Aysha

Sorry for posting so many threads. I have been in a little funk this weekend.
I think it has to do with being bored. I dont get like this during the week when I work.

Anyway. I have replaced my addiction with food.
I have always liked to eat. Dont walk in my house without expecting to be offered something to eat a million times. Grams will make you eat or bug the **** out of you. LOL.

But its not just the eating. I will go nuts and have the same thoughts about eating as I did with getting high.
I changed my eating habits all last week and did really good. Lost a few pounds. But when I got all down this weekend. I had that same F it thinking about eating. I dont care I need to do something. Thats what I thought to myself.
I am already big as hell. And it isnt helping my back none I am sure. Although I am learning to like myself again. This weight is disgusting and is a huge esteem issue. I was a stick all my life until I got heavy in my addiction about 10 yrs ago. I gained well over 100lbs smoking crack like a maniac. I thought it was the other way around.
Cops use to ask me in Florida when they saw me in the street what the hell my grams was feeding me. Being out there like I was and getting fatter.

I cant get any bigger and really need to lose aot of this weight. It is getting to a crucial health issue point now.
I dont want to end up dieing with a heart attack from being fat. Or getting sugar.
I am lazy too. I really need to get more active. When I get a car again I am joining the Y and start swimmming a few times a week and doing cardio. Plus I need to stay commited to my eating changes. Swimming seems like a good way to get started without getting bored. I get bored just walking on a treadmill. You know what I mean?

Anyway..Anyone have any ideas?

Rowan

Hi Trish,

I admire you for starting new threads like this, and for getting your needs met in healthy ways by doing so.
I just joined a gym. I used to be very active but in recovery I haven't been doing very well in the nutrition department, so I decided to start with exercise and go from there.
I bought myself a neat little iPod today and just put some tunes on it as a reward for getting to the gym, and to motivate me on the elliptical tomorrow.
I have a very hard time not eating everything in front of me, so like I said, I started with the exercise. I like to read people's true stories about weight loss and how they accomplished their goals.
There are some great books - why not go to the library and get everything from Weight-Loss for Dummies (an excellent series, don't be fooled by the title), to Exercise for Beginners. There are so many little things we can do in a day to help us.
Boredom is a huge trigger for me - too much time on my hands and I begin to isolate/skip meetings/oversleep so I'm trying to maintain a healthy balance. This gym thing is helping.

Horselover

Hey Chiy - Sounds like you have a plan in place. I used to love the "Y" when I lived in Illinois. I REALLY miss it now. I could take my son with me and drop him off at daycare there. I got a break and so did he.

About the treadmill, it can be boring. What about walking outside? Is that possible in your area to walk early mornings or evenings. Those (imho) are the best times to be outside or try mall walking, if you live near one. Just some ideas. I would concentrate first on exercise because to me that's easier. If you can get yourself in motion you will start to feel how certain foods effect the way your body moves.

Okay - enough from me. I am sure they'll be better info from others.

least

Not to worry, dear! We're all human and we're all needy. Part of being human. Just don't let that feeling persuade you to get 'lost' again.

Don't ever have to feel 'needy' here - we all are and we love helping each other.

:ghug3

Rusty Zipper

trish trish, mentioned this to you before...

when all else fails, go help another drunk!

also applys to addicts, and all addictions...

and hey, think of it this way...

post'n here, is helping someone!. somewhere, someplace!

at'a girl miss chiy!

rust

Anna

Trish,

It's so good you're facing the issue of your health and weight.

I strongly believe in walking outside. It's free, it's easy and you can do it at any time that's convenient for you. I got back to walking when I stopped drinking and it really helped me mentally and spiritually too. It's very relaxing and it just feels good.

Bamboozle

Sorry you're going through this.


My food problems began waaaaaaaaaaay before alcohol came into the picture. I'm not really sure what to do myself. I've been slowly incorporating better food choices in my diet. It's not much, but it's a start. (I need to start walking...again...)

353

Thanks for the thread chiy!

I can sit here in the house, clutter all around, laundry needing done, yard work needing done and feel so totally bored that I won't lift a finger to accomplish anything. Sometimes it gets to the point that it's so overwhelming I can't start because I can't see the end in sight. Sometimes I just sit in it. I feel the boredom. I do that rather then chase it away like I used to with drugs and alcohol. I get the experience of "so this is what I was running from for so many years".

After sitting bored I have to be honest though. My life is not boring because I've been given a boring life, it's boring because I'm making it boring! There's something I need to do that I'm not doing....right now I think it's whites...

Peace

Toomutch

Chiy- I am glad you are thinking of an exercise plan. You mentioned swimming and that is the best thing you can do for your body, it is not only great cardio, but is considered a weight bearing exercise as well because every muscle needs to work to push yourbody throught the water.

