I'm having a great couple of weeks, keeping food prepared that I can eat readily available.

I roasted up a giant batch of vegetables and bought some chicken sausage to eat with it. It's a nice, satisfying meal! The only trouble is family members will eat my sausage and leave the veg. It would be cool if they were getting onboard with my eating but they are just taking the sausage. Grrrr!

Between the veg and a batch of chicken noodle soup, I was able to stay on plan while the family had pizza. Yay!

Snark and Lucky, sorry about the migraines. I've had only a small taste of a migraine and it is awful!

Snark, four days in the hospital sounds serious. I hope you're doing okay.

I had some success with OA for a while but everything has gone downhill lately, I cannot get any consistent days with no bingeing/overeating and have totally slipped from program. My weight will creep up again in no time. I have also been in a terrible place mentally and have really lost all motivation for anything including dealing with my eating. Any suggestions on a good first step to get started again?

CoolMom Way to go!!!! There needs to be refrigs with locked compartments for moms. I hear often hear this from friends--the kids eat even their Jenny Craig diet food!

davina It's good to see you here, though I'm so sorry to hear you're discouraged. Since you found OA helpful for a while, I'm wondering if you tried out having a sponsor. Or considered being a sponsor? Is there a way to renew your motivation through OA? They can be so helpful and supportive, especially in the hard times. Also therapy can help, the right therapist which can be as easy as finding the right person to marry, lol.

I think the emotional component to eating has been the most difficult to handle, for me anyway. Lately, I've been thinking about this: do I eat to self-medicate low moods or are low moods the result of being/having been overweight? I think both apply and reinforce each other. But the driving force in my overeating is an effort to feel good in the moment--to feel loved, to soften negativity whether it comes from within or perceived from the outside world. Not sure if boredom counts as an emotion, but it is a huge reason I eat.

I've learned that the slightest negativity will make me want to eat, even if it has nothing to do with me. Especially being around someone else who I perceive as negative. The better I am at managing this one thing, the less inclined I am to eat. Boredom is a frequent factor in my life right now, and I somehow think of it as a given. In a way, allowing ourselves to get bored is a form of self-neglect, of not feeding our minds/spirits. No wonder food becomes appealing during times of boredom

thanks mars735. i've gone through 2 sponsors already and done the steps twice... I think the real problem for me is the turning to HP part, I just can't get there. not having really experienced any of the promises leaves me just reciting words with 10 and 11 step you know? because of this I was hesitant to sponsor anyone, well that and the fact that I have not had any consistent recovery in at least 2 months now. I just don't feel I can adequately pass on the program to someone else when I have not felt recovery with it myself. But a lot of people say you will never be truly recovered until you start sponsoring .. I could start out by listening to a couple of phone meetings again or big book studies I guess. I just have ask for willingness and try to go through the motions until it comes.

i hope you guys don't mind but I am going to post for accountability right now, my roomate is leaving the house and I am planning some binge ideas in my head. It's time for my meal in about1 hour and a half and I need to occupy myself until then. going to try and read some more of this forum.

Davina, HP was why I didn't stick with OA either. Just wasn't a good fit.

I hope you find IE to be useful. What's worked for me in maintaining and feeling sane with food is keeping what I like from many sources and not forcing anything that doesn't fit. All of your accumulated trial and error have given you wisdom of experience that no one-size-fits-all plan can match.

I have been really struggling the last few days. My son (who has a bunch of special needs issues) has this horrible tic that makes him shake his head very hard. It comes and goes and meds are horrible and generally not recommended. Anyway, he is having it so bad lately and it gives him headaches and is just hard to deal with because it's every few seconds. I have been numbing myself with food. I haven't had sugar or flour but I have had way too much food so I'm not weighing myself for a while. I only slept 3 hours last night even though I'm on a new medicine and I feel like a mess. I know things will get better but to watch your child suffer from so many things is tearing me apart.

I think having something that I have no control over is what is really getting me. If it's my migraines or insomnia, I'll take it and deal with it somehow, but my son. I just can't handle it right now.

Sorry for the rant. I am wishing you all a wonderful day and I know I have great days in the future. I just need to get through it and thank you for reading.

Luckymom, that would definitely be tough. I'm so sorry your son is hurting and I hope it eases up soon. You must have really made the leap to lifestyle change to be able to still avoid flour and sugar. Hang in there and get a mom break when you can.

So far, so good over here. The weight is moving in the right direction and will power is good.

Thanks CoolMom, I'm really glad that things are headed in the right direction for ya. I went to an OA meeting today and even though I didn't like the actual meeting, something about going there set me back on the right path. I'm also starting to work with a new sponsor. She's kind and supportive and the opposite of the sponsor I had to let go.

Anyway, I wish everyone smooth sailing.

LM I'm glad you are finding some kindsupport. You deserve the same kindness and generosity of spirit that I read in your posts to others (incl me : ). I hope your son is feeling better

I found OA to be a great help when I needed refocusing. I am still still a yoyo dieter but the weight range is way narrower than before. I will have to sneak up on abstinence, lol.

Thanks so much mars. You have also dispensed a great deal of kindness and wisdom to me and others. My son was doing better this morning which I hope is not temporary.

I just saw this interesting article: http://universityofcalifornia.edu/ne...rule-our-minds

Wow, that's a fascinating link Lucky. i read a while back about gut bacteria such as yeast coopting our brain to make us crave the sugar that they need to survive. It does sometimes seem like someone else is calling the shots with my eating behavior.

