[kaebea]

Hi,
My biggest pit fall is overeating.

It is really frustrating because i will do well a couple of days, then one day of over eating and it's really discouraging because my weight goes right back up.
I feel like i just cannot get a good foot hold on loosing weight. Usually, it's like once i get going with weight loss, i get on a roll, but that just hasn't happened for me in a long time. the last time i got down to a healthy weight through diet and exercise, it was like 5 years ago.
so it's been like 5 years of self loathing and uphill struggling. I'm never truly happy and at ease when i'm struggling to loose wieght.

I'm sure that there is a big emotional reason for my over eating.
weather it is stress or anxiety or boredom.

on the one hand, stress anxiety and boredom would be reduced if i were able to maintain a lower healthy weight, BUT on the other hand, if i don't address these issues first, they are probably sabotaging my efforts before i can even get going.!

I was curious what other member's emotional roadblocks were. Maybe if people have similar reasons as me , we can help each other out?

It's hard because i know everyone is a little different in their outlook, situation, health, approach and goals. But, there is a plus side to that too.


Mainly, i don't want to take any medications. I'm really against that route for my self although i realize other people are comfortable with anti anxiety meds.
BUT... if anyone has any ideas for reducing anxiety and stress, why don't we share?

Seems sillly to keep beating ourselves up for overeating. maybe we should focus more on the root causes , then focus on loosing weight.
Maybe we can save ourselves the cost of therapy sessions?

[Me23]

At the end of the day, there are only individual solutions to individual problems. You've got to find out what in your life is making you bored, anxious, stressed, etc. High school made me all of the above, so I got fat, then I starved myself. I only got better once I left high school. Now I'm at uni and overall I'm much better. I still have bad days, but I'm doing the subject I love at a great institution. Thus, less emotional eating. Life isn't perfect. I think to be really happy I need to leave the UK and go somewhere where there is better quality of life: shorter working hours, better healthcare, better education...right now I'm thinking Norway...

But dreams like that aren't practical in the short term. Can you tell us a little more about what makes you anxious, bored, depressed? Maybe then I can offer some more direct advice. I know we can't always remove ourselves immediately from bad situations, but most of the time change to some degree is within our power.

You say you don't want to take meds. I understand that. I take Seroxat for OCD and though I've tried many times to get off it my quality of life plummets when I do. Then again, there's a lot of research that suggests antidepressants are ineffective, harmful, or effective only for a very small number of people. I guess I'm just one of that number!

[Daffy29]

I agree with what Me23 has said about individual solutions. But, so you will know that others have successfully faced such issues, I will share my story.

I have been struggling with depression, and excess weight, since puberty. And so you know, that's 36 years in the past. Ultimately, my depressive triggers have proven to be rooted in self-esteem. Food was my comfort and my enemy. My weight was my camouflage and my obstacle. I had to work to empower myself and although it has been a long journey, I am now in a much better head-space. I have been on anti-depressant meds for 12 years now, but am at the lowest dose possible for my meds. Previous attempts to stop completely didn't go well, so I don't know that I will ever try again. I do know that I don't miss the emotional rollercoaster that was my life for such a long time. When the major depression hit, it took my doc 4 months to convince me to try the meds, and I 'fought' the notion for years.

It took a long time to figure out/face what life events were at the root of my issues. I wasn't able to overcome all of them at once. Counselling, when it was appropriate for me, helped. A friend once told me "the teacher appears when the student is ready", and my journey has taught me that when we are ready to help ourselves, the support is there. Like most things, this journey included periods of improvement and plateaus.

Do my meds affect my weight management? Maybe, but to me, it's a moot point. For the forseeable future, I need them, so they're part of the package that is me, much like my genetics or my metabolism. I just do what I need to do to lose the weight. Sure it's unfair that DS can eat whatever and not gain an ounce. But it me, it's my body, and I want to be healthier and more comfortable in it, so I do what I have to do to get the pounds off. And, for the first time in my life, I really believe that I will reach my goal, and be able to maintain it.

The meds weren't the answer. They just re-established a more normal chemical balance in my brain while I worked to take care of myself. I still have to do things like make sure I get enough sleep and keep some activity in my life, get enough sunshine in the winter months, etc. to stay healthy. Whenever I slack off, I see the results. I don't ever want to go back to that 'really dark place' and feeling good is a pretty strong motivator these days.

Good luck, and good health to you!

[annabow]

Hi Kaebea! (and everyone for that matter!)

I sympathise because I'm in the exact same situation as you, I want to have the willpower I had before but it just seems non-existent! And I know that I now have underlying emotional issues but I just can't get a hold of them either, if I knew what they were I would be able to try and do something about them!

At the moment I can do well and eat healthily for 2, maybe 3 days and then I slip up and have a massive binge which un-does all my good work and positive thinking because it sends me right down in the dumps. Positive thinking is definitely one of the key things I rely on to keep me on track, and doing good things for other people give me a sense of self satisfaction which I love

[Me23]

I had to work to empower myself and although it has been a long journey, I am now in a much better head-space.

That's awesome