And then life *****-slapped me...

[slayrick]

Hard weekend.

My primary question is, how do I separate life drama from food intake ?

[ncuneo]

Over time. Sadly I personally do not have a good answer for you as I now still struggle with it. Some how I've manage to curb most of my stress/anxiety/saddness triggered eating by falling in love with running and something just clicked in my head. But bordem eating, forget about it. I don't know what it is, but when I'm home alone on a weekend evening it takes every ounce of me not to binge. Sometimes it's easier than others and sometimes it's not.

For what it's worth you binge sounds pretty minimal. And the best advice I can give you is every.single.time you have a binge or go off plan for what ever reason just get back to your plan the very next opportunity you have. Consistancy is the key here. I've gone of plan tons of time, but the weight still came off because it was always only temporary. Good luck!

[Sonata]

For me, it helps to look at food as something I can be completely in control of when the rest of my life is spinning out of control. A fierce jog/run to some angry music and being even more meticulous in my calorie counting just to "show them all" is a good mindset if I can get myself into it.

[BellaLucia]

Remember this one rule if nothing else: We eat to live, not live to eat.

[fillupthesky]

i feel you on the hard weekend.

i also don't have the answers on how not to use food, as that's been my issue all week. i like the idea of angry music, singing at the top of your lungs. it gets the emotion out. my personal fave to sing along to is Dollparts by Hole.
just keep your head up, and schedule yourself for a manicure or a massage this week/tomorrow.

hope it gets better

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

One thing I know for sure is that WE ARE EATING OUR FEELINGS! So, we need to find another way to deal with our emotions: sadness, loneliness, boredom, anger, fear, insecurities, guilt, shame, rejection, isolation, etc. Find some other POSITIVE EMOTIONAL OUTLET to replace soothing ourselves with food. You know, when we were babies and we cried, we were soothed with food; so it is kinda ingrained in our subconscious psyche, I think.

I also think that we can change the pattern -- but it does take lots of effort on our part, and work, and persistence. We can win, but it will take some time; so just keep on, keepin' on ... one minute, one hour, one day; one meal, one snack -- and ... Perseverance, not perfection is the answer!