I usually eat my way through the day. A doughnut for breakfast. Some coffee. A huge lunch that leaves me tired, sick, and overly full. Then home for more food with my husband. And chips/ice cream/etc while watching TV at night.

I started ww123 this week and I feel like I'm starving myself again. I remember feeling this way so I'm either doing the ww wrong or this is mental. I've been eating a small breakfast (3 points or so) then a small lunch (5-7 points) and by quitting time I'm so hungry it hurts. Yesterday my blood sugar dropped and I nearly fainted. Did dinner of 10 points and felt okay.

I guess my point here is I feel like I'm starving myself again. That my interpretation of ww is to eat as little as possible. It's not is it? It's just eating healthier, right?

How do I differentiate the two?

Kia,
You are setting yourself up for a big fall....
Dieting makes you gain weight. The restriction initially makes you feel focused and psyched, but soon turns into feelings of deprivation. Try to eat "on demand". Similar to the demand feeding of breastfeeding. When the baby was hungry, feed it. When it was full, it would stop nursing. God designed our bodies to naturally discern when we are hungry/full. But as we get older, the "head stuff" gets wrapped up in this natural feeding process. Have you read any of the recommended reading re: eating disorders? I found that becoming educated about my eating disorder was the beginning of the journey......

I don't think you are eating enough. To go from what you were doing to the WW plan as you are doing it was too drastic a change. Make a small change that you know you can be sucessful at.. and don't try to change anything else until that first change becomes successful.

I know the concept of demand feeding is what this board is about. But to be honest, it didn't work for me.

I actually NEED a structured food plan to keep from binging... however.. no foods are really off-limits.. and I make sure I eat enough to keep hunger at bay.

My weight has been dropping simply from not binging. I also exercise for an hour every day.

Elaine

Perhaps you might try to spread out your points more and also munch on "free" veggies to avoid feeling hungry. I know nothing about eating disorders, but stumbled on your post so don't get upset if I say the wrong thing. I try to think of hunger as a positive thing. It's my body cleaning itself out and, by drinking lots of water, I'm also flushing out all the toxins and getting healthier. Take care and God bless!

Wow this is a hard one for me--to find that right balance where I'm losing weight but not starving. I tend to mostly binge or restrict to much and I end up binging. All that weighing and measuring of WW,how many points can I have? Writing everything down and looking everything up made me focus on food way to much and end up overeating. You may want to continue with WW and my only suggestion is it looks like your not eating enough points in the early part of the day and by the end of the day you might be extra hungry. I have to agree with others on here going from overeating to WW restrictions makes one really hungry.

I do portion control which works better for me. Quick meals so I'm out of the kitchen fast. The less I have to plan and work with food the better it is for me. . I always think what would a normal person have I make small quick plans like-- Breakfast--cereal, milk, fruit. Lunch--apple, sandwich, milk. Supper, small portion chicken, about 1 cup of rice or a potato, veggies, fruit.

Some people like to eat 6 small meals a day while I find if I do this I will overeat. For me 3 meals a day and maybe one snack in the evening.

You have to experiment and finds what works the best for you. Good luck.

Misty and Elaine,
You both raise very important points. I have found it really difficult to journal, etc...I found the detail too focused on food for me and it became a trigger and certainly fed into my problem with thinking about food all of the time.
The demand feeding thing can be tough too. It's a great concept, but for some folks, having some structure is key. I think its all a balance, and for each one of us, it will be a different balance. The great thing about this board is that we can all learn from each other and what may not work for one, may work for another. I guess the point is, as you are on this journey, you need to get to know yourself and be honest with what helps you or is a trigger for you.
However, I still believe that "dieting" = deprivation and that's a lethal trigger for me.......

You know, a very good point has been brought up here that made me think all weekend. When I was on WW, it seemed that I was obsessing over food. What with the writing down of everything, the watching portion control, making sure I drank 8 glasses of water, etc., all I thought of was food!! I eventually quit and now I wonder if it wsn't stressing me out too much.

FIRSTARMYMOM you have gotten some great replies and various interesting answers. At first on any diet your going to feel hungry. Are you eating at the upper end of your points?-that sometimes helps. Also many people add lots of veggies. What I think is important is what you said at the end~~ that you feel like you are starving and nearly fainting shows that you need to alter your food plan.

FULLHOUSE what books would you recommend?? I like an OA book called ABSTINENCE. A friend gave me her old copy. I found it really interesting because as many of us have said here, it means different things to each of us. We each have to find our own abstinence and what works for us.

