Oh ladies & gents, I am reaching out trying to grab hold of your incredible positive vibes!!! I didn't have a classic binge last night, but it was definitely emotional eating. 300+ calories over my daily goal for maintenance. Not the end of the world, but when I look at the fact that 800 of the 2300 calories I consumed yesterday fame from pure JUNK, that does not make me proud.
I am going to try something new. I'm attempting to PLAN in 1 treat every night. It is the time I go looking for it anyway, so maybe knowing that (a) I can have it and (b) it is waiting for me will help me to stop grazing on everything in sight.
This eating pattern is a 1-way path that I've taken before - and it landed me in the land of obesity. I must regain control or I may never be able to leave my house again (I'm not kidding). Truly, I do believe that regaining the weight THIS time around would land me in a mental hospital. I cannot do it...
I applaud those of you with strength who are leading the way. Day 1, day 100, or day 365 - YOU ARE DOING IT!! Keep it up. Let's support each other through this.
cheryl - if i could make a suggestion... what time of day is the 'treat' going to be? maybe you could make it like my "bedtime toast"... i have a rule... i am allowed a piece of whole wheat toast at bedtime if i am truly hungry... if i want it, i have to take it to bed with me and i have to turn the light off and go to sleep immediately afterwards... i cannot get back out of bed...that way, i am not tempted to go to the kitchen again
i can completely understand your concerns and struggle. i was black and white for over a year - no sweets, desserts, chocolate, NOTHING...then i finished losing all my weight and i felt like i could have a little bit, here and there... and that opened pandora's box and i have managed to close it a few times (5 months last spring, 98 days now) and in between it was a real struggle... luckily my body remembers being 'thin' and i have only bounced up and down 10 lbs... BUT it was the emotional bouncing that was far more difficult and painful.
i wish you alllll the best with your new plan and hope i can help you from a distance
I'm working on Day 3 here. Had a cookie with lunch but followed it up with some hot tea instead of raiding the pantry for more sweets. I think that is a key for me -- after having one sensible, allowable treat, I have to "put a lid on it," so to speak. Tea helps me with that.
Cheryl, I am a big fan of having a small treat almost every day. Most of the time that works for me. It might be 100 cals of dark chocolate, or a bowl of Edy's slow churned (130 cals). I account for it in my daily planning and fit it into my calorie allotment.
i76, planning is helpful for me, too. It is usually how I recover from a binge -- in that period afterwards, where I'm feeling sick and crappy about it, I sit down and enter all my food for the next day on myplate. It is a huge relief! Maybe my goal will be to hunker down and really plan when I feel the binge coming on rather than rely on it mostly as a recovery tool.
Jessiecat, I forgot the most important tip: calorie counting and exercise. I do it everyday! I feel that keeps me in control and I actually look forward to it. I even have a treat if I want it. I can eat chocolate if it's in my range or if I even want it. I can have a cookie, and then stop. Let me tell you, I was never able to do that before. I think mind set is another important tip. You really have want to do it, believe that you can and you will. I guess I was never in that frame of mind until now. But I really want it bad. So, those are a few more of my tips. I hope they help.
i76, I agree with you about planning. I plan and I feel great doing it. You are doing an absolutely awesome job! Keep up the great work! And I LOVE your attitude!
cherylm: the treat strategy is worth a shot, have a treat and enjoy. I am planning out my whole week and before I only planned a day ahead and was felxible about dinner. That worked but then it became too flexible, especially as I got close to maintainence. Whats important is you are trying/changing/evaluating a new way of moving forward. Be strong, stay strong.
yep i binged and had to start again, i had 2 days one i was feeling really guilty , i survived that binge free, but then the next day hubby got a fine for something that was his works fault and the police officer said if he wrote to the office it would be recinded as a warning, but we wrote and nope the fine stuck. so i was very very angry as right now money is an issue and it was more than a weeks rent and food that we were down.
So in anger i turned to food! BUT *** i only binged for over an hour, including a big pack of chips, half a loaf fresh bread, 3-4 chocolate bars, some bakery goodies... .. and then just felt over it, and was back on track the very next meal.
strangly the week i binged i lost 4.5 pounds!! maybe my body needed a shake up, to get my metabolism going.. curious.
Icedragon - I've been using a zig zag calorie counter that varies my allowed daily calorie intake because I think you're right about needing to stop your metabolism from adjusting to a restricted calorie program. So far, it's been working quite well and I LOVE the occasional 1900 calorie days (average daily calories is 1550). And much sympathy to you and your husband for getting stuck with that ridiculous fine. Any chance his work will pay it for you?
Thank you for all of your words of encouragement & suggestions. I still overate yesterday by about 200 calories, but I did NOT have a binge. My weight is coming down, which is odd, but I'm not exactly planning on this as strategy.
Today will be fine, and my weekend is busy. Our family Thanksgiving is on Sunday and I have dinner plans (date night) with my DH on Monday. This isn't how I wanted to go into 2 high food days, but here I am. In addition, we are taking the kids on vacation on Friday - - so I am faced with 1 food challenge after another. Lastly, my back is acting up & I'm having days when I can barely walk, so exercise is at an all-time low since I started losing weight.
I am petrified, to be honest. I feel like I've been here a thousand times before. I know it is up to me - no one else can make the decision about what I consume - so I just need to do the right thing. I tell my kids often that we do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do, not because of a reward. I need to heed my own advice, knowing that in fact there IS a reward: good health and better self-esteem.
I wish all of you successful days and positive self-image. Let us be the example for the young girls/women in our lives who are faced with so many pressures to conform to unrealistic views of beauty. I'm ready to be that person for someone else...even when they can't see me. No closet bingeing. No purge cycles. Zippo. Just good, healthy habits and a positive outlook on life.
I don't have it yet, but I'm reaching out to grab it!! Talk to you all next week. Wish me luck.
cheryl - you can do this girl!!! i love that you want to inspire other people!!! my "man" is being inspired by my continued committment and my spinning classes help me as well as my participants!!!! i know you can do this!!!
as for day 100 ! what am i doing? i am facing a huge challenge!!! i am going to my parents country house for our traditional halloween (long story) plus smores and a huge dinner and tons of crap food all around me.... soooo i am going to celebrate 100 days by :
1. going to the gym for a good, hard, workout
2. going tothe gym early enough to enjoy the sauna before my crazy day really starts
3. promising to myself that i will indulge but NOT go overboard at my parents
4. promise myself that sunday i will be right back on plan because I want to!
i am feeling really sick today, wicked headache...hoping to get out of work soon actually and go for a run and long/hot shower! man i need some sleep!
keep up the fantastic attitudes ladies!!! lets see those numbers grow!
It might be 100 cals of dark chocolate, or a bowl of Edy's slow churned (130 cals). I account for it in my daily planning and fit it into my calorie allotment. 
