Thank you for being so honest. I suffer in the same way as many of you. I don't trust myself with sugar, I have had moments where i would just like to throw up because ii just couldn't stop eating sugar. I was trying to get everything in so I could start fresh tomorrow. I need to feel in control of myself I have gained 15lbs back in the holidays because of my binge eating. I think I will always have these struggles, I just want to be able to manage it.

Thanks, I'm svelting!.. I checked out the Beck forum & then ordered the book from amazon.com... it sounds like something that'll be really helpful...

doxigirl, this is a great thread!.. I'll be back tomorrow to add my story... just wanted to say how proud I am of everybody who has bravely & honestly posted here...

hugs :hug:

Thanks for the post I can relate to how you are feeling. I actually meet with my coach in less than an hour to access the damage I have done. I was doing so well when I stopped IP but the past two weeks have been BAD !! Yesterday I stuffed myself with every bad food item there is because I knew I was starting today.

I, too, figured that losing 100 pounds would be the cure... but it isn't. I can do good all day (maybe too good, trying to make up for the PM binge before), but it all falls to **** in the late PM. I seriously ate like... 20 boxes of Valentines day hearts (yes, VALENTINE'S DAY) that I had left over. Not all at once, but 2-4 boxes at a time. Oh, and then 2 pound box of See's candy, and all the goodies you get at Xmas (& Thanksgiving)...

I managed to keep enough of my meals under control to only slowly gain, until recently. Now, I'm up from 158-9 to 173... and *have* to get back on the plan.

I am restarting today. I think I have to be no-none-of-it-ever, because a little? Leads to a lot.

I have spent a literal fortune on a new wardrobe, and I WILL NOT buy larger clothes. I WILL do good, I WILL relose the weight, and I WILL find a way to keep it off.

I just wish I could moderate it...

You have done such an amazing job so far...100 lbs is truly incredible.
Don't beat yourself up! You will lose the extra weight again and you will find a way to maintain it for a lifetime. The up side is that you stopped now before you put any more weight on!

I am the same as you. I can say no, no, no and be fine. But if I have one little cheat then I just go off the deep end and eat everything in site. I have come to realize that I have a disease...just like drug addicts or alcoholics. And the only way I can control it is to make a life time committement to work the program.

A food addiction is arrestable, but not curable. The most dangerous part of any addiction is to believe that we are unique and different than other food addicts. Stay away from "denial" - it can fuel our addiction to food.

Thank you, Rosemary, for these posts. Tracy, thanks for starting this thread and 'fessing up. I have exactly the same problem. I've been bulimic in the past, too. As long as I stick to protocol, I'm fine. I'm also able to go off protocol while away from home and I can deal with it. I just can't allow myself to get started while I'm at home alone - or I'll eat everything in sight.:?:

I think I have a food addicition as well. I cheated on X-mas day and I loved everything I ate. So by no means do I think my cravings are gone or cured. They are still there I just have managed to control them so far. Off course some days are worst than others, but they are definitely there. I watched a show on Chicago’s Public Television on Sunday that was very interesting. The speaker was Dr. Amen, a neuroscientist that talks about brain research and eating behaviors. His book is Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. Here is the link to his clinic http://www.amenclinics.com/. I'm thinking about ordering the book but the website has a lot of information about brain types, including a questionnaire to find our brain type. What he suggests is that if we learn our brain type and follow a specific set of guidelines and sort of treatment we can control eating disorders. I highly recommend everyone to take a look at this site.

I have to tell you all that I am both happy and sad that this thread is so popular. Happy I am not alone AND sad that I am not alone.

Thanks for the info. I checked these out. Looks like the info on Overeaters Anonymous sub-forum is old. I think I will order the Beck Diet book. It sounds like I need to research more thoroughly the cognitive therapy that Beck discusses.

Somehow, I am just more comfortable discussing this issue with my fellow IP'ers here in our forum. I hope we can keep it going.

This sounded good also. I just ordered three books on Amazon written by Geneen Roth, Breaking Free from Emotional Eating, Why Weight? A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating, Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. They sound interesting. I'll let you know.

Excellent motto - Thanks for sharing your story and your encouragement.

Hate to admit it, but I have gotten so upset with myself for overeating that I have made myself throw up. :cry: Then I sit there wondering how an intelligent person could be so stupid!!

I am so with you on this one. After all the money spent on new clothes, I refuse to outgrow them! I too "just wish I could moderate it".

I am off the deep end with you lady. Hope we can learn to control this. As someone else already said, we have an addiction, we cannot get rid of it, at best we can learn to control it.

Let us know what you learn about this.


I want to thank you all for sharing. :hug: I did not have time to personally respond to all the quotes, but thanks to everyone for sharing such a private issue. Just talking with you all makes me feel hopeful that I can get a handle on this bad behavior. Somehow there is comfort in numbers, if that makes any sense. I relied on this forum to help me lose the first 35 pounds on IP and I will rely on it to get through the next 35. I only hope that we can take it to the next level and learn life changing behaviors along the way.:grouphug:

I was just reading my email for today and I came across my daily message from Joel Osteen. I always love his messages, but today's was perfect for our discussion. I hope I will not offend anyone, but I really want to share it:

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria:
"As a believer in Jesus, you are a new creation! You have a new spirit, a new walk, a new life! There may be “old” things in your life that you are trying to get rid of. Maybe you have old habits or addictions that you want to change. Remember today that the new has come. It’s a new year with new opportunities, and it’s time for you to be the new you. Let this be the year that you break old habits and addictions. Let this be the year that you move forward into a new life of victory. Let this be the year that you take hold of all the spiritual blessings the Lord has promised — peace, health, protection and victory.

Be encouraged today because no matter what is happening in your life right now, you have a chance for a new beginning. Choose today to leave the old behind — leave behind old behaviors, old thinking, and old words and embrace the new by faith because this is your year to experience the new life that He has prepared for you!"

Just had to share!

Interesting site and the quiz is probably worth taking. Thanks.

I have to say once again how much I love this protocol! I am on day 3 of my "restart" and the cravings are already subsiding. I did not realize until I went off IP for a while just how much this protocol helps contol my compulsions. I guess this does need to become a way of life for me.
I have stated many times in my life that a food addict is at a loss for total recovery because they cannot quit eating. I never gave a thought to the fact that I can minimize my sugar intake to a point that my body actually stops fighting me for the sugar. Does that make sense? I guess the lightbulb finally came on. I know now that I do have to eat, however, by changing what I eat, I can live a much happier and healthier life. I can stop feeling like a prisoner to food! :cp:

:cheer2: Hooray! :broc: :broc:
Good for you being fully back in the "IP saddle" for 3 days.

Welcome back Doxigirl!!! So great you're back in the saddle.Thank you for sharing on food addiction. I relate completely. As a matter of fact, I have found for myself that even having the protein bars trigger me. I found that out the hard way last week.It was like heroine and I woke up the next morning chemically depressed and craving for the next day. I had never used them up until now....(something in me already knew it) Darn...even the taste of concentrated sweet flavor, real or not, triggers me.
It truly is a way of life. I'm happy to know that about myself. Awareness is everything and I'm realizing there are many lessons to be learned here with this amazing group! Thanks again.:dust:

sunnymae:
Thanks for mentioning the protein bars. I think you are right about intuition. As often as I considered it, I never bought any during my first six months on IP. I too just had a gut feeling that they would be too comfortable for me. I was just considering them again the other day. I thought it would be nice to have something at night that is not cold. I think I will just stick with my cold shakes!

Thanks again to everyone for sharing and encouraging!