Hi all I spent a lot of tough time last night really thinking hard about what's going on with me - it just made me so sad. Even typing that sentence doesn't really say what I want to... suffice to say, I will be seeking some help before this binging becomes more problematic than it is now. I need to find a different outlet than stuffing my face.
Well, today is another day, and it's about taking care of myself - that's what's going on. When I feel like I can't express myself and my anxiety, I get frustrated and angry and depressed and scared - and I eat. And I forget to really Look After Myself.
After three nights of craziness, my body feels tired, bloated, weak and very, very full. Today, I am eating clean (but to my calorie limit, almost), drinking a LOT of water, and putting the first half of the week behind me.
It just takes that one clean day, and then you repeat that day. The binge doesn't bring anything but 5 minutes of food, it doesn't solve the problem, it doesn't make you feel any better.
Some things I am going to try instead of binging:
1. Talk to a friend
2. Read from a book
3. Take a walk
There is always another meal in the morning, or later. It will taste that much better if you wait for it and have it planned out. We will overcome this!
Hi Everyone,
This weekend was a bit of a challenge but I got through it. I'm teaching a few online classes, which I love, but this is my first experience teaching online, so I'm still trying to get into the timing of things. This weekend my classes turned in their first full-length assignment, which I have to give extensive feedback on. So I was a bit stressed about doing that since I have about 40 students and they turned in multiple documents each, so it looked like a lot of paperwork .
And to add insult to injury, I'm PMSing which of course always steps up the junk food cravings. So stress and PMS made this weekend a challenge, but I did a lot of self-talk (good thing I live alone - I'm getting into the habit of talking to myself ) to remind myself that I didn't have to get all the grading done RIGHT NOW, that I had a week to do it, and that PMS was temporary and if I just go on eating healthy as I am and exercising, I'd get through it. So it was a good weekend.
I haven't had a chance to look in to how others are doing but I hope all is well!
Shay and Heather, I've been binge-free since Jan 5 and all I can say is take it one day at a time. If you take it one day at a time, it becomes much more manageable, instead of this thought that you have so many days to get out of the binge cycle. I know that's one thing that was killing me last year when I kept trying to stop the binging. I got into this "no more junk food" mentality (which, of course, is not what being binge-free is about - it's about stopping the cycle of unhealthy overeating, not about giving up junk food) and of course that set me into a panic, so it was setting me up for failure. Once I took it one day at a time, no absolutes, it was a lot easier.
Thanks Tammay. I definitely try not to deal in absolutes. You can get yourself in trouble there. I am happy to say I have had a binge free day today. I am literally nodding off as I type this so I feel comfortable that I will make it to bed without ingesting anything else. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been forever.
Shay, that's great! One under your belt-- WooHoo!!! Keep it up, Chica.
Tam, it's good to meet you. Binge free since 1/5 is absolutely fantastic - you have a lot to be proud of. Sounds like all that self-talk over the weekend worked -good for you.
Off to another day, friends. Have a great binge-free day -
Good morning ladies! I just wanted to let you know I made it to my meeting last night. It's a really small meeting right now, but the women were very supporting and nice. I'm really looking forward to going back next week. They gave me the 12 step book to start reading. I think this is going to be really good for me. Hope your all having a wonderful week
Tina - that's wonderful! I am so glad that you went, and that it was a positive experience for you. See? There's nothing to be afraid off. This is the beginning of a wonderful journey - good luck!
Tam and Birgit and everyone, thanks for all your support.
Tina - I'm glad to hear how positive your first meeting was - sounds terrifying to me, so good for you!
Shay, I'm with you - one clean day yesterday, and I feel stronger for it. I did have to have a little chat with myself - aloud (thank goodness I was alone! ) - last evening that I do NOT need food. Breakfast will come. Five minutes stuffing my face will take five days to get over. So far, so good. Definitely one day at a time. Even one meal at a time. I must find a path away form this destruction.
Heather - Congrats on a clean day! That is so awesome, and one step closer!
I made it through my first day as well, had to focus really hard in the cafeteria not to go for second or thirds, I have planned today's meals so that I will make it through 2 clean days! Keep the faith everyone.
go lean, heather --Great job! It feels so much better doesn't it?
Tina & Birgit--Tina, good to hear that you had such a positive experience at your OA meeting. Birgit, I think I will take the first step by investigating to see where meetings are located here in VA. Will I actually go? I don't know.
