How are you dealing with your addiction?

i realised this myself over the last couple of days and did a search for something on it and here it is :) i wanted to know if others were feeling the same as this morning i am on day 4 of cd. i am in ketosis. and i am jittering and tapping my foot and grumpy. and it's because i want to eat. not because i want something in particular.but i have never stopped eating. other things have been easier because even though you change what you eat, you are still eating. now i'm not and i'm going mad. i'm not giving in to it, but even a juicy salad right now would give me my fix. i'm addicted to actually eating. not just the food, but eating itself. i came to this decision over the last couple of days and it has never been more apparent than this morning when i can't keep still!!

abz xx
 
This post makes so much sense!

I quit smoking in June, because I decided to face up to my addicion and realised that not having a cigarette wouldn't kill me, but having one might, I had no problem not smoking. I had no problem with people smoking around me.

I quit biting my nails in July, I had bitten my nails for as long as I can remember having fingers lol, and 'avoiding' my hands wasn't exactly an option. So again, I decided that biting my nails didn't help me deal with stress, it made me self conscious about my hands, it made me over use my pockets :) but I certainly wasn't going to lose my life if I didn't stick my finger in my mouth! I now have lovely long nails.

But food, food is killing me. I'm 5ft 4 and 16st! I have a number of weight related ailments, I'm almost 31 and heading for peri-menopause. Is any burger worth that??? I think not!

But..(because there's always a but), I am an emotional eater, that is what I need to change now, I need to teach myself that not eating won't harm me, it won't make my life more difficult, it's not the end of the world if the bar of chocolate in the fridge isn't eaten on first sight!

So thank you for this post, it has reminded me that I CAN do this, I've done it before, it just wasn't food last time ;)
 
Hello there Tubs,

"but I certainly wasn't going to lose my life if I didn't stick my finger in my mouth! I now have lovely long nails"

Sigh, I should really get myself together and stop biting my nails too. For exactly the same reasons you did.

I am an emotional eater, that is what I need to change now, I need to teach myself that not eating won't harm me, it won't make my life more difficult, it's not the end of the world if the bar of chocolate in the fridge isn't eaten on first sight!

Yes, it is that 'stepping out of our comfort zone' moment that separates success from failure. It is having the courage to face the feelings that flood in when we step out and deny ourselves the food we want, which numbs us and takes us away from stress for a while.

Good luck with your weight loss journey, Tubs.

AJ
 
Thanks AJ :) I needed the reminder though, I caved today when there really was no need!

BTW, if you want to give up biting your nails, I recommend Sally Hensen Miracle grow(little gold bottle), it's almost impossible to bite them without losing a tooth when you're tempted lol
 
Tubs said:
Thanks AJ :) I needed the reminder though, I caved today when there really was no need!

BTW, if you want to give up biting your nails, I recommend Sally Hensen Miracle grow(little gold bottle), it's almost impossible to bite them without losing a tooth when you're tempted lol
Click to expand...


Right you are, Tubs!
AJ
 
I've had issues in the past with food so just hope I can at least maintain.

I'm also 5ft 4
 
This thread makes so much sense to me, I've only just read it.

Before LL I actually maintained my weight for ages, I do exercise to keep my energy levels up and only eat when I'm hungry. Generally it works pretty well.
Having said that, I still have the ability to eat foods that I don't physiologically need.. For example I lost about 2 stone-ish by doing the above, but I put most of it back on because I went into 'addict mode' and ate because I felt that I could eat more now, and that somehow because I had lost weight I could afford to put some on again.. I realise now I was stupid at the time, and completely self sabotaging! But LL is going to make me face up to the addict within me which is what I like about it.
And KD what you said about trigger foods is also hugely reassuring! To know that you can identify and work through those foods that set you off just hugely relieves me. Maybe there's hope for the future yet!

It's also reassuring to know that others' fight the same battles!
 
Ooh I know what I was going to say before;

I always feel that the chocolate, or crisps, or cheese, or whatever trigger food you have is not going to suddenly vanish tomorrow. Thinking that somehow enabled me to kick my chocolate addiction. I don't have to stuff that chocolate bar *now*, it's always going to be there and so there's no rush to eat it. That was the reason I was overweight as a child I think, my chocolate addiction. Now I rarely eat chocolate, except for TOTM when I have a bit.

Now I guess I have to apply that logic to food in general!
It might not seem a big revelation but I thought I'd post it cos it might help someone else out there too.
 
Oh yes Purple Butterfly,
We are all fighting the same battles otherwise we wouldn't be here.Of course some are fighting more successfully than others.
Keep fighting!
 
Thanks Purple Butterfly for finding this thread and reviving it... WOW. So much here to take in, so much I identify with and so much great advice. Thanks KD as ever for the insights, and to everyone else who has posted... makes me feel less alone and less powerless. I am in the middle of the process but seeing that others can successfully beat the addiction is really motivating.
Gonna bookmark this and keep re-reading when I feel wobbly... thanks, thanks, thanks.
xxx
 
I've just joined this forum today, and I have been reading loads of the threads before i post, but I just had to on this one, as it just makes so much sense to me...

I am totally and utterly addicted to food :( well more to eating... I looove sitting down to a huuuge plate of pasta or something, and when i watch some TV or a film i want to be nibbling on something... I think about food constantly! I could quite happily sit and eat as much as i could all day, every day!

The sense is there! i have it in my head! Food is FUEL! that's all it is, you don't need that much to survive, no where near as much as we are all so used to now a days.. I don't even move around that much, so it's not like i need much fuel.

