l use food to suppress my emotional turmoil. Eating gives me temporary relief from the pain l feel on a daily basis. lt's annoying because eating makes me feel guilty and worse after. l feel fat, stupid, and lacking of self control. l'm a closet eater so that only adds to my shame.

ln a way, l feel powerless to food because l always give in to my cravings. l hate that so much.

Anyone experience these problems? Any ways to fix it? l try to ignore food, but the more l resist, the more my mind fucks with me to make me give in. l also try substitutes like gum or water, but my mind keeps screaming til it gets what it wants. l go insane and then docile and pathetic and it's an exhausting cycle to go through.

l'm getting so fat now...

drugs

l've considered that, but l know l'd kill myself it l started taking meth/coke/heroin. l get addicted to things easily.

I kinda like feeling hungry. It's a good hurt.

Me too. I don't quite know how to explain it without sounding pro-ana but having an empty stomach makes me feel lighter. Having a full stomach is a very uncomfortable feeling for me.

Sometimes l feel like being pro-ana.

Get some cream crackers and apples, thats all ive been eating during the day pretty much, in my bid to lose weight haha, low caloires and pretty much no fat.
crackers, apples and tea/coffee lol

I'd substitute bad snacks for something harmless. It's pretty hard to say to yourself, I'm going to stop unnecessary eating or any other bad habit and then stick to it. As you said, your mind screws with you until you give in. You become more obsessed with the thing than before you wanted to give it in. I think E.A.Poe calls it, 'Imp of the Perverse.'

So, get some vegetables you can snack on, like celery or carrot; Or fruits instead. Other than that try and keep yourself occupied, so you don't have time to dwell on the food you are missing. Although if you are eating to soothe your emotions, you might not want to do much of anything I suppose.

You could try removing the snack foods out of the cupboard, if thats possible. You'd be less likely to eat on a whim if you had to go to the shop to get the food you wanted first. That's all I got.

@ Althe

Meh, most of them are just angsty high schoolers, though. It would be nice to have some
accountability, but most of them eat whatever and then just whine about it later.

My accountability is my own body. The second I reach 90 lbs, my IBS hits me
like a ton of bricks. Plus, the GERD makes me sick whenever I eat, so I always feel
so bloated that I end up thinking I weigh more than I do. Gross, but trOO.

If you can't resist eating, do a lot of exercise to make up for it.

lol, there's that, but they also have drugs at the pharmacies that cut out your hunger or something.

I'm the same way althe and possibly worse.

Eating is like heroin for me.

Though I've known this for a couple years and have yo-yo'ed in weight by anywhere as much as 80 lbs, science has actually managed to come up with some pretty convincing evidence supporting eating as an addiction. Junk food could be addictive 'like heroin'

What these studies suggest and what I have learned through experience, is that people like us have to treat these foods as you would treat any substance you are addicted too. We will have to abstain completely and endure a period of withdrawal. This will pass and I can confirm that it will. The mistake I made in the past is not realizing that I can never eat any of these sorts of food ever again. Just like a recovering alcoholic is ALWAYS one drink away, I'm always one reese cup away.

12-step programs can work and they have them for over eaters, you could always search for local meetings if you need extra support.

Thanks Tricky. That info really hit home for me. Reminds me of trainspotting in a way (just watched it).

l guess l need to cut cold turkey.

Naw, just eat a real turkey sandwich and stop worrying about weight. If I didn't have GERD/IBS,
I'd probably never think about food except while yomping it. I'm sure you look just fine.

What has specifically worked for me in the past when first starting out is allowing myself to eat as much as I want, but restricting what I can eat.

Here are a few cookbooks from the only "diet" that I have ever had any decent success with.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ryyz0hz0k2m/paleo_cookbook_paleo_eating_for_modern_people.pdf

http://www.mediafire.com/file/yiwyyjlgjz3/PaleoCookbook_Recipes_for_the_21st_Century_Hunter_Gatherer.pdf

Just remove the foods these books recommend you do not eat from your diet. Not only will you lose weight, but you mood will improve and remain far more stable. Also, if you live with any arthritis-like pains in your joints or muscles, they will completely vanish in a week or two. Sugar, dairy and starches(bread,pasta, potatoes, etc) can cause a lot of inflammation in the body, leading to pain and encouraging us to eat more to attempt to relieve it.

