It is so wonderful to hear all your ladies wonderful stories, you are all such inspirations. I know I don't get on here and post a lot but I LOVE reading all your stories and struggles (its nice to know I'm not the only one who has cravings and falls off the wagon on occasion.) Thank you all!

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-st...165/190.5/.png

September Challenge
http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar013...180/190.5/.png

i agree wholeheartedly with this--it's better to have a small, reasonable cheat and get right back on plan than it is to feel miserable and deprived and woe-is-me all the time.

thanks for the congrats, and happy belated birthday to you!

Ladies thanks for all the words of encouragement. Today I am back down to the weight on the ticker. And you are correct it sure felt that 10,000 calories maybe even more but I know it wasn't. What worried me the most about the whole ordeal was realizing how easy it will be to fall in to old habits. I plan to work on my thought processes. I don't want to get to the end of this ordeal and put it back on!

Thanks again to all of you.
http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/purpvi...2/178/226/.png

Started MRC 5/9/09

Question
 

I'm guessing the majority of us posting here have been to the classes when I ask this question.

The person who conducts our classes is great. She refers to overeating as an addiction. I understand what she means by that, and yes if we are to keep the weight off, we have to change our whole outlook and relationship with food. So my question is this...Do you feel your being overweight is because of an addiction to food? If not, then what?

My question was prompted by subject matter for my school classes this week, so I'm just curious as to how everyone feels. It's kind of funny how my classes this semester are all intertwined with my diet and each other too. I guess that whole critical thinking process professors talk about might be happening. (At least at times.) Hopefully, it will help reinforce the changes that I have to make for the long term.

I love the classes; all of them.... connections, behavior mod, cooking! They all are so great! So food addiction; totally... for me anyway. And what I realized is it's not necessarily food addiction, it's just addicition in general. What I've realized is that by not really coming to terms with my initial, deep seeded issues, I turned to other things for comfort. Bad relationships, drugs, drinking, smoking, then food. I have NO doubt that if I hadn't agreed to work through the "ugly" truth this time, it would have been something else... shopping, gambling, etc... I think addiction just evolves if you don't come to terms with what you're trying to push down. They actually have a term that works for me.... it's the addiction pyramid, and it has a lot to do with drugs but you really can put almost anything in there and it works. Regardless of working through my "issues" though, I can honestly say, I am an addict.... of any kind.... as soon as I start, I am off on that path and no one is stopping me. So, I believe there is also a big "physical" addiction involved (again, for me); there is a Dr (Dr Randolph) that is board certified in Internal Med, Allergy and Immunology. He's done studies on these things and discussed his belief about corn being the common denominator in chronic food addiction; High fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, these are all sugars made from corn and are main ingredients in most processed food and fast food. Corn is the most prevalent ingredient in alcohol manufacturing, and that it is corn sugar that is used in cigarettes. Can you believe that?

Ok, enough of my ranting..... just my input.... I believe that you need to handle the emotional and the physical and that yes, addiction is my issue! ;)

For me the weight piled on when I went back to college for a second degree- full time...my husband was overseas and I had 4 small children all 11 and under, 3 in elementary 1 in JR high...the stress and doing an interior architect degree, I was up most nights until 2:00am drafting...sleeping for 4 hours a night for 4 years, most weeks I would stay up all night just to complete a project. I began to eat bad, stopped all forms of exercise...I was exercising my brain :dizzy:...and I gained 15 the first year and 10 more etc...you get the picture, until I graduated 4 years later...Summa Cum Laude...50+pounds heavier...I thought I would lose it after I graduated...no way...I continued to gain as my lifestyle changed and I was bored, lonely, stressed...and I just kept feeding all these emotions with junk! It is all emotional eating for me...I know when I get upset I want to grab something to put in my mouth...I can not remember my mother offering me treats to make me feel better...I just learned this cooping mechanism to get me through school...and life. I now run and this is helping my mental state, keeping me focused.

If I am to be honest with myself, I would say that I have a food addiction. I have used food for more then energy. To me food is a celebration. One of those foil wrapped hazelnut candies are like a present on Christmas morning. Food is a means to show love, like making someone their favorite cookie. A means of exploring the world through cultural foods. Food represents escape and comfort. Right after my divorce, I would joke and say I had a date, it consisted of a bag of peanut M&M's (or some other candy) and a romance novel. It kept away the loneliness. Even now the thought of curling up with a bodice ripping book with something sweet and creamy is enticing. Add a empty house and rain/snow storm outside and the picture is complete!
Then, as more weight piled on, it was a cushion against rejection. They weren't rejecting me, just my weight. I would try every diet known to man (but mostly to woman) because I knew my weight was bad and I should do something about it. Shouldn't I? But looking back, I don't think I was committed to it as much as I was committed to food. I was paying lip service to what our society said I should do. I should be thin, how dare I not strive to be thin, how dare I care more about the feelings derived from my food then I do about how I look.
Now, I care more about the healthy feelings I want to experience more then the false promises of food. I want show my family and friends I love them with my words, my hugs and my health. I am progressing to where I am willing to chance rejections instead of reading of a fictional love story. That is my current nonscale goal. I want to be more confident in myself and put myself at risk emotionally because I know it will be worth it.

I just have to say, as I was reading your post and looking at your little icon there on the left.... it totally fit.... like, whoa.... exhausting! lol.

You had quite a busy life there for a while; good job on channeling your energy from eating to running! I bet it helps you sort everything out too!

What a realization! That's wonderful that you've been able to realize what it was; the loneliness, pushing people away, etc.... very insightful. It's amazing what we do to ourselves, isn't it? It's such self-sabotage; such punishment.

I'm so happy for you, right now. :hug:

Namaste---did you ever see Food, Inc???? It's a movie that came out a couple of months ago and has been playing at Independent type of theaters. It was a great documentary about that very issue concerning corn (as well as many other things). I highly suggest it....I think you'd enjoy it :)

So, beautiful Lori, what are you doing now to replace that wonderful feeling you get/got curling up with the romance novel and the box of bon-bons? We need whatever that 'feeling' is that we get from doing our particular soul-satisfying thing - for me it is "putzing around from room to room, when no one else is home, starting one thing, getting involved with something else, not the things that need to be done, just little projects or things that 'someday I might do', rainy days make it even more perfect". The fact that the M&Ms put unneeded calories into you is unfortunate, but you still need something to satisfy that inner primal need.

I am asking this hypothetically, Lori, for all of us to ask ourselves. What non-food (or good food?) things can we do to nourish our inner self, our soul, our oh, so deserving inner child that needs to be comforted and loved? Maybe this should start the new September Thread. jeanette

New Thread for September
 

I took a big leap and started a new thread for September. (I hope that is all right?) (still hesitant at 62 that I might do the wrong thing) jeanette

I haven't seen it yet, but it's funny that you mention it because it's showing next week at the independent theatre in town and I'm planning on seeing it! Can't wait to watch it as I'm sure it will be very insightful!

Ofcourse it's alright Jeanette, love the name of the thread!

HA! I am so glad there is someone out there in the exact same boat I am in. I gained all of my weight when I returned to college (in my 30's) with kids, and a hubby who was always gone on trips (got to love the miltary). I always said I found the freshman 15...the sophmore 15...the junior 15...and the senior 15! So glad I got through all of it in 3.5 years and not 5 or 6!!! :dizzy: