Serial Crash Dieter

[RAKEeat2mchCAKE]

My name's Katy and I am a foodaholic! I don't think that the only reason why I am over overeating right now is because it is Christmas time, I wonder how I would cope without the cupboards in my kitchen full of crisps (I have eaten nearly a 200g tube of pringles this morning!!!), choclate bars, cakes, and cookies. I have always ate these savoury snacks before the last few months of but in moderation. I am obsessed with food but people around me ca't tell beacause I hate eating in fron of them and I am slim. I may have a slim frame but I have a 31 inch tummy hidden under my clothes, and at age 16 that is bad. I read on a website about how if you have alot of weight around the waist there is a one and a half to two times more likelyness for that person to have at least one major heart disease. It is a bit worrying. I went on a diet in the summer and I ate healthily but one day my dad asked me to go to the chip shop and buy fish and chips, I did and I also walked out the shop wth some one elses bag of food that I thought I had purchased . I gave in to the tempting hashbrowns because I felt like I was always worrying about what I could eat and what i shouldn't. I regret that decision. Since then I have decided to not eat meat because I think that what God has created, let man not take away (not sure what verse that is). It is not hard being a vegetarian, I can still eat LOTS of sugar filled foods and saturated fat.
If anyone has any advice please reply

[bikewench]

Hey...

Welcome to Sober Recovery.

yes...
we all have our behaviors around food addiction...
and all the behaviors hurt us in one form or another...

my goal for myself... ( and I have the eating disorder bulimia/anorexia)
adequate water every day... which for me is 2 litres minimum
5-6 tiny meals a day with at least one form or fruit or vegetable in each of those...
NO simple SUGAR in the first 5 ingredients
and take my vitamins

pretty simple eh..?
well.. I aint' doing so good either.. ;o)

so...
I am going to work very hard today to utilize all my good behaviors to add to myself today...

and I invite you to join me.

[Nina Kay]

Hi Katy,
I just wanted to say Welcome. I'm sorry that you are going through such pain, but I am glad that you came here. I am a compulsive overeater. An emotional eater. I eat when I'm upset or when I'm celebrating. I started when I was young like you and now I'm 50 and I have several health problems from not taking care of myself. We didn't have computers when I was young and so I was alone with my problem. So, I am glad that you are here with us. There is safety in numbers. We all understand what you are going through from experience, so even though I might not have the advice that you think that will work for you, I will share my experience, strength and hope so that maybe you will be able to take at least one thing at a time away from things I say and others here say that you can use as a tool to help you to overcome your hurdles. Others will be along soon to welcome you and to hopefully, share something with you that might help. The main thing that I want to say to you right now is that you are not alone in your trials. I used to call myself a foodaholic all the time. I know what you are going through and we will walk this journey together. {{{{HUGS}}}}}

[RAKEeat2mchCAKE]

Thankyou for ideas Bikewrench and sypathy Nina Kay. I am going to demand that next time I go shopping with my mum who controls finances in my family, that I can buy at least 3 healthy foods. Seeing too much bad food in the kitchen saying to me BITE ME I AM TASTY is no good. MY grandmother, who died before I was born, had an eating problem, she died early because she ate fries and rubbish most days. My dad is an alcoholic so I have a family background with addiction problems. That is not an excuse but a motivation to make sure I stop excessively bingeing.

[foodgurl]

