What do I do?

[Ellelove89]

I don't know how to stop eatin and not eating...

today i eat intil i was over full

but for the past two days i eat nothing

i don't know what to do to stop me from ...help

at the very least i don't know what to call it or how to fix it

[Nina Kay]

Elle,
I don't know what to tell you except that I do know that when you don't eat for a while, it'll cause you to eat a whole lot more than you normally would when you do finally decide to eat something. Your body and mind are starving, so you'll be really too hungry and overdo then.

From what I've learned so far, it seems that in order to break this cycle, you'll need to make a plan of eating and write it down. Like maybe eat something, whether you're hungry or not, every 3 hours, by the clock. Our glucose level drops and rises, every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. That would keep your body on an even keel. It doesn't have to be much, as long as it's just something with protein in it. Of course, this is just a suggestion. I've also found it very helpful to journal everything that I put in my mouth, eating or drinking, and date it, to get a clearer picture of what and how much I'm eating. I've been surprised about how different it really is than what I thought before I recorded it as I ate it.

Anyway, these are just suggestions to try and break the cycle that you're in, just one day at a time. Really, just by focusing on three hours at a time. It really has helped me to do this. Keep coming back.

[ccgirl]

Hi, just thought I'd jump in here and say I agree about writing everything down. It really helps.

Also, if you skip meals, your metabolism slows way down and tries to store the calories for later, so it doesn't help with weight loss, it can actually make you gain weight. That's why it's so important to eat breakfast in the morning; to jump start your metabolism.

The most important thing is you really have to want to do it. I know you can do it.


P.S. One of my favorite hints: in the afternoon especially, if you're hungry grab a handful of nuts. They're tasty, protein filled, and filling.

[BigSis]

What I've only recently discovered, is that my "compulsive" eating - the unreasoned, scavenge through the cabinets "trying" different foods and STILL not being satisfied... THAT sort of eating (for me) is related to addiction.

When I eliminated sugar from my diet, I started feel satisfied after a meal.

And I lost 28 pounds.

NOT because I was reducing how much I ate at any one meal, but because I was suddenly NOT eating in between meals. And I didn't seem to "want" to.

It was hard.

Very hard.

Like giving up smoking.

But after 3 days it got better, and after 5 it was MUCH better.


My "plan" looked like this:

No obvious sugar for 3 days
No sugar in the first 5 ingrediants (on labels) for 3 days
"Yes" to sugar free candy (it is "self-limiting"... causes, uh... purging..smile)
Exercise (Curves - 30 minutes a day) for 4 days a week


AND... I go to support meetings. For me, the group I use is an unregistered Overeaters Anonymous 12-step meeting. We use the OA materials, read the book, and share what is going on with each of us at each meeting.


Getting my eating UNDER CONTROL turns out to be far more important to me than losing/gaining weight.

Not being a slave to the sugar addiction has turned out to be very freeing.

Do I still struggle? Yep. But now that I know how not to eat sugar, it is far easier for me to get back on the wagon. And when I attend AA meetings (some are listed as "open"), I substitute "sugar" (in my mind) for "alcohol....and BOY, do I start to see some similarities!


I hope this helps.

((Hugs))

[Neagrm]

BigSis, thanks for your great post.

How, exactly, did you get control of the sugar? To even start? You just did it? HOOOOOOWWWWWWW????????? By dint of will? I want some! Waaaah, give me a shot of 'dint-of-will,' whatever it is.

Ellelove, I don't know any answers, but an OA group, Al-Anon group, and a knowledgable counselor would be starters. I'm not inspired right now and that's all I can think of. Oh, and reading material, anything related that might educate yourself about such things. Best of luck to you.

[pedagogue]

Originally Posted by Neagrm

How, exactly, did you get control of the sugar? To even start? You just did it? HOOOOOOWWWWWWW????????? By dint of will? I want some! Waaaah, give me a shot of 'dint-of-will,' whatever it is.

There is no magic ingredient or special pill; you need to decide that you want to take back control.....and then you do. It is the same as any other decision you make in your life. It is a gradual process, so don't feel like you will NEVER EVER EVER slip up. First go a meal, then two, then a day, then a few days, etc.

I believe everything is good in moderation, but sometimes it takes cutting something off and then SLOWLY introducing it back in, though only when it is just a food, and not whatever you are projecting onto it right now.

-p

[ccgirl]

First, I agree that over eating is definitely related to addiction; eating to fill some void, just like drugs/alcohol do.


I too, cut sugar out of my diet (although not completely) because my physical showed I was on the cusp for diabetes. I started using Splenda wherever I could. I switched from juice to Crystal Light or water and I really forced myself to eat only when hungry. I also started going to bed earlier because I was a late night binger. I've lost 65 pounds and kept it off for two years. You know what? After a while, it really becomes a lifestyle and NOT a diet. I don't think about food all the time, or if I'm bored I don't grab a bag of Doritos. Now, if only I could do that with hydros, lol!

[BigSis]

For me it took SIX months of "mind prep"... I knew I was "probably" going to give up sugar, but I also knew I was not ready.

The OA meeting I attend is great about that - no pressure. I just kept going and attending meetings was "all I could do" at that time.

I had some sort of "breakthrough" or "epiphany" at a meeting in March... I really, emotionally got the connection between addiction to other substances and addiction to sugar. I could see, in my own past, how I never ate when I drank alcohol.... I never ate when I took percoset... I never ate when I gambled....

Some THING was being satisfied by drugs and gambling so that I did not have to eat. Some element in my food was satisfying that same need. I have given up smoking, gambling and percoset... and I didn't die.

When I went to my OA meetings, I often left praying that God would let me be in His will... and I added ... specifically in His will when it came to food and eating.

So I decided one morning to give up sugar for only 3 days, and maybe only for 1 day.

Those 3 days were VERY much like the first week I quit smoking. I warned my husband, I tried to stay away from people AND I used sugar-free candy and Splenda in my daily diet.

Warning: Sugar free candy contains Sorbitol. A bag of chocolate made with Sorbitol could just as easily be a bag of chocolate Exlax as far as how it affected my system.

So.. through experience... I found the candy to be a little self-limiting.

But it got me through those first 3 days (that and some Blue Bunny no sugar added ice cream with low, low sugar... about 4 grams per serving).

And I've been able to maintain that sugar fast fairly consistently since March 17.

I also added exercise which helps give my brain the endorphins it craves... 4 days a week, for 30-40 minutes each. This also helps curb my apetite.

The meetings help keep me on track.

This is the "recipe" of how it worked/works for me.


You are in my prayers.... that you can find the strength, the commitment, the desire and the peace I have found by adding this element to your life.

(((Neagrm))) ((((Ellelove))))