You know I would find it so much easier if we didn't have to actually eat.... when people are addicted to drugs or smoking or something they cut it out altogether! but we need something! we need to put some kind of fuel into our mouths... so there is no way round it :(

Very interesting reading how other people think the same way as me, it's nice hearing people being so open about how they feel they are so addicted to food but know in their heads it's silly :S
 
Hi Smiley Bon :)
I totally agree. I was just thinking the other day how ANNOYING food is (haha) and how I would like not to have to worry about it at all. It is just so annoying to have to deal with this... especially when I eat on auto-pilot and then think "omg what did I just do" I really hate that because I know I am totally out of control. My hubby can take or leave food (maybe a bit too much actually... sometimes he doesnt eat until 2pm... I dont think that's good... but part of me is envious as well!) and I think about it all the time.
I am really sick of it. I have been reading about this LL around the boards, what is it exactly? it seems to have helped a lot of people here.
:)
 
Hiya,
Can't tell you about LL, but I do CD which is also a very low cal diet and takes food out of the picture. It's a bit cheaper & longer established than LL but does not have the counselling aspect. Try posting on CD & LL forums on minis to find out more, or google their websites.

For me, taking food out of the picture has been a huge help. Yes, the weight falls off, but also I've felt focused and energetic and sharp, which is a new one for me! And I have had the time to work on tactics for beating my emotional/ compulsive eating. Not saying I have solved it yet, but I am getting there. Can't praise CD enough... it's been a lifesaver for me.
xxx
 
I feel the same about Cambridge. Taking food out of the equation was the answer for me :)
 
Hey Katycakes,
thank you for your posts to me :)
am I right in thinking that CD starts off with shakes? i have tried one here called Tony Ferguson which is from the chemist and is like that... I lasted a day haha. I was so starving, I was dizzy, and felt like I was going to faint :) I actually do really love healthy food and would like to have a diet that is mainly natural foods (grains, nuts, fruit, lean meats etc) but my problem seems to be snacks like muffins, chocolates, and when my husband says "let's order pizza" I cant say no. A few years ago I went on a "diet" (I was just eating healthy food regularly, I need to eat every few hours, I guess its a blood sugar thing) and I found it quite easy for some reason! I lost weight quickly and easily and felt SO great!!!! I just dont get why I cant do that again! the reason I gained it back was, (well apart from the obvious: eating too much of the wrong foods!) I was living overseas at the time, and maybe that was what helped me, I didnt really have any "friends" to go out for dinner with, I made my own lunch for work, etc... I started gaining when I came home for a month and saw all my friends, met them all out and gained a couple of kgs but didnt think much of it cos it wasnt much but I guess I got the taste for things again and have got worse since and it has turned into a binge thing... although I went to a psych last year about it and that did help me quite a bit (didnt lose weight though) and in a few weeks I am going to see a doctor as well, she's a GP but also a naturopathic doctor... she will make me go for blood tests and the whole thing... its a 45 minute consult... so hopefully she can help me, that's where I'm going with conquering my addiction at the moment :) I cant keep my head in the sand any more, I have to find out if I have any health issues... I have been too scared to go before. Thank you for replying and trying to help, i really appreciate it :) xx
 
Hello Smiley :) i like your name!!

Sorry i know nothing about LL or CD :S I do like the idea of cutting out food altogether... but i haaaate the feeling of being hungry! So i am going for a healthy eating, and i snack on fruit and sticks of carrot and cucumber and things :) I am wanting to get healthy as well as lose weight too...

Hope you manage to find something that works for you :)
 
Just to input about LL, yeah it's the same as CD but with counselling. You get 4 nutrition packs to have a day and nothing else apart from black tea & coffee, and you can have unlimited water flavourings.

It's a lot stricter than CD in my opinion, which is a good and a bad thing. If your bmi is obese then you do the LL foundation program which is set at 14 weekly sessions/13 weeks. If bmi is overweight then you can do the LL lite program where you have 3 packs and a small protein/veg meal a day. That's only if you have 1 or 2 stone to lose though and it goes in 4 week blocks.
CD I think is more flexible and you can do the SS+ or higher plan if you're struggling on the SS. Also they have more flavours of their nutrition packs.
 
this thread is pretty insightful.

having read all the posts i realise that although not quite there yet, i think i am displaying traits of a food addiction. it has given me the tools to combat this before it gets out of hand.

thank you guys, for all your personal thoughts, it helps so much to be able to admit this - no-one wants to say it out loud, but on here we can. and i feel stronger for it.
 
Hi all,

I first read this post a few weeks ago, and stumbled across it again yesterday, and it finally dawned on me that I do have an addiction to food, and one which I need to deal with.

I used to think nothing of going to KFC and ordering a family bucket, and I'd eat the lot. I would order a family bucket because, to me, it seemed more logical than just ordering a meal for one. My logic being that if I ordered a family feast the person serving me wouldn't think it was for me, but they would know that the meal would be for me. I was the same with McDonalds, chip shops, takeaways I'd never just order one meal - always two - for the same reason.

I got to a point where I hated eating in front of people, so I would eat in secret, I'd have a couple of ryvitas at work for lunch and piece of fruit and then binge at home, I've hidden wrappers, thrown rubbish in a neighbours bin, all sorts of things.

However, I love to prepare food, I can cook, bake for hours, I can watch UKTV Food for hours at a time, I love to be in the kitchen, and it makes me happy - making Christmas dinner is my idea of heaven.

It is my relationship with food which worries me though. Currently I am on CD and abstaining from food for the forseeable future, and while that doesn't worry me (at the moment) I am worrying about how I will control my dreadful eating habits once I start to re-introduce conventional food.

When I was doing LL I said the one thing I don't understand is how I can't control something so fundamental. All I want to be able to to is not have an unhealthy relationship with food. I'm hoping that I can find the answers on here and within me, so that I can break this addiction.

xxx
 
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