I hope your little one had a good day (and that you'll feel free to come here for support or just to vent).

Morning all. Woke up early to the lovely sound of rain here in drought-stricken California.

Still thinking about gut bacteria and sugar craving.....I'm stuck on this: if yeast and other sugar-loving bacteria in our colon are driving us to eat sugar, how does the sugar get to those bacteria in the colon if sugar is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, presumably in the small intestine? I wouldn't think much sugar actually makes it to the lower intestinal tract where these beasties live.

I would like to see if anyone is actively researching these issues, including leaky gut syndrome. Seems doable to sample intestinal flora in a systematic way and also find direct physical evidence for leaky gut syndrome. Meanwhile, I'll hedge my bets and go buy some Bubbie's probiotic sauerkraut.

I tend to binge on sugary treats with some regularity, about once/week. No matter what else is going on in my life emotionally or even while sticking to Ideal Protein and losing weight as I'm currently doing. According to an acquaintance who reads up on this topic, sugar craving is caused by die-off of sugar-loving microbes as they run out of fuel. They signal the brain somehow to crave more. Maybe for me this process is a 7 day cycle. I'm skeptical but interested.

I just remembered a recent IP coaching video which linked to this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22064556

J Clin Gastroenterol. 2012 Jan;46(1):16-24. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0b013e31823711fd.
The intestinal microbiota and obesity.
Kallus SJ1, Brandt LJ.
Author information

Abstract
Obesity has been and continues to be an epidemic in the United States. Obesity has been addressed in multiple health initiatives, including Healthy People 2010, with no state meeting the proposed goal of a prevalence of obesity < 15% of the adult population. In contrast, obesity rates have continued to increase, with the self-reported prevalence of obesity among adults increasing by 1.1% from 2007 to the present. Indeed, since 2009, 33 states reported obesity prevalences of 25% or more with only 1 state reporting prevalence < 20%. There have been multiple approaches for the treatment of obesity, including fad diets, incentive-based exercise programs, and gastric bypass surgery; none of which have been optimal. In a murine model, it was shown that the majority of the intestinal microbiome consists of two bacterial phyla, the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes, and that the relative abundance of these two phyla differs among lean and obese mice; the obese mouse had a higher proportion of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (50% greater) than the lean mouse. The same results were appreciated in obese humans compared to lean subjects. The postulated explanation for this finding is that Firmicutes produce more complete metabolism of a given energy source than do Bacteroidetes, thus promoting more efficient absorption of calories and subsequent weight gain. Researchers were able to demonstrate that colonizing germ-free mice with the intestinal microbiome from obese mice led to an increased total body fat in the recipient mice despite a lack of change in diet. The converse, that, colonizing germ-free obese mice with the intestinal microbiome of thin mice causing a decreased total body fat in the recipient mice, has not yet been done. Other possible mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiome affects host obesity include induction of low-grade inflammation with lipopolysaccharide, regulation of host genes responsible for energy expenditure and storage, and hormonal communication between the intestinal microbiome and the host. The following review discusses the microbiome-obesity relationship and proposed mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiota is hypothesized to influence weight gain.

and this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23526699

Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Dec;21(12):E607-15. doi: 10.1002/oby.20466. Epub 2013 Jun 22.
Human intestinal microbiota composition is associated with local and systemic inflammation in obesity.
Verdam FJ1, Fuentes S, de Jonge C, Zoetendal EG, Erbil R, Greve JW, Buurman WA, de Vos WM, Rensen SS.
Author information

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Intestinal microbiota have been suggested to contribute to the development of obesity, but the mechanism remains elusive. The relationship between microbiota composition, intestinal permeability, and inflammation in nonobese and obese subjects was investigated.
DESIGN AND METHODS:
Fecal microbiota composition of 28 subjects (BMI 18.6-60.3 kg m(-2) ) was analyzed by a phylogenetic profiling microarray. Fecal calprotectin and plasma C-reactive protein levels were determined to evaluate intestinal and systemic inflammation. Furthermore, HbA1c , and plasma levels of transaminases and lipids were analyzed. Gastroduodenal, small intestinal, and colonic permeability were assessed by a multisaccharide test.
RESULTS:
Based on microbiota composition, the study population segregated into two clusters with predominantly obese (15/19) or exclusively nonobese (9/9) subjects. Whereas intestinal permeability did not differ between clusters, the obese cluster showed reduced bacterial diversity, a decreased Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, and an increased abundance of potential proinflammatory Proteobacteria. Interestingly, fecal calprotectin was only detectable in subjects within the obese microbiota cluster (n = 8/19, P = 0.02). Plasma C-reactive protein was also increased in these subjects (P = 0.0005), and correlated with the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio (rs = -0.41, P = 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS:
Intestinal microbiota alterations in obese subjects are associated with local and systemic inflammation, suggesting that the obesity-related microbiota composition has a proinflammatory effect.
Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

Interesting stuff, Mars! Inflammation was a huge problem overall when I ate whatever. And chronic GI issues.

Me too, Zoe. The first thing I noticed, within a couple of weks of cleaning up my diet, was that my knees stopped hurting, even before a lot of the weight was gone. Wouldn't it be something if all if took was some yogurt or sauerkraut to dampen the cravings?