Plan

[Nina Kay]

I am Nina Kay and I am a compulsive overeater, all-around food addict and a binge eater.
I have been consciously thinking recently about how I need to work on my recovery program for my eating disorder again, as I've been obviously ignoring my problem lately. I've had too many other things going on that have been taking my attention and just plain not wanting to consciously deal with it right now since I've always so far ended up right back where I started.

For this month, I have so far, been able to abstain from eating Obvious Sweets, thanks to the thread that Jack has started and maintained here and all of the support and encouragement that I have recieved from each and every one that participates in that thread.

So now, because of the good example that Dave is being, I have made a decision to begin consciously working on an eating plan once more. My main problem, though, is that I get overwhelmed very easily and then eventually throw in the towel. Happens everytime. I'm an extremist and I always go at things in an "all or none" manner. So this time, I've thought about it and I've decided to focus first on my Breakfast Only. I don't plan on going overboard in this area either. I want to gradually work on eating a healthy breakfast and not overeating it. At first, I have decided that I am going to focus more on the "not overeating" part of my breakfast, until I feel like it's a pretty strong habit. However, I will try to make the most healthy choices I can without stressing over ingredients, at first. I really have to remind myself to relax and keep it simple, so as not to overwhelm myself.

I also plan on coming here and checking in on this thread to hold myself accountable. I'm trying to remind myself each day to be more faithful to come here to the ED forum and check in. For me, it's easy to get slack and then to withdraw and isolate, so I have to consciously make an effort to come here each day. You all seriously make a world of difference in my life. I love you all.

If anyone would like to join me, jump right in.

[Nina Kay]

I forgot to add that I plan to commit here to taking my vitamins & calcium with my Breakfast every morning. This is something that I know helps me to feel healthier when I remember to take them. I have to take them with food, so I continually forget and then remember at the wrong times. I want to get into the habit of taking them every day, so I thought that it would be a good idea to take them with breakfast in the mornings, so that I can get the most out of them all day long. Thanks everyone for being here for me and listening and I will be here for you too.

[Astro]

[QUOTE=Nina Kay;2186666]If anyone would like to join me, jump right in. [QUOTE]

I normally don't post here, is it OK if I join in? I'm an alkie and a codie but I've been dealing with weight and overeating issues for most of my life. When I sobered up 4 years ago I dived into sweets and put on 30lbs right away. I've been making good progress at taking that off recently.

My fiance started Weight Watchers a few months ago and I decided to join in but I'm not going to the meetings or paying for the program, I've just been following the "Winning Points" program as a guideline and using resources I've found on the internet.

For my daily log sheets I use this site WW Momentum diet log | D*I*Y Planner and I use this site to determine my point values for the food portions I eat Weight Watchers Points The only tricky part was determining how many points I was allowed per day, I had to use my fiance's WW info for that, but it might be located online.

Lately for breakfast I've been having a couple espresso's, oatmeal with berries, and my daily vitamins. That's only 3 points (I'm currently on 27 points per day) and that takes care of a fruit, whole grains, vitamin, and one water on my log sheets. It's been interesting and fun to plan my daily diet by using this method, but so far the results have been good. I've almost shed that 30lbs I gained and I want to go a little further, I'd also like to start exercising daily.

Obvious sweets are still an issue for me though, I'm definitely compulsive when it comes to desserts.

[Nina Kay]

Hi Astro. It certainly is okay if you post here. You are very Welcome. I'm happy that you've wandered on down to our stretch of the woods, here at SR.

Obvious sweets are still an issue for me though, I'm definitely compulsive when it comes to desserts.

I would encourage you to check out the thread here on being abstinent from Obvious Sweets. Everyone there is very encouraging and supportive to one another and it's certainly made a big difference for me. You will be very welcome there.

As for your eating program, particularly breakfast & vitamins, I am so pleased that you've come to join me. You do sound very informed about all of this. I have never gone to WW personally. I have talked to some that have. I'm glad to hear that it's working so well for you. I never tried it because I knew that I was never self-disciplined enough to continue it once I started. It really sounds like you are doing well to work your recovery program in many areas. That's really awesome. I hope that you'll keep coming back here and sharing some of the particular things that have worked for you.

[dave47]

Lately we have been trying to have a proper dinner and to cut out much of the junk/quick foods and snacks. It is so easy to snack and it takes an effort to get out of that habit so I try to have plenty of fruit and celery and chopped carrots if I want something. I love coffee and even though I haven't cut back much, I try to replace diet drinks with as much water as possible.
I take multi vitamins with iron and alternate between Omega 3 and Cod Liver Oil tablets, I don't know how effective these are and if I really need them but I will carry on for now.
I try to make an effort to slow down my eating as well, I have always hurried my food and I know this is a problem and probably leads to overeating.
Good to see you here Astro and I will check out those websites, congrats on the weight loss.
Thanks for the thread Nina.

