now i know its not healthy. i kno it will never get me anywere, and i kno im only hurting my slef more.


but i am a cheater and if you have no shame you will admit it too. i want to start a thread about just WHY DO YOU FIND YOURSELF CHEATING? wat is your biggest temptation? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO TO STOP YOURSELF?



I cheat when i am upset or stress and when anxiety kicks in badly.

My cheat foods are, chocolate, coconut, and chips.

I want to stop by putting everything that causes me to cheat at a stop!!! no stress no anxiety, no more being upset~~

they dont have to be in the house for me to go get them but i am a cheater. and i wanted to express it









this in no way means that it is ok to cheat just a way to let off a little but of steam and pressure from diets

it can be pretty tough to eliminate stress and anxiety or to expect yoursef to never get upset again.

stress and anxiety can be my triggers too, to reach for a goodie, or just eat more. you know, I have a long, tiring stressful week at work and on the weekend I feel like I want to eat out and treat myself. I'm working on treating myself in different ways (doing fun things that don't involve eating, or still eating but keeping it more on plan), and dealing with stress/anxiety and general tiredness in other ways -- exercise, decompressing by watching tv or reading a book, napping. it's a work in progress for me.

Well, i turn to foods when I am upset too--pretty much the same ones you do. This is most likely because my adrenal glands are just broke down busted from all of the stress my body accumlates--plus i'm in nursing school. The adrenals being burnt out will make you feel an INTENSE desire for fatty (creamy), salty, sugary foods. it is because when you are under stress, your body is trying to make stress hormones, and you need fat to make steriod hormones, your body also needs more salt under stress, and thinks you need more energy (crave sugar) under stress--because you are preparing to flee (physically) from danger.

I find i don't want those foods, when I take herbs made for the adrenal glads, or i take a green tea pill if I feel completely burnt out.

I don't call it cheating, when I do have some off plan foods, i call it off plan.

What to do to stop myself? Well, i had an instance last night, VERY STRESSFUL situation at my friend's house. I left his house and immediately had a craving for something creamy and sweet (adrenal glands talking). I walked into the convenience store--and looked around. I passed on the icecream---major trigger food for me, i passed on the fruit snacks, and then I just left the store.

I realized I really wanted some yogurt type stuff. So i went to the grocery store and bought some jello cheesecake cups, and some greek yogurts. I opened one and started to dig at it with a straw. I realized, i did want something sweet and creamy, but WHY i wanted it. I also knew I had a few calories (exchanges banked) but not enough to eat the whole 150 cs worth. So I let my son eat half of it. Then ate the other half.

step 1: realizing i have been triggered.
step 2: accepting i will reach for these foods
step 3: realizing the food will not solve my problem.
step 4: leave EMERGENCY cs (exchanges) for me to have some.
step 5: eat the healthiest version of what I am craving that I can.
step 6: enjoy the craving food.

When I was in the losing stage of dropping 193 pounds of pure FAT, I can count on less than one hand the times I went over my calories for the day. I guess that I was so absolutely sick and tired of being fat, tired, lazy and depressed that once I set my mind to it, NOTHING, (except for my Birthday, Thanksgiving & Christmas Days) were worth going over. And even on those days it was never a CHEAT. They were planned and in no way a "free for all...' Since I reached goal, I do splurge though I always plan in advance. If I am not at AT LEAST 140 , I will not let myself...no exceptions. The only way I allow myself sweet treats is if my weight is in the 130'S. Yea, it might suck to be that strict with myself, but I NEVER WANT TO GET FAT AGAIN, and if it means I can't have a cruddy piece of cake at a birthday party who the **** cares!