Many nutritionists recommend eating 6 times a day for weight loss. Small meals of course. This helps your body to burn fat because your body will be burning calories throughout the day.

At least 8-10 glasses of water a day.

Avoid the junk food as much as possible.
1. soda pop
2. cereal high in sugar (Trix, Lucky Charms etc...)
3. Candy products (Twinkies, littledebbies, candy bars)

Your body needs protien as well as simple carbs. in the form of fruits and milk, and complex carbs.

If you want a list of foods that are good sources of proteins and carbs let me know.

grateful2b

Trish, here you are apologizing for so many posts and I was just thinking today how much I love how open and giving you are of yourself on this board, I love your honesty and courage..and your trust ....you don't know how much you help everyone else by being so active, you know..so post away , sweetie...

now about the food thing...i have decided this year to focus , really focus on getting healthy and losing weight..

I am guilty of emotional eating ...not so much volume or crap, just mindless nibbling...

I have a three pronged approach...dealing with the emotional eating..check these sites out..Paul McKenna Paul McKenna Official US Site -that *I can make you thin* guy and www.shrinkyourself.com.., .both great sites for emotional eaters...

I bought a gazelle for when I can't get out to walk or swim...love it!!

and i have cut out white flour, white sugar and the bad fats, oh and i never miss breakfast...and tons of water...always have a bottle in my hand..
the really important thing is committing to a program, sound familiar....
I am really motivated because I need to be..big health issue...

also find someone who needs to get to it too and set up a schedule with them a few times a week and get out and workout..
anyway just some thoughts

Aysha

So last week I would eat special K cereal for breakfast. Eat a snack of apple..trail mix or something like that on my first break. And I made a bunch of chocken breast for the week. MAde light caesar alads and just the meat with frozen veggie.
I stopped drinking iced tea..and the mix tea. And took water.
I love grain bread and wraps. Even pitas.
I lost 30 lbs in 2 months 2 years ago by changing my eating and just walking 10 or 15 mins everyday on my treadmill. I was eating tuna with LF mayo. Lots of chicken breast. Cottage cheese. Yogurt, Light caesar salads or cicken wraps.
I really dont like sweets or soda so thats not a problem. I eat alot of southern homemade cooking. And my family is all Irish and Italina. So you can just imagine the amounts of food we all have all the time.
It is going to take alot of work.
I use to eat like crazy high too. On the 2nd day of runnin. I would get a slim jim from every store I passed. I have to eat. Crack never made me where I couldnt eat except the first day.

grateful2b

yes...I think for me , if I really commit to this and stay the course, by this time next year i will be at my ideal weight ...and it is a lot of work...but that is ok...I`m worth it
and so are you, Trish..

bostonluv

I'm eating crap also Chiynita. You're not the only one. I could barely button my jeans this morning and don't want to gain back the 30 lbs I lost but we'll see. It's more important for me to not drink but I also understand not wanting to get fatter. Is this a girl issue or what? I think I'll just start moving more and stop eating sugar and bread again. I don't need it. Anyway, don't have advice just wanted to say: Me too! if that's any help.

Aysha

Me too always helps.
Well I am going to start again tomorrow with the ating right and perhaps try and fit in some walking when I get off work. Which is at midnight. But I like walking at night.
I live in a community so it is safe too.
I cant stand it anymore. If one more person asks me when I'm due I am going to scream. LOL

ForeverDecember

Hi Chiy - I used to be tiny until I started drinking. You're comment about being due made me chuckle. I remember being asked by a 5 year old who was pointing at my belly "Is there a baby in there?" I said "No, just lots of cheese burgers". My weight is mostly around my stomache - a beer belly I guess.

I'm using Jenny Craig at the moment - you don't have to cut anything out (like bread or potatoes etc) and it's pretty tastey stuff. They tell me to eat every 3 hours or so (obviously not while I'm asleep lol) in order to speed up my metobolism.

I don't enjoy cooking so I get the majority of my meals delivered each month (through Jenny Craig) and I find that very helpful (although it is a little expensive). There is a small amount of cooking and as you progress throguh the program you start getting days where you have to plan your meals so it teachs you about correct foods. And one of the biggest changes was getting used to the right portion size - if you have any meat make sure it's the size and thickness of the palm of your hand. It looks like a tiny amount and if you love meat like me it's a little sad, but it works.