[Nina Kay]

Hey Dave. I'm so glad to see you here. Thanks so much for sharing all of things that you've been doing. It really helps.
We do alot of fast foods and I also have alot of problems with snacking, mostly chips & dips which cause me problems. I'm hoping to remedy these things one step at a time. I also, have always eaten my food too fast. I do need to slow down. I've always heard the pros & cons of this, but I've never really consciously worked on it. I guess that's one of the things that I need to work on correcting. I do think that these seemingly small details & habits may play a large part in my problem.
I hope that you'll keep coming here to share what works for you.

I made sure that I didn't overeat or eat compulsively for Breakfast this morning and I did take my vitamins & calcium with my breakfast again today, so I've focused on changing my Breakfast habits for the betterment of my health, for 2 days now. Not long, but it's a start. I want to get myself in the habit of consciously eating a healthy amount for breakfast, but not overeating breakfast and taking my vites with it, every morning. Then when I'm habitually doing this, so that I believe that I can safely add working on changing another part of my eating problems, without sabotaging myself, only then will I move on to focusing on lunch. This is my plan.

[Astro]

You might want to watch this thread NK http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post2187957 (Healthy Breakfasts: what do you eat?) I shared this about the breakfast I had this morning (split the omelette with my fiance)

Today I had a veggie omelette with wheat toast. For my omelettes I use one whole egg and 1/4 cup egg whites, and Veggie Slices instead of real cheese, I like those cuz they melt like the real stuff.

I might be getting addicted to this stuff.... http://www.galaxyfoods.com/ourbrands/usa/veggie.asp Lol. The pepper jack is awesome.

[Nina Kay]

Thanks Astro. I did check out and subscribe to that breakfast thread. It's got some great ideas. I also checked out the Veggie site and I'm gonna look into that when I go to the store next time.

I did not overeat breakfast this morning, at least not compulsively. I ate some breakfast burritos and drank my coffee. My hubby got me 2 small ones and thought that I wasn't overeating or at least not the amount that I was used too. After eating them though, I did feel really full, so I told my husband only one from now on. I forgot to take my vites this morning, but I did take them this evening. I'm not really doing great with this, but better than I was. I will progress. Progress, not perfection, is what I'm striving for.

[Nina Kay]

Today, I had a Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl. Eggs, Potatoes, Bacon, & Cheddar Cheese. I took my vitamins & calcium with it. I had a couple of cups of coffee, w/sweetnlow & 2% milk. I did not compulsively overeat my breakfast today and I did remember my vites. That's alot of progress, so far, for me. I hope that everyone else that comes to this forum are doing well with their breakfasts.

[Astro]

Good progress with your breakfast NK! I had about 10 espressos this morning so my hair is standing straight up!

I found another good product LightLife :: Our Products Actually my fiance bought it to try. This stuff tastes amazingly good, very close to ground beef so it might be useful in breakfast recipes/

[Nina Kay]

Astro, did you recover yet from the caffiene rush you had yesterday? Did ya get that hair to lay down a little better today?

Well, I'm having another problem that I haven't mentioned yet. I've been having this problem for a very long time now, but this morning made me realize that I needed to be honest here and really think hard about how important it is to do something about it. Today I had my breakfast and I did not overeat it and I took my vites. However, it was at about 2:30 p.m. when I ate my first meal of the day. I've been having alot of trouble getting to sleep for way over a year now, so when I do, I don't wake up until lunch. It then takes me a while to drink my coffee & get going, so I don't get hungry at all for another couple of hours. I've tried to fix this, but have had no luck at it and now I see how it is affecting my breakfast and other meals. I never thought of it having anything to do with my eating.This plan of mine keep bringing, other areas of my bad health, to light.

[Nina Kay]

At least today I had my first meal of the day, 2 hrs earlier than yesterday, 12:30 pm. I do feel that's progress and I want to mark that progress by putting it here. I started having this problem because of my health getting worse while I was running a daycare in my home over a year ago. I hung on as long as I could and then I had to close my daycare and I started to sleep alot more. But I got started going to bed later & later and then getting up later & later. Now I'm having a whole lot of trouble changing it back. It's affecting my health & eating habits alot. I will come here to chart my progress with this so as to hold myself accountable and I know that this will help me to overcome my problem in that area too. I will then be able to get my eating plan on the road to healthy.
Today, I did not overeat my Breakfast and I did take my vites & calcium. This is the 6th day of my eating Breakfast but not overeating Breakfast & remembering to take my vites & calcium with my Breakfast.