The one recommendation these books and ones like them make that isn't necessary to follow is the adherence to only eating organic and preservative free food. I've followed this diet to the 'T' in the past without eating organic foods and still had the same level of weight loss and felt the same health benefits.

HTH.

It seems like the only way out of this would be finding another way to cope with your feelings, apart from eating.

The gym is a really good option, but the only problem would be integrating it into your life. You can't really half-ass a fitness regime if you want to see results, and 'sticking with it' can be difficult at times. Also, this is also not a 'pro-active' solution to your problem, since you'll just be burning off calories that you would have already eaten. This could get frustrating for you because I think you're trying to stop this problem from its source, which would be taking in less calories altogether, not just burning off your mistakes.

So, my next bit of advice would be to start eating more healthful food, to minimize your calorie intake. Fill yourself with fruits and veggies. Go vegan. The only problem is, many people can't do this as a diet regime because it just sucks. Doesn't taste good. So that's not really a long term solution. People always seem to burn out with the gym and with diets unless they make it a lifestyle choice. That involves actually wanting to make these changes. If you want to, then you'll be fit in no time.



I agree, I think OTC weight supplements, 'ciders', and pills can help, to an extent. It can just get pricey. And you would still have to put in some type of effort, as far as dieting and eating better is concerned. It kind of sucks, and people usually burn out. And like I said, not a proactive solution.



Those are like, the three worst drugs I know of as far as dependence and bodily harm are concerned. You really don't need to go that far. But, depending on how dire your situation is, you might not want to completely overlook drugs and pharmaceuticals. There are several prescription drugs out there that can suppress your hunger effectively, as well as treat other psychological ailments you may have. I don't know if you are on any medication at this point in time, but you could always begin to try some of these drugs if you have the option, or the desire. Ask your doctor?

Finally, you could just wait until the binging isn't as bad. I mean, I would imagine that this type of thing fluctuates in intensity.

@LordTricky:Interesting article

I'm the same way. I love to eat, especially when I'm bored or feel bad. That's never gonna change. Dieting actually isn't that hard though, if you have the right mindset (and the right diet).

You can't just tell yourself you're going to try eat less or eat healthier, because you'll always give in to temptation. It's happened to me every time I thought that way.
Instead, you have to set specific goals and promise yourself you'll stick to them.
For example, "Tomorrow, I'm going to eat four 300-calorie meals, each one 4 hours apart".
The day after that, eat whatever you want, including whatever you may have been craving the day before.

Just diet every-other-day, and you should lose weight, and at worst maintain your weight.

Very sound guidance here.

Ultimately, all things shared here come into play and must be adhered to in some fashion.

The toughest part is not the diet, exercise or setting goals... but the persistent enforcement of self-discipline, which is difficult and painful.

for me vitamins are helpful in keeping my cravings under control. i know that i really would like what it is i'm craving but it isn't a must have most of the time. i take one prenatal viatmin one day then the next day i take a dieter's vitamin. prenatal for hair and skin, dieter for obvious reasons.

Exercise not only burns calories, it also helps your body to regulate your appetite. When I get regular exercise, I only feel like eating when I'm actually hungry, and I crave healthier foods too.

Also, exercise doesn't have to be a big deal - just walk or ride a bike somewhere instead of using a motorized vehicle. If you can find someone who'll pay you to walk their dog, you can make money by getting exercise.

And if you don't want to leave your house, here are some simple indoor exercise things I do:
get a trampoline and jump on it
ride a skateboard around in circles
play drums
just bounce up and down
jump on the bed
run around the house like a little kid

If you like dancing, put on music you like and dance to it - alone, in the privacy of your room.

Good exercise is the kind that's fun. It'll improve your mood too.

There's a lot of things l want to say, but l'm too agitated to type, so l'll wait for another time

l took Tricky's advice and started the caveman diet (seeing as all the food restrictions were the ones l binged on). l'm currently going through a nasty food withdrawal that's physically giving me a headache and making me really moody. l'm not starving myself, but l find healthy foods less appetizing to gorge on (which is a good thing, but doesn't help my current cranky mood).

l actually exercise daily (4 to 5 times a week). l'm just deterred from it right now because l'm not seeing any results (due to overeating). On the plus side, l'm not fat...just in stalemate.

l'll consider taking pills. l already take a lot of supplements (omega 3, milk thistle, vitamin D). Might try to change it up since the good affects seem to be wearing off.