TIPPY I have tried WW 3 times because they say its suppose to be one of the best ways to go. BUT for ME it definately kept my focus on food way to much. Each time I would quickly fall into the binge eating trap but I would think well others do it and it is better than some of the super strict diets so I should smarten up and do it. I just couldn't do it though. Instead of grabbing food, I have learned to grab water first. To sit down and try and relax and get my mind back in order. Or I go out the door for a walk.

ELAINE I do a loose structured food plan. I also exercise anywhere from 45 min to 1 hour. Mostly walking but I find it puts me in the right frame of mind many days. Going for a walk and seeing the neighbours yards and the beauty of the parks around here really alters my thought process for the better.

I really enjoyed reading the replies to this question and have learned a few things that have really clicked with me--thanks

Misty,

These are the three that I recommend highly...

Overcoming Binge Eating by Dr. Christopher Fairburn
Overcoming Overeating by Jane Hirschmann and Carol Munter
Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating by Geneen Roth

There are many more....

A few really helpful websites:

anred.com
something-fishy.org
edreferral.com
EDAP - this website has a comprehensive reading list

This should get you started!!

thanks FULLHOUSE

I found this eating plan really good, I lost the most of my weight with this eating plan, I lost 126lbs. If you like pasta then you could eat pasta all day long you don't need to weigh it, it consists of 2 eating plans Green eating plan (pasta rice etc) and Red eating plan (meat fish etc) Try and find its wed sight, The eating plan is called Slimming World. Let me Know what you think

HI There....

I haven't posted in forever and haven't even really been looking but I always come back to my roots!!!

You should try to welcome your hunger with open arms but do not allow yourself to become too hungry. I am one of those people who eat every couple of hours which gives me the satisfaction of eating different foods.

I know for me writing down what I eat etc. feels too confining and more 'officially' like an actual diet.

It is so very difficult to lose weight when you have an eating disorder but I know that you can without fretting over numbers etc.

Please don't put so much stress on yourself about this - it's hard but try to deal with only one thing at a time if you can.

Cheers,
Kymber

I to lately have found myself focusing on food too much, and to journal triggers a negative reaction... I become stressed out and nervous... When I look at my points, I start stressing... I try to focus and can't... I have been successful with WW, but now mentally things are starting to get to me... The only thing keep me from wanting to just let go is I have lost tons of weight, and am near goal weight... But, I need mental stimulation, and the literature isn't working for me... I am a nervous, stress type person, who is working on overcoming that...

I don't mind portion/ measuring control, reading nutrition information. I am working at being consistant with fruits, vegs, water, but exercise is coming along pretty good for me, praise God.


WW has been a blessing from God, but now I'm at the point I need more than just nutrional information, I need real less commercialmental stimulation. I pray that I remain with WW, through God's help, but I will ask him to help me through this mental struggle with food...

This is interesting to me, about the obsessiveness on Points and such. I have been a member of WW more times than I can count and had great success ONCE. That was when I followed the old exchange system plan. Then years later I had success again as a member of TOPS using the exchange plan. I have tried WW again, but as you say, I find myself going over and over the Points and going over Points for the day just to spite myself I think! Anyway, I am going to return to TOPS. It's a non-profit weight loss support organization that has been around longer than WW. You don't hear about it as much because they don't advertise commercially. That's why it's only $20 a YEAR to join and that includes a monthly magazine. Check it out at http://www.tops.org and you can find a chapter near you or join online.
~A former bulimic

to eat Turnips!

More seriously, I find it helps to think of my body as a machine. It is a machine that performs many different functions, and for my body to perform at its maximum, it must have the proper fuel. I think the WW programe is only a suggested guideline. Start slowly, and listen to what your body needs. Maybe it would be helpful to start your program by adjusting your body to healthy foods before you start reducing your intake to loose weight. Your body might be reacting strangly to loosing sugar, etc.. I would suggest a large breakfast if you are able, a snack mid morning, a medium size lunch with perhaps a salad, sandwhich, or soup and roll and some fruit, a mid afternoon snack, dinner, and an evening snack. Snacks can be small, like some baby carrots, or a bowl of soup, a piece of fruit, half a sandwhich. Anything. Just listen to your body. It is probably saying not that it needs chocolate, not that it only needs salad greens, but that is needs 3 filling, balanced meals.

Best of luck.