Hey all,
So for the last 15 months I have been that annoying person who has been successful with weight loss and acts like it's the easiest thing in the world.
Longish story short: I was a competitive swimmer in good shape until I suffered a career ending shoulder injury. Depression combined with a sudden cease of my intense workout schedule ballooned me up to 220 lbs. I stayed at that weight for the last three years of high school. I lost about 20 pounds without trying my freshman year of college (Lifestyle change) and I began actively trying to lose weight at the start of my sophomore year. I am currently at 150 and I am only 15 lbs away from my swimming weight, but the trouble is that I've been at this point for about 10 weeks.

I thought I had iron self-control, and that I didn't need a weight loss buddy or anything, but this plateau has me realizing that I need help. I've started binging and I can't shake this feeling that my goal is out of reach. Just tonight I ate an entire box of cereal and two apples. I broke my own rule of not eating past 7 and I wasn't even hungry! I don't keep peanut butter in my fridge anymore because I have downed entire jars.

I am hoping I can come here for motivation and tips rather than running to my pantry. I have come this far alone, but I need someone to confide in now.... I want to lose this weight and keep it off!

Hi, Kissbeth!

I am a recovering binge-er, and to be perfectly honest, it pretty much quit when I moved in with my boyfriend because he does all the cooking and I hardly ever go in the kitchen.

But that doesn't help you, so let me move on...

I haven't gone through the other posts in this particular forum, but I saw yours first.
On the WW program they recommend single serving portions. Put single servings of snacks in a sandwich baggie. NEVER eat straight out of the box/bag!

In addition to my online points tracker I keep a fitness journal. I record everything I eat (even the zero-point things, which often don't make it into the online tracker). When my boyfriend makes food he measures *everything*, even the olive oil he puts in the pan (though he's switched to olive oil spray). Keeping a journal keeps you accountable. Seriously.

Example: At work meetings they always order lunch. Usually a hoagie platter. I usually go for two turkey or chicken mini-hoagies and throw away the roll. I write down the approx ounces. Here's the kicker, though: There are always one or two bags of potato chips. (Let's just say there's a good reason my boyfriend and I don't allow chips in our house.) Well, one serving of potato chips is 4 points (if you're not familiar with WW points, that's a lot for a snack) and one serving is 14 chips. Once in a blue moon I will indulge if I have enough points, and when I do, *I count them*. I know I'll probably lose count if I don't keep track, so after every chip I make a little hash mark on a piece of paper. A typical 8oz styrofoam cup holds about that much, depending on the size and broken-ness of the chips.

In the case of cereal (and an example you might try), get one of those plastic cereal holders with a small opening, just big enough to pour. Then fill up little sandwich baggies with one serving and put them in the container.

I don't have any advice for preventing yourself from taking out more than one sandwich baggie, but maybe just having individual portions will help...

Another idea is to be strict about making real food for real meals and creating a structure around food. And about the eating-pst-7pm thing, it isn't true that your body stops metabolizing at night. Since carbs are used for energy, you'd want to go for protein at night. You'd be better off binging on string cheese than cereal (unless it's Uncle Sam's, with some ridiculous 14g of fiber per 1/2 cup). But as long as you're not filling yourself up so late that you're eating breakfast on a full stomach, you should be fine. [I got this info from my "weight-loss sponsor" and her personal trainer/nutritionist. Take it as you will.]

Btw, I was the same way in college. Freshman year, at 140lbs, I would chow down constantly (once, I spent a whole Saturday on the computer, absent-mindedly killing a 3lb can of Chef Boyardee ravioli, straight out of the can) and I never gained any weight. Between jr and sr year I gained 30lbs without knowing it. My first year in my new job and I decided to stop going out to lunch with my coworkers and I paid more attention to eating healthy and I dropped 20lbs and barely tried. Then my bf broke up with me and I gained another 30lbs...