Right here! I'm a cheater, too. When I decide to do the dirty deed, I'll even go as far as to go to the grocery store and pick up whatever it is i'm craving. I'm trying so hard to stop. Yesterday I was on day 2 of this 3 day cleanse i was trying to do and I was absolutely starving. I was lightheaded and I let myself get ravenous. I learned that I just can't follow that cleanse perfectly without getting too hungry. And with my binge problem, letting myself get that hungry is a baaad idea. I lose all will power and i can't think straight. Anyway, i tried to fight it by coming here to 3fc but to no avail. A box of spaghetti, a jar of alfredo sauce, chips, and cookie dough icecream later i had completely stuffed myself beyond comfort. And today I just decided to go pick up some taco bell! I keep allowing myself to make these horrible choices and I don't know how to stop. I'm going through a really rough time in life right now with my marriage and trying to fight my depression and my food addiction. To top it off dh just left for training on friday and will be gone for 35 days so I'm really struggling with coming home to an empty house (empty because it's just me and the dog, and empty because we are moving) and not turning to food for comfort.

I want to stop by finding as much support and tools as I can from here on 3fc and by replacing food with other non food things to comfort/occupy my time with. Thank you for posting this. I needed to get some things off my chest.

Eve, the Chicks in Control thread, is great, there is a large group of women that fight the need to buy binge foods, and completely binge out. I am sorry about your tough time, i am pretty sure the women would be very welcoming. I am also a member, but not a frequent poster--sometimes if I have not binging for a while, seeing the posts--triggers me. So I stay away until it becomes a problem.

I will also pray for your marriage.

Lori, i think this is a great way to think about this, and keep control, you are not being that strict, you are being realistic.

i can't see myself having a cheat DAY at all. Not right now. So tired of seeing fat rolls. I will occasionally allow myself something off plan, that doesn't consist of a 5 ingredients or fewer food.. but this will be for a planned meal or snack or something. A cheat DAY right now might just derail me.

I could have sworn I saw LoriBell's name on that above post, but sheesh, it is the exact scenario as me. EXACT.

Anyway, there will never, ever be a stretch of time without anxiety and/or stress. That is part of life. You have got to learn that, face that and find other ways to deal with stress - ways that deal with it, not cause more of it. You have just got to come to terms with that. Eating causes more stress than it solves. "If hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution." Say it over and over again.

Those foods that you mentioned - if you ask me, you must BAN them. Make them absolute NO's. Make them part of your past. BREAK THE HABIT. And that's what it is really - habit. You're used to doing things a certain way, so that's what you continue to do, that's what you turn to.

That's why you must break the habit and find other alternatives. Whether it being sewing, writing, reading, meditating, cleaning, jumping rope, running in circles, doing puzzles - SOMETHING.

You also have to recognize that you DO have the power to stop this. It IS something that you CAN control. But you must DECIDE to. You must decide that you're not going to take it for another second. Then you must push yourself and push yourself by not giving in when the feeling comes to you. You don't give in and each time it gets easier and easier - habit broken.

You deserve to be comforted when stressed without the bad side affects and the guilt.

I don't call it cheating or consider it cheating, but I do have situations where I'm still struggling with emotional eating. Uni-related stress is a big one - I put on loads of weight last year in the final year of my first degree, and now I'm really struggling with my masters dissertation I'm seeing the instinct to go and get junk food is rearing its head again. I've managed to control it quite well this year so far, so I think I'm improving a bit, but I've caught myself using food as a motivator recently - "Another 300 words and I can get a biscuit" type speech.

Time where I feel low in terms of self esteem, shaken or coming out of a conflict situation are when I automatically think I'm hungry and rush for the cupboard. I have a very bad relationship with a member of my family and any sort of interaction, I've found recently, seems to leave me thinking of food.

Losing weight this time (the last time I swear!) has made me much more aware of how I have used food to cover up emotional issues, and thus, of the emotional issues I have. I seem to be completely in terror of facing up to a lot of social situations and I've always buried my head in the sand and ate, rather than face up to anything. I'm just hoping that these realisations mean I can somehow sort things out and start living like a normal person.

I've used Paul McKenna's tapping method very successfully in the past for getting rid of sudden emotional hunger and cravings, though I haven't been keeping that up lately as I should, so must try harder there.

Thanks, Jen!

u r welcome Eve.