What's your abstinence?

[shyQcodep]

Hi, I'm James and I'm and compulsive overeater (as well as an alcoholic, a debtor and a codependent and .....?)

I haven't posted on SR in a long time as I've been focused primarily on my face to face recovery, but I'm in a new phase in recovery so it seems like a good time to come back and visit SR. I've gone back to OA (I tried once last year) and I've got 23 days abstinent, which is 1 day more than I had last time .

I would like to hear what folks are doing for their food addiction recovery, and particularly what kind of abstinence we are following (or not following ). My abstinence as I define it is sugar and flour free (at the fifth ingredient or lower) and weighed or measured. I'm doing 4 meals a day, with no snacks, planned daily and committed to my food sponsor. So what's your abstinence?

James

[sugarssweetpea]

Sounds like a good plan James. I am still trying to figure out what is going to work best for me.

[emily33]

I eat six times a day Smaller meals.

I eat alot more fresh fruits and veggies. I have cut back on meat quite a bit. But I love steak so every couple of months I will eat 4 ounces.

I have changed to diet pop.

[shyQcodep]

I've made a few changes to my abstinence, the most recent one 3 days ago. The changes started with my visit to the nutritionist on 9/28 - she looked at my daily food plans and said that it was a great start, but....

The issues which she had with my food were the need for greater variety and a suggestion that I add a serving of vegetables, and then she asked "So how's your exercise going?" After an awkward silence I said something like "What's exercise?" After some more stammering, I made a commitment to walking 20 minutes per day, which is now part of my abstinence. I've actually changed that to walking or cranking the stationary bike, but it's still 20 minutes of light exercise daily.

My response to the nutritionist's issues with my food was that I would work on them - not a hard commitment. However, after a week or so I began to add that serving of veggies and now it's part of my abstinence - I eat a total of 5 servings of fruit of vegetables daily - three of fruit and two of veggies.

The other change came without external prompting - it was one of those awareness, acceptance, action things. I had been aware for some time that my use of salt was way beyond normal levels, and when I wrote my OA food history one incident which I included was a memory of being told by a fellow student one night in the freshman dining hall that I used so much salt that that I would get high blood pressure - which I now have. That still wasn't quite acceptance, but I recently became aware that rehabs often take away our salt (as they do sugar and caffeine as well) and I had the thought that my chronic problems with dry skin and poor wound healing could at least be exacerbated by my use of salt. I went from those thoughts to "If they take away salt in rehabs I should be able to go without salt too", and I've been free from added salt for two days now and I'm on day three. I can't say that I've exactly felt withdrawal, but on the other hand by yesterday afternoon I felt pretty miserable and I'm in about the same place today, just trudging along.

So that's the update - changing and trudging.

James

[best]

my abstinence...

Engage brain before engaging my fork.

If I add in more exercise then the minimum I do now, my Dr said I could be off the blood preasure pills in less then a month's time.
By thinking about what I should do and putting those thoughts into action, I have built a few good habits. Still need deal with the sweet tooth though.
No added salt and I am watchful of salt filled foods. (chips and the like)

[shyQcodep]

Originally Posted by best

Engage brain before engaging my fork.

I wish! The best that I can do is to engage prayer before engaging my fork - my brain just doesn't work for food.

J.

[best]

Originally Posted by shyQcodep

The best that I can do is to engage prayer before engaging my fork

J.

A much better way. Added strength comes from your way.

[Zephyr]

Hey. Wow I'm so excited that I found you guys.

My abstinence is.....
..... 4oz protein and one fruit for breakfast, 4oz protein and 2 veggies for lunch, 4oz protein and 3 veggies for dinner. Nothing in between. I talk multi vitamins and drink lots of water and walk 30 minutes a day(not always). I go to OA once a week (AA every day because I got into AA first, 5 years ago). I call my sponsor every day (OA). I have had no "whites" since July 23, 2005. Feeling the emotions I use to eat to mask has been the hardest thing for me. I was 46 years old, <5'2", 280 pounds, and hopeless when I followed a friend who later became my sponsor to an OA meeting. I have lost 114 pounds. I now enjoy life. My Higher Power has done for me what I could not do for myself. I am daily being delivered from the bondage of self and the bondage of food addiction. I do the first three steps on my food every morning. And again during the day when I am tempted. This is what I must do because my disease wants me dead. I choose life today.

When I want to eat, I ask myself what I'm trying not to feel. Writing helps alot. Sometimes writing and burning it helps.....sometimes I have to repeat that a few times....just a thought.

[sugarssweetpea]

I have got to get the connection to the feelings & eating thing. I really do not know what I am eating to suppress. I don't think anything anymore. I think that it started out that way when I was a child, but is now more of a learned behavior. Eating out of habit. I don't know. I am going to look into this more. I keep hearing more & more people talking about it, so there must be something to it. Thanks.

[BigSis]

SSP - thank you for that. Your post sounds more like me.

I have not gotten to the point in my recovery where I am doing an abstinence, and I don't know if I will.

Yes, I get triggered by chocolate, but I do not have the willingness - today - to become abstinent from that. And - I am not certain it is the chocolate or the sugar, or both.

I DO know that it is emotional stuff that triggers my eating... just sitting at an informal OA meeting the other night made me want to "use"... we had chocolate candy in our conference bags, and I was reaching in and gobbling them down like crazy... all my fear getting stuffed down in the process.

About 20 minutes into the meeting... I no longer wanted to eat... not at all. It is possible that chocolate suppressed the feelings enough to subdue the "eating craving", but I think it was the talking about issues that did it.

It was an awakening for me, that is for sure.

My initial plan is to use the Weight Watchers food plan and Curves exercise to start me in conjunction with twice a month OA meetings and daily phone calls, and reading the literature.

But I am open to eventually having to abstain from sugar and wheat... because following program is helping me in other areas.

But, for today, I am not abstaining from specific foods.

[Nina Kay]

I am abstinent from sugar, aspertame, sodas, popcorn, chips & dips. I am working on being abstinent from compulsive overeating altogether. I stay abstinent from COE most days, but I have setbacks when I miss meetings.