new here and need help

[stilltryin]

i really need help. i've come to the conclusion that i am a
compulsive eater.i feel addicted to sugar. i am eating to the point of feeling ill.
i consume mass quantities of food.
just about eating non stop thru the day. i am discussed with myself..but that does not stop me..i have done atkins several times..i manage to lose for a few weeks..i feel great.. then something triggers me to go off plan, then i gain everything back. i've been around here for awhile reading posts and getting alot of great information, but this is my first time posting.
i'm hoping that posting will help me be accountable.
i dont get on the pc much, 3 teenagers rule here
this addiction board is a wonderful thing..i see that other
people have this same problem..that helps already...if any one wants to pm me thats fineor i can give you my email address.
i am currently looking at info on greysheeters.. i dont think i can make the religious connection though..i consider myself a christian but it seems alittle heavy for me.. there is a meeting a few towns over from me but it is durnig my work day so i cannot attend..i am open to all suggestions and ideas..also i am pretty illitarate when it comes to the pc..please bear with me..
thanks for giving me a place ramble
stilltryin

[ish]

I too am so addicted to sugar. Except for the last two weeks! I was consuming bags and bags of cookies. Gallons of ice cream, and was non stop eating through out the day. I finally had to stop. I felt like I could not breath anymore. It has only been 2 weeks and I do not feel like I have lost anything. Except in my face! Great...I wish there were clothes for my face!
I still miss the junks but it is getting better each day. I had started this woe back in aug 2000, did really good, and then someone had a birthday party and I got hooked on the cake, and that started my downfall. For me, it has become an all or nothing deal. I cannot take a bite, or it will trigger the addiction. I liken it to alcoholism, with just a different vice. I am trying not to beat myself up over what I have done to myself, because I am doing something about it. I just wish the loss would start! Lots of hugs to you as you go through all this. Your post could have been me speaking.
Aloha
Jan

[stilltryin]

jan thanks for the response.
you do sound like me..not that i wish that on anybody.
but it is good to know i am not alone. i intend to start today.
although i started yesterday and the day before too.....i was so sick last night from over eating..iwas wondering what i was doing to my body (going from basically no carbs to all carbs) it cant be a good thing.
if i can make it though one day i know i can get back on the right track atleast..good luck with your journey..do you walk or do any excercise to help with motivation?
thanks again jan, stilltryin

[ish]

Hi
Yes I go to curves 4 times a week, and try to walk when my daughter has soccer practice. Also my job is very physical.
I used to try to get to 830 am without eating anything chocolate.If I wasn't successful, then I would deliberatly blow the whole day. I figured well I messsed up already, I mught as well enjoy the junks the whole day. Problem is that by the end of the day, it was not enjoyable at all. I felt like cr*p. I have been doing that to myself for so long. It leds to being depressed, and then the only thing that makes me feel better is...yup eating. It is such a sick cycle.
I am unable to go on the scale right now, because I am afraid of what I have done to myself. I am waiting to feel it in my clothes. This monday will be 3 weeks on induction and I am hoping that I start to feel better soon. I have been so strict for this induction. If anything I feel better mentally!
Good luck to you..hang in there and keep in touch!
Aloha
Jan

[Smythe]

I struggle some days more than others, but it is better on this woe. One of the problems is many of us use food as a drug...to sedate, so when emotionally needed we turn to food, and if you are like me...pass out and nap . Ah well, we're alll working on it.

Lisa O

[stilltryin]

smythe thanks for the welcome
youre right on..some days are better than others.

today was a good day i guess..the only thing i ate that i shouldnt have was the top off a pepperidge farm fudge cake
much better than my last few weeks of gorging.

tomorrow i will start walking again. i will start induction on monday but plan to eat very light tommorrow and sunday.drink lots and lots of water..
go grocery shopping and set myself up for the long haul..

i wish i just didnt have to think about it so much..

thanks for the support
stillltryin

[Smythe]

Still-
I think you have to think about it for at least the first few months. You have to plan your meals so there is no reaching for and popping any ol' thing in your mouth. Have legal snacks on hand.
I'm not sure if part of our problem is we think too much about food, or don't think enough. Maybe a happy medium exists.

Let's try to find out...

