Hi not sure if this is what
I'm supposed
To do on here but just wandered if there is anybody out there who can perhaps give me some advice on overeating? I have tried every diet going weight watchers, slimming world my latest attempt are the orlistat tablets and up until yesterday I was doing really well then it happened a sudden out of the blue binge purposely didn't take a tablet why do I do this? When to be a healthy weight is all I want and I want it so much why can I not do it?
the simplest advice: yesterday is over. it doesn't have to affect today.
honestly, finding out why you overeat/sabotage is a long process that is full of little steps towards self-discovery and acceptance. take a little step today by forgiving yourself for yesterday and deciding that today, just today, you'll be kind to yourself and do whats best for you.
Is the compulsion to binge so strong that you'll get in the car or otherwise travel to the store to buy food?
I wonder about shopping for the day, each day. Never more than your daily food in the house. Or buying only foods that must be cooked from scratch - when you have nothing but fruit and veg that can be eaten out of hand, it is much harder to eat piles of food. The chicken breast is raw until mealtime, when you cook it, and then its gone.
Something to break the cycle of frequent binges - knowing that you've gone 3 months on plan, have lost 20lbs, etc is more powerful than trying to pick yourself up again and again, multiple times a week.
Maybe stop dieting until the appointment. Tell your brain "let's hold off on dieting and binging until our counseling appointment." Even just saying "let's hold off on the binge until tomorrow." Or "let's hold off on the binge for 2 hours." Or one hour or 5 minutes. or 30 seconds.
Whatever period of time you can get through. Set a timer. Then when the timer dings set it again. Keep setting it until the urge passes. Or doesn't and you binge. Either way you will have made a new neural pathway that made it possible for you to wait to binge.
While you are waiting, do something else. Clean the toilet, vacuum, write a poem, draw a picture, go for a walk. If your brain starts to tell you that you need to eat now, thank it and show it the timer.
When I sought treatment for my binging I remember my therapist saying, "most people have difficulty with things because they simply can't sit with an uncomfortable feeling." I remember it hit me like a lightning bolt - just sit and feel uncomfortable?! Was she crazy?! And then - oh, ok, I can try that. I had been shoving food down my throat to try to kill the knots and anxiety in my stomach. After learning I could choose to feel those feelings (and realize they'd pass and not kill me) my binging stopped. I remember nothing else from those therapy visits except that one line, and I still hold on to it these 15 years later.
What would happen if you washed your hair, or took a shower after drinking a tall glass of ice cold water, and then going for a walk w/ or w/o a dog by your side, or a relative, or a close friend? Would A Distraction Method help you? After I have dinner, I head straight for the gym after 1 hr of news, and then having digested my dinner, I will drink another cold water and go workout for an hour. Then when I get home I drink another cold water with 1/2 milk and ice cubes. Then take a epson salt bath for my back aches, and watch some tv, or computer, or read mags, or look at fashion catalog and decide what clothing I would like to see myself in when I lose my 20 lbs. This technique helps me to focus on my goal and to keep me from eating way too much.
Last edited by 1Bluerose68; 07-30-2014 at 02:03 AM.
Maybe stop dieting until the appointment. Tell your brain "let's hold off on dieting and binging until our counseling appointment." Even just saying "let's hold off on the binge until tomorrow." Or "let's hold off on the binge for 2 hours." Or one hour or 5 minutes. or 30 seconds.
Whatever period of time you can get through. Set a timer. Then when the timer dings set it again. Keep setting it until the urge passes. Or doesn't and you binge. Either way you will have made a new neural pathway that made it possible for you to wait to binge.
While you are waiting, do something else. Clean the toilet, vacuum, write a poem, draw a picture, go for a walk. If your brain starts to tell you that you need to eat now, thank it and show it the timer.
When I sought treatment for my binging I remember my therapist saying, "most people have difficulty with things because they simply can't sit with an uncomfortable feeling." I remember it hit me like a lightning bolt - just sit and feel uncomfortable?! Was she crazy?! And then - oh, ok, I can try that. I had been shoving food down my throat to try to kill the knots and anxiety in my stomach. After learning I could choose to feel those feelings (and realize they'd pass and not kill me) my binging stopped. I remember nothing else from those therapy visits except that one line, and I still hold on to it these 15 years later.
