiful sunset too!

Did you get a lot of snow?

[amadeus4313]

We didn't get the 8-10 inches predicted, but what we did get drifted the country roads shut. One of my jobs is working at our local school. It is cancelled for tomorrow, but my other job is as a pastoral musician. We have a funeral at our parish so I don't get the day off. We've had so many funerals lately. This is going to be a tough Christmas for their families.

[Kristine82]

Hello everyone! I am new to LCF, but not to low carb dieting. Back in high school I lost quite a bit on CAD. Over the summer (I am now 25) I went back on CAD and lost 10lbs in 2 weeks. Tomorrow I am starting CAD/Kimkins. I hope to be down 34lbs by January 26th. But the reason I am posting in here is because I am addicted to food, which is why I have never lost weight and kept it off or sticked with my diet. HELP

[kristin4]

I am a food addict as well. I hope that everyone else is still here holding strong. I think with food addiction, we need others that understand. It is much harder to control food addiction than many other forms of addiction. When I gave up smoking, I did it cold turkey. I wish I could cold turkey food... LOL! Trying to use portion control and not nibble between meals is hard enough. I am also a binge eater. I eat when stressed. So you can say, I am stressed out a lot. I once lost 100lbs doing Atkins. I will do it again, I just need to de-stress my life.

[Pcola Girl]

Ok everyone, now that the new year is here we need to get on the ball and break this food addiction we have.
I have a suggestion that may help you, I started this yesterday (again) for myself.
I plan all my meals for the week, I make sure I have everything I need for them already in the pantry and fridge so there will be no running back and forth to the grocery store for anything.
I did this years ago when I lost so much of my weight and it really helped me alot to.
I made a menu for the days meals and I counted the carbs in each meal to before I made it so I would not go over my 25 carbs a day.
I placed only the food on my plate that I would be eating for that meal. (I did not place the bowls of food on the table) I wrapped up the leftovers and put them in fridge so I would not be tempted to eat seconds. Only what I had placed on my plate would I eat.

My hubby ate also this way with me but when he was away from me he would eat what he wanted because he never gains any weight anyway. So he was not depriving himself from anything he wanted to eat.

My hubby has been very supportive and he is the one who fusses at me when I eat wrong, so he is a big help in making me stay low carb.
But I am now replanning all my meals like I use to do and am determined to lose the rest of my weight this year.
You try it to and see if it will help you.

I think I know what has caused me to become a food addict. It stems back to my childhood when my father would force me to eat everything on my plate even if I was full or did not like the food. He would always say I worked hard to put this food on the table so I better not waste it. He would not let me save it for later because he only allowed me to eat at breakfast, lunch and supper time, there was no eating between meals at all.
I was real skinny as a kid and my father would tell me I looked sick and I better eat to gain some weight so everyone would not think he wasn't feeding me. So I ate just not to cause a confrontmation between me and my father and by the time I was in my teens I was getting very pudgy,, but by that time I could not control my eating, it had all gone amok on me.
When I got out of high school I went to work and lost about 25 lbs. just because I was away from from food alot and was not home at meal time because I was going out with friends and dating to.
But three years after I got married I had a child and thats when I began gaining weight really bad, alot of it to, and I could not lose it for the world. I tried every diet there was. even just not eating, but nothing helped me, I would lose alittle maybe but only to gain it back plus more.
Not until I found low carb and began researching online about being obese that I became more knowledgeable on how to lose the weight. That was back in year 2000 and I lost 100 lbs. on Atkins low carb. I was 325 when I began so you can see that I still need to lose alot more to and will do it this year because my mind is made up to lose it.
While I was losing so good years ago I got down with my back and had to have several back surgeries and then a hernia surgery so I was homebound for over six months with it all and I just got messed up with my eating because everyone was bringing me fast foods to eat because I could not cook for myself at that time. I never really gained more than a few pounds back but when I got well I just could not seem to get back on track with my eating. So I have been fighting with it off and on for the last two years.

I now have a new understanding and outlook on my life so I know with some careful planning I can lose the rest of this weight this year.

[Pcola Girl]

My eating is going well today, how about yours?
I am here if you need me so post often ok.