Hey Too much Cake,

I started at abot your age too, maybe a year younger actually. I don't know why I went from not really having an appetite to eating all kinds of things after school. I always stayed slim, I'm even slim now, I'm about 40 lbs overweight but it doesn't show... I probably look about 15 lbs overweight to be honest. I'm 24 now. Anyways, I'm proud of you for noticing at such a young age that yo udo have a problem, I didn't realize it until recently because I felt that all of my friends pigged out like that when we were younger and we all stayed small. I went to the gym all the time, played soccer, field hockey and was ont eh swim team... in university I was at the gym every single day burning offa ll the of the calories I took in from drinking and midnight food orders, lol. Anyways, if you ever need to talk about it on here, you are definitely not alone. We are here for support and to let you know that we all have this problem and that we are all working day by day to overcome it. Some of us do this because we are emotional eaters, others do it because we just love eating.......... we need to learn to eat to live and not to live to eat. It's important to find hobbies that will replace the food indulging and to make our lives more complete in other ways. Vegetarianism is great, I am trying to do that myself, I like my chicken though, lol. I think that if you can get your meat substitutes in, that's a great idea, beans, lentils, peanut butter, hummus, toffu and then eat lots and lots of veggies to fillup. The trick is high fibre, sugar does't fill u up, it will only maek you hungry. See, I know how to eat properly, I just don't follow it long enough to actually lose the weight and keep it off, I will yo yo back and forth. I was thin until 19, that's about when Is tarted getting chubby, went on a huge diet befor university started by jogging every single day adn avoiding eating too much. Then, university frosh week, i started drinking, lol. After that, I came home with an extra 20 lbs and idnd't lose it until the summer, that happened for 4 years, thin summers and chubby from october to May. After school finished, the stress of work got to me and I just kept the weight on, I'm trying to find a way to stay steady now and that's why i'm ehre for support. It has definitely helped me out alot. I hope it works for you too too much cake!!

Foodgurl

[foodgurl]

I just wanted to add something. You're still very young and have the greatest years of your life coming up soon. If the food is really getting in the way of your happiness, please fix it as soon as possible. I know from first hadn experience that food probably ruined my college life, even though i didn't look bad at all, I was never able to really feel comftoable in my skin during unviersity for more than 6 months... that was the longest I ever kept the weight off for. i think that if I had kept it off... or at least if I hadn't had so mnay spurts of eating until I felt sick and unhappy adn guilty, I really would have enjoyed those years more. Don't get me wrong, they weren't ruined, I did have a blast, but i think that if it weren't for food, they would have been better... it's just not worth it, its' like a drug. I would have allowed myself to enter a long=term relationship rather than breaking up wtih every single guy once I noticed things getting too serious and I would have generally held on to experiences more dearly. Take action and live your life the way you deserve to live it, drug free, you are a foodaholic and it is a sickness tha tneeds to be cured. You are so young and you still have time, so enjoy your life and get it going... that's what I am doing NOW once and for all. Every time you pick up a cookies, just realize with the same reasonning that god didn't make animals for you to eat them that god also didn't make chocolate bars for you to eat either. That's why they make us get bellies, lol. Okay, well Ihope that I have been helpful and good luck to you too much cake.

[splendra]

(((RE2mC))))

I too have some kind of eating disorder. I am afraid of food kinda . I am 50 years old. All my life I have eaten healthy foods. My mom, sister and oldest brother are binge eaters. My mom was always going on a diet when I was young and she had a doctor who would prescribe amphetamines for her so she would do the pills get skinny then go on a food feast gain it all back.

I am very thankful that I do eat correctly and that I am in a normal weight range but, food is still a painful subject for me I cannot stand to eat with my family. Everytime I do I either choke or, cannot eat for several days afterwards or both. They cannot comprehend my problem with eating with them and it hurts them that I do not want to eat with them. But, I do have to do what keeps me healthy and eating. It has been over a year since I last ate with them and I have put on a little weight I think I enjoy eatting more now than I ever have and I celebrate being nourished now where as before I ate because I knew I had to...

I think it is wonderful that you are trying to find an answer and I know you will hang in there and keep posting!!!

[foodgurl]

I'm really sorry to hear about your pain with food, your family must be very hurt that you will not eat with them. You have to do whatever keeps you healthy though, that is definitely right. Is it because you don't want to see them bingeing that you can't watch them eat? It must have been very hard for you to see your mother go through such an awful eating disorder when you were growing up, maybe that's why you can only eat healthy foods... you saw the effect it had on your mother and you think of it as a drug the same way some may see their parent binge drinking and then avoid drinking all-together. It's a very touchy subject to explain to your family why you don't wnat to eat with them but it maybe even more insulting to just never eat with them, so as hard as it will be and as hurtful to them as it may be, you probably should.