I love your last paragraph. It is in some ways about that isn't it? Not being able to sit with the uncomfortable feeling. It is for me. I cannot sit with it. Or at least I think I cannot. Yet, I must learn to or I will always be an addict. thanks for sharing.
Hi not sure if this is what
I'm supposed
To do on here but just wandered if there is anybody out there who can perhaps give me some advice on overeating? I have tried every diet going weight watchers, slimming world my latest attempt are the orlistat tablets and up until yesterday I was doing really well then it happened a sudden out of the blue binge purposely didn't take a tablet why do I do this? When to be a healthy weight is all I want and I want it so much why can I not do it?
The answer you seek might be a simple as you being in an addictive cycle. I'd suggest looking at what addicts say about how they feel when they are looking for a fix and see if you relate to it.
I agree - that thing about sitting with our feelings is HARD! I'd rather eat so much I barf... literally. I label that as a desire to be dishonest with myself. I don't want to see the truth of how I'm feeling.
the simplest advice: yesterday is over. it doesn't have to affect today.
honestly, finding out why you overeat/sabotage is a long process that is full of little steps towards self-discovery and acceptance. take a little step today by forgiving yourself for yesterday and deciding that today, just today, you'll be kind to yourself and do whats best for you.
I take this one step further. What I did one minute ago is over. It doesn't have to dictate what I do right now. (I get myself way too wrapped up in "starting again tomorrow" when I do otherwise.)
Get counseling and stop dieting. Seriously. Let yourself overeat for a while, binge and not feel guilty. Feel it out. No guilt. Instead, reflect upon your feeling. It's the anxiety that's making life hard.
Binging is a disordered behavior, it cannot be "fixed" with a diet. In fact, dieting makes binging worse because restriction causes binging. Restrict-binge-repent is a cycle that continuously gets worse, making us feel really bad about ourselves and can lead to depression. My binging didn't stop until I started practicing intuitive eating. In my opinion it's the only cure for dysfunctional eating.
One of the most powerful things I have found when I am on the verge of a binge is talking to someone. It can be attending an OA meeting online or face to face, it can be calling a friend. If you can't do any of the above, write down everything you are feeling. There are times I am so emotional that I can barely read what I wrote because I was writing so fast.
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This is where I am at
Quote:
Originally Posted by seagirl
When I sought treatment for my binging I remember my therapist saying, "most people have difficulty with things because they simply can't sit with an uncomfortable feeling." I remember it hit me like a lightning bolt - just sit and feel uncomfortable?! Was she crazy?! And then - oh, ok, I can try that. I had been shoving food down my throat to try to kill the knots and anxiety in my stomach. After learning I could choose to feel those feelings (and realize they'd pass and not kill me) my binging stopped.
Living in the moment, not being checked out, not using food to escape, quite a challenge but this quote encouraged me
I think these guys have all given you great advice.
I have a suggestion, although I don't know how it would work for you, and I'm not sure what method(s) you're trying to lose weight...
Keep a food diary, whether it be the MyFitnessPal or LoseIt app, or a notepad you carry around. Just write down what you eat, but stop dieting. Go ahead and overeat when you want to overeat, and eat less when you don't feel as hungry. Just note everything down.
If you want, you can also track your weight, but more importantly, it would also be good to track how you're feeling, and what kind of activities you're doing, and what you were doing before you ate. Kind of keep a journal. Then in a few months you can look back and see if there's anything that happens leading up to times you overeat, and what kind of activities you do that make you less hungry.
If you do go see a therapist, which I think is a great idea, then the journal would be helpful to bring with you so you can present a clearer idea of what's going on.
It is my addiction and my inability to sit with uncomfortable feelings and then once a downslide starts I seek opportunities to feel uncomfortable in order to justify numbing the pain with food . How sick is that!
So YES today is a new day for me . A day where I can master the binge and acknowledge the discomfort.
No matter what I cannot stop binging :'(
purposely didn't take a tablet why do I do this? When to be a healthy weight is all I want and I want it so much why can I not do it? 
