Hello everyone! i jst recently signed up on 3FC< however, ive been a lurker for a few months now which is how i was motivated to go from 240 lbs to 220 lbs.

for the past few weeks, ive been in a viscious cycle, where i workout 1 hr a day, eat all my healthy meals, but at the end of the day (and sometimes during the day) i ruin all my hard work by binging

i work night shifts, and its usually very quiet in the middle of night and thats when i go down to the pantry at work and eat loads of crap and then i come back to the office and read the 3FC forum! go figure that one out lol. i just feel soooo dissapointed in myself because i have discovered that i have a tendency to go 1 step forward, 2 steps backward. and im so sick of it! and i alwasy feel like crap after eating junk food, yet im still doing it! and im eating more than enough calories, i think its more jst trying to break a habit of eating junk food.

sorry about not making this a more friendly introduction, i've jst been so upset with myself and had to let it out

i also wanted to thank everyone who does post on this website, im sure im not the only "lurker" who has gotten motivated by all you wonderful ppl

Hello to a former lurker from another former lurker. I don't work nights but I do understand the food at work routine. And that's just what it is --- a terrible routine, an addiction, a strong association. And just like any bad habit it's going to take a lot of will power. Some smokers trying to quit will replace cigarettes with food. Well, what you (we!) need to do is replace bad food with good. For me it was more the act of eating at work, not what I ate. Chips was a lot easier to get my hands on than fresh veggies. They just don't seem to be a choice in vending machines! But before you go into work, stop at your local grocery store and stock up on carrot sticks, fresh fruit, etc. You will go through withdrawals from the carb and sugar but after a few days it'll pass. I promise! You will be amazed how you'll find yourself craving healthy foods instead.

It's not going to be easy -- I won't lie -- but you CAN do this and you WILL feel so much better. Instead of going to the work pantry, stay here and read the boards. Keep your mind busy....stay motivated....continue your journey on getting healthy.

You have made great progress so far. Don't give up and don't go back!

Hi there and welcome to posting

You can absolutely break yourself of that and continue forward. It's not easy, but it's very possible.

You've already made steps forward, and you're already determining when the "weak times" are for you. So you can start working on a plan to combat those times.

You can do this!

Eating at work has been an issue for me. I have a very stressful job, and when I get a few minutes to myself, it can be really easy to run to the vending machine and grab doritos or chex mix or a milky way. Honestly, there's only one thing that has really worked for me. I promised myself I would make it through ONE day without going to the vending machine. I weighed myself that morning. I went to the gym after work and worked out for about an hour. I weighed myself the next morning... and I was down 2 pounds. Now, I KNOW this was water weight, because my body was flushing out all the vending machine junk I was feeding myself every day. This simple day changed my momentum... I saw that yes, every day, every choice, does indeed make a difference, and that is what is helping me through this week.

I agree with psuajblue, "...every day, every choice, does indeed make a difference, and that is what is helping me through this..."

We need to make choices every day and these choices determine which way the scale moves. Eating veggies and fruits and whole foods instead of junk processed foods will make the weight go down. Exercising and getting active instead of sitting and being sedentary or watching too much TV will make the weight go down. Even the little things...drinking water vs. soda. Taking stairs instead of the elevator. These all add up and will make you lose more weight. Try to add a little here a little there. After months of doing this, they become a habit and you'll see your weight going down, down, down

As for the binging thing, you might want to check out the binging thread, there's the challenge thread that is in the chicks in control. Post there and start counting the days you'll be binge free. Get support and help online or through friends or family members. You'll be surprised, some of your friends may share the same problems. I have told my friends and they can relate. Don't feel sad though. You're not alone. Binge eating is a problem that many of us here have. Even if it's just an occasional thing.

At work, make every effort to avoid the cabinets of food. Think of how gross the food is, everyone else is going through it and probably stick their hands in it. Think of how empty the calories are and how it lacks nutrition.

Also, think about the time you wrote on 3FC in your first post, that you would go do this habit of eating loads of crap, and then immediately go read other posts on 3FC and feel bad about what you just did. That must not feel good. You are aware of the problem, so tell yourself that you will not do it again.

Bring healthy foods to work. That's 1 step forward. Eating the crap in the cabinet, that's 2 steps backward. Remember mantra's like this and keep telling yourself what to do/what not to do, and you're inner voice and willpower will strengthen and help you through the tough times you face at work.

Good luck!

thanks everyone for the encouragment and support i think for next week im gonna start bringing extra food ( healthy food like a mini bag of carrots and some fruit) and keep it in the office, that way if i really am hungry after my meal i can munch on healthy things instead of the junk food. wish me luck

ali - you might want to add something like string cheese(or a few nuts) to your snack -because a protein will help curb your appetite along with the fiber from the fruit/vegetable. I've learned the hard way that fruit or veggies alone don't help when I am genuinely hungry -but some protein( along with) made a HUGE difference. Good Luck -L.

I agree, the fruit veggie thing only helps curb the hunger for an hour or so. sometimes I need 2-3 hours to stave off hunger until my next meal. Low fat string cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, peanut butter (high cals--use with caution!), and nuts (high cals--use with caution!), help make the snack more filling and stave off hunger longer.

Good luck!

Welcome I'm new too, so I know how you feel! The best thing for me when it comes to binging (between breakfast and lunch is my danger time) is to give myself 5 minutes of distraction to see if I forget about it. If that doesn't work, I try to find a low calorie alternative. If I want something salty, I'll have a little bit of string cheese. If I want something sweet/chocolatey, apples with a little bit of nutella. If that doesn't work, I just try to remember how AWESOME it feels to say no to your cravings It seems like there's a lot of other good tips here too!

Best of luck!