[wezey]

I have been a binge eater from the time I was in grade school and found that I eat when I am unhappy or don't know what to do about something. I am fighting that right now because I have to find a good personal injury attorney in Colorado after being hit by a car while I was a pedestrian in Lakewood in 2002. I was doing OK on my food until my current lawyer called and said they had done all they could do here in Arkansas. Now I am cheating and I KNOW it is because of the decision I have to make and the work of starting over again with the negotiations and possibly having to go back to Colorado for trial before August 2005 and I almost feel helpless to stop......anyhow.....my point is, do you have something that may be causing you excess worry or other mentally challenging things going on in your life? My family always healed any hurt of any kind with food, "Oh, honey, it will be OK....here's a cookie." and I have not stopped it. I ALWAYS binge on sugary things and have been known to eat NOTHING but sugary things for days at a time. I am surprised that I am only at 220 and 5'4" and age 53 and don't have rampant diabetes like people on BOTH sides of my family do!! I get NO exercise. I am so tired all the time I don't want to get off the couch. (Yes, I am probably depressed) My house is literally piling up all around me and I have NO heart to clean....I could go on and on, but I'll stop. I just hope you will look at your mental aspects and try to find a reason there. When I started induction I found that after only 3 days I no longer craved sweets and after 5 days I had to make myself eat as I was no longer hungry. SO WHY AM I CHEATING NOW??? Stress and indecision, worry and not knowing the right things to do. This is, however, the first time I have not given up. Day after day I get back on the low carb because I feel better when eating this way, have no acid reflux anymore (YEAH!!!) and realize that if I KEEP eating the sugar and don't lose the weight I am going to get VERY sick so I have made a decision to make this my way of eating for life. Hey, I SAID I was gonna stop, didn't I? Well, I AM now.....

[stilltryin]

Stress and indecision, worry and not knowing the right things to do.

wezey thanks for the reply,

first let me say sorry about your accident..hope you are healing...
better days ahead..

what you said about stress and indecision is so true...but this is just normal everyday stuff for me..
how do you get rid of stress? how do you not think? i am a worryer(sp). how do I change that? i do believe i am depressed as well at times...everyone i know is stressed and worries about stuff.
i sometimes feel fortunate that i am a compulsive eater and not an alcoholic or drug addict. i restarted induction today after a rough few weeks..i have to tell you i feel better already just getting thru 1 day without sugar (hallaluh)..

thank for the support, keep it coming..it really helps...
we can do this, but the addiction is always gonna be there...

[MaryMary]

I have been where you guys are right now. I am an addict only my substance is food, sugars, refined carbs. I came to this conclusion after doing Atkins for nearly 3 years and losing over 100 lbs. I was eating my low carb food compulsively. And then I got back into the chocolate and sugars for one week and gained back 5 lbs. I knew I was an addict and if I wanted recovery from this viscious disease I needed to find a program similar to what an alcoholic or drug addict goes to. The only difference between me and an alcoholic was the substance I chose to abuse -- food.

Last December, I met someone on this board that was involved in a 12 step program. She helped me to get started. Since then, the food thoughts are gone. I weigh & measure my 3 meals a day based on the Cambridge GreySheet, write them down, call them into my sponsor and don't eat between meals - No matter what. That means no matter what calamity strikes, I have a program, a plan to deal with it. Eating over the situation does not change the situation and if I do, I am only feeding my disease. I found in the beginning that I was able to use the program as my Higher Power. I was able to use others who had gone before me as my Higher Power.

If any of you are desparate enough, and are willing to go to any lengths to recover, send me a PM and I will tell you how you can listen in to a phone bridge meeting and decide for your self. There are no dues or fees for membership just a desire to stop eating compulsively.

I wish you all the best in your research and your journey.

[stilltryin]

thanks for the reply marymary and the offer to help with greysheeters..dont know that i am ready for that..i guess i am still in denile..i am considering counseling just dont have the funds right now... i really feel the need for a support group..wish there were meetings for lowcarbers in my area..i really enjoy this board..the support is wonderful..i dont get to post much but i sneek in and read up on differnt things its great. just knowing there are others like me out there has been a tremendous help..
thanks, colette

[fla gal 57]

i to have been where you are once. i began my weight lost journey at 325 lbs. and now down over 115 lbs. i admit it hasn't been all easy for me but i can almost gurantee you that if you stick to low carb you will lose the weight.
i know i was addicted to sugars and sweets and alot of ther foods to like junk and fast foods and starchu foods like rice and potatos but you can over come them with low carb.

i have now made low carb a life time eating plan for myself and my hubby and i cannot begin to tell you what a difference it has made in my life. only wished i had know of low carb many many years ago, maybe i would have never gained all the weight i did gain.

Just remember carbs are addicted just like drugs are. most doctors won't tell you that but i know they are for alot of us.

if no one has ever been obese then they cannot tell you how you are feeling and how to lose weight properly. At least thats my opinion........i am so sick and tired of thin people who think all you have to do to lose weight is stop eating so much. thats a bunch of bull if you know what i mean. Sometimes there are more deeper reason why a person is obese, maybe its personal or a habit we need to break or family problems etc........there could be millions of reasons why someone is obese. its when we find what those reasons are and can overcome the problems connected to them,then we can begin loseing our weight with a well planned low carb balanced diet.

if any of you want to Pm mail me i would be more than happy to help you out more with your low carb plan.

if you hang in there and give low carb a chance i know you will lose your weight and keep it off to. i do admit it may not be easy,
you will have some rough times, but if you hang in there no matter what is thrown at you you will be ok...........