If your looking for support while dieting, you have come to right place. I don't think you will find more helpful people with vasts amount of knowledge about Ideal Protein than you will in these forums. Good Luck!
You've gotten wonderful advice, and I'm happy you're feeling a bit more encouraged. I'm going to add something from my own experience that I'm hoping will hit home with you and help also. About 20 years ago, a series of horrible things happened to me also. I'd always been a normal weight, but after experiencing so many things I had no control over, although I didn't realize it at the time, I felt I'd lost control of my life, and that loss of control soon included my eating habits. My doctor suggested antidepressants and my weight spiraled to 247. It took me 10 years of feeling like a victim, and like everyone else got all the breaks, until for some reason (I never did have any counseling) I had an epiphany and realized my life could still be pretty great, and I had the ability to make it that way by focusing on the good aspects of my life and not the problems and issues (which as others have said, everyone has, to one extent or another). I honestly became a much happier, positive person. It was then I realized that if I could control my happiness, I could control anything, including my eating, and I started to drop the weight. At one point I went to OA for a bit, and the group I went to were nice people, but their philosophy seemed to be "I have no control over my eating, so I ask God to control it for me... and until he steps in and does that, I'm gonna eat this..." I was smallest person there, and honestly, I felt thinking I had no control over my eating wasn't helpful to me. I'm obviously not skinny (yet), but I did get down about 25 pounds lower than I am now by self talking... telling myself that although there are many things that are beyond my control, what I put in my mouth is something I always have control over, and for me, that's really helped. I don't know if after what you've been through you have some of the feelings I had, but I hope my story will help you.
I'm about halfway through and suffering from the very difficult to control binge on the weekends. What's helped is reading Dr. Trans's free book that you can download on his website. Talks about commitment, cheating, how the diet is temporary, etc. It IS hard, but it's worth it to stick to it. And I agree with Diane...reading all your posts is motivational. I'm in a houseful of people who can eat what they want. Helps to have online buddies going through the same struggles.
Wow! You girls are good. (: I write published books on health - mental health and now physical health - and I am one, with years and years of experience, have sought counseling for all my issues. Sometimes it works, sometimes problems get the best of me. I guess I have the exact same mentality as RareBird when it came to OA. Just that you are powerless and it always seem contradictory to my thoughts and beliefs. But I could be wrong as perhaps it helps some people. I've just witnessed it not work for a lot of people and they seem to get stuck. But everyone is an individual. I am fortunate I have good family and friends and a psych to talk to...I just sought out this group because it did not seem anyone I knew was having eating issues and more so doing Ideal Protein. So it's good to be involved with like-minded individuals. So thank you.
My book that I'm writing about now is about taking care of your physical self. I try every day to attain physical well-being and as you know it's a complex nature. I only started IP 3 weeks ago and I hope it is useful reprogramming myself and so far it has. Yes, I screwed up, but I guess perfection is hard. But I want a successful book and I want to be successful in my health - physical and mental. And when eating takes a mental frame of mind it gets challenging. Thank you for understanding. I don't think I could have gotten these responses and support from others. Besides I'm a writer and artist and both are very solitary activities. So this is good. (:
Wow! You girls are good. (: I write published books on health - mental health and now physical health - and I am one, with years and years of experience, have sought counseling for all my issues. Sometimes it works, sometimes problems get the best of me. I guess I have the exact same mentality as RareBird when it came to OA. Just that you are powerless and it always seem contradictory to my thoughts and beliefs. But I could be wrong as perhaps it helps some people. I've just witnessed it not work for a lot of people and they seem to get stuck. But everyone is an individual. I am fortunate I have good family and friends and a psych to talk to...I just sought out this group because it did not seem anyone I knew was having eating issues and more so doing Ideal Protein. So it's good to be involved with like-minded individuals. So thank you.
My book that I'm writing about now is about taking care of your physical self. I try every day to attain physical well-being and as you know it's a complex nature. I only started IP 3 weeks ago and I hope it is useful reprogramming myself and so far it has. Yes, I screwed up, but I guess perfection is hard. But I want a successful book and I want to be successful in my health - physical and mental. And when eating takes a mental frame of mind it gets challenging. Thank you for understanding. I don't think I could have gotten these responses and support from others. Besides I'm a writer and artist and both are very solitary activities. So this is good. (:
I too, do not believe that OA is a good practice. I went to one meeting and saw a woman there who was still 450 pounds and had been with OA for 15 years. How is a program that successful if someone who is there can't make permanent changes and get healthy after 15 years?
For me, an approach has to be results driven. And I believe that the best way to be successful is to duplicate the actions of successful people, including getting involved with activities or groups of people who you want to emulate and find out what they did and how they did it and what will work for you.
my advice: Just stay positive. and keep telling yourself that you can do this! You are certainly in the right place if you need motivation and a pick-me-up. There are days where I am starving, and then others, where I don't want to eat at all. But the days I feel constantly hungry, I just up my water intake. Instead of drinking one glass after a meal, I'll drink 2. a Straw is my best friend. and My bladder is exhausted at that point.
Good encouragement from your friends and family is always good motivation. It's been 3 and half weeks for me, I've lost 15 lbs, and 11 inches and my husband and family notice the change already. Them telling me I'm looking good is keeping me going. As hard as this is, you need a good support system for sure.
And when the support isn't there at the time... believe me There's nothing worse than eating food from a package while your husband is eating a Baconator! But i just keep thinking of the badass beach body I'm doing to have once I reach my goal.
To the badass beach body girls! Oh, I forgot, no wine...
Thanks for your words of support and encouragement. (:
ps. 3 months left till summer. Make every day count! (:
