Emotional Portion of Weight Loss
 

I am just wondering how many of you are dealing with the emotional side of the program. I have been in therapy for a few weeks and I am finding it very helpful to identify the triggers I have for overeating.

Its by far the hardest part of the weight loss journey but the counselors at my center say that weight loss has 3 parts... food, physical and emotional.

Is anyone else doing any work like I am???

Hi,
Yes, I am, but not going to therapy. I am using the Thin Within program. It is tough figuring out the triggers and when I am truly hungry and stopping the binge eating cycle. I have abused my poor body for years so this may take me awhile. I am very hopeful though.
Good luck to you!
Gwen

Good for you! I am not familiar with that program but I will look into it and see what its about. Thank you for the encouragement and good luck to you as well!

I am having a hard time with sweets at this point. I am only 7 lbs away from my goal and for some reason am sabotoging my self with junk. I don't know what to do and am getting very discouraged. My center has been trying to help me, but this is not a physical thing, but a mental thing and I am at a loss as to what to do. It is just awful and I am really having a hard time. I follow the diet perfectly and then at night( I work at night) I eat all kinds of candy and sweets at work then I feel awful about it but I can't make myself stop doing it.. I have until the 1st of March to lose this weight and I am afraid I am not going to make it. I have already resigned once and am not going to do it again, especially it is me that is causing the problem.. Any help or ideas would be welcomed!

Ronnie

Ronnie,
I completely understand where you are coming from. I'm 6.5 lbs away from goal and keep thinking about carbs and taking little bites here and there of things that aren't on program. Part of my issue is simply being so tired of the program and feeling ready to add some foods back so that I'll have a more balanced diet. I just keep telling myself I can do it, but it's getting so hard. Glad to know I'm not alone in the last part of this journey. Hang in there...I'm hanging on by my fingernails. LOL;)

I think you are right, we have worked at this so long, it is time to get on with it. I am looking at the part where we get to add stuff back. I am thinking this is why I am eating the sweets. I have been good today so far though. But it is a mind thing I think. I really don't want or need the junk but my mind is telling me I do.. I think I am going to start a journal so I can figure out why I am doing this to myself.. I am glad we are not alone in this..:)

Cheers!

Ronnie

I have only been on the program since November but my emotional part is really being paranoid about gaining the weight back.
I gave away some of my clothes to my sisters but have a 60 day clause that says I get them back if I gain the weight back. LOL Another emotional part is that I've been at a stand still for 2 weeks. So I'm just trying to hang in there without small cheats. The journey is very hard but you sharing your successes and defeats help me make it through. sexyrene

I had a month where I didn't loose any weight then I was measured and had lost 12 inches in the month!!! Hang in there :)

Gah, this is my fear too. Only 15 lbs lost so far, but I'm so afraid that I'm going to step on the scale and its magically going to all be back again. I guess its more of a motivator for me to be super careful about eating just On Plan, but its just this horrible lurking fear for me.

i know the feeling and you have been on the plan for longer than i have. sometimes you just want to have a normal meal, or during these winter months i want some warm comfort food. during the holidays i just had to take a break to feel normal, i wanted to enjoy all the traditional food with my family. but right after nye i was back on plan.
i'm tired of the same food, but i've noticed the more i experiment making new meals, the more i want off plan food. so it is best for me to stick with the same plain things. the center kept trying to push cookbook recipes on me, but they were all pretty gross. sometimes after i've been doing really good for a few weeks i get so sick of the food or i'll crave one of my favorite meals and it actually helps me to splurge, as long as after that meal i get back on track. i know doing that adds days to reaching my goal, but sometimes i think its worth is so i don't go crazy.

Oh Man...I am right there with all of you guys. I am soooo tired of this program. I keep thinking if I could just have some bar b que sauce on my chicken, or some ketchup on my buffalo burger, or some actual butter on my whole wheat toast. tomorow is supposed to be my last day on the contract and my weight loss has stalled for two weeks. I would almost feel better if I could point to some event or cheat that would explain the lack of loss, but I have been 100% OP since I started. I'm 8# away from my goal wt. and seem to be stuck. I have not gained any insight into my emotions and eating and why I could not stay at a healthy weight for the last 25 years. I feel totally unprepaired to keep this weight off if I ever do get to my goal. I've attended some of the connections classes at the center, but I really did not get much insight out of them. I know that I eat for comfort, but knowing that does not help me deal with it. Yes, I feel good physically and I certainly look better which are all very positive but I still want to eat and not feel deprived all of the time which I'm probably never going to be able to do.
Sorry to rant on....just feeling low I guess.

it looks like we started at about the same time and at the same weight. good for you for being so close to your goal. i am way farther that that. but you said you were on plan 100% of the time, i guess thats why. you must have some serious will power and it totally paid off. i wish i was at your weight. what was you average loss and did you plateu or stall besides these last two weeks. how much water do you drink?

What feelings are you trying to keep away? That was my first indication of what was wrong... seeing which emotions made me look to food. Being uncomfortable is my biggest one. My therapist told me that some people get heavy because they are uncomfortable with the attention they get if and when they are thin.

There is a phase 2 set of connections classes that go along with getting through stabilization and maintence and one of the classes is "How did your fat suit you?" It made me think of the things I have to deal with since I have lost weight that didn't come up when I was overweight... an example is having unwanted looks and comments from men. I have never been one for lots of attention from men. I love attention from my boyfriend but I don't like random guys staring at my body. Its uncomfortable.

Hope some of this helps!

i'm not sure i agree with this or atleast this comment doesn't work for me, about being uncomfortable with the attention of getting thin. when ppl gain weight everyone notices too- they just don't want to tell that person because its not a compliment like losing weight is. and atleast think people are thin they get positive attention, when people are overweight people notice and in public i tend to notice people who are heavily overweight that someone who is thin, they just stick out. i also don't like attention from men, but i would prefer compliments rather than being joked about because of my weight.

i haven't gone to connections class yet, its always full way in advance, but am looking forward to learning more. people are now noticing i've lost weight and i hope to lose a lot more, i think people noticing is going to help hold me accountable. i hope it helps me maintain.

Skinnyby25,
I started the actual program the last week in Sept. I've lost 2-5 lbs every week. There was one week that I only lost 1lb. I drink 124-135 oz per day. I really haven't exercised much. I do the 30 min 3x week on my bike. I have tried doing more these last two weeks hoping to speed things up here at the end. (not working) I'm kinda all or nothing person. I know that once I go off program I will not be able to get back with it 100%. That has been my failure with other diets that I've tried in the past. I'm on the green menu so I do the 4 HNS every day. I'm taking the MRC6, Cortitrim, and the EFA's and have been on them the whole time. I think the reason that I haven't cheated any is because I'm really not hungry. I eat because it's time to eat. This diet has changed my relationship with food. I just don't feel like that relationship will survive when I go off program. I miss some foods, but not enough to cheat. I guess I'll get to my goal weight and then start figuring out how to keep the weight off. Thanks for listening.