Hi everyone,
I apoogize if this is boring, but I need a place to get this out .
Well, this morning I had huge binge cravings, the worst I've had since the first few weeks when I decided to go binge free . I think this was due to a number of things
- I'm still a bit stressed with my work. Grading those big assignments put me a bit behind with the stuff I have to do for this week.
- I watched a lte movie last night so didn't get to bed until 2 a.m. I had to wake up this morning "early" (I put early in quotes because now that I am working from home, 8 a.m. is early for me ) for an eye doctor's appointment, so I was more tired than usual. I know that when I'm tired it's really hard for me to resist temptation.
- The eye doctor was near Walmart. I usually try to avoid Walmart, but the past year it's been my binge food center, mainly because it has the self-checkouts and so I don't have to endure that feeling of embarrassment at the checkout when I buy huge quantities of junk food. So I think the trip to Walmart, which I haven't made in a while, brought up associations with all-day binges.
- I got a later start than I wanted to, so didn't have breakfast but had some strawberries.
- PMS (yes, that again!)
Anyway, I managed to get through the eye doctor's appointment and walk away from the Walmart. But since I was tired and walking (it was a good 40 minute walk from home, but I love walking) I started to think about how good it would be to just get a scone or muffin and mocha at Starbucks instead of coming home to make the tofu scramble I had planned for this morning. But I started to calculate how long I've been binge-free (seven weeks!) and how good I felt about it and how my next mini goal was to stay binge-free until my birthday (March 29).
I made it past the Starbucks and another cafe which has these mega scones the size of a baseball cap (I kid you not) and got home, realizing that what I was craving wasn't so much the bakery foods but whole grains. I've been limiting them a bit, mainly because I wanted to focus on eating other stuff like beans and fruits and veggies. But I made myself a big bowl of oatmeal with some maple syrup and walnuts and a banana and now I feel so much better and the cravings are gone.
Sorry to be so long here but I just needed to get it all out .
Tam - Congrats on being binge-free for so long! I am in amazement! I'm hopeful that one day I will be able to say I've been binge-free for 7 weeks! That is wonderful And congrats on not only resisting the urge to binge, but to looking at your deisre to binge objectively to find out what really is going on instead of just doing it.
Heather & golean - CONGRATULATIONS on a clean day!
Tina - Glad to hear your meeting went so well
Hello to everyone else. I hope you are all having a great day
I had a binge-free day yesterday & am on track today. My little one seems to be starting to feel better. We nursed at about 4:00am this morning & she went back to sleep until 6:45am, so I was able to do 30 minutes of exercise this morning, uninterrupted! I felt so good about that. I had a work seminar this morning, & of course they had GIANT platters of pastries there. I managed to steer clear & stick to some fresh fruit. Then, of course, the woman I went with wanted to do lunch, but I had a spinach & grilled chicken salad instead of the huge philly cheese steak sandwich that was tempting me Now, I just trying to plan out my evening so I don't derail my day of hard work!
I spent a lot of tough time last night really thinking hard about what's going on with me - it just made me so sad. Even typing that sentence doesn't really say what I want to... suffice to say, I will be seeking some help before this binging becomes more problematic than it is now. I need to find a different outlet than stuffing my face. 
Hope she feels better soon.
.
) to remind myself that I didn't have to get all the grading done RIGHT NOW, that I had a week to do it, and that PMS was temporary and if I just go on eating healthy as I am and exercising, I'd get through it. So it was a good weekend. 
I've been binge-free since Jan 5 and all I can say is take it one day at a time. If you take it one day at a time, it becomes much more manageable, instead of this thought that you have so many days to get out of the binge cycle. I know that's one thing that was killing me last year when I kept trying to stop the binging. I got into this "no more junk food" mentality (which, of course, is not what being binge-free is about - it's about stopping the cycle of unhealthy overeating, not about giving up junk food) and of course that set me into a panic, so it was setting me up for failure. Once I took it one day at a time, no absolutes, it was a lot easier. 
) - last evening that I do NOT need food. Breakfast will come. Five minutes stuffing my face will take five days to get over. So far, so good. Definitely one day at a time. Even one meal at a time. I must find a path away form this destruction.
Now, I just trying to plan out my evening so I don't derail my day of hard work! 