I also wanted to say that I did get a little exercise (walking), some sunshine & fresh air, day before yesterday, and today. I haven't been getting out of the house at all, for the longest time as I was going downhill physically, mentally, & spiritually. I don't know how I let myself get in such really awful shape, but I'm having the worst struggle of my life, trying to get myself out of this mess. I'm making progress today and I want to keep going at it. Baby steps. Just for Today. One day at a time.

[Nina Kay]

Well, I've had a really bad set back. I couldn't go to sleep last night at all and hubby having calls from work too didn't help, so I ended up staying up all night on the computer playing games, which I'm hooked on, until 7:30am this morning. I then realized I was too tired to just skip sleeping and I wouldn't be able to get anything done anyway from being so tired, so I went to bed. I slept until 2:50 pm, this afternoon. So that is a great big worsening of my problem that I was already having, but I do remember that my Mother always said that things always take a dive for the worst, right before they get better. I am going to take this jolt as a beginning point for purposefully making my sleep habits turn back around. I've tried many times, but this is it.

Because of that I didn't eat any Breakfast or Lunch until this afternoon and I was starving. I did eat more than I should've, but not compulsively. I decided to eat some cheerios and then I ate a Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl. A half bowl of cheerios with 2% milk and the breakfast bowls have lots of protein and are not very big. I usually eat only one of those. I did take my vitamins & calcium with my breakfast. Then for Supper, which is what we call Dinner here in Texas, I had a large Salad with meat in it. Nothing else today. Maybe not good, but alot better choices and amounts than I used to eat. It's still progressive and positive. Or at least, it is for me.

I didn't get outside and get any exercise, fresh air or sunshine today, though. I just didn't feel good enough to go out. Tomorrow will be a better day, healthwise anyway.

[Astro]

Originally Posted by Nina Kay

Astro, did you recover yet from the caffiene rush you had yesterday? Did ya get that hair to lay down a little better today?

I'm still caffeine binging, picked up a fresh can of espresso today!

I agree Nina, having a regular mealtime schedule is a benefit to our daily health and our sleep patterns, but I'll admit that I'm very poor at finding a balance myself. Because of my recovery meetings and kids activities, it's rare that I eat dinner at a reasonable hour, usually it's just before I go to bed which disrupts my sleep sometimes and stalls my weight loss. Breakfast and lunch are usually the same time on the weekdays. Weekends my meal schedule goes completely haywire, sometimes I don't eat my first meal until late afternoon.

Once again, awareness and vigilance is the best I can do sometimes. I have to recognize the problem, then do my best to correct it.

[Nina Kay]

I'm not doing well with the sleeping patterns that are affecting my eating plan, but I am sleepy now, as I resorted to 1/4 of a tylenol pm tonight. We'll see if I can get back to some sort of normal sleep times.

Today, I ate my first meal of the day at lunchtime, so I just ate lunch and I had one ham & cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread and I took my vites & calcium with a little 2% milk.

I did get some sunshine & freshair at my grandson's baseball game, but no real exercise today. It is what it is. Consciously working on some healthy improvements for the last week now. That's progress for me.

[Neagrm]

Thanks for this thread, NK. I haven't been here in a long time, but used to come. I got discouraged because it seemed not many posts here like in Fam and Friends, etc.

For some reason I came and just read this thread this evening. It's a great idea and I'm glad you're posting in it. It helps me to read your story, etc.

Idon't have a problem usually with breakfast, but I do have much difficulty snacking in the afternoon and evenings and have become irregular with suppers, sometimes skipping them, then snacking all evening on junk.

I've done much work with the 12 steps, but this defect of eating sweets remains badly entrenched despite all efforts.

Your idea about focusing on one area appeals to me; starting with one small step rather than looking at the whole overwhelming picture is a great idea. I'm going to think about this and decide on some small way I can begin to change bad habits. Thanks so much. I hope you'll continue to add to this often.

[Astro]

Originally Posted by Neagrm

Idon't have a problem usually with breakfast, but I do have much difficulty snacking in the afternoon and evenings and have become irregular with suppers, sometimes skipping them, then snacking all evening on junk.

I struggle very much with that too Neagrm. There's a thread going here in the Eating Disorders forum about a 100 day goal/abstinence from obvious sweets. Maybe you'd consider joining in and sharing your experience?

Welcome back, hope you stick around!

[Nina Kay]

Welcome back to the ED Forum, Nea. I'm glad that you have joined in here too. I've been looking at some of your past posts and I'm seeing that we may have a few things in common. I hope you'll continue to post here.