I have an aunt that I don't like to eat with too. She's a binge eater and I'm afraid that one day I will be like her... I love her to death but I just can't handle spending too much time with her as I get scared that I will be her one day, alone (she never married although many men had asked) , lonely, obese and miserable yet pretending to be alright. She is the nicest, most caring woman I know and really deserved the best, she would have been a great mother if she had married and had children as she had alrways dreamt she would.. Instead, now she lives each day with the same non=existent excitement as the day before and I am so incredibly worried to find myself in teh same boat one day as I am very picky with men too and am eating more than I should. I refuse to let food ruin my life... I think Splendra that eating healthy is the best thing that you can do for yourself, you are treating your body well. I can understand your pain in not wanting to be aroudn your family at the dinner table as you do not want to be exposed to these unehalthy habits, do you think there is anything other underlying message your subconscious is trying to tell you??? sorry to be getting all docter phil on you, I just find this really itnersting and just wanted to let you know that i can relate with you on this matter completely. I found myself starring at my aunt on Christmas Day as we were all sitting in teh dining room having our Christmas dinner. I watched her stuff food down her throat and then pretend she was full while eying what was left at the table the same way that I had done.. luckily we were both around people and could not pig out the rest of the night. Later at night, I felt kindof helpless when I realized that I'd be sharing a room with her. I gave my grandmother my bedroom as I felt that my mattress was the most comfortable one in the house... anyways so I layed in my bed just starring at my aunt while she slept and I had a sick feeling in my stomach that I could be like her one day. Isn't that awful??? I feel like such an awful person. I am just so scared that she is my future... SO incredibly worried and so incredibly miserable about it. I really want to change my life around... week one is done but I am so scared that I will go back to eating as much as i don't see myself doing it at the moment, soemthing always happens after week two where I start to eat again... Anyways so yes... sorry to blab on a bout myself, I just feel that's what the chatroom is for right? I know this is too much cake's thread, and not mine, lol. Anyways so yes that's all I wanted to say, control is very important and something I think we all deserve to gain and will work together for.

Foodgurl

[splendra]

(((foodgurl)))

I think you are exactly right about why I do not want to eat with my family...I have talked to them about it before they of course think I just want to hurt them they do get upset when I choke on my food though. My younger sister is very obese and I feel for her so much but I know there is nothing I can do to encourage her to stop doing what she does. It only makes things worse for her for me to try to get her to loose weight. I know she feels really bad about her self. To me it is very sad....

But, I really do want to encourage (((Re2mC))). I like the idea of you buying more healthy foods. I hope your body will respond well to you making healthy food choices. I think you will see good results of eating better. I do not use sugar and I read labels to make sure that I avoid foods that have added sugar or artifical sweetners. I really like to eat organic fruits and vegetables they are much more flavorful. I love to make carrot juice with organic carrots they are so sweet they taste like candy. I also like apple celery juice very thirst quenching and packed full of minerals. Sugar and artificial sweetners taste awful to me like eating some kind of chemicals. My son hates sugar too I never gave it to him when he was young but, when he went to school teachers tried to give him candy as a reward and he thought they must be trying to punish him because he did not like the way candy tasted. I like to drink smooties in the morning press fresh apple juice and pour it into a blender and throw in a banana and a powder that I order online that has "blue-green algae" in it. I eat very low on the food chain almost all fruits and vegetables. I know many people do not like the sound of that but, for me it is very good and makes my body feel great!! I eat to feel well not to feel full or for emotional reasons. I have other ways of obessing though and I am far far from perfect most of the time but, at least my body feels good while I am obsessing.

[RAKEeat2mchCAKE]

It is a sad thing that Splenda and others (me too) don't like to eat in front of others. My nan thinks I'm a really healthy eater because when she offers me a snack or a meal I always say no and I do that whenever someone offers me food. When I am on my own I find it alot harder to stop myself from eating anything tasty. It is important to have something to enjoy but eating bad food & taking other substances has a bad effect. I hope Splendra, that you can overcome feeling guilty about eating in front of family members. I think a good attitude to have is that food is something you have to have a few times each day so that you are nourished. Some celebritys like to starve themselves so that they can fit a certain image but that's all they are helping, their image and not their body.
I havn't binged since I had all those crisps but I still need to find some healthy enjoyable meals, I will definetly try and find some of the foods you suggested, foodgurl. I hope that today for everyone will be a bingefree day!