I think that's all I can think of. Except to avoid Ranch Dressing! I love ranch dressing, it's not very big in Australia for some reason, and the ranch dressing they do have here tastes awful. I was at Niagra Falls with my sister - she decided to have a healthy salad and put two serves of ranch dressing on it. I had a reeces peanut butter pie thing (man it was wonderful, I'm lucky they don't have those in Australia). Anyway, I looked at the calories and there was more in my sisters two serves of ranch dressing than in the slice of pie that I was eating! Crazy!

adore79

Swimming is a great exercise, and it is fun also. In the past when I wanted to loose weight I would jump on an elliptical crosstraining machine (kind of a cross between a treadmill and a stairclimber.) You can burn a lot of calories fast on those machines. Also, doing at least some weight training is good because the more muscle you have the faster you burn calories. Maybe you could find a trainer to write a program up for you to follow that included cardio and weight training.

Aysha

Those ellipticol machines hurt my legs . LOL..I can tdo more than a minute of it. I am seious. I feel like my legs are going to snap they get really cramped fast.
Guess that means its working.

December...I guess I better not take that ranch dressing I have in the fridge for my cucumber slices and baby carrots that I was going to have for my 1st break snack tomorrow. I love grapes. Black seedless grapes are my fav. And they have to be crunchy. Not mooshy. I love honeybell oranges too. Melon and strawberries are really good too. I miss our grapefruit trees we had in Florida. I dont like the pink grapefruit as much as the white ones. I only really like pink lady apples. I love veggies. Raw and steamed. am not a fan of can veggies. I like frozen too.
Cottage cheese with pineapple in it. I need to go shopping.
I love salad. But I love the dressings I shouldnt have. Oil and vinegar just dont do it for me.
I love meat!! Red meat too. Thats going to be my biggest problem. I love steak and cheeseburgers.I get mean when I dont have meat. Chicken is ok but I get sick of it after awhile. I want to start eating fish. I really dont like it much. But I can deal with mild white fish. Flounder or haddock. Tuna steaks are good too if you season them right and grill them.
Its going to be tough. But I am determined to do this.

Oh and cheese!! I love cheese and it is so not good for you.

dave47

Hi Trish, I have lost 50 pounds in the last year and done it through better eating and exercise; the exercise has gradually become a bigger part of it as time has gone on and I have got slimmer and fitter. With the food, I cut out totally any sweets and salted crisps and nuts and cut back in other areas. I tried to cut other foods out totally but couldn't manage it so accepted moderation in some areas is better. I always have plenty of fruit available and low fat yoghurts and I eat some of the snacks that organisations such as WW recommend. I find when I am working then food is on my mind the least, whereas like others if I am home then that is the danger time. I need to plan my day, and I think this helps keep me on track in other areas as well.
I started walking and found that not only is it great exercise it is also a good time to let things run through my mind, things which with work and the kids, I wouldn't normally get time to do. After a couple of months I plucked up the courage to start running and I went to a park on a Sunday morning. Apart from other joggers and dog walkers there was no one else around so it made me feel a bit more comfortable. At first I could only do 10 minutes, now I run the streets and do about 8 miles. I also bought a bike which is a great way to exercise without making it too obvious that that is what you are doing( if you feel self conscious about it).
This is just how it has been working for me Trish, you are a big part of SR so don't knock yourself; best wishes in the battle of the bulge.

dancinggirl

You need to find FUN ways to exercise. Try something new every day. The great thing about exercise, too, is that you will IMMEDIATELY see and feel the benefits. Here are some ways that might not be too boring:

1. nature hike in wooded area
2. biking
3. aerobics class
4. swimming
5. pole dancing class (seriously! a stripper's pole that you can spin on! too fun!)
6. belly dancing class
7. skipping rope (ridiculous how many calories that burns)
8. floor exercises while watching tv

l'm afraid I'm teetering on the other end of the spectrum with replaceing my drinking with over-controlling my food intake.

Aysha

Well so much for trying today.
I did good u til I got the wonderful news at work that in order for our client to renew our contract. They require everyone to pass a 10 panel drug screening and an extensive background check. Anyhting short of minor traffic tickets is grounds for termination.
Fing wonderful.
For once in my life I could pass the drug test. But my background is hell. They are even terminating people if they have aggressive driving on ther record.
I sit at a friggin desk all day dialing people to see how pi$$ed off they are with Verizons services. WTF could you possibly do with that?
We dont have any account info. Just a name and a number.
Its total BS.
So I have been slamming my face full of **** since I got home.
If it isnt one thing..Its another. You know..I am trying really hard to let things go. But this is getting ridiculous.
My medicaid is being cut off as well as my food stamps.
Becaus eI make $20 too much for their criteria.
Give me a Fing break.
If not food..Its gonna be drugs. I dont have the urge to get high. It isnt even a thought. But dam..I am going to eat myself right into a friggin heartattack.
This **** sucks!!