Hey Astro, how's it going? Things aren't going so well with me. I'm still working on it, but not able to go to sleep at a decent hour, so I'm still waking up at strange hours also. Breakfast is at very random times. I haven't overeaten my first meal of the day, at all for the last couple of days, since I last posted here. Yesterday, I did forget to take my vitamins & calcium, but today, I did take them. I've had an absolutely horrible weekend, but everything did work out okay, so I hope to start doing better soon.

[Astro]

It's going so-so Nina, thank you for asking. I had sort of a break-through this weekend, finally cracked the 170 mark today, weighed in at 169.5.

I'm still struggling with the munching though, same old story. Had a good healthy breakfast and lunch today, a very light dinner when I got home from my AA meeting, now I'm sitting here tearing through bowls of snacks.

I have this funny feeling I'll weigh in over 170 tomorrow, then it'll be back to the old drawing board.

[Nina Kay]

Hey Astro, I am very proud of you for reaching your goal this weekend. It does sound like you are doing so good with your other meals. Maybe you can just concentrate on what to do about the compulsive snacking when you are continually working steadily and are strong with being OS free. Maybe you can find some healthier snacks to keep at the house for when you crave something. I used to eat as much popcorn as I wanted and I lost alot of weight. I just ate small amounts of everything else I ate. I can't do that anymore with hypoglycemia. I know that you'll find something that you like if you'll keep looking. Anyway, if weight gain shows up tomorrow, don't be discouraged, it is because of the large amounts of sodium that was probably in your snacks tonight. If you don't continue this it will go away before it becomes solid weight.

[Live]

Good Job, Nina!

I think your approach is very wise...one step at a time lifestyle changes!
I am terrible about not eating a proper breakfast, you have inspired me to get out that oatmeal I bought!

HUGS!

[Neagrm]

Thanks for your kind welcome, Nina. I'm glad to be here again.

Yesterday I did well with the eating, but didn't get all my vitamins. The reason I did well, though, is because of a flare-up of a chronic illness I've had for 25 years. It's been relatively quiet for some time and I'm coming out of denial to try to get it back under remission.

I'd like to be able to eat well just to be well all the time, not because of an illness. I am working on that, turning my life over in Step 3, and trusting HP in working Step 7.

Your idea about planning for one small area of the day is very helpful for me because it spills over into the rest of the day. I'm reminded to focus on small steps that are do-able and not be overwhelmed by the entire picture. This is a good plan. Small steps, and never giving up. I'm so encouraged that you are still here after I was gone, you haven't given up. Your encouragement, strength and hope mean a great deal.

Nea

[Astro]

Originally Posted by Nina Kay

Maybe you can just concentrate on what to do about the compulsive snacking when you are continually working steadily and are strong with being OS free. Maybe you can find some healthier snacks to keep at the house for when you crave something. I used to eat as much popcorn as I wanted and I lost alot of weight. I just ate small amounts of everything else I ate.

Great suggestions, thank you! I think I tend to reach for the easiest stuff in arm's reach, which might not always be the healthiest. You're right, the stuff I've been eating lately isn't all that fattening but the sodium content is pretty high. I'll pick up some more Curves popcorn this week, it's even got a low point content for my WW program.

In the OS thread someone mentioned water, water, water. And while I drink it every day it might help to use it more often to curb the cravings.

How's your plan going for today Nina? I really appreciate your inspirational daily posts.

[Neagrm]

So far today I had Activia lowfat yogurt and english muffin with pbj at breakfast.

Lunch was minestrone soup with bread.

Now I m in starting the toughest time of day into the evening. I'm trying to watch the thoughts go by and out the other ear, lol.

[girlontherocks]

Hi guys,

so I'm new here. I used to post this in my early recovery (from drugs and alc) under a dif name that I dont remember, that was over four years ago.. I am at a point where I need to live in the solution in regards to my eating habits, it is a serious problem that is threatening that I lose everything. everything. So Nina, I am with you. I am going to be on my own plan, not too rigid. All I want is to STOP NIGHT EATING/BINGING. So simple, but yet so hard. for me it involves:
1- A healthy breakfast (oatmeal or fruit)
2- a packed lunch (God I am so lazy at times!)
3- afternoon snack
4- A supper......at which I eat an appropriate amount to my hunger level, not to over eat.

In order to do these things, I need to maintain the following or else I INEVITABLY FALL OFF THE WAGON AND SPIRAL DOWNWARDS.....
1- read, pray, and meditate each morning
2- do my tenth step each night.
3- stay away from men for now. My motives are all wrong and it triggers my eating/obsession big time
4- work with newcomers.

Ok well that is my plan and I am happy that we are all in this together!!!!!!